RiteALot

Story 1- How Seethathali creeper got it's name

2015-05-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

This is the story that Parvathy's grandfather told her about how a creeper, Seethathali got it's name.
Parvathy's ancestral home is in Cheppad, Kerala. This was the first story that came to her mind after I asked her to narrate one for me.

Sita or Seetha was the wife of Rama, king of Ayodha in the epic Ramayana.
A thali is a chain that married women wear. It's worn in various parts of the country in different forms, and has different names.

The first audio is in Malayalam, the second is the translated version.
Do give it a minute to load :)

Audio recording and upload >>
Online recording software >>

Story Telling

2015-04-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

A couple of years ago, I started wondering about story telling traditions. Specifically oral story telling traditions. As a child, my mom would tell me stories every night, my favorites being tales of Akbar and Birbal and Shivaji Maharaj. There was also stories that she used to make up for me. What I then decided to do was find out how many of my friends from Kerala, South India had their parents or grandparents tell them stories when they were little. Also, from those who did say that they heard stories I requested them each to narrate the tale in the language they heard it. This is going to be my new project and I will upload the stories in their voice (once I figure out how exactly to), along with the translated versions (both audio and text).

A surprise that awaited me was that quite a few of my friends had never heard stories when they were younger. What I plan to do later on is collect more information and stories and figure out if this is the same case all across India, and if there is a trend in age groups which have positive and negative replies.

But before that, look out for the next post, the first story! :)

Majuli IN the Brahmaputra

2014-05-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Our guest writer is back, this time with an experience from her trip to Assam :)

The ride to Nematighat near Jorhat was uneventful. The birds were just waking up and a few clearing their throats in the freezing cold. We reached the jetty at around 7 am to discover that our passage was not booked as promised and we had to wait for an hour for the next ferry.

The double decker ferry piles people on the lower deck and cars, jeeps, cycles, goats and cows on the upper deck. There are no barricades on the upper deck and the vehicles are held in place with big stones. Since we were advised to take our rented cab across to the island I kept asking the driver if he was sure ours wouldn’t roll off.

The lower deck was crammed with loads of people and had only one inflated tyre to serve as a life boat. The ride takes about 50 minutes and all along one sees various water birds swooping on the water and fishing. While the birds are busy finding fish the people on the boat are trying their best to draw personal information out of you.

On the banks of the Brahmaputra where we touched Majuli was a makeshift toilet and a tea house.

As soon as we docked many of the people who had gathered on the banks ululated loudly and were joined by some of the ladies from the boat. I was sure it was some ‘Made it to Majuli safe’ ritual but No! As I discovered later they were a marriage party and sounds were a part of the ceremony.

The island of Majuli is referred to as the seat of Vaishnavite culture and there are different Vasihnavite monasteries on the island. We visited one where the monks were reading the scriptures in the faint light that entered the vast halls. Oil lamps were burning here and there. There was no idol in what looked like the sanctum sanctorum but there was a temple of goddess Saraswati outside. The architecture was completely unique and the whole structure with massive pillars was built from local wood.

I was repeatedly told that there were bigger and better monasteries and also a museum but due to lack of time made my way to the ‘Misin’ village. All the houses in this village are on stilts and villagers house their hand-loom, boat, cycle, fishing nets etc. under the house. The houses were made of what looked like mats. Most houses had a balcony of sorts and in some of these one could see pots with fermenting and frothing rice beer.

As I understand it, during the rains the Brahmaputra is in spate and then Majuli is under water. The villagers have to camp on the streets which are elevated as compared to the rest of the island. After the rains they rebuild their homes in the original locations.

As all this had made us hungry we walked to the island restaurant. The wash-
room hadn’t been washed for ages and we took it upon ourselves to clean it up. In the process we lost our appetites. On the way back to the jetty we saw some magnificent birds which were too far away to identify but I suppose were some form of storks. We rushed to catch the last ferry out.

A few days later I woke up to newspaper headlines about a four-wheeler slipping off the ferry to Majuli and sinking to the depths of the Brahmaputra. The driver escaped and swam to the surface. So not all of my concern was misplaced.

After the rains

2014-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I used to think my favorite time was when it rained. Today proved me wrong. I realized it is just after it stops raining. The mist clears, but the clouds are still there. Omniscient, dark, forbidding. The sun wages a constant battle with them, winning one minute, losing the next. It’s quiet…till the birds come out. Then the air fills with their songs and caws. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the river rushing past too. She’s filled today, and no longer lazily crawls. A flock of migratory birds fly to the distant hill, a stark white against the dull grey and blue. You can see the puddles on the half flooded road. Past it, there are various shades of green. Grass, coconut trees, trees I cannot identify, they’re all there. Every now and then a building pops up, in garish colors disturbing the greenery. The hills are covered in green too, but they don’t seem warm. They’re much like the clouds. Forbidding. Every time the sun wins, and pops out of the clouds to stare over nature’s creations majestically, the greens become brighter, welcoming their friend. It’s a short victory. The clouds engulf it again, and the rain begins once again. By the time it stops, it’s early evening. My river, like I call her seems to be rising by the minute. She’s having a small battle of her own with the cement embankments that try to curb her. The sun seems to have wearily gone off, calling off the battle for the day. There seems to be an uneasy truce.
And I sit there, with a book, waiting for the next battle to begin.

Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets

2014-04-23T08:42:00.001-07:00

I'm just about done with this wonderful course on archaeology on Coursera, and as one of my assignments I was asked to be creative around the title. In a panic induced state caused because till about half an hour before the assignment was due I had no idea what to do, I created the poem below. And it turned out quite good, even if I say so myself :D

Archaeology is my passion
Yet I'm struggling with this submission
To put these past weeks into words
Is something that can be done well by nerds

Secrets to the uninformed mind
One needs to join this course
To find others of the same kind
I did so, and now these secrets are mine

Big terms like archaeological reconnaissance
Made no sense once upon a time
But now I know these and many more
It's very difficult to find a rhyme

I watched videos
And learnt about techniques
To dig, to study the past
Many of them left me aghast

I made chapatis for an assignment
And visited Mahabalipuram
About Pattanam I wrote
And about the voyage of a boat

About archaeology
I'll learn much more soon
Thinking of it I'm over the moon
Finding out these secrets with Sue Alcock
Was a wonderful boon.

Mother Earth’s premonition

2014-04-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Hello! Yes it's been a long time. Apologies. Exams and such. But I have something very special. We have a post from a guest blogger, who goes by the name of Shuffles. This poem is an Earth Day special.
Also check out Shuffles's blog- http://foodologue.blogspot.in/
Aaand here comes the poem!!

Sita, the daughter of the Earth says,
“Happy Birthday dear Mamma
Its Earth Day today,
And to celebrate,
You need to go
To a holistic spa
Or degenerate!
You seem to have some rash
And stench- caused sniffles
And alongside the mountainous folds and vales
You are so proud of,
Some man made hill ranges
Baffle!”

Mother Earth says,
“I know, I know, I am hurting!
Tyres and plastics,
Clothes and nasty- icks,
Effluents released so caustic
I really fail to understand
how a race so intelligent
can create more trash than
than the rest of animal population!”

“Massages and therapies,
Soaps and spas,
won’t do me any good,
as long as people
throw away food!
Trash is not segregated
Vile elements not eliminated

The demons of Waste
They need to be slain!
Before the noir haze
victims on Earth claims!”

“As for my bruises:
No spa can clean them,
No doctor can heal them.
Go Sita, go
Go and tell them,
If they value the ground they walk on
Then think twice before they throw;
For what is mercilessly discarded
Is what turns around to bite them!”

The Harry Potter Conspiracy

2014-01-25T00:53:00.001-08:00

In the morning on the bus my junior told us that Prince Charles is the 8th cousin of Ralph Fiennes, the actor who played Lord Voldemort. What follows is an example of how my brain works. Charles was married to Diana. Diana was said to be killed in a car crash. The Dursleys told Harry that so were Lily and James Potter. Diana's son-Prince Harry. His brother, Prince William married Kate Middleton who is not of royal blood hence a "muggleborn". Yes,she is Hermione!!! Oh and what's her son's name? Prince George!

MIND=BLOWN

This continued for some time. We also came up with the theory that Diana's sister, not having married into a royal family would be Petunia. The discussion ended with us deciding that Buckingham Palace was actually No 12 Grimmauld Place, and J.K. Rowling is actually professorSybil Trelawney, because she predicted the future. That explains what she was doing at the cafe when writing Harry Potter, she was trying to figure out what the tea leaves were saying!

Hope you enjoyed reading this :D
Have a fun weekend!

Teaching kindness- the second grade way

2014-01-21T07:35:00.001-08:00

I realized that I complain way too often about what all goes wrong, especially where school is concerned. So I thought, why not share something that cheered me up immensely. Now you must be wondering, what on Earth can cheer an unwilling student up. Let me add this: it was on a Monday morning, and the entire school was smiling, with not one yawn noticed anywhere.

It was a Monday morning. I was tired (yes at 6 a.m. after getting 8 hours of sleep I was tired), and didn't want to go to school. The bus was late. Another bus had broken down and all the people on that bus squeezed onto ours and we were on our way once more. By the time we'd reached, the assembly had started. All I could hear was slow music playing. I walked up to Jai and asked him what was going on. He said "Random acts of kindness. Watch."

And I did. I watched a little girl walk up to one of the seniors and hand her a piece of paper. I watched another give her big sister a sash. Mark ran up to our transport-in-charge with a letter of thanks. Shruthi gave our Vice Principal the cutest hug ever. Grade 12 got a big card from the entire Grade 2. Two of us got balloons. The 'chechi' who takes care of the kids got a card as well. One boy got a flag, another gave his mom a photo of both of them together.

These are but a few examples of what the kids did. And thanks to them we kept smiling the entire day. I keep thinking, one random act of kindness can cheer up someone so much, why don't we all do it? You know once in a while, share chocolates for no reason...buy your friends' food...do something to make someone smile. Because there is nothing better than knowing that you made someone smile.

Back in class, I walked over to the display board to see our timetable. And I saw a box of Tic-Tac. The little ones had not forgotten even a single person. They'd given the box to our lab assistant with a little 'thank-you' note :)

Keep smiling. Keep making others smile.

Finding happiness

2014-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

I love this photo. It's one I clicked recently and I love it for a lot of reasons. I love it for the light, which by the way came from a paper lantern (see below). I love it because at that moment I was surrounded by children working on lighting and letting go of their paper lanterns with so much concentration that their teachers would have been wistfully staring wondering where this side of the kids is in a classroom. But mostly I love it for the expression on the child's face.

Last year a newspaper article urged us to write in about what a child loses as he or she grows up. I was among a lot who wrote in. I said the saddest thing that happens to one as they grow up is that they lose the sense of wonder. As you grow, I feel it even among my peers now, you have this "been there, done that, seen that, nothing new can happen" attitude. One memory which sticks to my mind is of when I was in Grade 8 and we had gone to a planetarium. Because it was a school trip, we got to stay on after closing hours and use the telescopes. I remember standing on the terrace and pointing out a plane's twinkling lights excitedly to my classmates. A classmate's retort to this was a mocking laugh and the words "Have you never seen a plane before?!"

This expression was one filled with such wonder, and just a tinge of apprehension as he wondered if the lantern is actually going to rise. And as soon as the lanterns rose above us, and made their way across the sky as if making their way towards the moon, a huge cheer rose. There were smiles and whoops of joy all around, and kids running up to me saying "Look at those lanterns go!! May I please click a photo with your camera??"

Once in a while, you need such a boost. You need to surround yourself by people who find joy in the littlest things. That evening will remain a very sweet memory for me, because after a long time I saw wonder, joy, and a strange sense of satisfaction surrounding me. We often tell people we teach these children. We couldn't be more wrong. It's these children, in their own special ways who teach us something, every single time we meet them.

Happy New Year!

2014-01-10T05:31:00.002-08:00

Just a quick post to wish all of you a very happy new year! It's been a hectic start to the new year with falling ill, my laptop crashing and getting into trouble as soon as classes started again. Hope you had a better start :D

Once again, Happy New Year folks!

Things teachers do that make no sense

2013-12-08T08:14:00.001-08:00

Last week we had an episode. My regulation shoes tore. I couldn’t get new ones, because classes ended late that day (for a reason which didn’t affect seniors at all) and I got home pretty late. So I wore the only other pair of black shoes I had, which just happened to be sports shoes with pink laces. The trouble started in the morning.
Teacher: You can’t wear these shoes today!! Not today of all the days! We have to get the authorization today! How could you?!
*To a senior teacher*
Look at her shoes! I told her to get them fixed.
Me (lame attempt to defend myself): I did try. They tore again. You can ask any of my classmates. I had to borrow shoes yesterday because I couldn’t walk around in those.
Senior teacher: See, we can wear whatever funny costumes we want on other days, but today is important. You can’t do this today.
Me: Ma’am, I had no choice. What was I supposed to do??
Senior teacher: Find shoes now. We have to get the authorization.

I honestly fail to understand how my shoes were the reason for us to get or not get authorization. Why on earth would someone be staring at my shoes and deciding, “Hey people here wear shoes with pink laces. This place isn’t good enough to get authorized by us.”
After many hours which included constantly being told what I was doing was wrong, that I better get “proper” shoes, trying to exchange laces with a classmate and being told “Now both of you look peculiar,” and running around, I finally got the so needed “proper” shoes. For nothing. No one on the authorization team came to talk with me, much less stare (with expected distaste) at my shoes.
And “funny costumes”?? Madame, I wear what I wear because I’m told to. I have no interest in wearing what I have to. You all are the ones who decided on the “funny costume” in the first place.

The week before, my mentor comes to me and tells me that I should go talk to her more often and I never do that. Why I have been assigned a mentor who doesn’t teach me anything is something I can’t figure out. She asks me if she should write something negative about me in my report. I shrug and reply “Sure.”
That seems to fluster her so she covers it with irritation.
“You don’t mind whatever I write in your report?!”
“No Ma’am, you can go right ahead.”
People nowadays! They even have problems with honest sincerity.

The most recent! We have term exams coming up. And we decided to make a revision timetable for Biology. 4 lessons, 4 days. Then the teacher says, “So on Friday, I’ll consolidate all this and give you a test.”
Why? Why would you give us a test, when we have a (let me make this clear) TERM EXAM the following Monday?

Either there is something wrong with all of them, or with me. I really can’t figure it out. There is a longer list of things teachers do that don’t make sense to me that I’ll put up soon. I wish I could tell them that words hurt more than they understand. I wish I could tell them that I’m tired of getting yelled at every single day. I’ve come to expect it. But I fear they won’t listen. And I fear even if they do listen, they won’t understand.

Goodbye

2013-11-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

What happens when you love someone

And then you have to leave

Your heart with anguish heaves

And you feel yourself come undone

What happens when you walk away

And he will not be there on a rainy day

When you both know you can't stay

And without him things always go astray

What happens when it finally hits you

And you trudge alone down the lonely lane

Your love stands the test true

Of time and distance, yet again

I know what happens when hope fades

And numbness engulfs me

Tears and pain, like a waterfall cascade

And you feel cold, colder than the deepest sea

Untitled

2013-07-01T11:42:00.003-07:00

This is a poem I'd written a while ago when trees were burnt down near my house. I'd recently read 'The trees are down' by Charlotte Mew, and I guess the two together are what inspired this poem

The air fills with death
Your last sound, a crackle
An unfair fight with demons
With blazing hands of red

The air fills with white
The colour of purity
The colour of death
And you are both

Is it an honour
Or a pity instead
That death for you
Is unlike the human?

You will not be buried
Nor cremated with anguish
Nor ashes floated in holy water
But swept by the wind instead

You give them life
And they, you, death
Yet useless you die
In an unfair death

The Lie

2013-04-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

I’d write you a song
To tell you how I feel
But why waste the words
When you already know
And everything that I
And nothing that you
Will say is true

We would talk about us
And I would tell you that
I love you,
You would say the same
But everything that I
And nothing that you
Say is true

I’d remind you of
The promises we had made
The ones we had promised
Not to break
But everything that I
And nothing that you
Said was true

And even as you read this
With a grimace on your face
I know that
Everything that I
And nothing that you
Felt was true

The lost heart

2013-01-09T06:54:00.002-08:00

Sick and tired
She rests under the stars
Tears spent
She has no more

Her eyes open
And she breathes deep
A vow
She'll hurt no more

She loves him
Hopes he does too
Leave him
That she'll never do

Hugs and kisses
She does not need
It's love
For which she pleads

Impossible he says
Breaks her even more
Stay strong
That's now her goal

She cannot speak
But she does write
To convey
What she feels right

One more time
She tries to plead
And will
Till he sees
That they are meant to be
That she will not leave

Wake up...it's time

2013-01-05T05:04:00.000-08:00

Why do you give up hope, when there is much left in the world of men? Why do you only see battles raging between the government and people? Why do you think it's the end of humanity because a man gunned down children? Because a woman was raped?

We insult our species by even considering these acts to be human, therefore symbolizing the "end" of humanity. And how dare you eve say they behave like animals, and highly insult animals? Maybe the Mayans were right. Maybe the world might end in 5 minutes. But the world will not end because of 7 people.

No. The world, when it does, will end because of the 7 billion people on planet Earth. 6 men raped an innocent woman. 1 shot innocent children down. What are we, the remaining 6999999993, doing? Posting pictures on Facebook about how we want men castrated.

Why do you not see that a young woman risked her life to save the lives of her students? Why do you not see the millions of people wanting to help, but not knowing how to?

Stop saying what you want done to those b******s. Start thinking about how you'll ensure that no man thinks that way, forget does. Because no amount of regret, marching, shouting, protesting is going to help the families of those innocent children gunned down, or the innocent woman. Instead what they would appreciate that no one else went through the same ordeal.

Pandora did not just let evil out into the world, she also let out hope. Hope that keeps the world running. The same way, humans do not just let out sick deeds, and torture. They also let good shine out. Don't let the world fool you. Keep believing.

Mysore - in 2 days

2012-11-30T01:22:00.002-08:00

Mysore, the city of palaces and gardens. I actually spent 4 days there, but the weekend was my favorite. It started with meeting Sayed, the magician. Find him when you're in Mysore. If you're lucky you'll find him outside the lobby of the hotel Regaalis, and if not then ask the doorman for him. Sayed is a traditional magician, and comes from a family where each generation teaches the next magic.

The Mysore zoo had been strongly recommended to me, and so on Saturday I dragged a friend of mine, who unbelieveably had stayed there for an year without visiting the zoo. It's a big big place, and I had the time of my life. I loved the monkeys and apes (as always), and saw an otter in real life for the first time! :)

The second day is what I'd love to rattle on about. We headed to Coorg in a superb Inova. But better than the town of Coorg is what's on the way. My favorite was the "Golden temple", which is actually the Buddhist Nyingmapa Monastery. This place is a perfect example of don't judge a book by it's cover. A modest entrance, leads to a magnificent steeple, which had my mouth dropping open literally. But that was still nothing. An unassuming doorway with a curtain of beads opens into a huge room where there is a celebration of colours and peace. Whoever would have imagined that red could be peaceful? The tall statues, the paintings and the monks with their calm voices and prayers which commanded attention. I could have sat there for the entire day and maybe a couple of more. The gift shop there is the best! It's full of little trinkets like good luck charms, fans and even tea sets (I bought a cute little green one), all at very very low rates.

After the temple, which I reluctantly left we went on to Cauveri Nisargadham.This was a very typical touristy spot, with the main attractions being the deer park and elephant rides.
The deer were friendly and eating cucumbers right out of the hands of tourists. The mahouts were pretty mean and constantly hitting the elephant on the head with a stick, so that made my first elephant ride not so enjoyable. But the best part for me was the hanging bridge over the Cauveri river, which had a great view, which was also spoiled thanks to too many people chattering.

The Akki falls did not really impress, but maybe that was because you could hardly hear the water over voices. However the "churmuri" a simple snack consisting of puffed rice, tomatoes, onions, coriander and spices is a must try! Lunch in Madikeri also recommended.

However what I'd love to do is go back to the monastery and sit and sketch every single picture there. I guess a year's sabbatical would be enough for that!

Random acts of kindness

2012-11-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Inspired by recent acts of kindness by strangers, I have decided to start a bi-monthly column just for this.
However, the success of this column depends on you, my readers. This is going to be an open column, featuring mostly
(I hope) readers' works. So readers, please feel free to write in your experiences to me at ritealot@gmail.com.

Here's mine to start off with.

One balmy afternoon, a friend, my mother and I started off towards the railway station. My friend was lugging
an enormous bag, which he stubbornly refused to let either of us help him with. After much persuasion, he agreed
to share the load and we each carried one strap of the bag.

All this while we were looking out for rickshaws, and as luck would have it there were none. We started up the road,
a winding one, slightly uphill. A rickshaw came around a bend, and I flagged it, but it was occupied. Surprisingly it
stopped in front of us. A lady got out, holding a toddler close to her.
With a friendly smile she said some of the kindest words I had heard for a while, "Take the auto, my house is right here. I can
walk."

To this day we owe the lady, not just for giving us the auto, but for making out day by this selfless gesture.

So readers, pay silent tributes to strangers, family, friends and maybe yourselves. Write in to me at ritealot@gmail.com...

Chem...again?

2012-10-03T22:59:00.003-07:00

One term of a new syllabus was more than enough. I requested that I be allowed to change back to my regular curriculum. With a lot of pomp and splendour (which can be translated as arguments) this was allowed.

Today seemed to be the first day of school all over again. The bafflement, the confusion, the urge to run back home and snuggle down in a soft bed, all the symptoms of a first day were back clearer than ever. Unfortunately today was worse. Yet again, how neglected brilliant subjects are hit me. Hard. Economics and Biology run parallel so I have to choose between the two and and also take up a third subject since I cannot do both. Telling me this while your eyes are shooting daggers at me was not enough. *You had to make it worse by telling me to take Chemistry as the teacher is qualified yet again. And the worst is that you have done something I believe no teacher should. I now doubt myself and anxiously go through all websites to confirm what I have decided is right. You made me doubt myself. What I've been working towards since probably second grade now seems irrelevant.

Chemistry. Sure I'll do Chem, so you'll get off my back. Do you want that? Because I'll be the only one blamed in the long run if something goes wrong. You'll take the credit, if out of the blue, I realise how wonderful Chemistry is and decide to go win a Nobel Prize.

"Don't do it because you like it," you caution me. Have you taken any effort to find out where I'm going? You feel I want to do Economics because I have a friend doing that subject. Wrong. And as for taking subjects out of the thin air, you have no idea how detailed my study plan is. For the simple reason, you never bothered to find out.

Realise that you're ruining not just my life, but maybe others too. Chemistry I will not do. Nor Math. Not any subject you suggest do I feel like doing now. But know this.
I'm going to study and get into the college of my dreams. And when you go around, feeling that you led to my success, I'll be thanking myself for not listening to you.

*Refer to the article "Can I please study to learn?"

Silent Scream

2012-07-28T06:53:00.003-07:00

Listen to me closely

For I cannot speak

As loudly and clearly as you wish me to be

I'm quiet and you wonder why

You believe me not

When I say
I know not what to say

I know not how to say

Hear me when I

Speak with my eyes

Hear me when I

Sob silently in the darkness

Hear me when I

Smile at you

Hear me when I

Bury myself in your warm embrace

But mostly I wish

You would hear me when

No other does

When by the light

Of the moon

I let forth,a

Silent scream

Can I please study to learn?

2012-07-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

So here I am, posting something exactly two months after my last blog post. In this time my exams have been written, (math went quite well, thank you), i have shifted to a new house, and my summer has come to an end. This weekend is the last of freedom.

Yesterday I visited my school to figure out what subjects to take next year. To my undisguised horror, both history and economics, previously offered subjects were no longer available. I have to do 6 subjects, and two I really need are not there. Great. "What to I do now?" I asked my counsellor. "Why don't you take chemistry? It's easy and the kids seem to like it..." was the answer.

Excuse me? Did you just tell me to take chemistry because it's easy? Slow down. When did this start happening?? I didn't know that I was eligible to take a subject because it's easy! Oh, why don't I just take English because it's easy! Seriously, what is the world coming to! I came back home and talked this out with my friends, and they told me this was a similar case in their colleges too. Students being encouraged to take easy subjects so that their marks are great. Because at the end of the day marks are what matter. In this respect, my counsellor was only trying to help.

Should it really be like this? I get terrible marks in physics, but I'm just as interested in the Higgs boson particle as the girl doing research on nano particles. But hey, no marks=you don't know anything in that subject!

I find the education system terrible! I keep thinking about dropping out of school (Bill Gates and Sachin Tendulkar being my role models to do so). But then two things stopped me from thinking this way. One was my mom and my best friend telling me, "Sachin plays cricket, Gates built a multimillion empire. What can you do?' Right now, I have no clue. So that's one option out. The other is something my mom always says. I'm a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson and his ideas. Using this great example my mom tells me, "The only reason people listen to him is because he's been through the system, and he knows what he's talking about."

So there! I have to go through "education". But then it's up to me to make the change. I know that I want to inspire people to stop treating subjects as just a means to get marks. And I'm going to do something about it. Right now, I'm going to study. However there is only so much I can do alone. The only way to get this moving is if everyone I know, tells everyone they know. Therefore this post. Start thinking about it people, because change is inevitable. But, we can be the ones bringing about that change.

The countdown ends...

2012-05-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I give my exam. I have decided to end the countdown today, as tomorrow will be spent swotting.

I discovered today that I have used up 2 and a half notebooks just in these past 15 days. I still lack confidence, but at least I now know the basics (much to the relief of many people).
I'm not scared anymore. I can face math now, boldly. Heck, I can even face my math teacher and proudly tell him what he could not do in 2 years, my family, friends and I did in a fortnight. I'm ready for my exam. I will not be finishing early this time because I do not know anything, but maybe because I knew everything. Now, I know I can do it.

I have already thanked my support group like I fondly refer to them, and now I would like to thank all of you. The whole purpose of this countdown was that I would do math everyday so that I would have something to share with you guys, which forced me into doing math everyday. Somewhere along the road, there came a point where I stopped doing it just to put in on the blog. Knowing that so many people were there for me, rooting for me made me want to learn. It made me want to work. It made me want to score great marks. The blog and more importantly it's readers made this possible.

I'll be posting soon after my exam and I'll let you all know how it went. Stick around because I have some pretty interesting articles lined up. We have a guest writer with an article about a journey in Assam, and then one of mine featuring Kochi which is heralded as the Queen of the Arabian.

Thank you all for sticking with me and the blog through these 15 days, which have been filled with tears, laughter, frustration, joy, and lots and lots of learning.

3 days to become a math genius

2012-05-04T09:31:00.002-07:00

3 days to go. And I have learnt more in these past few days than I did in two years. Life's real funny isn't it? :)

On Tuesday, I'll be giving my first math exam. I have another one later this month. At the beginning of my study leave I was scared. You can say about as scared as my neighbour is when she sees lizards. I had no clue what was going on, and numbers, and signs would just swim on the pages rather than making sense. Thanks to an amazing group of people, which consists of my mom and some really great friends, it makes sense now. I'm not perfect at math. But I'm not scared anymore.

I did some 5 and a half papers today. Most of them were easy. Some were tough. A few days days ago I would have probably said "most were tough, some were easy." I smile now when I solve problems not look at them through a haze of frustrated tears, or with eyes burning with exhaustion and hate. We're not the best of friends. But it's like my mom says. When you have to work with someone, you have to work with them. If you don't like them don't spend the evening with them. Math and I are kind of like that. I need to work with it, so I'm working with it. But unlike French, I am not doing it because I have fun with it.

Waiting for tomorrow...

5 and 4 days to become a math genius

2012-05-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

The exam draws nearer, I become fearer (don't worry, I'm just messing around). It's been a good two days, where math is concerned. I solved 46 problems in less than an hour today I'm not going to tell you that they were really easy and spoil my image), I'm getting the hang of almost everything, and the best part is while going through my exam papers I found a lot of places where the examiner had not given me marks when I have actually gotten the answer right. Muhahaha math you know I'm going to beat you, sucker!!!

7 and 6 days to become a math genius

2012-05-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but I have to post these two together. There has been a steady improvement! I'm doing papers on my own, no more nervous breakdowns, and I can actually understand stuff. Thanks to Sheldon Cooper and The Big Bang Theory, I'm not going to forget Venn diagrams anytime soon. But no one I know understands bearings. This was how my Mom summed it up today- "I don't get bearings, our neighbour doesn't get bearings and he's smart, your best friend isn't scoring well, but we know he's smart, your dad is definitely smart, and only two people in your class understand it." In other words I'm in big trouble!!
Oh well, apart from that, everything else is pretty cool!
I'm almost confident...almost.
Let's see what tomorrow brings :)