Tick Tock!

Some people say that money is the most important thing in the world, others say happiness . . . . well I agree with neither. To me TIME is the most invaluable thing on the planet. I mean just look at the facts . . . . time embodies the unattainable. Once gone it never comes back. Every minute, every second is unique in itself. People I guess realized this a long time ago. Ta Da! The clock is invented. Time can only be measured, never stopped. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor you've no influence whatsoever on it.
Time adds value to an action. Takes it, shapes it, defines how it needs to be carried out. Nothing is of value if it isn't performed in the appropriate time window. That is the power of time.

Its funny how people lust after things that quite frankly aren't worth it. Yeah I know its wonderful to have a roof over your head, expensive shoes on your feet, a big car to drive around in but those things don't matter in the big picture. I firmly believe God created everyone with a purpose. I'd once read in Frozen Thoughts (Awesome magazine, you've got to check it out) that the 'Creator helps those who help the creation.' Simplified it states that people who taste success are those who rise above themselves and give their all to the world. Like Kangana Raunat said 'There's a world outside my world' How true! People (including me) are so obsessed with themselves. It gives them no satisfaction to step outside their comfort zones. That's probably why I want to become a veterinarian. I find a life lived for oneself a life not worth having lived. If you're not the reason for a smile on someones face, the subject of someones grateful words then consider yourself a big fat loser!

Those who have risen above themselves and embraced the world are those who have tasted immortality. 60 years ago Gandhi Ji could've just walked on turning a blind eye towards the atrocities of the British, Mother Teresa could've thought "Hey screw others! Why should I be bothered?" and Martin Luther King could've just continued with his life. But they did not. They made a difference in others lives which resulted in a huge difference in their lives! Their kind words and courageous actions catapulted them into glory which is more than what any Tom Dick and Harry has to boast of today.

Time teaches people to live in 'NOW'. Screw immortality! I personally would find it extremely boring to live forever.  All good things come to an end. That's the way the world functions.The shadow of death is in a way a good thing you know . . . . People feel the need to prove something, to the world, to themselves before their time is up. Where's the fun if you're not always on your toes? Flying from one task to another? Revelling in the feeling that is LIFE?! Live every moment with the realization that this second, this moment once gone will never return! It would be pretty pathetic to look back on your life and be unhappy with the way you've spent it. Yeah . .that would totally suck. So, this is me signing off, cause the clock on my wall is going tick tock . . . . tick tock . . . tick tock!

Infectious

I am grumpy, pissed off, annoyed, irritated whatever you can call it. Basically I'm not in the mood to be messed with. Long story short my day was nothing short of a disaster and I'm feeling totally grumped out with the whole world for no particular reason. Right now I feel like pulling the next person who approaches me and giving them a piece of my mind! God! It feels so nice to unload your frustration on someone like that, scream, kick, throw a tantrum! Basically do everything you know you're going to regret later! But that's not who I am. My parents have always taught me to carry my own baggage. I've always been taught to keep my emotions in check and behave towards others the way I would expect someone to behave with me.

And I completely agree with this policy. I mean, why should someone have to suffer for you being stupid? Believe me, I know people who feel the world revolves round them, their moods are directly proportional to all those around them. I firmly despise such people. A grumpy mood is like an infection, something that is passed on unconsciously. It starts out as something you are unhappy with but before you know it the whole room is grumped out thanks to your negative vibes. I know the elation of getting something off your chest yet I've also experienced the agony of a hasty decision. Riding the storm out is always better than succumbing to the waves. Pouring your troubles out to someone who sympathises is a different thing, forcing someone to endure your foul mood just because you aren't at the happiest moment of your life is plain torment. No person, especially your friends and family should be subjected to such stuff.

The way a person deals with a sticky situation speaks a lot about their character, the whole world is watching  and every move of your is checked. I stared at my sullen face in the mirror, a  sullen face stared back at me. Further goaded a scowl spread across my face, being mirrored by my reflection the next instant. I glared for a moment contemplating on whether my reflection deserved a punch or not. And then it struck me! Man, was I being childish or what!? I was receiving exactly what I was giving. The scowls and frowns on the mirror were produced by me. I laughed out loud at my stupidity and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw! My face lit up and was much more pleasant to the eyes.

I remember a story I read somewhere which really inspired me. A guy 'A' had gone to an optical centre to get his glasses fixed. He was accompanied by his friend - guy 'B'. They both got their frames repaired, but while guy 'A' was happy with his glasses, his friend was highly annoyed with his and promptly threw them in the trash can on the way out.. A third guy who observed all this commented about it to the sales clerk behind the desk. The clerk smiled and replied that it was no fault of guy 'B' and his actions were justified as his lenses were tinted red due to some manufacturing mistake and the world world appeared dyed in red to him. The same way, lenses are the way through which we view life, some have a clear view while others are prejudiced. If your lenses are tinted red, do what guy 'B' did - trash them. Life will get that much more uncomplicated.  

I'm not saying we are always meant to be the epitome of patience and are meant to be polite and courteous all the time. It feels fun to let go sometimes! Being grumpy is fine as long as the person in question is only you. Like the saying goes 'Your freedom ends at the tip of the other person's nose!' your mood too stays with you.Being tolerant is always the safer bet in life as things have an uncanny way of coming back to us in the end!

Dosti Ke Naam Pe!

I was irritated, kind of bemused actually. Could my classmates really be so childish? I was staring at the scene out of any ordinary friendship day, flashes of colour highlighting every one's wrists, people laughing, hugging. All that was quite fine but I being the sour puss as usual thought "I don't need a particular day to tell my friends that they're special to me! Honestly, what a waste of time!"

I really don't see the meaning behind days like Mothers day or Fathers day . . . . . It's an accepted fact in my mind that they are meant to be loved and cherished at all times, not just one puny day in a year! This attitude firmly stuck in my head, I marched into school, smirking quietly as I watched people rushing around and in my opinion 'making fools of themselves.' 

Nevertheless, I did not fail to take bands along for my friends as quite a few of them were literally bouncing off the walls with excitement on the day! As I entered school, something changed. The tenderness, love and affection I saw on the faces of my friends quite literally melted my heart! My indifferent feelings were turned to putty as I laughed along with them and reveled in the feeling of being wanted and cared for. The strip of colour on my wrist ceased to be just that, it now stood for more. I was (for the first time) quite happy on being proved wrong. Maybe I hadn't understood the central purpose of dedicating a day to friendship.

My friends are an integral part of my life, the sun rises and sets with them! They stand with me through all phases of life and make the experience all the more sweeter. I always make it a point to let them know how much they mean to me, but its not always possible all the time! After all these years I finally understand what makes my friends rocket off the walls! It gave me a deep sense of satisfaction to profess my love for them and receive the same so freely! I still firmly believe in the need to make my friends happy on a daily basis, this is just another feather to the hat!

Friendship is something that is earned, not granted is what I've come to learn over the past years. I've made friends, good, bad and OK. Some have moved away and some have moved on but today I am left with people who are worth their weight in gold! Thank you Smruthi, Ayush, Janani, Mukundh and all the other wonderful people whose names I have not mentioned here. Life is so much easier with you guys around! I know I'm not the easiest person to be friends with, so thank you for sticking with me through times, good and bad! This one goes out to all of you! Thankyou and love you! 

I Am

"What am I supposed to do yaar?" cried Smruthi, indignantly. Smruthi is my best friend. She and I have been inseparable since class 5 when we first met. Our friendship has thrived through the years and now in class 9 we are still going strong. Anyway back to Smruthi wailing. This particular outburst was a result of a problem she was sharing with me. We often play shrink to each other and I am amazed each time we get off the phone. How could the weight from my shoulders disappear so miraculously once I narrated my problem to her? How were her words so soothing that they calmed my frayed nerves? How was her advice the godsend to me at the time?

Anyway she was moaning to me about how her colony friends were pigs and always got into gossiping rather than just playing in the evenings. I was nodding and offering suggestions when she burst out,  " They don't seem to accept me for who I am!" I nodded and plunged into how she could tone down herself a bit and mind her manners a bit. You see, Smruthi is the type of girl who always speaks her mind, no matter what. She can be boisterous and fun - loving, calm and caring, funny and irritating all at the same time. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her as long as the people who matter to her really know who she is. And I love this quality of hers, she takes all types of criticism positively and doesn't seem to mind being ridiculed.

She always stands up for what she feels is right and doesn't tolerate anyone badmouthing her friends. So anyways when I was going through my speech, she interrupted me and said something that shocked me beyond words, she said, "Listen, this is who I am, and if they don't like what they see, well its their loss! There will be people out there who like me just the way I am and I'll know that they are the right one's for me" The power of her words struck me to my core. How right she was! Why should we compromise ourselves just to be liked? Is social acceptance that necessary? It's not like I'm a sucker for peer pressure but I have seen a few friends of mine change the basic foundations of their character just to be liked.

After a few seconds of baffled silence I nodded and moved on to another topic. I mean what could I say? Out of the two of us I consider myself the more 'mature' one, Smruthi is often childlike and innocent, another quality of hers which I adore. But many a time she has shown maturity that surpasses her age, which makes me rethink my presumption. My friend is like an orange both tangy yet sweet (Yeah, one hell of a comparison right? But it suits her) . She reminds me of my maternal grandfather, he too is like her in many ways. A hard exterior, a soft interior. She had taught me many things in life and I often feel privileged to have her as my friend.

I once voiced my doubts to her as to how long our friendship would last. She hmm-ed for a minute and then said, "At least until we both get married, I hope" I laughed at her, amazed. I had expected it to last only till we finished school. Call me a pessimist but I had seen friends drift away from me before. But Smruthi apparently believes in the strength of our friendship to see it stretch that far and her hope makes me want to believe as well. I know I'm not the easiest person to stay friends with but somehow she manages to read me like an open book and some times I feel she knows me better than I know myself! She is a tough nut, Smruthi and I'm sure she'll go many places being her extreme, adorable self.

Overrated

A few weeks ago my Mom had asked me to do a few chores for her. I agreed with her outwardly of course but when I went out back to the clothes line and saw the pile of clothes hanging there I was dismayed. My dismay turned to misery when I'd plucked them off the line and had dumped them on the floor to fold them. I sat down sulking but couldn't find a reason to not do the work. My parents are very loving people and they work day and night to make sure my brother and I have everything we need and want. So I sighed, reminding myself that I'd been the one to offer my help and began to fold the clothes one by one.

My mind started to wander and  soon before I knew it, the mountain which had previously towered over me was now reduced into a small neatly stacked pile of clothes. I stood up bemused, as I surveyed my handy work. Surely the pile wasn't supposed to look so small? I glanced around to see if I'd missed out on anything when a realization dawned upon me. I nodded in awe, admiring my logic. To my overexcited mind the pile of clothes had been an impossible task, huge, tangled and confusing. But when I'd mentally accepted that this was one chore that I simply had to do my mind too warmed to the task and helped me focus all my work on completing it. This made me wonder, are all life's problems slightly overrated? With the right attitude and the willingness to work hard can we overcome anything we set our hearts to?

But after a few times of trying unsuccessfully to implement this logic I've realized that it's no piece of cake. To achieve that kind of willpower is no joke. Believe me even with this knowledge in hand it's no easier being a better person. I'm still the girl who cries when things go wrong and shuts herself off from everybody when I'm mad. But nowadays I'm finding that it's easier to ignore my brother than fly at him when I'm angry, it's easier to just be done with my homework even after a tiring day. What I realized was that our minds are our greatest hurdles and greatest achievements. Hurdles when we need to implement will power and achievements when we assert ourselves and complete a task. I'm happy that I've realized this early in life because someday I know I'm going to need it.

Another thing I've noticed about life is that ignorance is bliss. Maybe that's why people adore babies so much. And maybe that's why I adore animals so much. Seriously, both have the same thing in common, both are pleasantly ignorant of our busy world and are content with simply living. The line 'All Izz Well' in 3 Idiots had always been just that to me: a line. A dialogue I'd never imaged would actually apply in life. I remember, just the other day I'd been having a bowl of grapes, my nose glued to the T.V screen. My hand would occasionally go down to pluck a grape from the bowl and pop it in my mouth, my eyes never wavering from the T.V. When my programme had gotten over I 'd glanced down at the grape in my hand and realized that it was slightly over ripe which had caused dark blotches to bloom over it in places. I chucked it away, revolted.

But that was the point, the grape would have tasted perfectly right if I had eaten it. There was nothing actually wrong with it and my throwing away of it had been a mistake. I knew that and had still chosen to waste the food morsel. Whereas when I'd been otherwise occupied I had eaten every grape in my hand irrespective of its ripeness. Looking down my mind had decided that the grape was not of my standard and I'd thrown it away. The same grape I would have eaten if I were blind to its appearance. My brain had invented a problem, where actually nothing had existed. I'm not saying that its best to remain ignorant all the while but sometimes I find its better to implement Rancho's logic in life than complicate situations uselessly. 

Puppy Problems

On the 24th of January 2011 I received my first dog bite. I guess this is just the first of many more to come. I really hope not. But that's going to be a bit hard considering my to-be occupation. I am an animal fanatic. In class 7 I'd decided that I was going to become a veterinarian and nothing has changed till date. But moving on to the incident, it was one of the most shocking experiences of my life.

It was 7:45. I was on my way to school with my cousin Sanjana, a 1st grade student. There was exactly 15 minutes left to get to school. I was not unduly worried but I kept up a brisk pace. We as good citizens stuck to the sidewalk (or mud walk) of the busy road. Most of the shops were closed and the air was slightly chilly. As we walked I noticed a mother dog with her pup sitting near the entrance of a closed shop. I didn't mind them. I'd seen them a dozen times before while walking back from school.

Ignoring them I continued walking down the road, my hand in Sanjana's when suddenly as I passed them the pup jumped up a ran towards me (or rather,my basket)wagging his tail. Aware of the playful nature of puppies I kept walking. It was then I felt the teeth sink sharply into the back of my leg and connect with a 'snap'. The first emotion that came flooding through my body was shock. My eyes widened as my brain comprehended what had happened. The puppy had bitten me! The next emotion was disgust and annoyance.

Disgust because I'd actually felt the teeth in my body (i.e my calf muscle. Damn school uniforms for having a skirt!) and annoyance becuase I had no idea why the idiot had taken a bite of me in the first place! I swear I have no idea why! I would never go out of my way to harm a  living creature. Later, after the incident I came up with two theories.

1. As I was swinging my basket and walking, it might have clipped him (why him? I'm just guessing, he seemed too rude to be a female) on his nose and hence he retaliated. But I find this theory very unlikely as I don't remember anything of the sort happening.

2. He bit me for fun. Doesn't seem so far-fetched does it? Puppies, children (especially males) generally enjoy playing that way. So I'm guessing he mistook me for his chew toy sibling and took the liberty of sharpening his biting skills on me.I'm kind of certain that its this one as the way he bit me didn't exactly seem like an attack.

I'm not an idiot. I know animals are not always friendly-friendly types. I know when I have to stand my ground and protect myself. But this lacked the aggression of an attack, believe me if I'd felt at any moment that it was I would've brained the little guy with my basket. A stinging backside would've been the perfect reminder for him not to go nibbling others again. But he took me completely by surprise. And I didn't feel like bashing him up later again. After all he is a child.

Well anyways after he'd bitten me, I dropped my cousin off in her block and proceeded towards mine. I checked in at the office and informed the teacher there of what had happened. The bite wasn't too big but it was deep. There I met my class teacher and she was very sweet. She made me rinse the wound thoroughly with soap and water and instructed me to call my parents. I did as she said, and in no time even my parents were added to the list of 'people who are worried about my dog bite'. They got to the school as fast as they could and bundled me up into the car. I grinned at my friends on the way out, kind of liking the attention I was receiving.

The grin dissolved the minute I stepped in the car. My mom was furious. She was so worried and scared. She even made me promise that I wouldn't touch any other dog except mine again. My dad worried silently and occasionally shot me looks through the rear view mirror. We reached the hospital considerably fast and I was ushered  in almost faster than my legs could carry me. I loved the reaction of the duty doctor there. He was as cool as a cucumber and proceeded to make jokes as he checked out the severity of my injury. Finally, someone who reacted properly!

I was to recieve 5 injections all in all. Each costing Rs 500. I've already recieved 3 of them and have two more to go. The wound itself didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. The worst part was as I said the second after I'd realized that the dog had bit me, kind of like when you gag after you realize you've stepped in dog poop (charming example, I know). But all's well that ends well. My parents dropped me off at school on the way back and I spent the whole day being asked, "Lavanya you were bitten by a dog?" to which I replied " Yes"to which they replied "How?" to which i replied . . . . . well, you get the idea. 

This incident has as of such not changed my perspective towards animals. I still adore them beyond belief but I'm certainly more wary of them now. But I'm sure not going to give up on the whole lot of them just because one puppy bit me. No matter what anyone tells me, I will still love my animal friends till my last breath (I hope). I was,still am and will always be proud to remain a Nature Freak!

The Girl With The Golden Heart . . . . . .

The annual elections were going on in our school. People were busy shouting, laughing, goofing around and quite a few were running about looking like someone had set their hair on fire. It was the perfect setting for confusion and chaos. I was one of the 10 students who were nominated for the post of the Assistant Heads of our school. It was there in that setting that I found my eternal inspiration.

Her name is Lahari, she is a student at my school and also my good friend. She was one of my many competitors who were all competing against each other for the post of the Assistant Head Boy or Girl respectively. But I feel that competing is not the apt word for it as all the guys and girls who had been nominated are my close friends, on the contrary we were quite pally with each other and each was a staunch supporter of the other.

But even we could not deny the truth that only one girl and one guy would be chosen as the Head girl and Head boy respectively. Our election process is quite a simple one. We campaign for a few days in all the senior classes of our school, namely class 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. After the campaigning is done, we make our formal speeches in the assembly and finally the children as well as the entire staff of the school are asked to vote, the votes are counted and the heads are declared.

It was a short but incredibly terrifying experience for me. And I'm proud to say that I was elected by my fellow school mates as the next Assistant Head Girl of my school. But I have dedicated this post to my friend and hence I will commence with her story. As I said she was one of my competitors, so when I won, it meant she lost. Despite that she put on a brave face and congradulated me whole-heartedly. I was really touched by this simple selfless act of her's but it was not only she who came forward to do this, all of my friends came ahead and even though they had encountered a personal setback they tried to feel happyfor my sake.

But that's not why I admire her. After the Heads are elected, the children who have not been elected and the rest of the other nominated children are asled to stand for the post of the vice captain's of the houses in our school. We have four houses: Ganga- Blue, Cauvery- Red, Godavari- Yellow and Krishna- Green. Lahari is in Godavari house and hence she stood for that post, but there was another candidate who also spoke equally well and hence Lahari lost out to her. I never saw how heart broken she was until I saw a few tear drops rolling down her cheeks. I was shoked and immediately turned to comfort her. That's when I realized how cleverly she'd been hiding her tears behind an ever-smiling friendly face.

Not only had she accepted her defeat in the first election so gracefully but she'd also smiled and congradulated the other contestant in her second defeat. She did what I never could have done, she fell once but pulled herself right back up, walked out in front of those crowds of thousands with her head held high until it had been too much for her. But even then after seeing how alarmed I was at her tears she again made an effort to transform into the happy-go-lucky Lahari I knew. She'd always been a good friend but it was not until that day that I'd seen the real fighter inside her, she'd managed to conceal so carefully. For this I salute her.

She's the perfect example of the idiom "Failures are stepping stones to success." I'm sure that this is just a minor setback for her and that something greater is in store for her. So I'm hoping that her day comes soon, till then my fingers are crossed. And another reason why I admire her is beacuse I've become very lazy, I havent blogged in almost 2 months or something, I've lost count. Her actions have moved me to words and hence I feel she deserves another salute. So a BIG thankyou, Lahari! Keep Smiling.