C.H.A.N.G.E. Team's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (priya) — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 18:47:00 +0000

July 05, 2019

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

BLESSINGS!!!!How often have we taken them for granted...amongst everything else in the world a healthy mind and a healthy body itself is a blessing....

I had an accident about 8 months back....at that time i was working in a corporate hospital doing 8hrs shift.. With the handing over and the other stuffs it would easily take 10hrs...that day i had morning shift...so i was pretty excited to go home coz i could have the day to myself...(rest all the days usually i was given afternoon shift which means i would reach home at 10...be dead tired sleep..wake up late morning and then hurry to work)...so that day my shift had ended...and i almost reached home...i was just a turn away from home...i just crossed a speed breaker (imagine how slow i cud have been since i just got off the speed breaker) and on going to the road that was just 50sec from my house...i saw a vehicle speeding like jet towards me...next thing i know is i was thrown to the ground and to make it worse my activa fell on my leg....i was not in a position to think...but deep down...i was scared what the hell would have happened to my leg...it took quite a while for the on lookers to reach me.. They helped me up and i was pretty dizzy and was quite relieved to stand on my feet...but to my surprise my hand hurt quite a lot...i dint try to move it at the road...i was so very angry on the one who was responsible for that..Infact he hit the brake long back and i was in such a position...if he had hit me in the speed he was coming probably i wouldn't have existed now even...i was so angry...the crowd called my dad...they were arguing something...nobody had a thought to note his number...i just questioned him why the hell was he speeding like this inside a colony...the moron actually had not even apologized or helped to take the vehicle of me...then i walked home...on reaching home in a groggy state ...while trying to remove my helmet..it was then only i realized that my arm was broken...on reaching the hospital they told me that i had a hairline fracture of my radius and scaphoid bone...GOD knows how painful it is to move the fractured part to various positions to take the xray...then followed the cast putting scenario...amidst the pain .. still in the corner of my mind i felt relieved that it was a conservative management...after going home, during the pain i had flashbacks of the ortho ward..where the patients used to complain despite giving the painkiller injections...we were helpless then..then the next two days i spent so angrily questioning why it happened to me.....the unknown person who knocked me down..i felt very angry that i dont deserve to suffer all this for no bloody fault of mine ...y i hadn't started 5 minutes earlier or five minutes later this wouldn't have happened at all...bone pain is one of the worst forms of pain...even though only hairline fracture it was terrible...after a day or so..the plaster of paris powder started coming off...my fingers that got in touch with the powder was itching like hell...i thought 'oh no am i having an allergic reaction?'...i just literally wanted to rip open the cast..it was itching the whole night i couldnt sleep...next day i woke up thinking how good it would have been if all of it would have been a bad dream.NO IT WAS NOT A DREAM..after two days of my accident i had to return to duty coz there was shortage of duty doctors in that hospital(yes!!!!!it was an incredibly stupid decision)..i had made stupider decisions before but this could easily make to the top ten because i was with my cast....my patients often stared at the cast when i asked for their complaints or looked at me pitifully...some commented that they should wait for someone else etc....the FRUSTRATION WAS REAL..i couldn't even comb my hair myself...just imagine we cant do anything with one hand...more than the physical pain and the itching set off by the powder this was taking a toll on me mentally...i felt more alone than ever...i needed to talk to a someone all the time..IT IS THE TOUGH TIMES THAT SHOW WHO REALLY IS THERE FOR US!!....i felt that i was troubling my parents even more...at the hospital i needed the help of my patient attender to help me put my stethoscope...some patients were happily ready to help me compared to some of the nurses who acted indifferent..God knows why...then after going home i couldn't even open my food parcel till someone got home to help me....the frustration,the neediness,the self pity...the loneliness..i felt as though i was maimed though i knew it was only temporary....those were horrible days.....the worst was yet to come...two days after i had removed my POP that morning my parents had an accident...an over-speeding car knocked them down..they say they are lucky to be alive....this time i was completely shattered....my dad had minor injuries...but my mom sustained fracture in her foot...i knew what it was ...this time its not hairline fracture...but again i gasped thinking that the treatment is at least conservative....2018 could have easily been my worst year...i had lost my grandmother two months before my accident...

so before you drive hastily just think.... a persons life can be so much changed with a difference of your driving speed....you drive properly not just for your own safety....please drive keeping in mind the safety of others.....my intent of writing this post is to tell this message ...am sorry if i had been too cliche' or lamenting much...but i just wrote whatever happened to me..so i couldnt help it...i had PTSD KIND of reaction for a long time on the road after the accident during driving...but now i drive very slowly...nd manage to spam everyone on the road with multiple horn sounds on the turning just to make sure u know!!!!!
REALLY STAYING HEALTHY ITSELF IS A BLESSING....IT SHOULD BE COUNTED
even now it feels so good to be typing with both hands....☺

Comments

"We Are Like This Only"- Seven Indianisms Every Writer Should Avoid

noreply@blogger.com (Karthiga) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 09:17:00 +0000

Why do most of us go for Dan brown or Karin Slaughter when we have Chetan Bhagat or Preeti Shenoy to opt for? We Indians are more adept in spinning fiction, penning down our views on any journal be it, mythology, philosophy, sci-fi or biographies. Yet, there are certain stumbling blocks that bring down the standard of Indian authors in the world of readers. Here is a list that every Indian writer looking forward for an international wide recognition should avoid, in the perspective of an avid reader.

Face the reality: Being brought up in a conserved society, when we look for a world full of strong minded and pragmatic people through the books we read, the extremely romantic and luvy-duvy stuff is not going to make us feel any better. Romance when subtly expressed feels the best.

Beware of the blurb: A blurb may look something trivial compared to the whole effort that you have put on writing the book. But, it is something that hooks the reader to the book and provokes reading. Make sure you keep it intimidating.

Never quit reading: Reveling in the light of fame forever on one’s best-selling book alone is not going to help. Look forward for different ideas that would make your next book completely different from the previous one. Else, you would end up repeating the same.

Do some research: Once you get an idea for a book, get down on the field and do some research so that you get the facts right. Or else, your mystery thriller may turn out to be a superhero comic!

Never plaigerize: Once the reader gets the notion that the storyline of the book is the same as some movie or book that he/she has read before, the person is going to lose interest in reading the book further.

Brevity is the soul of wit: Knowing where exactly to be descriptive and where one should be brief and precise makes your book more likely to be read. Also make sure the ends of your story ties up to avoid dissatisfied readers.

Language matters: Using regional languages at inappropriate places causes chaos as there are so many dialects within the same language in our country.

Making sure of these expectations from a reader will put you at ease while you write. Best of luck to all young minds who wanna choose writing as their career.

Foodies...gonna try chicken?? BEWARE..

noreply@blogger.com (Karthiga) — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 07:14:00 +0000

Foodies..gonna try chicken?? BEWARE…

Broiler chicken has become one of the most favorite recipes of non-vegetarian foodies. I too will be one among you all topping the list. But have we ever wondered how are these chicken reared? Is it really hygienic? What are they fed with? How do they gain weight so rapidly?

Of course..it is relatively cheap, easy to cook and readily available…. yet, there are some most depressing and dreadful facts that are still unknown to the masses.

Basically, broilers are less resistant to diseases unless they are vaccinated and fed with antibiotics regularly. However, to increase the yield and promote rapid weight gain the chicks are fed with various antibiotics and growth promoters. These chemicals are found to have adverse effects on human body when the meat is consumed. It is also found that poultry that are grown using antibiotics and growth promoters can be contaminated with the antimicrobial and anti-parasitic drugs or pesticides used on farms. The ingestion of these antimicrobials through broiler meat can cause antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to develop in humans. As a result, so many antibiotic medicines have become ineffective in our human system. Prolonged consumption of the meat filled with antibiotics is found to damage liver, kidney and bone marrow. There is also 50% chances for diseases such as bird flu being transmitted to humans.

Women are more prone to the growth of a cyst in the womb. The chances of early puberty in little girls has also become very high. There has been an increased risk of breast cancer in women as well.

So..dear foodies..Think twice before grabbing a bite of chicken next time.

Sub conscious mind

noreply@blogger.com (Karthiga) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 07:03:00 +0000

Mind is something that is virtual. Psychologists divide mind into three systems.

· The consciousness mind

· The subconscious mind or the preconscious mind

· The unconscious mind

consciousness mind:

The consciousness mind is your awareness at the present moment. You are aware of something on the outside as well as some specific mental functions happening on the inside. For example, you are aware of your environment, your breathing, or the chair that you are sitting on.

The subconscious mind :

The subconscious mind or the preconscious mind consists of accessible information. You can become aware of this information once your direct your attention to it. Think of this as memory recall.

You walk down the street to your house without consciously needing to be alert to your surroundings. You can talk on the cell phone and still arrive home safely. You can easily bring to consciousness the subconscious information about the path to your home. You can also easily remember phone numbers that you frequently use.

It is possible that some of what might be perceived to be unconscious becomes subconscious, and then conscious (e.g. a long-forgotten childhood memory suddenly emerges after decades). We can assume that some unconscious memories need a strong, specific trigger to bring them to consciousness; whereas, a subconscious memory can be brought to consciousness more easily.

The unconscious mind:

The unconscious mind, consisting of the primitive, instinctual wishes as well as the information that we cannot access. Although our behaviors might indicate the unconscious forces that drive them, we don’t have easy access to the information stored in the unconscious mind. During our childhood, we acquired countless memories and experiences that formed who we are today. However, we cannot recall most of those memories. They are unconscious forces (beliefs, patterns, subjective maps of reality) that drive our behaviors.

What a subconscious mind really is?

The pre-conscious contains thoughts and feelings that a person is not currently aware of, but which can easily be brought to consciousness. It exists just below the level of consciousness before the unconscious mind.

This is what we mean in our everyday usage of the word available memory. For example, you are presently not thinking about your mobile telephone number, but now it is mentioned you can recall it with ease. Mild emotional experiences may be in the subconscious but sometimes traumatic and powerful negative emotions are repressed and hence not available in the subconscious.

Our feelings, motives and decisions are actually powerfully influenced by our past experiences, stored in the pre-conscious and instincts from the unconscious.

HARNESSING SUBCONSCIOUS MIND:

While most of us are aware that we have something called a subconscious mind within us, there are very few of us who know much more than that about it, let alone how to harness it.

This is unfortunate, for your subconscious mind can and should be a great ally in achieving success in your life. All you need do is to establish a working relationship with your subconscious mind. In order to do this, one must become conscious and familiar with this hidden, mysterious aspect of ourselves, and the role it plays in our life.

One of the ways we can do this is by affirming to ourselves for several minutes each day, “My subconscious mind is my partner in success.” By doing this we are re-educating ourselves as to the fact that we possess a second powerful mind, and that it is our partner in success.

Becoming conscious of our subconscious, and moving beyond thinking of it as some abstract concept or figment of our imagination is an important step.

The second step is to be aware of how our conscious and subconscious minds work together, to learn the functions and roles of each. The subconscious has two main functions in our life.

The first function is to attract to us conditions and circumstances according to the predominant thought patterns that reside within it. My reoccurring mantra is, “What you focus on you attract.” Now with this new subconscious information, you can begin to understand why this is true. Your subconscious mind is not limited in any way and will forever attract to you according to your thoughts. It has no volition of its own and will simply act upon what resides and vibrates within.

Further to this, your subconscious mind will act upon any request or instruction you give it. Any thought that is repeated over and over again will take an imprint within the subconscious, which cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imagined.

This is why visualizations, affirmations and repeated images can have such a powerful effect in our life. By doing these exercises we are creating images within ourselves which the subconscious then acts upon.

Our conscious mind is the guardian to the gates of the subconscious. It is the conscious mind’s role to make sure that only the highest quality thoughts gain entrance to the subconscious. When we fully understand that whatever thoughts and beliefs gain entrance to the subconscious will eventually manifest in our life, we become very diligent in monitoring and directing our thoughts.

CBM project – Cold Blooded Monster project..Oops..sorry…Coal Bed Methane Project.

noreply@blogger.com (Karthiga) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 04:11:00 +0000

This write-up is about something that I came across and made me realize once more that a nation’s welfare is in the hands of every individual in it.

Let me first jot down what this CBM project is all about. Methane is a by product of coal that is released during and after the process of mining. This gas when extracted effectively can be used for vehicle refueling, electric power generation and in various industries such as fertilizers and in steel production. There is a demo project currently being implemented in Sudamdih and Moonidih mines of BCCL, at Jharia coal field, Jarkhand. Cool…isn’t it?!

One more great news…A company called Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd., based in Gurgaon, Haryana had got license to implement this project in Tamilnadu. But where?? That is the tragic part..

License was provided to this company for extracting CBM through hydraulic fracturing method in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur, the regions constituting Kaveri River basin.
An area of about 691Km² was provided for this process. In order to extract methane one has to drain out all the ground water present above the coal bed and coal is found at a depth of 6000ft underground in these regions. This water contains a high concentration of minerals and other salts that cannot be used for agricultural purposes. In turn it also spoils the soil in which our daily bread is being cultivated since times unknown. This drilling causes great hydrogeological disturbances making ground water unavailable for agriculture and debilitating huge amount of agricultural land transforming Tamilnadu into Thar desert within few decades. There is also high risk of explosion during the extraction process causing loss of life and property.

Though there are just 2000 wells to be drilled in 691km² of agricultural land, the entire surrounding locality of about 21 lakh acres (8270 km²) will have to withstand its impact. Taking all these losses into account the plan of producing 450MW of electricity for 25 years is highly insignificant. Well..this doesn’t sound cool now..right??

Environmentalists, social activists and farmers together brought this into light of the rest of Tamilnadu and the Government, organizing protests against the project. The untiring efforts of the common men yielded fruit when CV Shankar, additional Chief Sectretay of the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board passed a GO recommending the Union Government to drop this proposal.

I am glad to find that we Indians are still not influenced by the NIMBY syndrome. This proves that small steps taken by an individual for the welfare of his country and the land that he lives in will always be rewarded the right way. This article is dedicated to every single individual who are actually making an effort to stop this CBM in Tamilnadu, thereby saving the life and daily living of lakhs of citizens.

A Journey of sorts

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:25:00 +0000

Away from the noise, away from the heat,
Towards a place for which my heart doth beat,
Wherein the priceless unfound treasure lies,
I go, traversing under starry skies.

On a quest for answers not unraveled
To anyone but to those who have traveled,
Thirsting for that sense of awe and wonder,
I go past many a wall and border.

Seeking some peace and quiet, joy and sunshine,
Amongst flora and fauna, hills and brine,
For miracles and mysteries yet unseen,
I go places where rarely men have been.

And I’m sure this journey of mine, so dear,
Shall remove many a vain hope and fear,
Shall hitherto cleanse my soul, mend my heart,
Bring all that can’t be brought by science or art.

The Edison of India - G. D. Naidu

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 18:31:00 +0000

Wikipedia has this to say about him:

G. D. Naidu (Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu (23 March 1893 – 4 January 1974) was an Indian inventor and engineer who is also referred to as the Edison of India.He is credited with the manufacture of the first electric motor in India. His contributions were primarily industrial but also span the fields of electrical, mechanical, agricultural (Hybrid cultivation) and automobile engineering. He had only primary education but excelled as a versatile genius.

You can read the whole wikipedia article if you wanna know about this man... It says there he started philanthropic work after some years of his life and built colleges for engineering. But there is much more to the story said [which I heard from my parents]... You can call it "the word on the street".

It is said that GD Naidu invented some new kind of vehicle/machinery and he wanted to get a patent for it. Unable to do so due to corruption or the bureaucratic red tape or whatever that usually makes things difficult in Government departments, he got so fed up that he stopped inventing things. Instead he turned philanthropic and decided to educate and bring up young fellows so that one day they would achieve and invent and all that. So he set up colleges and such kind.

So one would naturally wonder if corruption had infected the Indian Patent Office and well... in the present climate, one would be foolish to disagree with that.

Wikipedia once again:

A very constructive criticism and subsequent evidences of corruption, bribery, nepotism and the use of extra-Constitutional authority of power by a set of coterie-driven officials led by senior officials of the Indian patent office have emerged from Dr. Arijit Bhattacharya, a former Controller of the Kolkata Patent Office.

Now the purpose of me posting this bit of info is that sometimes... Things are more complicated than they appear to be. One might have wondered why there are not many manufacturing companies in India or why all the scientists and inventors run abroad at the slightest chance.

India - The Most Extraordinary Country

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 13:22:00 +0000

This is a video we made a while back on India. It was for the exhibition actually. We put them in CDs and sold them. Now that's over, I uploaded it in youtube :)

Every Life is a Story to Learn From

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:27:00 +0000

Sometimes, a person's life is not just another life... It is a footprint, in the sands of time... A footprint that stands for the strength of the human spirit. It's a story, that reminds us that life is neither as simple nor as complex as it seems. Makes us wonder about how in spite of all that's beautiful in this world, we decide to squander it all for reasons too primitive to think about.

I had the opportunity to meet a girl... Let's call her Kavitha. She works as a kind of nurse + maid to a relative. I was supposed to show her around the house, and once we were in the backyard, we began talking... It first started with house beautiful the house and the surroundings were, but soon, she was telling me all about her life.

She grew up in a hostel in Andhra Pradesh, as her mom had left for jobs abroad and had not returned. She studied till 11th, but then had to discontinue her studies due to problems in the family. She had a younger and an elder sister, the latter was married and had had a boy and a girl child by the age of 16. When asked about her ambition, she told me she wanted to join the police... That had been her answer since she was little, to everyone who asked the same question. But her family, she knew would look at her as an outcast if she became one.

During her stay in the hostel, she never visited her family during the holidays much. When she returned from the hostel, her father turned out to be a drunkard and as she couldn't live with him, she went to her grandmother's house in Kakinada.There she worked in a spinning mill, maintaining the records of how much of what went where and other such accounts. She was 15 then. She had passed 10th with a good score of 450+ out of 500. But soon... there came a curious debacle.

There was a man in his early twenties working in the place. There were barrels there which were a bit difficult to move. He was a friendly fellow and asked Kavitha for help. She obliged, but her uncle [sister's husband] had seen it and started spreading the rumor that Kavitha was talking to that guy a lot and other such remarks. This problem escalated and the family started to think of arranging her marriage soon.

She told me that where she came from, early marriages were common, nothing big. And you filing cases for fighting for your rights never really happens. When things got worse, Kavitha ran away from home. She explained that once married, everyone expected her to remain at the feet of her husband... ladies had to wear only sarees and in her village, unmarried girls had to wear half-sarees always - no midi, salwar kameez, etc. For her the world hadn't changed much... India hadn't changed much.

But when you look at the now 17-year old, you would be surprised. She had a very cheerful face, twinkling eyes and an innocent beam of smile, as long as she's at the right place, with the right people. To me, she represented one of the young women fighting against all odds and pursuing a dream - a dream to achieve something in her life. She had had sorrows but she wasn't weak - far from it. She was a person whose resolve and strength of character could be seen through her eyes. It's times like these that you get a chance to marvel at the might of the human spirit.

Many families and societies across India are still holding a backward outlook on everything. Nothing else can explain the honor killings, dowry abuses, early marriage, child labor, etc. And we can hardly call ourselves a free country, when such restraints of the mind are still keeping many of us down. A free society is one which provides the freedom of self-actualization. Anything other than that, you will have injustice... And like Martin Luther King said, "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere."

The Down-Side of Being Practial

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:50:00 +0000

Do you remember how you felt about things like world peace, environmental conservation, corruption and the rest of it when you were like, 5 years old?

When one asks a student in class 7 about corruption, the student will reply with elaborate answers on how wrong it is to give bribes, get bribes, etc. But when one asks a student of class 11, you get surprisingly different answers based more on "practicality". A 11th standard fellow would try to explain to you why corruption is inevitable in India if you want to survive.
It's around the same time fellows stop believing in happy endings, eccentric dreams, and you know... the kinds of things that used to dominate your childhood mental environment. When you're a child, you feel like there are endless possibilities... Like you were born to do something truly great and wonderful... Like you were an important part of the world. But as kids grow up, they get "practical"... Something Walt Disney movies desperately try to prevent.

We have all heard people say "My childhood was the best part of my life" ... We know it's probably true, even in our own lives. But maybe childhood is the best part because you know so little of the world and feel enchanted by things adults just scorn at.

My theory however is that, when we grow out of childhood, we also grow out of ourselves. We put a mask on... trying to be someone else so the society would like us better. We decide that our childhood dreams were nonsensical. We stop believing in some of the most beautiful things in life, which actually make it worth living. In other words, we get disenchanted.

Maybe the enchantment of childhood is the real thing. How do you know? Faith and Reason do not always have to be two separate paths.

"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." ~ Mary Kay Ash

I've said it a lot of times, but I think practicality is... sometimes over-rated.

Hello Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:46:00 +0000

On behalf of everyone in the team, I would like to congratulate everyone in the team for successfully passing their higher secondary and oh, yeah... Special congrats to Naveena, Soma Sundari, Vidya and Anandavalli for doing the same with distinction. So now, it's goodbye school and hellooooo world!! :D

Blog Work's Put on Hold

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:17:00 +0000

Aren't they cute?

As our authors are suffering from the post-exams syndrome and are hunting down colleges with almost murderous rage [a.k.a 'kolaveri'], anyone who happens to stumble across this blog, please note that the blog work is being put on a hold for the time being and will be continued once all of us burst into some college and finally settle down.

Thank you.

For no sane reason except that tomorrow is May 1st, we end this announcement with the song 'First of May':

Surviving the Twelfth - Problems at School

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:33:00 +0000

School, they say is like a second home. Maybe that's why it can be as painful as one's family during exams. I was going through a few websites while I came across this one: Why do I hate School. I can't help but feel that though the article is barely reasonable or logical, it still tells certain uncomfortable truths. That there are kids who absolutely hate school and it might not entirely be their fault, is a frightening aspect. But then, there are the nice kids who actually love school, but the school just doesn't seem to love them that much. This can be a huge drawback.

Problems at School

There are lot of problems one can face at school, but I'm going to concentrate only on those caused by the school.

Teachers

Some teachers just don't know how to motivate young people.

With growing competition among teachers, there has been an alarming rise in teachers' politics, which when sensed, gives more stress to students; and teachers generally motivate the wrong way. They frighten the students, get disappointed with them or they mark the late bloomers as the evil ones and the fast-learners as the 'brilliant' and angelic ones.

Most teachers are quick in jumping to conclusions and judging a student. When they try to help, they don't understand the student's reluctance to talk to them... nor the student's unwillingness to learn. In some schools, students are even caned.

Sometimes, it's almost like the student will do a lot better if the teachers just ignored him. I've noticed how they reprimand the slow-learners for not doing their work in time, while remaining lenient to the 'bright' ones. What they fail to see is that the reason why "bright" students study well, might be because they are left alone [in most cases].

As the teachers turn out a lot friendly in classes 11th and 12th, they start to see students as young adults, which escalates their resentment when a particular student doesn't perform well. They take it as a personal insult. They then assume, just like families that the student is arrogant, irresponsible, etc.

Peers

Imagine walking out after an exam, disheveled and worried about what marks you're gonna get, when suddenly some classmate appears in front of you, saying "Centum?" with that smug look on his/her face. If this is done once or twice by one or two, it wouldn't matter much. But for some insanely, inexcusably, criminally, stupid reason, so many people have taken to this unnerving habit.

Worse still, when you express your concern over some exam, some guys reply with things like, "If you yourself are worried, then imagine how worried we must be!", "Oh c'mon... You're just saying that!", "You'll score great, no problem." I can assure you, it doesn't sound as encouraging as it seems. The thing is, most peers pretend each other to be brilliant in academics, they praise them to the point of tomfoolery, just to make sure they themselves feel safe, secure and comfortable.

And every time peers do something like that or compare their marks with yours, almost invariably stating your supremacy, you feel awkward and start to put yourself down in front of others, to undo the effect. In other words, you start feeling either insecure or pretty much proud [if you're daft enough to believe them, that is].

Lack of Recreation
Many schools now-a-days have no recreation - no competitions, no sports, no extra-curricular activities. for students of 10th and 12th... which is a bit thick, in my opinion. Sure 'studies' gains a huge importance in these classes, but what about the ability of the student to cope up with them? Stress busters also gain a huge importance, something which is not always acknowledged by schools. Unlike what most teachers, parents and the entire set of people from whom a student must continuously rage battles, think, activities other than studying can give a huge boost of confidence, relief, energy and enthusiasm. Taking their minds off something that they are constantly worried about can only help them.

There's no doubt that teachers, just like parents and the school administration want what is best for students. The students themselves want what is best for them [maybe some are not convinced about what].... Our aims are quite the same: Marks. Why is it then, that all of us have to battle with each other to survive it?

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Surviving Twelfth - Problems at Home

Surviving the Twelfth - Problems At Home

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Everyone expects it to be tough. But no one expects to break down in the middle of it. Well, it happens and so, I'm here to put forward a student's opinion as to why "Studying is not easy"... Especially, when that's your prime objective, like in the 10th and 12th classes.

Problems at Home

Okay, I know this is something all of us give as a reason. But believe me, this is such a wide topic that I've divided it into several categories:

Comparison:
Imagine a person who looks at you and rebukes you for not being as good as your rival. Even worse, imagine someone asking you to compete ferociously with a friend, while you yourself are fighting all surges of jealousy. And the worst case - Imagine that "someone" to be a person whose words mean more to you than you yourself would like to believe. You'll have a very good idea as to what a normal 12th standard student is forced to undergo.

Domestic troubles:

The Result

Studying is not equivalent to many types of work... No matter how horribly your parents fight at home because of you, no matter how many times your superiors constantly remind you about your own worthlessness, no matter how much emotional strain you are under, you will always be able to exert your physical powers. But studying will be like an insult to your feelings. Not studying and writing stupid stuff during exams will be an insult to your intellect. In the end, the student ends up losing his/her sense of self. And when that happens, studying will be the last thing on the planet that a student really wants to do.

Discouragement:
Many students have a problem - right when they want to begin their homework or exam preparation, their parents with all sincerity order them to start studying, and sometimes accompany it with a rebuke about their laziness. For some reason, this makes the student lose all interest in studying anything and their mood changes. Some brave teenagers, hoping their parents would understand try to explain this weird phenomenon. But their parents get hurt... "He says he didn't learn just because I told him to!" Then they begin to snidely mention it at every opportunity and also take it to mean the student's arrogance and heedlessness. But what the student really feels is individuality. The student wants to learn because he wants to learn... Not because he is ordered to do so. The minute a mom or dad tries to remind him of his job, he becomes demotivated and any passion he had for academics simply evaporates.

There's also the other common form of discouragement - "Yeah, as if you're going to study", "You're useless", "You're going to flunk the test", etc. It gets nastier and nastier, that's why I decided to leave it to your own memories/imagination.

Distractions:
I mention this at last because, this is by far the least destructive in my opinion. Many parents start having paranoia about the child spending time watching TV or on the computer or chatting over phone and such kind. They fail to realize... the student's problem is not in the distractions. It is in himself - the fact that he's not committed enough to restrain himself from temptations is important. But then, I just don't know how to say this without raising skepticism... but distractions don't matter. I used to watch Hollywood movies till 2.00 AM and didn't even have a geography or maths note in 10th standard. But I got more marks than all the students in whose homes the TV lines and LAN lines had been cut. I got more marks than everyone in the district, so it's fairly a good argument.

Expectations:
Well, this heading cropped up in my brain right after I wrote that line above. Expecting a person who's getting 90% to get 95% is fair. Expecting a person who's averaging just 85%, to get state rank in the board exams... is not. Nor is expecting a barely average student to get into renowned colleges through merit. It is possible, yes... But the demands and expectations are mostly detrimental to growth. For some reason, no matter what mark a student gets on an average, all his relatives, close family members expect him to do so well as to bag the district first rank at least. They say it for a joke, I suppose... or maybe to motivate. But quite frankly, in most cases it doesn't work. Over expectations just makes the student want to shut himself in a crappy cupboard and never come out again. They forget what they're studying for and focus their energies in fighting their fear of not living up to the expectations.

I have so far talked from the point of view of a student, regarding problems at home. It is quite true that a student with true strength and all that will hardly have these issues. But the problem is, where does that strength come from?

What’s Common To… Citizens & Xerophytes?

noreply@blogger.com (C.H.A.N.G.E. Team) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:11:00 +0000

Do you know what is common between citizens and xerophytes? Well, it’s an awful comparison, but I couldn’t help noticing the similarities between them with respect to just one aspect.

It was late in the night and I was ploughing through my biology text book as usual. I was reading about the environmental adaptations of plants and came across xerophytes and their classification. It went on something like this:

The xerophytes can be classified into three groups:

Drought escaping xerophytes

Drought enduring xerophytes

Drought resisting xerophytes

At first, as I read the lines, I was almost on the verge of creating one of my silent tantrums. My sleepy brain didn’t appreciate the classification, denouncing all three classes as one and the same. But there was still a small part of sanity deep inside me and it made me read it fully. Then I understood.

Drought escaping xerophytes were the ones which leave the place before drought creeps in. The enduring ones live under the dry conditions with some accumulated water and storage systems. The drought resisting ones on the other hand, however, have no special modification in them and they still live, resisting the harsh weather. They were called ‘true’ xerophytes.
But instead of thinking about memorising that whole thing for the exam, my brain began to drift off to something else. Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, I just realised the similarities between the xerophytes and the common citizens and formulated a classification based on my realization

Escaping

Escaping citizens are the ones who run away from the country when they see lots of trouble, or when things just don’t go the right way.

Enduring

Enduring citizens are the ones who remain in the country, accept the what’s not right and adapt themselves to the way things are done and go with the flow.

Resisting

Resisting citizens on the other hand, are the ones who don’t accept the wrongs, but rather resist them by their sheer will. They are the ‘true’ citizens!

Also at: http://socyberty.com/society/whats-common-to-citizens-xerophytes/#ixzz1fP03YQlh

A School Exhibition Using Recycled Products & More

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:21:00 +0000

After about 5 months of planning and running from one department of the school to another, we succeeded in setting up the exhibition of our dreams. It was on the 5th of September this year [had to rack my brains to remember... It seems so long ago that I almost forgot] and despite all the drama, tears, sweats, heated moments and panic attacks, it was the finest day we had in many months.

Taken at Home... Cameras not allowed in School :(

What it was all about
It was a sales exhibition and we had displayed all the stuff we had made... right from recycled bags, vases, stands, wall hangings, pencil art, paper weights, key chains to CD's, our own compiled poems, bookmarks, ear rings and many other stuff made of paper mache. It was all either motivational or about creating awareness, but we earned a lot of money too ;) 2,200 approx. Not really huge, but more than what we had expected. 'Course, the prices were a bit higher than what we initially planned on, but well... When the customers don't care about money, why should the sellers? Besides, it was all for a good cause. That money plus the 6000 we won from Jaagore's online campaigning contest, we donated 8200 to MDF India [Muscular Dystrophy Foundation], a very trusted foundation that works sincerely and totally selflessly for children affected by MD.

The Way we Prepared

An exhibition, to outsiders might seem a piece of cake. Sure. If you are referring to Rupert Hagrid's special recipe of rock cakes [One of J.K. Rowling's creations], sure... It's a piece of cake alright. Getting permission from the school for doing something like an exhibition is no easy business... We had to run from Teachers to Coordinator, from the Co-ord to the Headmaster and from various Heads to the Principal.

Apart from the extensive hierarchy, the other thing was the sudden tumbling of our marks into a new low. So we had to set a deal with teachers that if the exhibition was allowed, we would score better. The deal... er... failed [to say in colloquial tamil... 'oothikichu'], but they were gracious enough to forget and forgive. So then, when we thought the exhibition was safe, there was this problem of us 'being there'... in the exhibition. We had to run again to the heads to get permission to skip the classes, so we could actually be there when the students came to view the displayed stuffs.

So one fine Saturday, finally, we were told the exhibition was on the Monday. Then was the panic attack. We had told everyone we had at least 50 products, so that they would not think of cancelling the plans... But we had just about 40... or at least that's how it seemed like. On Monday however, as we bustled in and set everything, we had trouble accommodating all the stuff we had made on the ten tables we were provided.

Some guy once said that there's nothing like the last moment to make a man immensely productive... How true.

The Sales

As for the sales, most of the things got booked before we reached class 9. The little girls and boys were nearly fighting to get to all the things made. I have to admit... We were pretty much surprised. It was curious how kids loved to buy things... no matter what they are. By the end of the day, we were jumping up and down with the list of names of our customers in our hands.

What we Sold

There were lots more, we had about 205 that day :)

Our Class Presentation [12th Std.]: Short skit: Indians in India & Indians abroad

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:28:00 +0000

Our Class Presentation [12th Std.]: Short skit: Indians in India & Indians abroad

Karthiga: It’s a beautiful morning and we, the students of 12A are here to give you our class presentation. My friends have put together a skit that has a message they wish to share with all of us. It’s all about how we Indians are in India and how we are in a developed, foreign country. Over to Naveena.

NAVEENA Thanks Karthiga. Indians in India and Indians Abroad. Indians abroad. Suresh and his friends walk by. [SCENE I – Littering]

Y: Yuck... This tastes like leather.

V: Tch... I’ve got it wrong again...

Y: Here... throw this is in the bin too.

[C goes near and drops it in]

NAVEENA Indians in India... Suresh and the same group of his friends walk by. [SCENE I – Littering]

Y: Yuck... This tastes like leather.

V: Tch... I’ve got it wrong again.

[About to throw it away]

Y: Wait there’s a dustbin!

V: So?

Y: Want to see who can throw into it from here?

V: That will be me...

Y: We’ll see...

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~

NAVEENA Indians abroad. Sampoorna is with her friend and both are spellbound by the monument. [SCENE II – Monuments]

SS: Wow... Isn’t it simply beautiful?

VIDYA: I wonder how hard they worked to construct something of this kind in those days!

NAVEENA Indians in India. Sampoorna is with the same friend and both are again, spellbound. [SCENE II – Monuments]

SS: Wow... Isn’t it simply beautiful?

VIDYA: I wonder how hard they worked to construct something of this kind in those days!

SS: They needn’t have worked so hard, actually.

VIDYA: What? How come?

SS: Well... Everyone knows the easiest way to make history.

VIDYA: And... What’s that?

SS: Scribble on someone else’s monuments!

[scribbles] The-ere! Now I, Sampoorna of Madurai have made a name in the history of mankind!

[Vidya is disconcerted and shakes her head]

~~~~~

NAVEENA Indians abroad. At the traffic signal. [SCENE III – Traffic rules and bribing]

BACKSEAT: Hey... the red light... Stop, stop.

DRIVER: Drats.

[Passersby cross]

NAVEENA Indians in India. At the traffic signal. [SCENE III – Traffic rules and bribing]

BACKSEAT: Hey... the red light...

DRIVER: Drats.

BACKSEAT: Go, go... there’s not much traffic around.

[DRIVER whizzes past, passersby get alarmed and jump out of the way]

~~~~~

NAVEENA Dear friends, why’s there this difference? Maybe because the laws in India are not as strictly enforced as they should be. But can we take advantage of this state of affairs to create more chaos around the world? Changing the nature of law enforcement could be difficult... but we can always change ourselves. As the old saying goes, 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' Something we’ve heard quite often. What it essentially means though, is that when you change, the world might not change overnight. But it sure will be a better place... just because you decided to make a difference. And when all of us start making a difference, change.... happens.

~ Happy Independence Day !! ~ :D

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:54:00 +0000

Just returned from my School's Independence Day celebrations... Was a beautiful thing to watch all the little girls and boys sing, dance and whatnot. Only wish they knew the real meaning and depth of the things they just did.

Anyways, Happy Independence Day everyone!! Another year is born in the life of Independent India, and let's celebrate this day... 'Cause Independence is not just a big word thrown out by big men who think they've conquered the world... Let's not take our freedom for granted... And cherish it every moment we breathe on Indian soil. Jai Hind! :)

My Heart Beats For India - Poem About India

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:12:00 +0000

A poem I wrote for the McMahon Creative Writing Competition.

There was a time, long ago
When every traveling monk and
Every vain king worth his vow
Sought to glimpse this sacred land

Such was her glory, her splendor
A treasure trove of valor and wisdom
Of beauty, knowledge and culture
A wonder to many, a goal for some.

And now passed are those golden days
Though our achievements are not any less
Our dreams and hearts have parted ways
And our glory's fading into darkness.

Caught in a web of fury and greed
Stifled by pain, chaos and sadness,
Our country is yet to be freed
From all that's hindering her progress.

We've almost lost our ancient spirit
And we despair like we are helpless
We glance not into that dark pit
Enduring the evil around us

To see her fallen from her height
Every Indian's heart must ache
And so does mine; A ray of light
I search for and a choice I make

To work towards the greater good
With a belief to stand by too
And I would tell you, if I could...
My heart, India, beats for you.

__________________________________

My Mother - A Gift from God - A Poem About My Mother

noreply@blogger.com (priya) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:50:00 +0000

Here is a poem I wrote about my mom hope u like it

GOD'S GIFT

Glorious gifts of God
are not always cherished
No not until we perish
But I've found it, Eureka!

Indeed, couldn't have had a better one
She's the one who sowed love
brought light, joy and hope
Hope? Not just a ray but a beam

Ya I am talking about my mother,
taking pride that she's a Doctor
yes, she makes children wail and moan
through her syringe I mean.

Her patients long for her touch
and I muse that if she had a pouch
like a kangaroo, oh I go right in there,
though I feel her presence in every cell of mine!
I am like a tree rooted to mother earth.

Wait, wait let me halt
But being too emotional is not my fault
for I am ready to face a gale
when she's beside me
But I turn pretty pale
without my divine angel

And call a cynic and how
he'd forget what selfishness is
by looking at her!

she taught me - If you fail to plan
you are planning to fail
and that the world is mine
if I use it well

I've thanked God several times
for His gift
Now I thank my mother
by dedicating this poem to her.

How to Choose One's Life - The Life One Wants

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:51:00 +0000

Life is all about choices. Good or bad, right or wrong... Your destiny will unfold according to the choices you make.

The title, I feel is a trifle misleading... This post is going to be about observations, not solutions, because in the end the answers can be given only by ourselves.

Here are the five options, I think, that teenagers of 17 or 18 years have to ponder about, to make the best of their lives... And these 5 are basically dependent on what sort of life we wish to lead:

Life of Passion

A life of passion is what people like Picasso, Charles Dickens, M. S. Subbulakshmi, Kamal Hassan, etc. lead. You might have noticed what's common to all of them - they are all artists. People fascinated about arts, or even the many athletes and sportsmen base their life on the passion of their job.

Life of Ambition

A life of ambition involves a life where we search and ravage the whole world with the aim of obtaining money, power or a sense of worth. Ambition can drive men crazy, but it can also make a cowardly idiot strive so hard to excel, that he might as well become a top CEO or even President.

Life of Dreams

This is the kind of life that Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam would like us all to aim for: a life where we dream and follow that vision with all the enthusiasm and conviction we can muster. This can probably work wonders too, seeing the many people like Kalpana Chawla and others who lived their dreams to the full extent.

Life of Values

This is a life where you devote yourself to a cause... Only to a cause, irrespective of what might come along the way. It's a life where you decide to start fighting for so many things and fighting against so many things, just to satisfy that thirst for a world-changing revolution with you at its front segment.

Life of Peace

In this life, one chooses love and peace above everything else. Sometimes I wonder if this is the happiest of all life-choices, because as I see it, it's the monks and saints and love-valuing who fit this category. Selfless people like Mother Teresa may be categorized here.

It doesn't have to be that way

The problem is, almost everything - dreams, ambition, peace, values and passion are important aspects of a person's life. Maybe the best thing would be to amalgamate all of them into one and incorporate it in our lives, so that when they bloom, we'll know we made the right choices.

10,000 !! :D

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:29:00 +0000

:D We have made it to 10,000 views/hits on our blog! :D

:) Thanks to all those blessed souls who stumbled upon our blog, and more thanks to those who stopped by long enough to comment :)

Let's make it 1,00,000 soon people! ;)

_______________________________________________________

The Demotivating Motivational Speaker

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:56:00 +0000

I'm going to these AIPMT [All India Pre-Medical Entrance Exams] classes and today, they announced that we were going to have motivational classes starting at 2 o' clock in the afternoon. Many were rather disconcerted about this, because being the real hard-working students, they saw this as a waste of time. But I was rather overjoyed [partly because I love philosophy and partly because I dislike classes]. At first someone gave us an intro and then, the motivational speaker arrived. He was a pretty tall man and had a long tilak on his forehead. He was some sort of engineer and had got distinction from ILO and UN or something [I forget].

I have no idea where he started, because the class went on for two whole hours... non-stop, and a lot of things happened within that span of time - The first half hour I sat straight, my shoulders squared and all alert, determined to prove my sincerity in whatever was going on. The next half-hour, my shoulders had drooped and I was joggling my legs impatiently. Next I was rocking to and fro... and by the end of two hours, I was praying for an earthquake to get away from that class.

In short, he would have been a good stand-up comedian [if he limits the time], but definitely not a motivational speaker. I had to struggle to motivate myself just to keep myself awake.

He talked about friendship. He asked us to be friends with class toppers and 1st rank students... and to let go of all other friends for another two years [even if they think you're a bad fellow]. He told those who are 'in love', to fix targets for their partners... like 'Only if you get into IIT will I marry you' and stuff. He said that if people can't help their parents by getting into IIT, they should commit suicide [he said that we should not raise false hopes for parents and then not study, wasting money]. He then went on to say how Sachin Tendulkar and others succeeded. He also mentioned the difference between successful and unsuccessful people.

According to him, successful people say "I can", "I'll finish it", "Never Give up" and unsuccessful people say "I will", "I can't", "Give up", etc. Maybe that was rather rational... but he made it all so objective. He ruined the subtlety of success steps and made it all sound like that's all that was needed to succeed. I have been at the peak of academic success and at the ditch of it, so I know for one that 'academical success' is more than just a couple of steps - It is a subtle and subjective thing - the ways of which need to be learnt by careful study and experimentation. It's almost an art.

The reason why I'm over emotional about this is because it's people we are talking about. I have learnt to make myself immune to people's ramble... But what about the others? Making them think that IIT or AIPMT is their life dream and if they don't get in, they are lost... Is not the point of education.

He was wrong about why we study and how to study... But it wasn't an entire waste of 2 hrs... Because one can learn lots from such a person. He praised Sachin, but failed to mention that he was very poor in academics. He thought we had to study for our parents, for our nation and that we can do anything after getting into IIT. He seemed to think the point of life was earning a lump salary and settling down to do all the stuff you missed in 12th, because you were concentrating on getting there then.

"Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live." ~ Margaret Fuller

He was asking all of us to be that... just that.

Dr. Vasudevan, The One who Brought Plastic to the Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Meenakshi) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:32:00 +0000

It was an exciting morning for us, fellows of 12th standard in Jeevana. The Prefects Swearing-in ceremony has always been like that: nervous about the oath-taking, sitting still like a statue for an hour and even harder, managing to stay awake while some guy drones on about hard work and determination. But this time, it was truly inspiring... because we had the most inspiring chief guest ever - Dr. Vasudevan, a Dean of Thiagaraja College in Madurai, who had invented a process of using shredded plastic to lay roads which last for about 10 years. He wasn't just some absent-minded scientist working on formulas and stuff for application of chemistry. He was a... visionary, yup... that's the word for it. He is someone who dreams of India as more prosperous than it is now, someone who encourages innovation and environmental protection and someone who values humility and spirituality.

And boy is he talkative! It doesn't matter though, because his speech was either highly informative or inspiring.

This was the process he had patented for: Adding shredded plastic to molten tar at a high temperature, which will cause the former to melt, making the road water resistant and durable. By this, one can save 1 tonne of Bitumen coal and recycle 1 tonne of shredded plastic [about 10 lakh plastic bags]. He told us that civil engineers and contractors didn't welcome his idea much, because they earned their living with the help of inefficient and pot-holed roads. He had sold his patent to the Indian Government for free, despite having had private companies ready to pay him. [More info: Soma Basu's article in the Hindu about him]

He explained how ideas arise from the smallest of every-day things, how we have to just think different and also, how we have to contribute to the society and school. He then gave his formula for efficient leadership: Sincerity in your job and faith in God, along with conviction in your belief. These three are supposed to work miracles for people trying to make a difference in the society.

During our interactive session, one boy asked him if it was possible to make our roads white, so that it will help prevent global warming. He told us that that was the second question that Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam asked him. The first was about his 'namam', I think. He thus tried to explain how intelligence and knowledge are found everywhere and in everyone. But it is wisdom, innovation and application of knowledge that aren't, and also the most important.

He talked passionately about helping the society, about "Being Indian and Buying Indian", about India's development and such kind. When he suggested his ideas, someone asked him, "How come the Westerners or Japanese haven't thought about this? How can you invent something they haven't?" And he told us that he asked the person if he wasn't ashamed for raising a question of that sort. He expressed his view on how he thought Indians had the potential, the ideas, the everything that's required now. What they don't have is the inspiration and conviction.

Dr. Vasudevan seemed to be a complete human being, someone who knew the purpose of his life. He told us how he wanted to touch our hearts through our speech, so that it will make a difference.

By the end of his speech, two of my friends said they had almost teared up... Though I can't say I felt like it too... [I was a trifle annoyed when they said that,... I've never managed to cry for good, happy things... Like for the ending in Tare Zameen Par, when all my friends were with watery eyes, and mine were all dry and unemotional].

Optimisim - The Way of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Karthiga) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:22:00 +0000

Optimism is simply anticipating the best possible outcome in any event.

Well here are a few tips to make us feel more optimistic...lets give it a try...

Be realistic about your expectations.
Accept the past, manage the present and work hard towards the future.
Seek for a ray of light/hope in a negative situation. It’s a bit difficult considering all you are going through, but there’s always an opportunity lurking somewhere in the dark.
Utilize what you have for now and aspire to grow in every area of your life, remembering you can only swallow food in bits and pieces before taking another big bite.
Be authentic, be yourself and stop hiding behind the MASK of pretense.
Develop the habit of using positive affirmations constructively.
Listen to music. It has the ability to make your mind wander a bit.
Exercise regularly. Taking care of your body mind and soul builds courage and resilience to face the pressures of the world.
Avoid living in self denial.
Try as much as you can to stay calm when overwhelmed with the issues of life.
Be thankful for everything you have, who you are, the people around you…..
Develop a sense of humor. Cultivate the habit of laughing or cracking jokes
Be passionate. Embrace life and everything it stands for with love and passion.

The most important of all is to implement them in our lives.