In Hope, we dwell.... We, the students!

Hope, they say, is a rope that swings you through life. Hope can make wonders happen. "Ummeed pe duniya kaayam hai" has become the order of the day. But sans any intention of delving into the philosophical depths and viewing hope from an emotional tangent, we provide to you the practical functions that hope performs in a student's life, leading him/her to say each second:

So, here's a glimpse of the extent to which a student's life is replete with hope.

Beginning of the session:

The session begins with much pomp and show. Okay, not really but then that is what each student would like to believe: that his/her life is a movie (or worthy of one based on it). Reality, as it happens to be, is quite different. Almost contradicting. No one gives a damn whether its your first day in a new session, if you have promised to re-invent yourself or if you are trying to get out of a cocoon or you are stepping out of your comfort zone. Hope, my dear friend is all you have. Also, you harbour hope of making new and true friends, of becoming the apple of your teachers' eyes, of becoming popular, of being conferred a position in the school Prefectorial board/college union.

With bucket loads of hope, and truckloads of regret manifesting itself in motivation, a student is all set to take on the new semester. Alas, the renewed hope and zeal die an early death, for the student had never perceived the difficulties that would come his way. Hope becomes a fodder for your existence and endeavours. Facing the trials and tribulations of settling in new environs is a daunting task and it is hope that keeps you going. HOPE is the word

During the session:

When troubles come into sight, all hopes are abandoned for the pursuit of comfort is much more tempting. With all hope of burning the midnight oil and studying meticulously gone, the student embraces his old ways.
Such is the sad but true story of the gain and loss of hope.
Still, somewhere in your heart, it is hope which makes it possible for you to believe that you will be able to emerge victorious over the enemies of laziness, tardiness and foolishness

The shy student, who isn't much of a verbose, imagines being more forthcoming, making new friends. He lingers on to the hope of metamorphosing n becoming popular. He extends his hand four beginning a camaraderie, but after that finds himself at a loss of words. Unaware of the right thing to say or the right joke to crack, he reverts to his old ways

Hope of being noticed by your crush:

This crush of yours you can't just get over. But sadly, you are just another member of the crowd to him. You want to catch his eye, you want him to recognize you and you do all within your power to achieve it. Right from sending a request on Facebook, to liking all his display pics, to coming up with excuses to go to his class, to stealing glances while walking down the corridor, you don't leave any stone unturned. Yet when he doesn't poke you back on Facebook, when that love meter software just shows your love percentage at a meagre 35 percent, and when he doesn't' even bother to nod at you to acknowledge your presence, all hope, like your heart, lies broken in fragments.

Exam times:

So, exams time is called the testing time. True to the status it has been accorded, it does test everything from one's caliber to our friendships to our consistency in collection of notes. This is perhaps that time where we cling to hope the most. We begin by hoping that we get enough time and concentration and mental abilities and resources to study well.  Talking of resources, one also hopes to amass all the notes, photocopies and scribbled sheets of paper (amass, because it is no less than wealth, right) and then one hopes, direly so, that our friends be in the same boat as us.

As pointed out before, it is a testing time for friendships too and many friendships fall out due to conflict of priorities among friends. One just hopes that either his friend has also studied only as much, or if he has studied complete then the friendship which always attracted abhorrence of teacher will accrue its benefits in the form of the learned friend prompting all answers.

Results:

Results, the most dreaded part of this examination system, the culmination of it all. While a majority of hopes are not difficult to decipher: they are simple hopes to "pass" the exam, there are others who hope for miracles to happen. Ridicule commits suicide when a student who attempted the paper for 50 marks HOPES to score a 70. And hope is a big word, mind that. The scholar is hoping for a century in all subjects, while surreptitiously an average student hopes to have broken his own record, and many a times, that of the scholar too. In the aftermath of results, marked by an incessant shower of consolations and congratulations, hope becomes the most instrumental weapon.

The anticipation of the sudden appearance of Santa in times of need is pretty ludicrous, for you have to wage your own battles.
To quote a line from The Fault in Our Stars, "The world is not a wish granting factory."

P.S. The writers here HOPE that you liked reading the article. We also HOPE that you will leave comments in the section below.

An Experiment to decode a Fangirl

Just saw The Vampire Diaries and can't help but swoon over Ian Somerhalder?
Getting green with envy because Harry Styles might be dating Kendall?
Do you shoot your friends death glares when they wryly tell you that you're headed towards OCD?

You, my friend, are a fan girl. Welcome to the world of fandoms.
Here's a little experiment we've done on the clan of fangirls.

Aim: To define the inexplicable terms fan-girl and fangirling, to decipher the properties of the constituents of a fan-girl, to examine the stages in which a fan-girl develops, to get a sneak peek into the life of a fan girl and to find out how she survives, what she feeds on, how she uncovers her hidden armour at the sight of a person of an enemy fandom. All in all to dive into the minds of this apparently alien species so as to form a concrete conclusion (or try to, at least)

Procedure : Our main ploys were naturalistic and participant observation. Donning our black shades and black robes, we set out to investigate the properties of fangirls a la James Bond style. Our lives were precariously perched, for we were dealing with spontaneously combustible fangirls

Properties : 

• Devoted: Fangirls are seen to heart their fandoms. They have pledged their souls to devotion and if they ever were to betray their fandoms, they wish to cross their hearts and die.
• Envious: They tend to spend nights bawling their eyes out when their objects of devotion take an avid interest in another member of the opposite sex and start showing up with them in public, resulting in envy and murderous thoughts creeping up in the mind of the fangirl.
• Loyal: Now, you must be thinking "whoa! perhaps fangirling makes girls go all murderous and boisterous", but scratch the surface and you will know that their obsession goes on to exhibit their loyalty towards their object of obsession.
• Persuasive: They make it a point to find friends within their fandom, and when some of their comrades turn out to be not-so-crazy about their demi-gods, they take it upon themselves to bombard them with their pictures, videos, and what not. To them, they are showing their friends the path to enlightenment, bringing them close to nirvana.
• Awkward in public: Stepping out in public with a fangirl might turn out to be hazardous. Upon sighting a poster of her OOO (object of obsession henceforth), a fan-girl might explode into ear piercing screaming, chanting and happy dancing, which could result in you being politely escorted out of the place, or in more dire situations, being kicked out by the security.
• Violent: Fan-girls can sense criticism against their OOO from a mile away, so you better beware before she comes and showers you with witty comebacks and expletives. This may result in a crisis commonly known as a 'catfight', which may require external aid to douse.

Observations: 

1. Mood swings: Fangirling makes the girls high on expressing themselves explicitly, so you can find them laughing maniacally when their OOO succeeds, and in uncontrollable sobs when their OOO is tried by destiny. 
2. Self-professed obsession: A fangirl is unabashed to admit her infatuation and addiction with her OOO, not just the fact of obsession but also its magnitude, so much so that when people address her as a psychopath, she doesn't mind. 
3. Kleptomaniac tendencies: A fangirl also has a habit of sweeping the shelves of their OOO franchise stores, squeaky clean, sometimes even cutting down on grocery budgets just to have that coveted 100 dollar lamp. So next time a franchise store is robbed, you know exactly who to look for! 
4. OOO Couture: Fangirls tend to spend startling amounts of money on covering themselves with OOO objects. So, an extreme fangirl could look something like this: OOO cap, hoodies, necklace, shoes. and every inch of her room will be plastered with OOO posters. Right from her pen box to her eraser, everything will be OOO adorned. Some even go to the extent of getting OOO soap cases. 
5. Vocabulary: Fangirls also possess a limited vocabulary. While squealing and squirming 'OMG, Why is he so cute, So perf,' fangirls are also prone to cyber-stalking their OOOs, where their reaction to newly uploaded pictures goes like this: asdfghjkl. Yeah, no kidding!

Stages:

Stage1: Discovery

Yes, that moment when you realise that you just don't have control on your senses anymore because He is your OOO. Your raging hormones back the discovery for confirmation there is also a clan of the species: the shy fangirls, who are scared to admit their obsession initially, but ultimately one day all their feelings find platform after a couple glasses of vodka(no, just kidding). In reality they themselves puke out everything one day in a fit of uncontrollable urge and excitement to take part in those highly covert discussions of the fangirls' club.

Stage2: Research stage: 

You take advantage of the ease of access to Internet and newspapers et al. And congrats you have crossed a stage successfully. So, now you are researching about him as though he is the topic of your PhD thesis. The probable questions you probe for: his present relationship status, past relationships, career, age, interests, pastimes...and your most likely reactions "OMG! We have such a lot in common!"

Stage 3: Submission

In the last stage, fangirls immerse themselves in the sea of devotion, where all symptoms of denial simply evaporate as fangirls feel they just found the purpose of their existence.

Statutory warning: This post is based on personal experience of the authors. Any resemblance to real life is totally intended. If there is anyone who is offended by the post, well, too bad.

P.S. You won't find any photos of the One Direction Boys, especially Zayn Malik, because my fellow blogger couldn't coax me into liking her OOO, and although it means that I would not walk any closer to nirvana, I didn't give into her requests. :-P

Good Ol' Days

As I de-board the Metro to undertake the journey back home on foot, I pass this school. I see something I know so closely. Tiny tots sliding hither and thither, the slightly older ones chatting about the homework given by teachers, anxiety writ large on their faces, but not larger than the bags they have on their shoulders, which makes their frame look even more petite than it really is . Then there are the senior students, who are well aware of this fact. They must have been scolded by the teachers as to the kind of role model they are becoming for their juniors, how soon they will have to leave the confines of school, but till then they should learn to behave, learn to tuck in their shirts and get those hair pointing in every direction fixed.

      

And yet, some must have giggled, others guffawed; others must have mimicked the teacher after she left, immediately pulling lose their ties in an attempt to look "cool".

A surge of nostalgia overpowers me. I remember I was there, just a few months back.

It feels as if it was just yesterday, and then it feels like it’s been ages.

Yes, now throughout my plodding, I am thinking of school days. The walk to the threshold of the school is marked with eagerness and anticipation, wondering whether everything has remained the same, or has the passage of time left its mark. Will I still be welcomed with open arms? Will I still be able to call this place my own?

It is so ironical that these are the same four walls i couldn’t bear any longer, and wanted to escape from so eagerly. And within a matter of months I have realised what those figurative four walls stood for. They stood for the security of those confines, the love of teachers who cared enough to remember our names, to chide us for our misdemeanour, the guard who would let us in if we got late by 5 minutes (okay, more often than not, he didn’t, but now everything looks twice as precious).

I long for that security like a toddler longing for milk. Every day when I enter college, why don’t I feel the same feeling of belonging there, as i did each day of school?

Its funny how when we are living the moment, we tend to be indifferent to its significance. We fail to realize that one day, you will suddenly get a whiff of what has transpired over the past few months, that your life has taken a turn, that you are no longer known by your school, you are no longer a part of the place you've relished being at for 14 years of your life. One fine day, it just hits you, and you'll be rendered nostalgic by the forces of time. The reminiscence overcame me today, and here I am penning down the recurring moments and instances which have come to define school life, at least for me.

1. Never used ‘Use Me’- Whenever a teacher scolded about class cleanliness, we used to slyly slide the garbage beneath our desks to the back ones. Unfortunately, by the time we reached class12, the teacher knew who the culprit was, not to mention his punishment of cleaning up all the chits and bits from class.

2. Spirituality in our eyes, or not-Whenever we were asked to close our eyes and meditate, we would check whether our partner has opened his/ her eyes or not. We secretly pined for the assembly to be held in class on test days, so as to cram up snippets enough to let us pass. And we prayed for a special assembly downstairs when the first period happened to be of a cranky teacher.

3. Excuse me- And when it came to excuses, we were one hell of a repository of excuses. From bunking school, to not studying when in class, to learning the modern way (read PowerPoint presentations in computer labs) just to get air-conditioned environs!

4. Substitutions- Well, it was as common a topic of discussion as air in atmosphere. It all began with a surmise that a teacher might not turn up. Soon, it would have escalated from a conjecture to a rumour and became a source of unalloyed joy for the entire class. Each teacher entering before the rumoured-to-be-absent teacher was pestered whether the teacher has turned up, or if she is going away for some workshop and the teachers would also keep us hanging by the hook, unwilling to reveal the secret to every students’ happiness.

 It would be the most heart-breaking moment when we learnt that some teacher had decided to hijack our free period by making a "setting" with the substitution in charge, so as to be able to finish the course in time, an exercise which was just meant to maintain a tremendous scope for those abhorrent revision tests. All our hopes of whiling away those 45 minutes playing 'truth or dare' would be deviously crushed on hearing that news. With half a heart, we would slowly draw out our notebooks and books, while mentally praying for some zombie attack or apocalypse to save us from relenting the 'free' period.

5. Monitors/ Man-eaters- Another dimension of substitutions was sending the monitor/prefect to the staff room to take a note of all the "free" periods and the assignments for them. Now, the monitor, if bribed in a proper fashion, could take light years to reach the staff room and come back, in the process, wasting the entire period. But if monitors turned into man-eaters, each kid would have to endure the backlash of doing assignments.

Befriending the monitor could save you mammoth trouble during the school year, so you knew exactly on whose bad side you don’t want to be at.

6. Faking sick- Remember that one time you forgot to carry your homework to school, and you instantly knew that the particularly strict teacher wouldn’t let you get away with the ‘left it at home, after toiling hard the entire previous night’ excuse. And then you knew exactly what to do. Clutching your stomach, you would make a trip to the school medical room. The doctor would gauge your pain and see through your antics, but still hand over a tablet just to get rid of you.

7. Lunch that would never make it till lunch period- Lunch period- those twenty minutes of the day when everything except eating lunch happened. As you made a mad dash to run after your teacher and submit your assignment, by the time you are back, for all you know, your lunch had been gobbled down by your friends and was being converted into bile by their gall bladders. Remind me, why were you friends with them, again?

8. Facebook display pictures- Don’t even get me started on that one. Every possible nook and corner of the school building was utilized in order to get those picture perfect profile pictures. Be it hanging deliriously from the railings or popping our heads out of the windows, nothing was out of consideration. And no, not even the washroom was spared.

Shah Rukh Khan has beautifully surmised his feelings in the following lines: “Apne Chhote Dosto Se Mai Ak Baat Jarur Kahna Chahunga. Bachcho Tumhare Ye Bachpan Ke Din Jindagi Ke Sabse Khubsurat Aur Behtrin Din Hai................Haan Bachcho, Mai Tumhe Yakin Dilata Hu Ki, Yahi Sabse Khubsurat Din Hai, Kyoki Jab Tum... Bade Hoge, Tab Tum Tarsoge In Dino Ke Liye, Lekin Tab Ye Din, Ye Lamhe Waapas Nahi Aayenge. aaj Aapka Dil Sachcha Hai, Pak Hai, Damkta sona Hai, Aaj Is Dil Se jo Rishte Kayam Karoge, Jo Dost Tum Log Banaoge, Aise Dost Aise Rishte Jindagi Mai Phir Kabhi Nahi Milenge”

What the fudge is wrong with us?

Over-speeding and saw a cop? There go a string of cuss words. 

Accidently walked into someone while whatsapping your girlfriend? Here come more such words your way, sire! 

The shlokas and quotes which were revered and taught to the kids by the elders, extolling patience and pure speech, have just been murdered by the present generations. You are cordially invited to its burial.

So why is beep becoming the new buzz word? What the fudge is wrong with us?

Because we love throwing up a volley of expletives, we love Sholay and Delhi Belly because of their expletives-ridden dialogues. So next time while travelling in the metro, when you get f*** up because the aunty sitting next to you is a b****, or worse, if you don’t get a seat and the driver just couldn’t drive better, don’t be amazed if the girl/boy next to u screams words like **** to show angst as if that’s patriotism. 

Today, we live in a world, where people are more proficient in sarcasm and profanity, than the language itself. While I'm not so much against rhetoric sarcasm, scratch that, I worship it, but the usage of the latter spells serious trouble.

Swearing has become like second nature to us. It flows as unintentionally and smoothly out of our mouths as once the words of the Morning Prayer used to. While, in our defence, we grew up in such a 'culture', it still doesn't justify the verbal vomit we subject others to.

These words and phrases have become as ubiquitous as once plastic was, and we can’t help but imagine that these phrases would deem plastic bags their role models, and would soon be wiped out, meeting the same fate as them Only, that would remain a far-fetched dream, for, even if we try to rid ourselves of them, they would only come back crawling into our lives via others, just like the plastic bags did.

Oh crap! damnit! f*** ! Bugging $h!T!!!!! So how do we handle such a sordid state of affairs? Let us begin by peeping into the causes, the instigators, which provoke us into this apparently unscrupulous habit.

1. The virtue of patience, has become virtually non-existent amongst the Gen Y. Speaking five sentences sans any profanity is a like a tremendous feat for people our age. Whenever you are stuck in a traffic snarl, it isn’t an uncommon sight to see people hurling abuses at each other, as if each swear word would miraculously eliminate the long rows of vehicles in front of you. We forgot, in a way it does too, because after your skirmish turns into a brawl and you end up injured, you get a special treatment, far above from the crowd, the swarm of people who did not give in to the temptation, because everyone gives way to a police van, you know.

2. While swearing catches on with the teens as a sign of how 'kewl' they are, may I politely remind you that your definition of 'kewl' is severely distorted and delusional?

So, if you are travelling with your friends, it is absolutely undesirable of you to remain quiet when you should actually have bathed the person in front of you with a bout of expletives if for no other reason than to gain popular approval you know. Swearing is somewhat in trend, much like the prêt fashion. It’s the "in thing" these days.

Let’s take a moment of silence to commemorate the long forgotten use of etiquettes and formal language. RIP. Or now, we might just think of it as 'Rest in profanity’.

Given that it is such a despicable, abhorrent practice is no ground to dismiss it, because hilarious as it may sound, this trend is here to stay, and just like the changing fashions each spring, the words might change, however just like yellow colour would forever continue to be associated with spring, this profanity is not abandoning this cursed (or cussed) land anytime soon.

We, the Gen Y, are the fire-fighters. But mind you, we don’t fight fire, we fight with fire as a weapon, fire of hot as hell words coming out from our hot-heads

And while everyone gets engulfed in this fire, there is a rising need to develop a liquid which can help douse it. But we need to make sure, the liquid is not itself a repository of bittersweet words, which we have come to "accept" and are "fine" with.

Zor Se Bolo - Jai Hypocrisy Ki!

Rows of girls sit along the neatly lined rows of plates, looking forward to being revered and venerated, being put on a pedestal that equals the goddesses. They try to bask in their short lived glory, for they know that this is a far cry from what they are subjected to on a daily basis. 

India is the abode of countless deities, a majority of which are female deities. The concept of Navratra twice a year is a reminder of the fact that India takes pride in the Navdurga. The last 2 days, the nation woke up to celebrate Kanya Pujan, to celebrate being a girl, for this day, every girl is considered to be a manifestation of Durga.

 Ironic, considering the heinous treatment meted out to girls in our country on an everyday basis. Leaves me wondering, does 9 days of goddess worship negate the other 356 days of misogynism we practise?

Our older folks continue to be defensive about questioning anything remotely related to religion, since they have been conditioned to accept things at face value. But our generation likes to test the waters and decide for themselves. So, while this post might stir the hornet's nest, we proudly proclaim there is nothing wrong in thinking differently.

The portrayal of goddesses is also an agent of social construction of female expectations. Idols and images of goddesses mostly show them as the epitome of beauty, fair complexioned, well endowed and adorned with jewellery. This idyllic image of perfection further gives shape to the standards of beauty women are expected to live up to.

The general connotation of 'devi saman aurat' is not one, who like Kali, when provoked, fights for her honour and righteousness, but is characterized by an all forgiving attitude, bearing all the wrong coming her way, meekly accepting her fate. While we are acceptive of a weapon wielding goddess, we are uncomfortable with the notion of a fiercely independent and power yielding woman. There exists a wide gap between what we venerate in mythology and what we seem to practise in the realm of real life.

 The Indian system of marriage is so quintessentially a despicable arrangement, each ritual comprising it is abhorrent in that the girl's family goes through an unspeakable ordeal. So, while you call your bride "ghar ki lakshmi", we know you are making a surreptitious reference to the dowry that she brings in, why on earth are you spending extra efforts and mind on concealing your true diabolic intentions? 

 Meanwhile, our society boasts of being modernised, yet the matrimonial advertisements demand brides who will couple up as a working woman and a homemaker. We still read a plethora of news reports everyday about how girls are harassed, burnt, even murdered for the sake of dowry. In this era of social awareness, we can certainly no longer be insouciant or negligent of what’s eating up our moral and social fibre. We don't want a superficial, pretentious, morally depraved society, do we?

The 15 minutes of respect endowed upon the girls end even before they could sink in. With the submersion of the idol, we seem to drown our reverence towards females as well. Let’s not limit celebrating female power to 9 days, let’s take it upon ourselves to make it last longer.

Delhi... where S#!T happens

6 issues pertaining to Delhi which trouble me

     1)     Travelling Rajni style   

      Though the Delhi Metro has been the saving grace of Delhi’s public transportation, there are areas which still don’t fall under the ambit of metro connectivity. In order to travel to these areas, Delhites have to rely on other means of transport like DTC buses a.k.a ‘thoda adjust karna’ and the autos which will give you a detour of everyplace except the one you want to reach, taking the longest route possible. No DTC bus ride can be devoid of masses of people almost falling out of the bus, and those who are safely lodged inside trying to nudge or even grope you. Try claiming your right to sit on the designated ‘ladies seats ‘and you will be met with sulking faces, reluctantly sacrificing their seats but not without muttering questions about the need for such seats. Sure, if we see the day the XY chromosome could keep their hands to themselves, we will do away with the seats.
The ‘autowallahs’ of Delhi are known for charging obnoxiously exorbitant fares, and don’t even get me started on the tampered meters these autos have. And who can forget the lopsided wicked grins they flash when you approach them during wee hours.

     2)  Blame game

       The roads are filthy? Blame it on the inefficient municipality. The increase in crime rate? Attribute it to the inefficiency of the cops. But hey, between these two, there lies an ‘us’. How about question it sometime too? Our society is a victim of constant blame games. Stop for a moment, and peep into your own conscience. our whole system is marred by name-calling. A volley of expletives is thrown at the slightest provocation. And yeah, this is a subtle hint to my neighbourhood wali aunty not to empty her trash in front of the building and then blame it on the stray dog. So much for blame games, I tell you.

3.      Baap ka naam toh suna hi hoga?

      Nahi suna.  Seems like your PA forgot to sound the bugle and announce the news of your arrival on Earth, Mr. enjoying-life-off-daddy’s-money. While in other countries people carry their ID cards for various purposes, Delhites seem to only carry ‘baap ka naam’ wherever they go- club parties, police stations, colleges, et al. Seems like we’ve invented a nice one-liner there. Even when the rich and powerful break the law, they seem to have immunity against the repercussions that would befall an ordinary citizen. 

4.       Being a woman in Delhi.

      Enough said:  Being a woman in Delhi ain’t easy. We should only travel in the female coaches of the Metro, be home by eight in the evening, never step out on the roads wearing dresses or shorts because apparently they are provocative- you get the drift. They should just start handing out pamphlets with survival tips for females in Delhi. And once they are done with that, they should make one for the ‘Creep-os’ too, who forget where our face is.  Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar.

5.       Ye naarebaazi band karo, kuch nahi hoga isse  

      They say, the onus for bringing about a revolution lies on the youth. I say, atleast let them do that the way they want. When the youth turns out in large numbers to protest, they are greeted with teargas, barricades and lathicharges. For being the largest democracy in the world, we sure are protest intolerant. There goes the largest youth population to a waste.

6.       We will judge you, we will stare at you

     While making life out of living in a tough metropolis that Delhi is, is in itself a daunting task, there are plenty of people to make the road ahead more difficult for you. So, are you wearing shorts? They’ll rechristen you as a slut. You’re seen chatting with a friend from the other sex, we’ll judge you. Even for something as trivial as carrying a sling bag, people will judge you. And as far as staring you unabashedly is concerned, there is a simple rule: have eyes, will stare. While someone staring you may make you uncomfortable, you might even be led to wonder if there is something wrong with you only.

Five things they didn't tell us about FYUP

First of all, those of you, who at the mention of the dreaded acronym "FYUP" have their adrenaline rushing with the excitement to read how it has dampened the spirits of their class-mates, a big salute to you. Just skip to the next paragraph.
And for those of you still wondering what FYUP is, dear person-from-another-planet, it's the blood-sucking, atrocious educational reform that stole the limelight from the soaring cut-offs and bestowed on the guinea pigs batch "perennial uncertainty about the future".
So, while we feel tortured by the gruelling work schedules, envy our seniors who get home before we do, and venture into college life, here's a list of five things they didn't tell us about FYUP.

1) They turned the guinea pigs into rats. Yes I am talking about us!

Remember, how we were tempted with laptops? And we took the bait. What they forgot to mention was that out of the meager 1 year that we would actually have the laptops, one semester would be spent (read:lost) in arranging them. The result is that, now, when we need them the most, we are deprived of them.

You know, watching movies or doing internet research on an everyday basis for the purpose of studying might sound enormously amusing, however, neither is it viable to rush home to use your desktop, nor can you sit glued to it for the rest of your day (that is, whatever might be left of it after the long hours at college). Further, at the risk of sounding very practical, you cannot possibly surreptitiously slip your laptop into your bag against your mother's wishes, use your smartphone 2 hours more than its battery allows, or for that matter, be merciless to your eyes.

2) The Collapsed FOUNDATIONS...

What they never told us was that the joy of holistic development  from the Foundation Courses (or FCs, as they are lovingly/angrily called) would be all too soon surpassed by the hectic schedule, and the mind-boggling quantities and volume of presentations, projects and tests et al would dampen our vivacious spirits.They said the FCs aimed at strengthening our concepts. Reality check: They are belittling them. Because oh, I got so enlightened after attending the GD about prime numbers. College is meant to facilitate specialised study, not send us back to 10th grade.
The scene of a classroom(almost everywhere, barring a few exceptions):The lecturers were as clueless about the impending reforms as we were. They started using the catchphrase "You are a Commerce/Chemistry/Computer science student, you do not need to study History in depth." Enter 55 marks devoted to practical work, and you can find every student researching the most obscure websites on the most ambiguous topics, to dig out some information which is both news to the teacher as well as intellectually stimulating. And someone said something about defeating their very purpose, eh?

3) Ready, set, go. . .

They pretended they had everything organised, all allocation of marks done...but till last week we were getting notices on their website as to the distribution of marks.... 

Alas! and then they so confidently proclaim that there are no infrastructural hurdles. I am amazed the media was right this time in being pessimistic about such hasty decisions-cum-reforms.

Right where it stings

4) IMBH: Integrating mind, body and HELL!

So, you caught me texting in the middle of a lecture elucidating Gandhi and his achievements? Yeah, that is something totally new n interesting, you totally have my attention with you. Grrr

And you were asking me to draw parallels between his life and mine ..but how can I possibly do that..he is the father of the nation and I am a guinea pig, have you forgotten? Wouldn't it be a disgrace to him?

5) College? Did you just misspell "school"?

Also, they forgot to tell us that no longer college means studies AND fun. With back to back classes from 9 to 5, we are working office hours, without the remuneration obviously. Sometimes we feel doing an internship has better prospects for us... rather than a system which shall provide us with a degree after 4 years (notice the sarcasm), "Bachelors in Multiple Disciplines" declaring us as the survivors of DU's large hadron collider experiment. How I love my life. Sigh.

And here I am , in the middle of mid-sem break, surrounded by to-do lists. Whoever said college meant freedom, definitely didn't meet the FYUP batch.

Yeah mate, we are all in this together...

Dear mathematics, I hate you like I love you...

If there's one thing that we all agree we have done in are school life, its this: Hating Mathematics.
And no, even the nerd of the class, the Albert Einstein who solved all problems within milliseconds cannot deny, that at one or the other point he/she too loathed maths.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that no matter how sharp your brain is, or how fast it works, you do get that moment when you go all blank, the identities just refuse to blink in the celluloid of your mind. And this moment comes only in the subject of mathematics. Astonishing as it may seem, we have despised different subjects over the years, history and physics being the top contenders for the second place, but Mathematics has been so consistent, just like its teachers who themselves forget all properties and identities and formulae, unless the question has landed from NCERT which they have been teaching from, since 20 years.

Then we have the embellishment of "Tuitions". Look at a 5 year-old. Then look at a 17 year-old. Then look at them while they are solving maths problems. It just becomes next to impossible to find out who is in more tension! The Tuitions are a trend, a child might fail in all other subjects, but he will attend the tuitions for maths since class 1, come what may. And if a child scores less in Maths, despite scoring highest in all others, he will be stereotyped a "Rattu-tota" (cramming parrot).

We have harrowing encounters with the questions which ask us to prove the properties which some insane nerd with some overtly-energetic cells in his brain, centuries back scribbled somewhere somehow and forgot to erase it!
Now that we know,"Although the overall size and asymmetrical shape of Einstein's brain were normal, the prefrontal, somatosensory, primary motor, parietal, temporal and occipital cortices were extraordinary."
We feel the pressure much less.

And guess what? People who included Maths in curriculum knew the pain that it will inflict on those trying to manoeuvre their way through the labyrinth of the questions. How else can one explain The questions of maths being termed, "PROBLEMS" Even before you try them!

There are certain terms used in maths, which evoke confusion, vexation and frustration.

1)Real numbers- What do you mean? All other Numbers are "unreal"? Then why are we learning about them at all? Did I hear something about the practical usage deployment of Maths?

2) Differentiation: The worst part of trigonometry, lovingly called calculus! They ask you to differentiate without taking the pain to add the other part from which to differentiate. Enter Greek symbols. Alpha, gamma, beta. Sometimes I wish we would be learning about Greek gods as well!
As if that were not enough, there's double derivative to double up our workload. Are you still fretting over having to find the derivative again? I have a gift for you.... differentiate it again to find the third derivative, you moron.

3) Inverse trigonometry: Why the hell did you make us learn those abhorrent trigonometric identities in the first place, when all you needed was to force us to reverse our learning. And attempt the questions the other way round?

4) Complex Numbers: Aap na batate, to hume to pata hi nahi chalta naa that the numbers are complex?. And complicated. Period.

Nonetheless, we have also experienced those moments when we used to sit down enthusiastically for practising maths, and with R.D Sharma in hand, (although I fail to figure out how a person can be held in hand, never mind , go with the flow), we felt ecstatic with every question that we solved. Those were the singular moments of pure pleasure in Maths.

 But, alas! The agonising moments we faced when scratching our heads for finding the right property or identity, far outnumber the moments of delight we spent in the company of R.D Sharma.
So, as long as the invisible relevance of integrating and differentiating exponential and real numbers exists, so would our detestation for maths.
GOOD LUCK maths for you have to bear the brunt of being cursed by many generations to come.

(I know everyone has a lot more to fret about regarding maths....if you have suggestions for points I must add, then leave comments below....:-))

Image source: Happydent Facebook page

Life is a blessing . . .

Have you ever felt that life is wasted on the living? If you have, or if you understand what I mean, or even if you don't, go on....read....

Presently when I am a student, seeking admission into colleges and indulging in extensive number-crunching(like, quite), I realise that we are too busy with living that we forget how to live. Everything that happens in life has a reason, you know better when I quote Steve jobs, "you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. "

Anxiety, ecstasy, contentment, and despair, elation: such wide-ranging emotions concocted to make our Red Letter Day: the day of the declaration of results. No words suffice to describe the whirlpool of emotions that we all felt at the moment of typing our respective roll numbers, merely a click away from our decided fates.

For some of us, it was pleasure beyond measure, others were searching an ointment for disappointment, some were blessed with cessation from perturbation, and still others took time in healing and dealing.
perhaps, a deja vu occurred yet again, at the time of declaration of cutoffs.

We must understand that no one's life is perfect and by the way who said anything about cut-offs being a parameter for your abilities?

At trying times like these, I realise what a beautiful gift life is...and how much we take it for granted.
I know we are having sleepless insomniac nights, binge-eating encounters, fits of insanity. But there is certain fun in going through it also. Well, anxiety is not a bad thing... in fact, your anxiety is directly proportional to the magnitude of relief you will feel once you are in a college, settled and adapted.

Once you are in a college, you become an inextricable part of it (unless you opt for migration), plus you would not be minding going to a particular college, as much as you would be cursing the course, if not of your choice. So, here I solve your course versus college dilemma.

But whats the point of my saying all this?
My point is simple: this is just the first time we are facing something so life-altering!!! Be prepared for more such incidents...and accept that this is life.... a blessing, even though in disguise.

Streams Extremes : Pride and Prejudice

An education system that does not teach the value of art, poetry, literature, people and society can never harbor leaders...

Recently I watched the much-hyped movie "Yeh Jawani Hai deewani". While I loved the movie with all it's essence of living and celebrating life, peppered with deftly-woven words, the "loving life anyways" cliches and the songs, of course, but I was equally appalled in the very beginning by the portrayal of characters. Naina, played by Deepika, is shown to be a nerd. And  carefree Aditi, played by Kalki, is shown to be rather nasty, if you go by the perception of most mothers of our time. But the disgruntling part is that Aditi proclaims, "studying is not my cup of tea....so I am graduating in arts...." while Naina is the studious medical student.

Which brings us to my center of anxiety. Hasn’t the popular perception changed yet?

Upon a little more contemplation, I realize that bitter truth pours out from the very first scene of the movie. 

That when it comes to choosing a stream, medical, engineering and commerce are still dominant.

That when it comes to choosing a stream, medical, engineering and commerce are still dominant, and humanities is lagging behind...

Far behind from being the first choice.....

Not because it doesn't offer a career or because it is unaffordable...

But because of "popular perception"..... the annoying attitude of the masses..... the reluctance to challenge tradition....

We can perhaps ignore the comment and dismiss it as a dialogue of the movie. But when Roohafza can react by filing a lawsuit, why should we, as part of this education system, remain indifferent and insouciant

We must not forget that Humanities, a stream we so callously deride and despise, encompasses the very subjects that offer us a better understanding of ourselves.

The subjects we look down upon with scorn and disdain are the very subjects that have evolved through the ages to help us sustain in this dynamic world.

The subjects we thoughtlessly detest as "theory subjects requiring cramming" have been the honour, the diadem of a plethora of intellectuals whom we revere and refer to, till date. These include inter alia, Bertrand Russell, Voltaire, Aristotle, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Homer, and Da Vinci. They have contributed immensely to the society, for which we can never be grateful enough.

Although it is just a surmise on my part, I believe this erosion of aesthetic value has a much deeper implication for our future, our lives...

“Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history” – Dan Brown, Angels and Demons.

 But, alas! We are superficial, materialistic hypocrites. We revere science instead of scriptures. We live in the cocoon (most of us still do) that the society has woven for us, and throughout our lives, we are burdened by the societal expectations, thereby writing our own perdition. But the science we glorify has to be used with caution, an aspect that deals with society and hence, social sciences. It is arts and its study that points out the fallacy of this thinking.

A befitting example is that of the role of human resource in the corporate world. In this age of bombardment of information and restless dispositions, it becomed the most Herculean job to retain talented people in an organisation. Here, too an understanding of human nature is of mounting significance.

Which means human, humanity and humanities are the lifelines of each other.

And that humanities be given the respect it deserves…

 And “popular perception” be changed…