are you a part of this loop too?

Is this what life is going to be about? A repeating loop of events? Or do we feel so because of social media? Watching people trying to stay relevant, become relevant, achieve glory, have it all only to detox their way out of it.

Flames flirting over Instagram stories, upping their simping game, moving over from the talking stage, to majorly crushing on each other, getting all high on vibes and then closing their chapter. 

A good time ends, life goes on and on and on and on and on and another song trends on Instagram. A music that never took off that well suddenly hits top 10. A music that you swore you’d never succumb to becomes an earworm and you find yourself grooving to it as you swipe up. 

Netflix catches your attention and you watch a nice series that you can finally brag about to your friends who kept debating about it all weekend only to find out that they discovered another cool one.

You put up a meme on your IG Story and people respond to it, reactions keep coming in until they stop. And then you’re left with a void – that’s okay, life goes on and on and on and on and you look up.

You’re in the bus, you look around; everybody around is on their phone. They’re all a part of the same loop that you are in. The same loop that you and I will continue being into until; well, until, a song long forgotten becomes a trend and joins into the loop.

We’re all in the loop. We’re all in the same loop. 

Is this what life is going to be about? A repeating loop of events? Or do we –

The Return of the Chimni

The most distant memory I have about sparrows traces back to when I was in kindergarten and the homely ‘sparrows’ had become my subject of curious fascination. A bird couple had built its nest over our hall room’s tube-light. ‘The one with black chin is the male sparrow and the one without the black chin is female’ my Dad told me in response to my never ending questions about this new found fascination.

The cute ‘chiu’ sounds through which sparrows communicate has since reverberated along my home windows even after shifting twice all these years. It used to be fun to see their sudden innate medicinal inclination towards the Tulsi leaves every once in a while.

However, in the past few years I noticed how our window would have very few of these tiny visitors. It would be only a rare occurrence that the much common ‘Philosophical Chimni’ as my Mom and I would call it, would drop by on our hall window grill and for minutes, at times, for an hour, just stay there and glance outside, as though it were contemplating over its life, possibly its loneliness against the sound of DJ Crow Gang that never fails to unite on their personal important occasions.

It took me about a long while to hear the chirping sounds of Chimni consistently yet again; their playful nature has been back this season here in Mumbai. Of late I have seen a sudden surge up in their presence in and around my neighbourhood and I hope this rhythm stays on, we need to ensure that it does.

In case you are wondering that there is nothing you can do to bring them back, you are mistaken!

Humans are the biggest change-maker in the society; always remember that and we need to make sure that we do not promote only negative changes in the eco-system and for a change give it something good like get the Sparrows back to life.

Here’s what you can do Super-human:

1.      Keep a water bowl out near the window and help them rehydrate.

2.      Feed them whenever you can.

3.      They are neither clingy, nor do they trouble you so don’t shoo them away. Let them be your regular visitors.

4.      Place artificial nests outside your homes to help them have a safe environment for breeding and laying eggs.

5.      Opt for organic and eco-friendly pest control services. Know that sparrows and other birds are predators to insects that are subject to poisonous series of pest controls and ultimately these toxic killers find way to bird digestive system as they consume it indirectly affecting their health. While you cannot stop doing a pest control in your home, you can certainly opt for eco-friendlier options.

6.      Last but not the least, grow a plant or two, and take care of it. Home gardens can also help revive their presence.

We need their chirping sounds and playful nature, we need more and more children to be as curious about local birds as we used to be during our childhood and not let them be just a mere glimpse of the past and have ourselves narrate to our kids the story of ‘Once upon a time, there lived the Sparrow…’

I am one of those 9 million Indians who fight in Wars everyday. Yes I do, let me tell you one of my many war stories.

I stand with my fellow army, ready to fight and claim what isn’t mine, tighten my fierce hands to protect my precious belongings, hands ready to push and battle my aggressive enemy.
Our nemesis arrives. I judge from the distance through the lot to see if there’s an old lady or little kid participating in the fight, and I mentally strategise the orientation of my defense and agression around them in order to protect them.

And they’re here. Struggling to move out of our way, for their survival. A lady loses a little strength and falls prey to the over zealous army of attackers and almost falls midway, only to be pushed around without any help from the ruthless. Another lady who forgot to drape her scarf appropriately for this very occasion was then on the verge of getting strangled because of it but nobody cares to save her life, for they care about what lies beyond it. I help her out to pull the scarf away. She survives, I sigh in relief; now focusing on my goal. Achieve what lies beyond their lives.

I’m almost there. At this point I’m fighting it out with the army that was on my side. I witness a few of us get through to the goal whilst I search for it desparately. And there it is. I rest myself against it. Comfort worth every hardship.
.
“Next station, Parel.” The lady on the local train speaker announces.

Look what you made me do

I stopped being an obedient Taylor Swift listener since I got absorbed in bands more than songs of solo Singers. But I had the opportunity to listen to Tay’s latest *song “Look What You Made Me Do” and it just blew my mind. The song is probably the most iconic and creative one of the decade and I find myself listening and watching the video at least once in a day.

But, seriously; do people really want the Old Taylor to die?

I even went through a timeline of songs I missed in the past and got back to listening to the Old Taylor songs which the singer seemed to have killed in the recent past and boy was that nostalgic!

,

The Taylor Swift I grew up with was new, yet sorted; quintessentially identified as the cool girl with feelings who just wrote what was needed for the teenage pensive mood.  There was a meaning behind them, a meaning intended to be learnt by every one that made us feel  that we’re awesome as we are and we’re not alone and that problems aren’t exclusive to just us. In one word her songs were; Relatable. A great song with sweet lyrics and a peaceful voice; from a person who once happened to carry a peaceful aura proved to win many hearts.

And the new Taylor I know now- she’s a sassy girl who writes songs of vengeance that apart from proving her point indirectly or directly tells us to be fearless some how. Just doing what we think is right and trusting our decision is what this Tay-era is going to teach people I guess. And it’s fine; change is a constant and we must accept that Taylor couldn’t stick to one genre of songs and just write for people. Some times, she needs to write for herself too.

However, just like a balance is always recommended for a toned everything; I think the New Taylor Swift should embrace the Old one ever once in a while and catch hold of her guitar and make low budget simple videos without much of make up and red lipstick and lights and VFX. Probably just one Blonde Taylor singing for a cute guy under the sky writing songs that makes people feel better.

Of course there are so many more bands and artists for that but there’s a thing about people you grow up listening to, you tend to look up to them and wish good for them. So I do too for the Vendetta girl in case she is dealing with lots of anger and criticism and hope that she lets go,vents up her emotions rightly, cuts herself off a little from the stardom that probably made her this way, takes a break and writes songs for both, us and herself.

BTW! Did anybody read the Buzzfeed article about all the hidden meanings in TS’s latest video? She certainly is a stickler for details!
Here it is:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/there-are-way-more-hidden-meanings-in-the-new-taylor-swift?utm_term=.mbDjm52Pd#.leMmq0Rr3

Of Eternal Sunsets

 

 

There is nothing more beautiful than the sun setting down at the beach, creating a reflection on the surface of water which is every kind of Photographer’s paradise. There is nothing more mesmersing than the way the rays of the big fire passes through the clouds and makes the atmosphere so pleasing and so attractive, that it makes us want to hold on to that sight forever.

A few days back, I saw a complete sunset, like right from the time it glew on the afternoon sky until the time it got merged with the sea and made me realise that the Moon is not the only celestial body that is beautiful, in this universe, and even though I knew all the scientific reasons behind why all of this happens, a part of me, was awestruck at both it’s beauty and it’s temporary farewell, I remembered that universal sunset story which I had heard from my Parents when I was a kid, that the sun gets dipped in the ocean and sets and 2 weeks back, at that time, I didn’t mind believing that it actually did.

 

But isn’t it amazing? Everytime the sun sets somewhere, it rises elsewhere, creating yet another mark of morning beauty that we wouldn’t miss if we get a chance to capture.

Sunsets are truly beautiful, aren’t they?And here’s some more sky porn from another place nearby (I have real amateurish photography skills though 😛 I’m going to capture sunsets anyway! :D)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being Happy

It is when you come home tired thinking about all that mess in your room that you need to declutter but find out that it has magically transformed into a tidy one, it is when you see your home flower pots blooming with new roses that you have been waiting to see since long, it is in seeing cute little babies smile and when your efforts of seeing them giggle are successful. Happiness is when you are genuinely happy for others, it is when you see your friend overcoming her/his own battles, it is when cute little kittens and bunnies do their adorable stuff. Happiness is the feeling of gratitude and in knowing that you and your smile alone hold the power of making people happy.
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-Gayatri R.C

WHAT GEN PLUS PLUS IS MISSING OUT ON

WHAT GEN PLUS PLUS IS MISSING OUT ON

We have seen our Parents meeting their old friends from school and college; old colleagues and friends from their old residences. Their friends and they always seem so excited to meet each other. Nostalgic conversations about old times and old memories flood in, one can literally see through a time window when one is around them. Then they exchange numbers and try to be in touch.

When I show my parents videos about the times and lives of kids during their times, I can feel the nostalgic feelings they go through. Our parents must have had so much of fun as kids. They didn’t live in the virtual world. They met real people in the real world. Of course, the virtual world brings us closer to people whom we wouldn’t have been in touch with otherwise. But weren’t they happier than us? Except for the fact that they had to slog very much for projects and assignments that they received as students but by slog I mean they searched for books, accurately searched for the right and precise information and ingested it.

Information was not all about copying and pasting and forgetting about it. I do that, don’t you?

I was wondering what kids of 2000s would have to tell their kids about the fun times they had? They would always be in touch with all their friends and their activities though. I think I know what kind of nostalgic video would be made for them. It would have the number of likes and comments they get on Facebook, their most liked photos and their high scores on Candy Crush Saga and Farmville. Wait haven’t they made that video already? Presuming that their life would always be about this.

Why even compare our Parents in their times as kids and kids of 2000s, we can even see a huge difference in the kind of life kids of 90s lived and kids of 2000s lived/ are living.
I think the link below describes perfectly what kids these days are missing out on. It is sarcastic and Nostalgic at the same time. 🙂

19 Reasons why Kids born in the 1990s had the best childhood ever:

http://www.youthconnect.in/2014/11/25/19-reasons-why-kids-born-in-the-1990s-had-the-best-childhood-ever/

And yeah, the link below describes the “Awesome” nostalgic moments of kids of 2000s.
32 things they are, most of them containing T.V. Shows and movies which of course, we have rejoiced watching too;

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/things-2000s-kids-will-be-nostalgic-about#.ou6MRAza0

but these 32 things still appear a lot less cherish-able and touched-the-heart kind of nostalgic as compared to the 19 reasons mentioned in the link above. :’)

An Adrenaline Rush

Adrenaline Rush

I enrolled myself at the nearest driving institute exactly a week ago and got the much awaited learner’s license yesterday. My training didn’t have to wait for the acquiring of learner’s license though. It started last week at 10:00 am; my Mom accompanied me for the first class.

It started with theory lessons, wherein the instructor told me about gears, the ABC of ABC (accelerator, break and clutch), when I’m supposed to send the car to the mechanic and all that stuff, adjusting my seat, seatbelt, mirror, rear view mirror, etc. The instructor told me how to start the car and I pretty much didn’t expect him to actually let me start it. But, to my surprise, he let me adjust the gears and start it!! I clearly remember shouting in my head, “I am driving!! I am DRIVING!”

I was introduced to the parts and uses of cars in the Third Standard by the big Cambridge dictionary in our house. Ever since then, I wanted to get my hands on cars. We hadn’t bought a car back then though; it was in the 7^th Std. wherein we bought it and my desire to drive got all the more accelerated.

My Dad had agreed to let me drive a LITTLE after getting done with 10^th std. boards. I remember going near the Enique place early in the morning with my Dad on a Sunday and driving a BIT, as I had promised, under my father’s vigilance. I also remember him trying to stop me from moving any further than 2 meters.

Getting a driving license was the first thing on my to-do list after completing 18. However, because of my exams and some or the other problems (mostly dominated by laziness from my side), I couldn’t go the RTO.

So here I am, at 18 years 7 months, having gone through 7 sessions so far, holding my learner’s permit.  Seems Dad did consider me eligible enough to drive a lot more than a BIT today.

Learning driving from a driving institute instructor and simultaneously getting extra driving lessons from someone in your family, (in my case, Dad), makes you a better driver.

I did drive like a good student in the C Motors car after having learnt with my Dad earlier this morning.

One lesson that I got to know was to properly pull the hand break once you’re done driving and keeping it on first gear if it’s on a slope.

Today, after getting the car in its dormant position, I moved out to switch seats with my Dad and as both of us left our seats, the car started moving behind slowly, on its own, and it would have caught up speed had we not entered the car immediately, within a fraction of a second, and pulled the hand break extremely properly.

I am looking forward to another Sunday morning to take the car out with Daddy, and getting to drive like him, turns and reverse and with the third gear on. And I shall take care of the hand break the next time.

Although, I’m certainly not looking forward to practical terror lessons due to such silly mistakes done by me.