Sunday, September 27, 2009

Ladies and The Uniform

The debate on NDTV "We the People" today was about the permanent work for women in the Indian Army...more correctly,in the Infantry section of the Army.A cliched debate which goes on and on with no conclusion.

The first question that comes to my mind is that WHY do we need such a debate anyway? The Army is short of about 14,000 cadets or officers or whatever and on top of that,we are debating about the equal rights of women? I mean,where ARE the women that such questions about posting the ladies on the front pop up?

Okay,lets go to the general perception about the Army.Its a hard life,yes,and the moment someone in our homes mentions joining the Army  then its like the end of the world.Yes,I admit its easier to be typing out all these than actually seeing a brother or husband or son(or a sister or wife or daughter)returning only after several tiring months(or rather not returning at all,in some cases...I don't know whether such cases are "proud" ones or unfortunate ones)...but lets hear it out..what is it that makes people hesitate to join the army? I asked the question first to myself..why am I not joining then?Unfortunately,I got a meek answer saying I have always wanted to be an engineer and run Power Plants or Refineries or whatever.

The same question I asked a friend of mine,and his answer was very much peculiar.He said his friend applied for the Army but he never got the call,despite being physically fit.And his point was that in a time of job-shortage such as this,anybody would jump for any proffession,including the Defense.If a common person has this notion,then imagine how many people must be having such a notion that the "Defense force is not recruiting properly".

Well, people should understand that the Army,Navy or Air Force canNOT employ ANYONE who gives his/her applications.You cannot expect a person suffering from Asthma or breathing problems to be going to a hazardous place where its too cold or too dusty and still be up and fighting!(No offense intended,please)

Coming back to the topic now.Why can't ladies be given a post on the front? Why is it that people are so much apprehensive when it comes to women fighting on the front?Why are women not given the opportunity beyond the technical posts? Why are there different standards for men and women in the army? I am sure there are men reading this post who are very much in opposition to the different standards for men and women in the daily life.But thats not the point here.We are talking about National Security.No different standards for that please! As some lady in the program rightly mentioned,"Why are we supposed to be running 7 kms in 40 minutes when men are supposed to run the same distance in 25 minutes?Tell us to do the same..if we fail then throw us out!".

So you see,such debates go on and on.There are other perspectives too.Like the biological differences,ability to withstand difficult circumstances..etc etc.But all I can say,for now,is...at least give a chance!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Even I loved someone....

Note:
I had forgotten about this poem of mine....until I read Ekam's new post!Okay...Here we go...


Fresh flowers bloom each day,
Beautifying my way,
The sunrise brings a new dawn,
But something inside me has gone...

Something inside me has gone,
Outside,everything is fine,but inside something is terribly wrong,
There is a strange fear,a strange insecurity,
The times seem to go on and on for eternity...

The times seem to go on and on for eternity,
There always persists a feeling of self-pity,
My story is known to no one,
Even I loved someone....

Even I loved someone,
And it was not just for some silly fun,
I loved him with all my heart and soul,
He made my life meaningful....

He made my life meaningful,
All those times when we were together were so wonderful,
I still love him,and would do so till the end,
Even though he lies somewhere,dead....

Even though he lies somewhere,dead,
I am glad he died a valiant death,
I visit him each day with flowers for his lonely grave,
But I feel proud,yes,he had been brave...

I feel proud,yes,he had been brave,
Everyone tells me to forget him and welcome each new day,
And although the sunrise brings a new dawn,
But something inside me has forever gone...

Friday, September 18, 2009

Silent !....Listen.....

"...And I told her not to talk to me hereafter"

"Its okay,it happens.Good that you are rid of her.Hey listen..."

"No.I can't ever forgive her"

"Listen..."

"What?"

"Sorry but I had been trying to tell you for the past half an hour,I met with an accident,and right now in the hospital"

Sometimes,rather many times,it happens.
We go on listening to people whom we consider close,but when its their turn to listen,they just disappear into thin air.It hurts.Terribly.

We listen endlessly,forgetting all other works,all other people,when our friends are in distress.But just when we thought that we are close friends,and we can share too,we get in answer "See you later".

The tears appearing at that instant are that of self-reproach,self-pity,and intense loneliness.
And those tears never really flow.They remain in the eyes,not conveying the sadness,and those ears still go on listening,hoping that one day they might hear the other person realise pain behind the answer "I am fine" and ask back "Are you telling the truth?".Perhaps.One day.

Cheers.:)
Happy Weekend! :)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

In GOD we TRUST,grumble we MUST! (Part II)

Note: For the part one...Click Here.
There you are.Yes you.How long have you been sitting there doing nothing? You just keep silent on so many things,sometimes I need to shake you for waking you up.

From the poster,God replied "Now what?"

"Why you made my health miserable all of a sudden? Can't you bear to see me looking healthy?"

Wide-eyed,He replied "Huh? Did I ask you to eat those oily pooris in your hostel mess? Did I ask you to behave like a saint-on-fast and stop drinking water? Did I ask you to find a particular place where there was no fan and particularly go sit there? Did I ask you to think so many thoughts at the same time when your head isn't capable of thinking even 1? Did I..."

I was exasperated."NO! Perhaps you didn't. But you could've at least stopped me from doing the above mentioned things!"

"Grr....I can't all the time be running behind you.You should take care of yourself.I can't come over to you each time you get a little scratch in your delicate fingers!"

"You are supposed to be God!"

"All right,I resign from my post of being God"

"Bravo! First you don't do your responsibilties properly and then you say you resign? Who will take care of all the things on Earth if you resign?"

"You always keep pestering me.First the maths paper,now this?"

"Then who else shall I blame all the surprises? You have an evil-twin or something?"

"Ha ha ha..very funny.Look,did you even once call me when your paper got selected for the SSN symposium?Did you ever tell me that you cleared your 1st year successfully?Did you ever describe to me how much interesting your bus ride was?"

"Err...nope"

"Hmm...now where do you stand?"

"But you know all that already!!!"

"Yes,from reliable sources.Imagine in a team,you are the leader.You know all that is happening in your team.But still,you want the team members to personally come and tell you their achievements,right?"

"Yeah."

"Same is with me too my child"

"Hmm okay...from now on..I'll tell you about the good things too"

God smiled "Thats like a good child!"

"But seriously,that day,the EDC lecturer was grumbling and glaring at me.I don't understand why she keeps glaring at me.Humph! Even if I say a right answer,she glares back! She has her favourite students,and...Hey where did you go?"

I realised that from the poster,to which I was talking to,God's image had vanished.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Parents....

Well,this post is for the parents(in general).No,this isn't the face-off between children and parents,its the facing of the fact that how would we (the children) be as parents.


Confused? Well many times I have thought,are parents all the while thinking about the welfare of the children only?How do they naturally,without any trying,can think about children all the time? While even buying something from the market,they'll think "Oh my daughter likes this vegetable,I'll buy it for her",when perhaps they themselves had not bought their favorite vegetable.(Well,their favorite veggies are the ones we often don't like!)


Will I also be able to think like this when I become a parent? I asked my mother this question and she burst out laughing saying "Why are you worried from now itself?".Hmm...good question.

Often,my conversation goes like this:
"...And this is what happened in class today,Ma".
"Hmm...hey do you know,your grandma called and she said..."
"Ma,I need to go for dinner now,will talk to you later"...(disconnected)

 All the time I am whining about my hostel,college,friends roomies etc etc to my mother,and she listens.But how many times do I listen when she wants to tell about the gossips of neighbourhood,the festivals at home,what relatives said,etc etc? I guess you can say its my problem,but think again,how many times have you actually heard out your parents speaking?


Does my home really look pretty much lonely without me and my brother?(My brother works in another city).
My mother once told me,"See,money perhaps is important,but what is the use of it if we are far from our children?".
Can I ever say that to my children when I become a mother?(Coz I am an egoistic person and would rather die than say to anyone "I can't live without you" or something like that).

Well,everyone tells me that I am my father's pet,I resemble him and etc etc etc.I guess I inherited my humour from him.(Don't be surprised,I can indeed make anyone laugh! :D).By the way,I can see that my father misses me and my brother very much,and perhaps thats why,even after repeatedly asking me,I haven't given him the blog URL yet(with posts like these,I am sure he'll react in a way like "Why have you written all this???")



They say (they?) its all a matter of time,that you would be mature enough by then to stop thinking about yourself and start living for your children.But if I am so selfish now,how will I change at that time?


Okay I guess this post a bit senti-menti one,or may perhaps sound like a Baghban or K3G movie inspired one.But seriously,sometimes(mostly) my head asks rhetorical questions(the questions whose answers are already known) instead of asking why the E-MOSFET operates only in enhancement mode.(?)


Okays I'll buzz off now...my mother is calling(she'll be bursting with anger as to why I took so long to pick up the phone! :P)


Have a cool sunday! :)
Cheers!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Brand Tag!...And my experience with a junior...2 in 1

Hey folks! I have been Tagged by Shruti Akka..well heres my tag ...

"Brand Tag - Take any day in your life and chart out the brands you have used"

Cool enough?Hmm.... 

In a normal day....



1.My day starts by the alarm set in my cellphone...Nokia XpressMusic 5220(Red colour).



2.Next comes my College bag....don't know which brand it actually belongs to!:P


3.Next is my wrist-watch....a water-proof one with brown strap and golden dial.(Sonata ki peshkash :P).

4.Hmm....next is...Notebooks perhaps? Hey they are mostly of the "Classmate" brand anyway :P



5.Then comes the Spectacles....again..not any particular brand.But its a frameless one and it has undergone rigorous situations and circumstances (like being squashed under the desk rod,etc etc) and is still going strong.(Touchwood!)


6.After that comes the hero..My laptop.Well not mine actually,its my father's.:P.Its a HP Laptop of I-don't-know series.:P

7.Well,after that comes my evening beverage...a bottle of Badam Milk whose brand is yet unknown to me...but after a long and hungry day in college...it certainly destroys my hunger! Heehee!



Well thats all...

7 brands for a colourful day:)
********************************************************************************
I saw the juniors! I saw the juniors!:)

They were the bunch of nervous students...trying to show geththu (Bindaas) attitude in front of their peers.

I had only one interaction with a junior.Not really an interaction actually!

I was climbing the steps upto the fourth floor for my test(Yes last week,we were having cycle tests.Its not over yet by the way.1 more to go).

Suddenly a girl said "Akka"(Didi)

I didn't respond.Because in my home(and amongst all cousins) I am the youngest one.So no one actually ever called me akka or didi .... except at school of course!(that too only after I reached class 12th)

I was startled and I looked up .. only to find that it was a nervous junior who was too scared to ask anything.
Changing my tone to authoritative,I said "Yes?"
She said "Where is the ECE block akka?"
"Oh ECE block is the other building,not this one"
"Thank you akka!"
And she scampered away.
Thats all.

Okay okay I know how you all are feeling.A great description as if I had chatted with a junior for full 3 hours..but it actually turns out like this?
Hmm..but seriously,I felt grand.Really.Honestly.

But still,as far as I have heard,these juniors are not respecting the Seniors...grr! We are 2 and a half semester old ! Even asking them names have lead them to complain to the wardens! Such a ninny!

Well I'll buzz off now...will be back with more such experiences!:)

Have a cheerful weekend!
Keep smiling!
:)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

They have come! :)

Yes! The juniors have arrived !!! Yippeee!
Well,what am I excited about? Oh well nothing.Just got a bit senti-menti seeing the tiny juniors in the Auditorium for the Inauguration Function.We were like them too a year back! Heehee!!

Gosh! They'll now come to us and ask
"Akka(Didi),which book should I refer?"
"How do they do the correction of our test papers?"
"Whats a symposium?"
"Do we really have to attend Placement and Training classes?"
"Are the University exams really tough?"
"When will we get holidays?"
"When is fresher's day?"
"When are the culturals?"

Well,we won't rag them of course.(We won't?).Just a hi-hello,where-are-you-from questioning...Oh god no! We won't ask them to sing!Nooooo :D

My so-called "ragging" session in the hostel went something like this:
In our adjacent room we have EEE senior students..so one of 'em called me to their room and asked my name...when I said I came from Haryana..she said spell it....then asked me to spell "Haryana " in reverse order:D...this time I made a mistake and she asked me to sing a song.
I said I don't know tamil songs...then I said "Hey I know a bhajan"

So I sang a tamil bhajan(not exactly a bhajan!)...then she asked me if I knew "Kabhi Kabhi" from "Jaane Tu.."...I said ya Iknow ...(after that she got terrified of my singing and told me to stop).
And the fun part is...she(the akka who "ragged" me) wearing the same locket as i was...so she got a bit senti and she didnt say anything harsh or sarcastic..and she was telling her room-mate(in a mocking manner)"I dont know why,I like this girl"[which meant more ragging sessions].

Of course,after that we became friends (same-department syndrome :D)

So...I am off to get introduced to my juniors if possible.Not rag them,mind it!



And I would like to thank Shruti akka (Hits and Misses) for giving me two blog awards!THANK YOU AKKA!!! :)



And....







Many many many thank you!:) I'll do the passing on in sometime! :P


Have a cheery week ahead! :)