Mind it - his brain works faster than a super computer!

Just my regular visit to the coffee machine to get my brains working and survive through the office hours remaining on a Friday – and I overheard a team discussing books to read – the world of Harry Potter, reads of John Grisham , Khalid Hosseini , Malcolm Gladwell and the likes , and suddenly my ears went up like my doggie – a gentleman said out “Chacha Chaudhary” .

For a moment I went all smiles, forgetting the drudgery my mind was bearing and daydreamer that I am I started weaving images of my memory with the Mustached Oldie.

 I couldn’t help myself intervening and saying “Diamond Comics” – for it was truly an era the digests ruled my childhood. Those long summer vacations where I was hopped up in bed –eyes glued to my new copy of Chacha Chaudhary .Those fights with my sister as to who gets to read the new comic firsts -yes , our love of the comics was so intense , we ended up pulling up each other’s hairs at times , forcing our dear Mom to intervene – and then blaming each other when Mom stashed the collection away.

The world was so colorful: A stupid thief tries to rob Chacha or his dear friends . Chacha( *jiska dimaag computer se bhi tez chalta hai ) outsmarts him ,with the strength of Sabu (who’s from Jupiter). In background, our motu Chachi cooking food all the time; Rocket – the tiny-miny tail wagging dog ;the comedial efforts at theft by the dual jodi of Gobar Singh and Dhamaka Singh; the villainous Raka – his name has made a permanent place in my mind with all things evil.

The stories revolved around them and were same always, but somehow every single story (I might have read at least 5,000 of them, not kidding, it might be more) had a quality that drew me to it.

My sister and mine love of the comics was so extreme – my Dad spend an entire Sunday  trying to locate a book dealer who would rent out those books for cheaper , to save us from spending his hard earned money. (Well you have to remember those were the days Internet/mobiles didn’t exist –and one had to actually travel around letting his eyes do the google job)

And the delights of our simple minds when Dad bought us a “Double Digest” instead of the simple one!

How I fancied a Pagdi (turban) then, after all it was Chacha’s pride and whenever my Mom forget her red dupatta around – it would end up on my head. :)

Diamond Comics had other geniuses characters as well – Pinky , Billu , but nothing beat the charisma of Chacha’s world .

Now as I think of it I did had an addiction in childhood –an addiction I am fond of and still hold close. I still can remember the pain I felt when my Mom told me on phone she’s finally got ridden of my stashed collection of the comics (Well, I can’t blame her , I was in college then – and she had thought her girl would be mature enough not to read them anymore) .

At least, now I know what I would be doing this weekend –reliving an era created by the genius Cartoonist Pran!! 

On Teaching - Why are all the Good Teachers Crazy !!

Dedicated and inspired by my school physics teacher Mr. A

Physics Test 1:  So our physics teacher Mr. A , started writing out the questions on the board , he was new in school , and the very 1^st test a teacher takes used to be our benchmark for rating his teaching skills as students. (Oh yes , the easier the question , the higher the rating) . We had great expectations from Mr. A – he was an influential speaker , with a unique style and all – something we had’nt really witnessed before. But at the end of the class , when the bell rang , we all were horrified – none of us were sure , what we had written . And then the results of our test converted our horror into a dark reality , etched into our minds with the steel grey liquid – only 2 students had passed , rest all FAIL .

Physics Test 2 : So now we had already rated Mr. A as a scary teacher –we knew there was no point . But then he surprised us , “It’s an open book test , students” , he said .. That changed it all . Dear Sir , you don’t really know , but we are good at ‘find , copy and paste’ (its actually the skill that landed most of us as Engineers.) Half way through the test , he smiled and said –“You can even go to the library if you want” . That was the signal – we realised even no H.C. Verma’s would be able to help us now. Result the same – only this time all FAILED .

Yes , we did’nt really like him in high-school , he was non-methodological  in his teaching ways – and we , well  we were used to the routine manner of text book teaching , of mugging up and scoring , too lazy to break the routine, to explore something which would’nt get us Marks- yes MARKS was all our school life revolved around.

But then , came junior college , and as our little minds matured a little ,we saw his ways. The respect for him started forming shape , and I assure you , it has always grown since then. He did his best  juggling between roles for us – a tutor , a friend , a mentor – he knew when to be what. We did take undue advantage of his sweet nature at times – bunking his lectures (ahh , it felt like new found freedom) , emptying the mercury of the lab thermometers (i still recall how much fun we had ) ,  it made him upset , but in the end he always forgave us – he cared of his students we knew. Our lives broke the cage of marks and we enjoyed the flavors of true learning, actually being capable of being passionate about a subject.

Why I am penning this down ? Because I feel  I owe it to him – his “crazy “ (apologize for the use of the word Sir - but crazy is what people understand ) ways of teaching formed my way of thinking – the attitude of “breaking the routine” is what does carries one a long way – be it college or work – and makes people respect you.  Dear Mr. A , you were indeed one teacher , I am proud to have had , your non-methodological style and attitude still inspires me to take those risks at work and in life, to be able to think differently  , and more importantly, It freed me of my fears and made me feel that I can make my own space in the world.

The Lazy Way to Success (Wally)

What Wally Inspires me about - that me being LAZY isn't a step away from success :) 

From the pages of Dilbert , a character which embarks true power to the Lazy Me!!

Lights , Camera , Action!!!

MY FIRST STINT AT ACTING :)

Okay, before you build up your expectations, it was a small shoot. I just had to speak for a minute or two. But the build up to it, was in every sense an experience to live.

Yes , there was a proper crew ; the art director , with his white cap on (seriously what’s with that , a thinking hat ? ) ;his assistant; the camera guy , with his long hair ; the make-up artist , who went on about how many TV cast he’s worked for; the group of guys with all the lights , and shades; etc, etc..

The night before the shoot was spent on deciding what to wear- thanks for my dear roomies for that. Seriously, its moment like these I am super glad to have them around – I don’t know what would I have done without their opinion!!

THE DAY :

Thankfully the shoot was in the morning , and I was spared an entire day of imagining what would happen .

They started with my make-up and after they were done, I was kind of aghast to see myself. Being a “keep-it-simple” girl  I felt I looked horrible with the oodles of make-up ; I was plastered with loads of it ;but it won’t show up in the video they said, it’s required . This being my first-hand experience, I guess I had no choice but to accept they knew what they were doing well.

Then , came the mike. They hid it well under my collar, so that it would’nt show at all. I kind of felt dumb , cause I never knew they would be using mikes at all for recording. I always imagined the camera would do all the job!!

And then came the moment , I had been having goose bumps thinking about. My lines (just 4 to be true) were well rehearsed, but the moment they put me infront of camera for rehearsal , I went blank!!! Yes completely blank. I felt dumb – what’s wrong with my brain I can’t even recall 4 simple lines , I wrote myself..

Anyhow, I somehow managed to utter the lines. The director (a really sweet guy) , said I was putting too much effort in speaking the lines , that my face was missing all the expressions. Dear Mr. Director , I am software –developer ,  the only screen I am used to is the computer’s . Well the camera screen is new to me, give me some time..

Anyways , after 3-4 retakes (they actually use the words “action” , “rolling” , it felt kind of funny!! ) I managed to get it right .But then as soon as finished my lines , my eyes automatically looked up to the camera guy , as if to seek his approval ,”Did I do alright ?” . You are supposed to continue looking into the camera for few seconds they explained, over and over again. But come on , it was my first shot , I could’nt help if my eyes instinctively followed my brain’s desire to seek that approval. And then the camera guy put everyone in laughter with his “ Lady, I am not that handsome , that you immediately need to look at me”  remark. Another whiff of embarrassment and that did the job- My eyes did’nt move at all to seek that approval anymore .

Finally, after 3-4 more shots, it got over. The crew were a bunch of lovely people , who kept encouraging , and giving nice comments – never getting irritated – after all they were professionals!!

Did I enjoy it – yes every bit of it.However short it was ,it might be my only stint at acting , and every experience counts. And how did I actually do – well that I’ll only know when the video’s out!! Till then, I have found an interesting experience I can brag about at coffee!! 

I believe in PINK!!

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” 

And yes, I am one of those who believe in pink. My dear friends who label “pink” as being “too girly”   are just not too bold enough to sport the color.  For I believe, pink to be the true mix of red and white. It is the passion and power of red softened with the purity, openness and completeness of white. If that symbolizes feminism , then yes PINK is girly..


And I own a whole bunch of things which are pink, though most of them are gifted , quiet a few have been bought by me.. If I look around me , few pink things which I own  :
A pair of scissors,
My comb
MP3 player
A t-shirt (couple of them actually)
Nailpaint
Stuff toy”s
, ..... 


So , yes I love Pink and all things pink. For , just because I love PINK , does'nt mean I am not strong!! 

Rock As If Nothing Matters

The Fallback Plan

Well, I highly recommend “The Fallback Plan” by Leigh Stein to all my twenty –something friends , who have felt a little lost and a lot confused after college .
 
To sum up, the book’s protagonist Esther Kohler is a twenty-something recent college graduate, unemployed and living with her parents. Unable to decide what to do with herself, she spends her days aimlessly, hanging out with her high school friends and her old crush , drinking a lot. Determined to help her through a tough time (or just to get her off her back, really) Esther’s mom finds her a babysitting job and not having anything better to do with her time, Esther takes that up. Sorting through other people’s problems helps Esther realize that she must face her own issues and find a compromise between her dreams and real life, and maybe even build some self-esteem in the process.

At the end of the day, the book put me into a reflective mode again, as to what was my fallback plan..
All of friends are either
Getting Married : and while I am happy from heart for them , every “engaged” status on facebook gives me Goosebumps.
Or
Pursuing higher studies : And every such news makes me wonder am I the only fool sticking in IT . That I would be the only one left out without a PG . 

And all the while my mind is busy in conjuring answers to: 

To My Parents: Reasons to convince them as to why I do not want to get married for another 2 years atleast.

• I am yet to achieve a lot of things before I am settled. Like what my parents ask, and I have no great answers 
• I hav’nt met the man of my dreams .This My parents don’t buy , they just think my expectations are too high
• There is so much I want to see in the world . My mom : You can explore the world better if you have a life partner with you !!

To My Friends: Reasons why I am lying low on going for further studies

• I love my job (atleast I think I do).Except for the occasional low moments when I hate it ,and get the feeling of thrashing my machine from the highest floor. , but that phase would occur in any job I guess.
• I don’t know yet what course I want to do , and I am in no rush to jump in the guns till I know for sure.
• The economy is bad!! well , when is'nt it.

And To Myself  :

• Like a reckless soul, fidgeting around to find what hobby/liking of mine is actually a passion , and not just a phase.
• Where do I want to see myself 10 years from now, etc , etc..

Alright, I know I might just be delaying the decision as to what I want to do. I dread of having to make wrong choices. Life was easier when parents made all our decisions.
But for all I know, I am living in the moment. Maybe it ain’t too bad, I am enjoying the small things , exploring my realms.

And that’s what the book makes me feel good about, accepting the reality. In Esther’s words

“In another twenty years I would still be depressed and apathetic. I would still be waiting for that turning point, the one that comes in books and plays, where the hero has to step up and risk it all. Apparently, in life, there is no such thing.”

So to sum up what I learnt ,  I’ll  just go home with the fact that that growing up is an act of stumbling forward, and holding on to innocence can sometimes be more painful than letting go of it.