We Indians love God & Procrastination...

Curtains, lights & a female voice in the background.

That huge happy feeling you get while in a concert. I attended one recently. It was a tribute concert for the 1st superstar of Bollywood - Rajesh Khanna.

Such a big event, an international singer, housefull hall & well known personalities from Gujarat. So?? Well, it still started off with a prayer. I could see most of us with joined hands while the prayer played in the background.

Alright then, Number 1 : We always follow the tradition of remembering God before everything that we do ...

Number 2 : We Indians are super punctual (Sarcasm intended). Just another thing I noticed during the concert! It was supposed to begin at 9:30 PM, but as usual, as per the rule, following the 'Indian Time', it began at 10:00 PM. No wonder!!!

But then its a circle. There's a circle to everything that happens.

From the trains to concerts, nothing happens on time. Keeping aside those professionals who begin their business meetings on dot time (I have witnessed quite  few).

Trust me, in my 22 years of life, I have never seen a train arrive on time EVER!

So what's with things not happening on time?

We are very intelligent people. Lets take the concert for example :

The organizers knew that people won't show up on time, so they started off late. While on the other side, people knew that the concert won't start on time, so they arrived late. And stuck in between were those punctual people. They had to pay a price to come early by waiting for those OH-SO-NOT-PUNCTUAL people to arrive & the concert to begin.

I was wondering, just a passing thought...

if people arrived on time, would the concert begin on time?

Frankly, I don't think so! I could still see people on stage making arrangements in a hurry.

So basically nobody is to be blamed. Its the mentality that needs to change. Nobody will go around asking you to change. It can only happen if it comes from the inside.We also don't value time when it comes to informal meetings/activities. 

"I need to get my clothes from the dry cleaner right now? Forget it, I'll get them tomorrow"

All of this leads to what? Procrastination!

So what ? Big Deal? Everybody has flaws, so do we INDIANS!

Conclusion : We are not punctual & we procrastinate. We strongly believe that its one life we get, meant to enjoy. So we eat tummy full, enjoy the last bit of everything, stay merry & leave the world with worries of counting our flaws.

Still proud to be an Indian :)

Those little things in life

Have you ever noticed? Some little things make us happy & we never realize it !

Have you ever tried observing what those things are ?

Watching a flock of birds flying- the togetherness makes you happy...

Seeing a baby you don't know smile at you- the connection makes you happy...

A dog following you wagging its tail- the innocence makes you happy...

Finding a chocolate in your room you never thought existed- the surprise makes you happy...

The aura of the first rain- the freshness makes you happy...

A cup of tea when you needed it the most but never asked for, mom's kiss on your cheek while you are half asleep, a perfect dream that you don't remember but still know it was amazing, dad asking you 'Everything going good?', when you solve a puzzle no one else could, a butterfly flapping by, someone appreciating your look, a sip of cold water under the sun, a gush of cool breeze during summers, first message from a loved one in the morning, sale in your favorite outlet (specially girls), paper ball falling rite in the bin while you pretend to play basketball with it, a bird staring at you, coming across a bush full of flowers, wearing a brand new shoe for the first time, racing your vehicle with random people on the road, not halting at any traffic signal, finding a vacant place to park your vehicle, a good morning wish by the watchman & much more...

I remember the other day while I was just leaving a mall, a little girl cried on her mom's shoulder. I passed a smile to the little one & she smiled back. Imagine how would that feel ! No words, right ?!

Happiness is everywhere, we just need to observe it, find it & things will be great.

Next time you think you have the worst life ever, just look around & your life won't be worst anymore :-)

Smile

Wikipedia says, ' A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth'.

But, I think there's more to it ! 

A smile is more than just a facial expression. It is something that comes with a feeling, an inner feeling which is genuine. When a person smiles, the expression itself reveals whether the smile is real or fake. So why do you think people fake their smiles? Well, it could be anything. To hide the upsetting situation they are going through or to make others believe that though not great but things will be under control soon.

I sometimes feel upset, those general things that any one might face anytime in life. So what do I do to hide my sorrow? Nothing! I simply don't smile. Why hide your sorrow, why fake a smile when you don't feel like smiling at all? When upset, I go back home from work & do things I love. May it be troubling & irritating mom or gorging on chocolates or having a warm cup of coffee.

So next time you are upset, don't hide, just do what you think will make you feel good. Loud music also does the trick for me. I also love shouting at random people on the way, it makes me throw up my frustration. 

If you want to smile, make it genuine. If you don't feel like smiling, talk to yourself, untangle things & make sure you come back to senses only after you end up with a solution. And then when you are all ready to smile, SMILE, & it will be genuine. You are special & no one can deny that. You owe nothing to anyone, so why worry?!

So what do we learn from this? Well, nothing in particular! Drop the worry, not everything in life is to be learnt, make it light, FEEL the happiness inside you.

SMILE :D

 Review: Mausam

Director- Pankaj Kapoor

Producers- Sheetal Talwar & Vinod Lulla

Music- Pritam

Lead Actors- Shahid Kapoor & Sonam Kapoor

Released on- 23rd September 2011 (India)

1. Entertainment:  Its entertainment value is low as all that the movie has is slow romance, songs popping up unexpectedly and a predictable story line.

2. Best part : The only good thing that i found in the movie was how it smartly covers the major incidents of India i.e. from Babri Masjid to Godhra riots.

3. Songs: Songs are fairly good and has also been liked by many. Lyrics is nothing new or out of the blue but the song composition makes it sound good. 

It all starts from a slow love story, how Harry finds excuses to meet his new found love Ayat every now and then. The romantic part is boring and formal. Finally, when its time to confess about love, Ayat disappears. And then in the second part, when Ayat wants Harry to come over for an official love confession with family members, Harry disappears. It went out to be monotonous and the question in mind was, what next? It seemed like a tit for tat situation !

The strangest part is that during all the bad happenings, may it be in Kashmir or Gujarat, Ayat is present to experience it. The whole story seemed deliberate and not acceptable in some parts.

The role of Rajjo can be tagged as an important one. She plays a subtle villainous role without whom the story couldn't be stretched up to the extent it did. Though she is married, she still carries a soft corner for Harry who is in love with Ayat. Her grudges explode as a revenge against Ayat when she burns off a letter written by Ayat to Harry.   

The unacceptable ending makes all the 'little bit good' go down the drain. How possibly does a man with a paralyzed left hand climbs up a giant wheel to save a kid? Even if we let go off that part, how does he catch hold of the kid with that same left arm and come down safely? Weird it is !!

I wouldn't even call it a one time watch because if you don't watch this movie you wont be missing much of anything in life except for Shahid sporting a moustache!

Rating: '*' (1/5)

 Growing mobile phone market in India

India has been highly contributing in the mobile phone market. It is not unknown that India is now the world’s second largest mobile market after China with 262 million users. Around 10.16 million users were added in March 2008. The Indian market is much more fragmented unlike China which has 392 million subscribers. Every person from kids to adults own a mobile phone in the present generation , major part of them owning more than one mobile phone. It has become more of a craze and it is doubtful whether mobile phones are used what they are made for. The unbounded use of mobile phone for its features has increased its market potential. Its not just about making or receiving a call but much more than that.

SMS-ing is something which major part of mobile owners cannot stay away from. The latest cuts are to the SMS pricing with offers at 10 paisa/ SMS available. The other rates are amongst the lowest in the world. The growth that has been on a fast track is expected to remain so and as of now it is also moving towards the rural areas.

The Indian users have become very much savvy towards extra features that a mobile phone can provide. They are never satisfied with the phone they own and thus look towards a better one available in the market. Any large phone retailer will have a variety of different models on display. Currently, Nokia is believed to have a huge share in the market. The others include Samsung, LG and Apple phones. Though many of these feature filled phones are quite expensive, there are other phones available which are less expensive in comparison due to the competition prevailing in the market. We can find a new mobile phone in the market every 4 days and no doubt we get influenced to own it.

Mobiles have taken such a toll over the mass as well as the market that fixed landline phones are hardly to be seen. This has accounted fixed line owners to get into the prepaid market. Like most other countries India too is leading towards a growing mobile phone market.

          

 Social Media- A Boon or a Bane

           The reach of social media has become enormous world wide. In today’s generation it is next to impossible to find a single youngster who is alienated from the social media. There are numerous social sites with a huge number of active users. When it comes to analyzing its aspects, we can find many negatives and positives to it. Nothing in the world is perfect as we can philosophically say, so is the case with social media.

            It cannot be favored by proving it to be a complete boon nor can we call it to be completely negative. It is a mixture of both i.e. it is a boon as well as a bane. There are millions of social media users today which is mainly covered by youngsters. Facebook being one of them with 600 million users has been ranked 2^nd by the Alexa toolbar. Its revenue is expected to be US $ 2 Billion. According to the official data global consumers spend more than 6 hours on social networking sites.

            As far as usage is concerned most of the sites are used for entertainment purpose like sharing videos, commenting on status and images, cross comments, joining communities and groups and discussing on topics, etc. We keep on adding more and more friends not being sure whether we’ll b e in further contact with them or not. Most of the friends list consists of users whom you hardly contact. There are just a few with whom you get regularly connected to. So again, its just a competition among users to have the largest friends list. Chatting constantly on social networking sites about not so important topics leads to nothing but wastage of time. Moreover, there are games and other applications that are added by users which is of no use and is there just for the sake of it.

            Coming to the positive part of the social media, life is nothing without socializing. Social life is the best life. Contacting friends and family members constantly helps us keep connected and inform us about the happenings. Socializing has also become an important part in the professional world. To maintain contacts we need to be in constant touch with people and the best option to go about it is the social media. Social media also includes important and serious discussions amongst the experts and other users having knowledge about the topic. The best part about this kind of discussion is that it is open to the public i.e. anyone can view it as well as put in their own views.

            Social media helps discuss, debate as well as have a simple conversation with anyone around the globe. Whether it is a boon or a bane depends on the way a user uses a social site.

                                                            Infidel

            There lived a girl named Emily who belonged to a non-orthodox family. Emily was an ambitious, hardworking and responsible girl by nature. She had a best friend named Ann who was her classmate too. They were students from 11th grade. Emily was quite active and could answer any question asked by the teacher and was famous in school for being the 1st ranker in class every year. Ann was an average student academically and always depended on Emily to learn her subjects. Emily being helpful and loyal, always helped her in the best ways possible. They used to go to school together by school bus.

            Next morning as usual they went to school and during the first lecture itself the teacher announced a surprise test. Emily was quite confident of scoring well but Ann felt panicky. After the test was over, as Ann was sitting on the first bench, the teacher asked her to collect all the test papers. Emily was the last one to give her paper as she was on the last bench. When Ann collected Emily's paper she noticed that she had forgotten to write her name on it. Ann instead of informing her made some negative plan in her head. She, without anyone noticing wrote her own name on Emily's paper and wrote Emily's name on her paper. After a couple of days the test results are announced and to everyone's surprise Emily fails and Ann scores the higest in class. Emily was unable to believe it and was upset but was also happy for Ann at the same time for scoring the highest. The teacher feels very strange about Emily's result and decides to call her parents to school to make sure that she doesn't fail again. She issues a notice for the same and asks Emily to give it to her parents without fail. Emily’s parents are quite surprised by the notice and decide to go to the school the very next day. When the discussion was going on between her parents and the teacher, Emily requests her teacher to show her the test paper so that she could analyze her mistakes and improve. After seeing the test paper, Emily realizes that the test paper wasn’t hers but it was Ann’s. Emily doesn’t reveal this to anyone, neither her parents nor the teacher and keeps it to herself.

            The next morning in the bus Emily couldn’t understand how she could bring up the matter with Ann. Finally after reaching school she confronts her and asks her why she had done such an act for no reason. Initially Ann refuses of doing any such thing but when Emily says that she had already seen the test paper, Ann accepts her deed. When asked for a reason, Ann says that she was always jealous of Emily being so famous amongst everyone and she did so to bring her down in everyone’s eyes. Emily when realizes the thoughts of her best friend for her, feels very upset and hurt. They avoid speaking with each other for the next couple of days. They no more shared the bus seat with each other and neither did they share their lunch during break time. A week passes by and Ann finds it quite difficult to deal with her studies without Emily. She finally decides to approach Emily and apologize for the injustice and thank her for not revealing it to anyone. Ann does so and Emily forgives her very easily thinking that the situation must have made her do so and she won’t repeat it. They become good friends again and no jealousy seemed to exist in Ann’s mind anymore.

             The days pass by and so does their school days. After 2 years they pass out from school with good grades. Ann scores exceptionally well because of Emily's help. With not much difference in their result they end up in the same college.

    They go to college together in Emily's car everyday. They have a lot of fun with many extra curricular activites available for them. Emily being active in all fields and also good academically becomes famous amongst the college mates as well. Everyone admires her knowledge and her willingness in all situations, may it be parties, exams, sports, debate, dance, etc. Ann not being as active and as famous as her, again develops a feeling of jealousy.

   Months pass by and Emily gets a crush on a guy in college who's a classmate named Andrew. She thinks of confessing her crush to him but then feels too shy to do so. Surprisingly after a few days Andrew approaches her and reveals his crush for her. She being very excited shares everything with Ann, and Ann acts as if she is happy for her too. Andrew again approaches Emily the next day and proposes her to become his girlfriend. Though she takes a couple of days to decide she accepts his proposal. She is very happy as she observes that Andrew is a very good and a caring guy by nature. She spends most of the time with Andrew and Ann doesn't feel very happy about it. Ann was already jealous of her and started  thinking of ways to let her down again. She thought of creating misunderstanding between them and break off their relation. Ann being the only girl in touch with Emily for so many years knew almost everything about her. She went to Andrew and started telling him fake stories about her relationship with a couple of guys in the past. Andrew found this a bit strange and started getting suspicious thoughts. Whenever Emily was with a guy in college who was nothing more than a friend, discussing something related to studies or activities, Ann would call Andrew and show him how Emily was going around with other guys as well. A few days passed by and by this time Ann had sown enough hatered for Emily in Andrews mind. Andrew thought that he was with the wrong girl and broke off with her.

   Emily being in disbelief kept on wondering what had went wrong and what exactly was her fault. There was another friend Roma who had been well noticing what was going on and also knew that the sole reason beind the break up was Ann and nobody else. Seeing Emily so depressed she decided to go to her and tell her everything that had happened. When Roma reveals everything, Emily didn't take much time to believe her as she had already experienced this side of Ann's nature.

   Later, she requests Roma to come along with her to Andrew to explain him and make him understand the wrong situation created by Ann. When Emily narrates the whole story including what had happened in the past and there also being Roma for support, Andrew realises his misunderstanding and apologizes to Emily for the same. Andrew makes Emily understand that she was being merely used by Ann and she no more needs to be  friends with such a cruel and cunning person. Emily gave it a thought and knew that she couldn't take a risk by continuing her friendship with Ann because there was a possibility of Ann doing something even more bad in future. She finally confronts Ann and breaks off her friendship for once and for all. Not only Andrew, Emily and Roma but everyone including the other students and proffesors become aware of Ann's true face and she is isolated by them. She does apologize and everyone does forgive her, but then no one is able to believe her the way they did earlier.

   Emily and Roma become even more good friends and Roma never being jealous is always happy of Emily's achievements. Later, Andrew and Emily grow into a more closer relationship and get married after 5 years after passing out from college.