Blog Moved

Continue following me at http://rohiniraman.wordpress.com/

Highway to Hell

Highway to Hell

Not the AC/DC song, but the tale of hell on our highways.

I feel I must acknowledge that there are probably VERY few exceptions.


Buses 

Constituting the major chunk of public transport oft gives them the right to stop anywhere on the road. Leftist, Rightist or center, you dare not question them. More often than not they realize at the last minute to take a turn and of course end up taking a mute turn.

Bikes

Zipping across the roads at speeds not less than 90kmph is considered an insult. They have superpowers to squeeze through gaps which even mice would find daunting. Add the callousness towards traffic rules and the compelling need to demonstrate their dexterity in biking skills by driving with one hand, wheeling etc ,  you have a disastrous mixture for perennial accidents ready!

Horns 

Jarring sounds resonating throughout the road effectively masking the direction of origin. Best way to get on someones nerve on the road. The power of this is truly felt when the traffic doesn’t move despite the green signal.

Potholes 

Disrupts the social hierarchy of power. Whether you own a Benz or a Bajaj scooter or whatever be the horsepower of your ego, potholes don’t flatten. A scooter simply overtakes a truck by swinging left and the latter is left behind lagging.

Pedestrians  

Ever deaf, non-caring jaywalkers. Given that the roads come from the tax payers money, they somehow have it in their heads that they are to be proclaimed "kings of the road" and every one else HAS to stop to give them way!

Traffic lights  

It is hard to believe that these 3 small round lights can be such tortuous testers of patience. The mad acceleration to just make it to the signal and the cussing and the anxious wait that follows for the signal to turn green. Sometimes ignored by the users of road who seem to follow the lights flashing in front of their eyes.
 

Animals 

The roads belong to man and animals alike; Such is the reverence shown that, the entire traffic diverts itself to accommodate a family of cud-chewing buffaloes/cows out on their evening stroll. In effect the holy cow becomes the cop and the cop a holy cow.

Parking Facilities  

Eternally full and even if you are lucky enough to spot a vacancy, one needs to be cunning to snap the place. If you think getting in is hard, getting out of these is even worse. Searching frantically for the parking slip and cutting across lines of parked vehicles, you would heave a sigh of relief to be out of these.

Roads 

With the combination of all the above, they know no bias. These maligned roads with their potholes, manholes and speed breakers are strict enforcers of liberty, equality and fraternity. Also, they seem to serve those who stand and wait, the best!

Long live the roads!

End of the World as We Knew It

Mayan Calendar

Well, looks like the Mayans had it wrong or their calendar writers became lazy or ran out of paper. Whatever be the reason, looks like the world is pretty  much intact. Yay!

The hype surrounding this, since this prediction came to light, what with movies being made about it (you cant blame them for wanting to make more money!), I wondered what it would be like, if the end of the world indeed came upon us.

 I have to admit that’s a pretty scary thought. The world as I know gone, poof in a day! But then, I wondered what it was that I would miss the most about the world. Was it the countries in deep economic despair, struggling to save its people from misery and the swelling sense of insecurity? Was it the mindless wars being waged, innocents being killed? Was it the huge fissure in the morals of the society that has changed us all into self-centered beings? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the world was not a kind and benevolent place any more. This society has morphed into a self-centered bunch of people.

Taking our own country for instance, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, rapes, corruption are rampant. It is probably unfair to expect huge development in a span of 65 years post independence. But is that any excuse to stop being human? As long as one's life is secure, most of us do not feel the need  to spare a second thought for anything else. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class get crushed. We  comfortably turn a blind eye to the inequality being meted out and sufferings of others . Even if there is an uproar on any of these issues, it is forgotten over time and people fall back into their routine. Is it because we cannot care or we choose not to?

The ones who have the power to do anything are too busy ensuring their position of power and status. Pointing fingers at others faults, they successfully evade any responsibility. Most of us commoners,  are so involved in managing our lives  that we hardly even consider glancing at the world beyond. When I came across this video, I found it so hard to watch it even for 10 minutes. The blatant truth made me burn with shame on having become a Nero's guest myself - a silent spectator, watching the injustice being dished out. The only silver lining I could see here is that, at least a section of people are trying to make some difference with their dogged attempts and catching the attention of the public.

Maybe the Mayans did have it right. Maybe they did know what they were talking about after all. We interpreted the prediction as the end of the physical realm. I personally feel that they must have been referring to the breakdown of the society and humanity ceasing to exist with it. Is this the world that we want our future generations to grow in? Even if one can't bring about social reform overnight, the least one could do is change his/her attitude. Quoting MJ "I am starting with the man in the mirror". This doomsday prediction is a wake up call. A chance to right the imbalance. Also, a  dire warning that if we continue on this destructive spiral, then the day would indeed be rightly marked as the beginning of the end of the world as we knew it. 

Good luck and best wishes for 2013 folks!
 

Tell Yourself

When the white snow drips

From the bare wooden branches,

When the cold wind rises

Set to expose your very soul,

Never stop, tell yourself

This journey, long and winding

With no seeming end in sight

Footsteps across cracking white

When entombed in the darkness,

Never be afraid, tell yourself

Sounds of wind, like a dirge

Flustered thoughts crowding the mind

What if you cannot not make it,

Embrace the possibility of defeat but,

Never give in, tell yourself

Longing for the winter heat of stars,

Listen to the tune in your bones,

Give it your all to rise above

And if it happens that you cannot,

Love yourself for what you were, are and will be

As the curtains come crashing down

There will be light, tell yourself

30 Years of (Near) Perfection....

“The very best of sport — in this era easily capsulated in two words, a given name and a surname, Roger Federer — not only transcends the mundane and offers us a seat on a flight to stratospheric heights of creativity and genius but also its memory remains with us forever. “ wrote Nirmal Shekar, a renowned Indian journalist. But what remained with us, all these years, is not just this memory, but a realization – a realization that when passion, sweat and intrinsic talent blend, we have sheer magic.

Federer gave us this realization. And much more. On this day when he enters third decade of life, we wanted to put in words about how much of an impact this has left in our lives (this turned out to be the toughest task in our lives! :P ).

We said Federer had nothing more to do after be number one for the 285 weeks, we said he had nothing more to do after finally winning Roland Garros. But this man keeps coming back again and again. Now, that’s called passion. Who else would play a match today, on his birthday, when some of us prefer to chuck work and get drunk on such days? Similarly, it pushed one of us to pursue a kind-of-unconventional career path, just for the sake of passion.

And when we started following our passion, obstacles followed us just as faithfully as the Hutch dog. And many a times we wanted to give up cause we couldn’t take it anymore. For example, when one of us went to another new continent for studying, we became a victim of chickenpox within a week of landing there. The easier option was to just pack bags home, but we just tried to hang in there, and it did get better from there on! This process certainly became a bit easier when we had an idol to look upto, who is an epitome of optimism and never-say-die attitude. Federer once said, “I don’t quit once I step on court” and until today, he has almost never retired from any match, once it got underway.

Another important ingredient for his success according to us is of course, his hard work. He was the number one for 285 long weeks! Complacency never found a friend in Federer – he says that he has always ‘been hungry’ . He even hired some of the best coaches like Tony Roche and Paul Annacone to get critical opinions. So, a lot of friends have asked us on why we are over critical about our work, you now have your answers ;)

Several sports journalists and tennis legends have often called Federer a ‘complete gentleman’. He accepts that he played under his potential on some days, and that the opponent had outplayed him if he loses. The ease with which he pulls this off just leaves us awestruck, especially cause, we ourselves would never be able to agree to the fact that Federer could ever be outplayed. This ability of Federer to be in peace with the reality keeps him focused on his goals. No loss however big it is, doesn’t throw him off track. Similarly, one of us had a dream of studying masters in US, that couldn’t materialize. But we did learn that everything isn’t lost because of this ‘one game’ and we are doing good in our careers, to say so.

Now, since, we have quite a few friends who love Nadal as well - this one is specially for you guys :) The friendship that Nadal and Federer share is probably the friendliest that tennis history has ever seen. Even though they have met several times in the past few Slams, they share an immense respect for each other. Fanatic fans of Federer and Nadal need to learn a lesson or two from the warmth they share. And that does include us both as well. For sure.

And those were the days when Federer was the best player in tennis. Now, he seems to lose many more matches than he has done in the past. Earlier, we both used to be so depressed about his loses that we led the a cocooned life for a whole week after Federer lost a grand slam final – boycotted newspapers, text messages and facebook wall posts from friends. But now, it really doesn’t seem to matter. That maybe due to the fact that we have gained the maturity to look at the bigger picture. This has gotten us calm about his life as the deep seas now - we are more than happy with him just being a good human being (like that of being a key organizer of the flood relief match right before the Australian Open this year) and a good player, which we still believe he is. Its just that the other guys are getting equally or more better than him.

In case you know us pretty well, you know how amazingly impulsive we are. We get happiest for the smallest of the things and depressed for even more trivial matters. But this maturity with which we look at Federer right now is slowly spilling onto our lives as well. Like how both of us are learning to become immune to what others say about us.

And this fall of Federer has made him much more of an inspiration, for us, at least. Federer was considered infallible - the wall that could never be broken.He is just as vulnerable and human as any of us and not immortal. And our comparisons of his life with ours seems a tiny little bit more realistic that it did, in the past. Finally, if 16 grand slams have come, can 17th be far behind? ;)

Authors: Rohini Raman and Karthika Ramanathan :)

It All Ends...

A decade and 8 movies later, the Potter-mania reached its conclusion on-screen with the final installment Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows : Part 2 being released. A final tempestuous battle between the good and the evil – a soulless villain and a 17 year old boy. With this, the fictional writer J.K.Rowling took a final bow, with this saga making her not only a millionaire but also a household name.

This movie captures the struggle of three 17 year olds set out to defeat the evilest of all villains (with almost no nose) – Lord Voldemort. The flashback of the usually menacing and evil Professor Snape was unexpectedly very touching. The final battle was indeed epic and well shot with liberal use of CGI as Hogwarts was set ablaze in the quest of eliminating evil from the world of magic once and for all.

Despite the stunning effects, there was a tinge of disappointment as the movie ended. As usual the plots that were not tied to the trio were neglected. Though the last movie was a better effort at trying to cover the entire story, for an avid fan there was always something missing in every movie. Warner Bros ALMOST nailed it. It is a known fact that the movies deviated a lot from the actual books. Probably it is unfair to expect the intricate and complex plot to be reproduced verbatim as the later books ran to hundreds of pages. But they could have gone in for a “Directors cut” like the LOTR.

All this apart, this movie does bring down the final curtains on the magical journey set forth since 1999 when Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was published. No more Quidditch, no more Defence against the Dark Arts and no more Avada Kedavra. All’s well that ends well and in this case with a lot of magic :)

Brew it.. Drink it.. Live it..

Dedicated to all the coffee lovers...

Well the blog had to be revived after its long hiatus and what better way to do it than a post about COFFEE. The very thought of it makes you close your eyes, filling your nose with the exotic aroma of coffee seeds and you can almost feel the taste of it on your tongue (of course you have got to be a coffee addict to experience this bliss!).

All great things seem to surface from a mistake or two; well looks like coffee is no exception to that. Legend has it that coffee was “discovered” by a sheep herder in Ethiopia, who saw his sheep become hyper when they fed on the red “cherries” from a plant ( now known as coffee). This plant later went on to become an inseparable part of one and all. In any South Indian household, the day does not begin without the traditional filter kaapi and devotional songs. No better way to commence one's morning than sitting in a chair with the newspaper in one hand and hot coffee in the other.

Nailing down the technicalities, Coffee is basically a drink brewed from roasted coffee seeds, called coffee beans. Brasil is the world leading producer of this wonder drink seed. Based on the aroma, flavor and size of the coffee beans, there appears to be a classification. With a little help from Google, here is a list of the most popular ones :

Americano: A single shot of espresso with about 7 ounces of hot water added to the mix. The name for this coffee drink apparently stemmed from an insult to ‘uncouth’ Americans who weren’t up to drinking full espressos.

Black Coffee: A drip brew, percolated or French press style coffee served straight, with no milk

Caffe Latte: Essentially, a single shot of espresso in steamed (not frothed) milk where the ratio of milk to coffee should be about 3:1

Cafe Macchiato: A shot of espresso with steamed milk added where the ratio of coffee to milk is approximately 4:1

Cappuccino: Usually equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk, often with cinnamon or flaked chocolate sprinkled on top

Espresso Con Panna: Your basic standard espresso with a shot of whipped cream on top.

Frappe: Originally a cold espresso, it has more recently been prepared putting 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee with sugar, water and ice. The brew is placed in a long glass with ice, and milk if you like, turning it into a big coffee milkshake.

Iced coffee: A regular coffee served with ice, and sometimes milk and sugar.
And last but certainly not the least presenting our own :)

Madras filter coffee: A common brew in the south of India, Indian filter coffee is made from rough ground, dark-roasted coffee Arabica or Peaberry beans. It’s drip-brewed for several hours in a traditional metal coffee filter before being served. The ratio of coffee to milk is usually 3:1.

With this wide variety to choose how is it even possible to resist this amazing yet addictive drink. It sure does warm you up on a cold day, grinds away the rough edges after a tough night and makes the hours at work seem like minutes(personal experience!). There is always the eternal debate of how much of coffee is too much and is caffeine good, so on and so forth. Maybe too much of anything is good for nothing. But I say screw them all, get a cuppa and enjoy it :)

P.S. Anything can happen over a cup of coffee as well ;)

......!

There is a pigeon sitting on the tree thinking of tomorrow (But tomorrow never comes!!). The scary image of what is ahead makes it yearn for some source of solace. It looks around desperately, but is not able to find anything to comfort it. Then suddenly, it hears a loud noise from somewhere. Trying to locate the source, it sees a group of crows cawing. Left with no other option, the pigeon flies and sits on one of the branches of the tree where the “conference” is in progress. The following is the conversation going on between them:

Crow 1: Hey we are a gang! We need to go to Fruitland together definitely because it is not possible after May. We don’t even go to hunt for food together these days. We need to plan it out properly!

Crow2: But I have music classes this weekend and my professor demands me to come every day. (Note: The crow sings well and is awarded 9/10 after 4 years of tutelage).

Crow3: You can bunk one class for our sake. We have to go to the next tree atleast ya. (The next tree refers to Madras here). Please consider.

Crow 2 gets irritated as Crow 3 is a rowdy and is the “imposing” one and the discussion continues. In a while a raven ( “Andankakka”) lands on the tree and. Apparently the crows do not want it to know about their plans.

Raven: Hey do you know where I can free food? I am really hungry. (Food = gossip).

Crow3: (murmurs to itself) Why does she come now? Probably her counterpart is busy! Aarghh..

Crow1: If you want to know about free food you can go to Crow Jr. She is the info hq!

The raven departs at these words and these crows talk about how the raven intruded into their “gang’s” discussion. They decide to provoke her somehow by posing a question so that the raven doesn’t come there again. Meanwhile, the pigeon wonders why anyone would even bother associating themselves with the “gang”. When the raven returns the crows succeed in their “mission” (for what joy God knows!) and continue their monotone.
The pigeon is bored. The pigeon is sleepy... However, the pigeon has to sit on the same tree and listen to the cacophony till May of this year.

Moral : Empty Vessels make more noise...

Blogging and Freedom Of Expression

Expressing one’s thoughts and views was earlier restricted to the family or a set of few close friends unless the person was a public speaker with good credentials or a celebrity to whom people would bother to listen to. Envelopes were in vogue those days with information sealed and addressed to a particular sender. The exceptions were writers and journalists who knew what they were writing. All this was before the advent of the internet and before personal computers had much more to do than just personal things.

When Internet took over, e-mails replaced letters in the twinkling of an eye. Nowadays it is very rare to come across people who take effort to write long lengthy letters and post it. The new phenomenon of “blogging” has come to spread opinions and information at speeds and magnitudes which were unknown earlier. It has taken off as a low-cost (rather free) way for individuals to publish online. It is just enough to own a personal computer or a laptop connected to internet to make your voice heard!

That brings us back to the issue of “expressing one’s thoughts” – the freedom of expression which virtually has no limits whatsoever. When attempting to publish blogs, people tend to narrate experiences from daily life which may indirectly point fingers. As long as the sensitivities of the issue and feelings of the people referred to are taken into consideration, there will not be any controversies. There have been several discussions on whether the content of such blogs have to be regulated or not. I personally feel doing so would be denying the right to freedom of expression. Especially when blogs are viewpoints of the writer and are a means to showcase the writer’s passion, regulation of content would be discouraging.

Let bloggers blog! And in peace! We do not require any attention!!

"In Memoriam"

In the memory of a friend lost...

"We thought of you with love today
But that is nothing new,
We thought about you yesterday
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence
We often speak your name,
Now all we have are memories
And your picture in a frame.
Some may think you are forgotten
Though on earth you are no more,
But in our memory you are with us
As you always were before.
A million times we've thought of you
A million times we've cried,
If loving could have saved you
You would have never died.
You left us beautiful memories
Your love is still our guide,
And though we cannot see you
You are always at our side.
It broke our hearts to lose you
But you did not go alone,
Part of us went with you
On the day God called you home.
Forgive me Lord, I'll always weep
For the friend I loved, but could not keep."

Your presence we miss
Your memory we treasure,
Loving you always
Forgetting you never.

Rest In Peace dear friend....

Not just a journey….

I remember how I used to wait to journey by train when I was a small child! We do become jaded in our ideas as we grow older, but in truth, there is no other mode of transport that gives so much satisfaction and joy as a train! Trains have existed since time immemorial and are the best ways to take an individual from one destination to another.

Watching the world outside as it moves backward in a trice. The beautiful landscapes to be replaced by newer ones. Ever seen the early morning sun rise while sitting in a train?? It is one of the most beautiful sights.The far away foggy hills acting like a veil to conceal the crimson glow. Birds flying across the amber sky leaving trails of songs and happiness behind. The misty ground vanishing below the wheels of the train. Dewdrops settled over the flowers sparkling as the first beam of sunlight hits them. Lined trees, the sunlight playing hide and seek between the leaves, vast expanse of lush green fields, backwaters. Watching the clear smoke from the engine line up the sky (electric trains are boring) .The smoky patterns which slowly merge with the clouds. Those long river bridges to gaze at our reflection in the clear blue water below. Cuddled away in one of the seats sipping on a cup of hot tea taking the sights in…Sigh!!!

Next, the co-passengers. Well that depends on whether lady luck is smiling at you or not. If she is, you will find yourselves amidst friendly people with whom you can have fun with the entire journey. If not, then well, less to talk about what is in store. Whatever be it you get to meet new kinds of people and you get a chance to widen your social circle. When you reach your destination you are thrilled and eagerly waiting to get started again. A train journey can be called an adventure in itself given to the amount of thrills and excitement it holds.

Our life is also like a train journey which has a start and a destination. At the start, when we do not know what is in store for us, we are filled with anticipation, excitement and enthusiasm. One has to plan out his/her life just like any other journey. One is accosted by so many varied situations and people and from that one can learn quite a lot of. After crossing several obstacles and experiencing joy and grief, when one reaches the destination, the happiness felt is unparalleled.

Angels and Demons – Science or Religion?

That mystic diagram is an ambigram - a calligraphic design that manages to squeeze two different readings into the selfsame set of curves (from Wiki). This forms the baseline for the movie Angels and Demons.

The most awaited sequel(prequel?) to Da Vinci Code hit the theatres a few days ago. In this Ron Howard’s production, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a professor, is in a race against time to discover the true identity of a long lost brotherhood The Illuminati. What he discovers is a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church which threatens to destroy the credibility of Christianity.

The story begins with a research facility at CERN where a team produces the world’s first anti-matter in substantial quantities. One of the canisters is stolen after killing the head of the team. His daughter Vittoria Vetra (Aylet Zurer) flies to Vatican City where the canister is stashed in a secret place. Langdon is sought by the Vatican after it receives a threat from the brotherhood called Illuminati. In the midst of this, Conclave is going on to choose the next Pope and the Preferiti(Chosen Ones to be the next Pope) disappear. Langdon teams up with Vetra on a wild goose chase. With him are the Swiss guards and the Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor), a kindly papal assistant eager to stamp out the Illuminati threat, in his quest to find the illuminati lair and recover the canister.The film also focusses upon the eternal debate between science and religion. As it turns out in every other story there is a man on the inside and the final ‘twist’ in the plot reveals who that is!

If you go to the theatre expecting the movie to be a replica of the book you will find yourself disappointed. Though pruning the story here and there is a pre-requisite for making such a snappy thriller it does not mean the whole plot has to be changed. Many characters are missing and those that are present are not given much elaboration to save time for Langdon’s quest. Such drastic changes do not do well for the movie. The Hassasin who plays one of the pivotal roles in the novel is sadly portrayed here just as a killer and kidnapper. There is absolutely no depth in his character. That was a terrible disappointment in the movie. (He does not even look scary!!!!)

Of course, there are pluses to the movie as well. As the crew was denied permission to shoot in the Vatican, they had to reconstruct the whole of the city. Marvellous work indeed! Hats off to the set designers for having done a splendid job especially in the re- creation of St.Peters square! Though the movie is long it must be accepted that it is fast moving, snappy thriller. Though it doesn’t bring you to the edge of your seats, the air of suspense and thrill has been maintained very well by the director. Tom hanks stands out in his role. With witty dialogues at his hand he easily carries off the role of the atheist professor. Aylet Zurer though not given much room has done a neat job. Also special kudos to the music crew for having chosen the music with great care!

To sum it up, if you can remain oblivious to the fact that this movie is based on a novel, the movie makes a good watch. Else its just worth watching once for the heck of it. I would rate the movie 3 on 5.

The World Has Shrunk! But....

Welcome to the era of communication....
This period is considered to the beginning of rapid development in communication. Children of the forthcoming generations may laugh while listening to the stories about how information was conveyed from one place to another. This field has come a long way starting with messengers on foot, birds then slowly progressing to telephones, telegraphs, radios and now it stands at internet, mobile phones! The development has been tremendous!
Today, sitting at your house with a phone you can catch up with the happenings of the world and keep yourself updated. News and information is just a click or a message away. Information is transmitted many times faster than it used to be. A point to be noted is that telecommunication is one of the few industries that has not been affected even during the recession period. This showcases the power and potential of this industry. 3G- one of the latest developments in this field is set to be released in a while and there is no doubt that this technology will take this industry to new heights and causing a revolution.
The obvious inference is that the world has shrunk to a great extent. It is now possible to access even the remotest parts of the world thanks to this emerging industry. You can travel around the world in a short span of time. There are so many tools at one’s disposal now. But...
The question to ponder over is that the world has shrunk, but at what cost?What is the point of all these advancements when relationships are falling apart, when people no longer care about anything? People are just so tuned into their jobs and are so focussed on making money that they barely find it important to spend time with anyone leave alone themselves! People are slowly forgetting that they need to live together as a society. One must keep in mind that such developments are futile if such an attitude exists among the people. This prevalent attitude must be clipped at its roots else it can make things worser than present. Else it will be too late to rectify and rise again...

“Rat”tling Memories....

It has been almost a week since college reopened for this semester. And as usual at the beginning of the semester there was a lot of free time which was whiled away in chatting on and on about things that happened in the holidays and in the previous semester. This incident then came up.

The previous semester exams were going on then. It was the night before the second exam. As always we had opened our books only to discover that it was too late to do any sort of justice to the paper. Giving it up as a bad job I slept off that night. Suddenly, I heard a series of bangs and thuds in the room. I thought I was dreaming. But when the noise persisted I woke up. Both my room mates were up with broomsticks in their hands and they mouthed “RAT!!!” I was very groggy and so I felt I did not hear properly. When I asked them they confirmed.

Before I proceed further, there is something that one has to understand about our hostel. Even if you are not the kind of person who does not believe in peaceful co-existence with animals, you will have to change your mind as soon as you step into the hostel! Seeing dogs running around in the corridors, lizards going across the floors of your room and finding your room floor covered with many insects of different shapes and sizes (researching those would be a dream come true for any entomologist) is a very common sight. But rats?

Getting back, I sat up with a start and asked them as to where the rat was seen last and other details. It was a very small rat and had come in while the door had been opened. And it was somewhere inside the room. We tried to make it come out by tapping the corners and the bed with broomsticks. But, all was in vain. After waiting for a while we concluded it had left the room and closed the room. It was all quiet again when again my room mate spotted it running near the door. But before we could chuck it out it went and hid somewhere else. Again this time we could not find where it was hiding at all. Already it was pretty late in the night. So we just removed all those things which a rat would love to play with and went to sleep with the doors open hoping that it would go out of the room.

Next morning we could not find any signs of the rat being inside the room. We were glad. But, that night a loud scream of “RAT” echoed from one of the rooms in our wing and I thought well here we go again!!!

New Year Resolutions – Here We Go Again

Before I start off, A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 to all :)

Brace yourself for one of the busiest times of the year when everyone is deciding on what would be the best resolution to adopt. Literally, A New Year Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change deemed advantageous. It gets its name given that it comes into effect from Jan 1 of every year. In short you decide to change for the good.

I personally don’t believe in making resolutions on new year day in specific as I believe that change doesn’t need a time. Still here is a short account on new year resolutions..

Resolutions are said to give a direction to our lives and it gives us an opportunity to prioritize the goals to be achieved for the year. The resolutions taken by people majorly depend on the age factor. The most common ones are :

- Shirk Laziness
- Spend time with family
- Finish homework regularly
- Lose Weight
- Maintain a diary
- Reduce extravagant spending of money
- Quit smoking and drinking
And well the list can go on…..

So the resolutions are made. Several notes are stuck all over the house, working desk to remind oneself. Enthusiasm and energy is really high. Way to go… At the end of one month when a check is made on how many are still clinging on to their resolutions I am pretty sure almost half of them would have given it up as a bad job. And the others would be with a reduced enthusiasm! As days pass by the number of people keeping it up dwindles alarmingly. And by the end of yet another year only a very few are found religiously sticking on to their resolutions. Hats off to those perseverent people and to the others better luck next time.

Now looking at why people give up halfway through.. Most of the times these resolutions fail because of setting up unrealistic goals. Its very essential to realize and accept one’s limitations in terms of time and effort that can devoted to achieve the goals set. Say a software pro resolves to get up early and exercise to keep himself fit. But he doesn’t catch sleep before 3 am everyday and his work is so hectic that he is so dead at the end of the day. And so his resolution is, well gone with the wind… As people keep iterating it time and again time management is crucial to realize one’s goals. Also according to me one’s mindset is of paramount importance. We all must have seen that when we really want to do something we would go any lengths to get it done. Basically you should love what you are going to do. That way it won’t be a waste of your time and energy.

So folks, enjoy making new resolutions this year and sticking on to them throughout the year. A Happy New Year once again to all :)

P.S. I believe that its easier to preach than practise :P

Hello All

Bonjour!

At the advent of this new year, I decided to try my hand at blogging. Hoping to sustain your interest and to improve myself...

Cheers
Rohini Raman