Yumyyy

Sunday is fun day no, food day. Just a quick look at what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast at 10.30 - a glass of milk and sambhar vada

Image via Wikipedia

Lunch- Typical Andhra food in good quantity. Food was awesome. Andhra specialities - पुलिहोरा (tamarind rice), दद्दोजनम (curd rice) , रसम, आम का अचार, छोले।

Image by Chocolate Geek via Flickr

Then, a treat at CCD - Chocolate Fantasy,their speciality. A hot chocolate pastry with a scoop of vanilla icecream. I love dark chocolate.

Image via Wikipedia

In hostel, for dinner, sweet corn soup and we made four packs of maggi (3 ppl).

Image by jetalone via Flickr

Then, for dessert, we cut a water melon.

:-) :-) :-)


Now, why did I eat so much in one day? Maybe because Vir Sanghvi publishes Rude Food in Brunch on Sunday :P

Does Self-Improvement Improve?

Self Improvement is a must section for any book-shop now. I went to Odyssey store some days back and they had those in huge numbers. Then, I went to Matunga Circle this weekend, and they were there too. Matunga Circle is a place in Mumbai where second hand books and cheap reprints are sold on street-side shops. (I got an old book on financial management for 10 bucks). I also got Robin Sharma's Megaliving and Who Will Cry When You Die?, though they weren't such a treat to my wallet.

Megaliving is a true blue, 'you can have a perfect life' book. It begins with reassurances that you can turn around your life and has a 30 Day program to revolutionise your life. My mom is suspicious of such attempts at becoming successful and believes in action not words. I do not know whether such books can change lives but they sure give me an uplifting feeling. For a while I could have a can-do attitude and an optimistic outlook. Long term effects are more a product of my philosophy and upbringing rather than inspirational literature.

Many books in the motivational genre have went on to become best-sellers. They are read by countless around the world. So, does the world now have self-motivated, go-getters who never say die? Though if I consider the world around me, BITSians are constantly working to improve in their fields, be it my batch, seniors or alumni. Each one does something to excel, it is almost amazing. Reason, I suspect is just the atmosphere at college.

Coming back to books, most authors claim that they have changed thousands of lives by their endeavours. Is it pessimistic of me to think they are bluffing or do books actually change lives? Or........ the high lasts only for a day?

One believer: Abe Oye!
One non-believer: Soul Surgery

Essel World

As you know we reached Borivli after an interesting journey. From the jetty, we took a ferry to Essel World. At 480 per head, it was costly entertainment, but worth it I guess. Especially for Alan and Opal, who went on all rides, mostly more than one. They give the top prize to Rock n Roll, a small ride which made their brains do big circles. In it, the seats rotate continuously, no track of which way is sky and which way is earth. Plus, the mandatory going round in a circle too.

I would call Hool-a-Loop as the most jarring. It’s a roller coaster which has extreme dips and a 360 degree loop. Whenever we went down a slope, everybody used to scream. It was perhaps the first time in my memory that I was screaming involuntarily. Nothing else has ever made me scream yet including 3-feet long snakes when I was 10. When X saw the first almost vertical dip, the words that came out were “हे भगवान्, मैं यहाँ क्यों आया”. Opal got so scared by this proclamation that she didn’t open her eyes throughout that ride.

There’s another roller-coaster called Cadbury Xyclone, but it is tamer in comparison to hool-a-loop. I went twice on this one and all of us tried putting our hands in the air instead of clutching as if holding on to dear life.

Another big one was a giant wheel that used to go from horizontal to vertical, with high-speed revolutions. This time it was I who got scared because of X’s proclamations. The guy himself went on to all rides, but managed to transfer his fear around. I have been on giant wheel before, so if you put me there without giving much time to think, it would’ve been okay. But after listening to “यार, ये बहुत खतरनाक है” and “अब ऊपर मिलेंगे”, I didn’t open my eyes. X has a nice theory, it feels better if there are two in one gondola, at least there’ll be company while dying: D


There was also ice-skating and roadies-style bull-ride. After ice-skating, opinions: Opal – “four-wheel skates practice doesn’t help”. Rav – “No skating for me in this life”. Me – “I’ve never tried skating, after looking at them, good…” Alan was our sole champion in the ring.

That's the water splash. Only Rav and I went for this one.

Out of a local train

A major event in my EPA as in Extra PS Activities: Essel World on last Saturday. We left at 7.30 and came back at 8 :)

For destination Essel World, we braved the local trains of Mumbai for the first time. We includes four other friends besides yours truly. And since I don’t want to be bashed up for telling you about their silly acts, let us call them Opal, X, Alan and Rav.

Nature's bounty

I am living on the seventh floor in New Bachelor Hostel now. btw, how do u define a "new bachelor"?
It rained for the first time today. And the view from my balcony was awesome. There are no buildings to block my view. So I see only tree-covered hills and a blue sky above. I've been told that we can literally walk through clouds when it rains. I'm waiting..
The best time view is in the morning. The sun's rays' interplay on the hills, the shifting patches of sunlight. Gives a lovely start to the day.
The campus is about 5000 acres in area. I think half of it must be greenery. And we are not the only ones in Mother Nature's lap, there are scores of red-faces monkeys too. Even one of the guys found the monkey-babies cute, merrily clinging to their mothers as they walk. Also, there's a cute cat who lives near the canteen. She's still afraid of me but not of the lassi that I gave her.
The campus reminds me often of home, I guess nature will always be like a home away from home...

Techno Immune 2.0

There are times when you have to be philosophical and bear the injustice that life gives you..
Presently, just the power cord of my lappy has stopped wrking. Techno immune again as i am, wont be regular here...
Hopefully, my creative energy would find an outlet in CC or in a frnd's room..
c u
Quote: Nothing stands in the way of a willing heart and a strong determination :D

Can I Call You Angel ?

by Erin Sheets

The snow fell, leaving a halo of white upon your head, and that's when I said, "Can I call you Angel?" You looked at me with surprise, but I could see it in your eyes, and I knew. As you sang silent night, your beautiful voice put me at ease, and I asked please, "Can I call you Angel?" A smile came to your face with serenity and grace, but you said not a word. In my darkest hours you held my hand, never leaving my side, and I said, while I cried, "Can I call you Angel? " You then began to wipe the tears away and erase all the gray in my life. You led me down a path of gold, telling me of the creator above, and again I asked with a greater love, "Can I call you Angel?" You never answered my plea, so I fell to my knee in prayer. As I opened my eyes, I could see you before me; Your wings spread and a golden halo upon your head and one last time I said, "Josslyn, can I call you Angel?"

.

Enchanting, captivating, bewitching, mesmerizing
Why is the dark sky so deeply convincing

The darkness engulfs even the lone star
Its moments of bravery forgotten
It tries always quite hard to spar
Why does it still get beaten

Spellbound it draws you closer
Beauty of the fruit forbidden
Rationale, courage and valour
Defeated by the demon within

Trials and tribulations they mar
Fear and flight together train
Judgement within is at war
Cowers mind beneath that rain

Rising and falling, bending and crawling
Moving where the darkness is shrouding

Cheers!!!

Keep smiling, it's contagious. My warden has this quote outside her door. Beautiful, isn't it? :-)

Life is too short to be depressed. The best feeling is when you feel a sense of gratitude for life's blessings and let that shape your expressions and actions. There are little-little things that happen everyday that make one feel so happy and grateful for all that life has given. A call from a parent or friend when you r blue, a big smile from a person whom you know only slightly, praise from a stranger.....

Would you want to be happy and content with life? They say the magic lies not in fame or fortune, but in the attitude towards what you have got. Things might be going wrong at times, but if you look, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. It's far, but look at it and keep moving onwards with the the joy of the world in your heart.

Kindness

The title may seem simplicity itself yet I choose to explain it. Helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped. We generally associate ‘kindness’ with being charitable and philanthropic. But, kindness is also your behaviour towards friends, towards those that serve you and towards strangers.
My first brush with people actually practising the teachings was when I read about Vasant Kalbag, founder of Kindness Unlimited. He was featured as an Everyday Hero in Readers’ Digest. A Mumbaikar senior citizen actively engaged in spreading the word of kindness. That lead to the discovery of helpothers, a website dedicated to making people kinder. Not by doing great deeds but by practising everyday kindness.

There have been instances where the simple acts of kindness that I witnessed have moved me greatly. There is a friend of mine who is excessively caring towards dogs. It is a wonder how patient and loving can she be towards strays. There are dog-lovers aplenty, but very few care about the ones on the streets. No wonder that if you stand with her, near a pack of dogs, soon you’ll be the centre of a group of wagging tails.

Another time, when I was travelling in a train with friends, one of them was overwhelmingly kind and polite to a girl asking for alms. Even after sharing his food with her, he remained polite till the time she moved from our seat which she did not do very willingly in the hope to still get more. People can be so unkind to those who can do nothing to them. Though I do not support begging, yet it is disturbing to see the tone in which people rebuke. The strong, sharp words just to emphasize how much they dislike the practice. Since she wasn’t moving, I’d asked him to be more firm with her. And the reply I got was that if he does then what will be the difference between him and others. That incident left a lasting impression on me.
Lastly,
“Kindness is the rent we must pay for the space we occupy on this planet.”