My Onion Soul

How our childhood dreams got lost while growing up!

2015-07-16T11:37:00.001+05:30

There was a deep silence across the room like a storm was about to come. No sound could be heard except that coming from my over-sized shoes while walking to and fro. I could barely walk wearing an over-sized lab coat and big black formal shoes. With a wooden ruler in my one hand tapping on my other hand repeatedly and a stern look on my face I looked over to my class. They were terrified; unable to move or speak they stared me with anticipation. Suddenly I stopped, turned towards the black roller board hung on the wall and struck the ruler where “A=” was written in chalk in barely legible handwriting. I yelled with authority in my voice “A for?”. The topper of my class, my mom replied in a poetic tone as I had taught her to speak, “A for Apple”. I shouted in appreciation, “very good!”

We all had huge ambitions when we were kids. Not that I am too old but yeah! I don’t dream of becoming a doctor, teacher and pilot together. (Yes, I wanted to become all three.)
Ah! Sweet were those days when we weren’t aware of career jargons like degree, placement, job, entrance exams, eligibility etc. We just wore our dad’s lab coat and hung mom’s purse on the shoulder and became whatever we wanted. (That would be 5 year old me)

I was extremely ambitious when I was small, wanted to become a doctor because living things fascinated me. My mother is a teacher so that was also in the ‘list’. Besides that, looking up to the tiny planes leaving behind fading white smoke in the blue sky made me think if someone could fly that thing, he would be invincible. So that’s what I dreamt of. But then ‘cruel’ realities came out of nowhere. Growing up in a cut-throat competitive world, I learn what the world taught me and I chose paths which were tried, tested and conventional. I turned out fine but when I look back, I see a fearless little girl with big dreams in her sparkling dreamy eyes asking me a question “Hey, how come you forgot me?”

Freedom of dreaming leaves us somewhere and practical realities of life grab our hand and dragged us towards survival. (I came up with that line myself!) That’s what everyone is pitching for. Trying to get a job or a degree for a job so that they can pile up enough money to survive. Well “survival” is a bit of an exaggerated term; actually we all just want a lavish house with AC in every room and a big car. Anything less than that would cause embarrassing taunts and looks by worthless neighbors and distant relatives. In the struggle of understanding the worldly code of conduct, we don’t realize when our dreams lose our sight.

Well moving on, what’s done is done, until unless we have a time machine to go back and change our past decisions. As we drift through the crowd, we can still bring back the dreamy kid who got lost in the way by doing what we love to do. Our work should be interesting and engaging enough that we do not realize an hour pass while working. As the macho-man Salman Khan says “Wo jeena bhi koi jeena hai jisme koi KICK na ho”. The nature of the “kick” might be different for different people. We need to find our unique “kick” source (which should be legal at least, unlike what Salman does in the movie ‘Kick’).

If your work makes you look at the clock frequently, it’s time for a change. Going against the flow for a while will require tremendous courage but it’s the prize one has to pay for actual happiness. Because according to a popular belief “Haar kar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain!!"

So, what did you dream to become and how did things turn out for you?
C'mon! tell me. Then we can cry together :D

Having an elder brother can be Awesome!!

2015-06-22T15:06:00.000+05:30

The relationship between siblings is by far the coolest relationship ever. Besides being more flexible, there is less drama and hell lot of fun. Fights, patch ups, support, care and a lifelong unconditional bond of trust- it has all the best things. Having an elder brother feels great I must say. It's like having a 24x7 customer support guy at your service, always available for your absurd queries, career advice, emergency money lending or any other big or small issue.

The peculiar species called "big brother" or "bade bhaiya" is actually a hybrid between your father and own self. They are protective and corrective like your dad but crazy and prone to errors like you. So, they will always guide you through tough times, prepare you for what is coming but will also be the best hangout buddies too. Your relationship with your elder brother changes gradually with age. During the first 10-15 years of life with them is full of fighting, running around, biting, scratching, complaining and stealing chocolates. But as you grow up it all becomes casual and brothers become the most important support that can ever be. Not that fighting, running around, biting, scratching, complaining and stealing chocolates stops, but yes, it all becomes less personal and more fun.

They teach you the secret tricks for survival in the world; having been faced their own set of challenges without much support from anyone they are full of strength and experience. They will help you to choose the right path, warn you about the pitfalls and appreciate your small achievements. You become stronger growing up with them and the bloody sibling fights prepare you to easily beat up anyone. They are awesome secret keepers, only if you hold on to your end of bargain which can be anything they want or any of their own secrets. If you try to double cross them they will surely take revenge in some way or the other coz they are smarter.

Anyone reading this, having an elder brother might be recalling those vivid childhood memories like old vines playing in the head. I have some vines too. I remember the time when my brother used to come to my school to pick me up when it was raining heavily and all the roads were flooded. I remember him making maggi for me, giving me extra in the beginning knowing I wouldn't be able to finish it and and would give him more than half from my plate at the end. I remember the fights, exaggerated complains to mom to get me in trouble, those endless carrier discussions with him acting as "Arnab Goswami" and me as "Meenakshi Lekhi". ("What did you say?", "Please answer the question, you are not answering my question.") :D

So, love him, fight with him, abuse him, but you surely can't ignore him. He has many names- your guiding light, protective shield or emergency fixed deposit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He is the hero a sister deserves, but not the one she needs right now. So, she will fight with him. Because he is not her hero. He is a silent guardian, a watchful protector. Bhaiya!"

(Batman lovers will kill me after reading this :D )

10 Reasons Bookworms should be Shot !!

2015-06-08T13:12:00.000+05:30

These creatures are fearless, deadly and stubborn. They are always around you, aware of your every step but hypnotized and captured by books. They won't let it go, even if there is a situation of higher importance. They can be found lying around in bizarre body postures reading endlessly. Book to bookworms is like alcohol to a drunkard. Such creatures can make your life miserable by doing nothing but reading.

These are some reasons why such maniacs can be shot:

1) They are lazy and obstinate. Let alone working, they won't even move their leg from above the table for you to pass. Do not expect them to get groceries, get the air conditioner repaired or even answer a phone call.

2) All their senses except eyes are cut off from the real world. Their eyes fixed on the book and mind floating in the fictional world created by picturizing the text, they will never hear you call or scream. If you are in grave danger never call them, they might not even look up from their book. You keep jabbing about all you miseries and they will reflect it like mirror.

3) Being lazy makes it impossible for them to get up and take a bath. They are unaware of their smelly clothes and messed surroundings in the course of completing their read.

4) Having read a lot, they turn into one of the most dangerous species or breed that existed on the earth, Grammar Nazis. They nag you constantly on small grammatical mistakes and never let anything slide by without correcting.

5) Obsessive readers always leave nothing for others. You might be searching for a book to start for ages, but alas! that bookworm would issue or borrow that book first.

6) They are over-protective about their books; beware if you dare to borrow their books. They will lecture you with the strict do's and don’ts, and will know even if a single page has an extra crease.

7) During your conversations with a third person they just can't control their urge to share relevant bookish examples from literature or history and make you look like an illiterate jerk.

8) They are horrible weekend partners. Buried in their books, they don't wish to go out for a movie or shopping. Weekend is the best time for them to read uninterrupted, forget food they just get up when the nature calls them.

9) They carry their book around, living room, bathroom, bus, train and office everywhere. It is annoying for people around them to see them always reading.

10) They are social loners by choice, they like to be alone and if you try to give them company you end up outraging them.

The Inherent Irony of Everything

2015-06-03T16:06:00.001+05:30

“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”

"What an irony!", we often say when the apparent happening is somewhat opposite to the expected situation. There is a complexity of emotions, a contradiction of expected results when this thought strikes our mind. Sometimes hilarious but often heart breaking; ironies surround us everywhere, what is required - an observant eye to perceive it.

People who are extremely cautious and re-check their steps frequently are always bed-ridden, usually end up forgetting something. While there are those who take the leap of faith, decide once, look around and jump off the cliff, bothering least about the consequences. Such kind of people often achieve what they desire without a scratch, while the onlookers stare with their jaws dropped, amazed on the irony of the situation and cursing their cowardice.

One of the most fascinating form of irony is our own self. We are "something" inside, with our fears, desires, regrets, insecurities, expectations, guilts and incompetencies. But what we project to the outside world? We project what we "wish" to be. We even guide people around us to handle situations we ourselves could never face if subjected to. For example, people who could not get through the IIT-JEE exam after all their attempts, guarantee your kid's admission in the top college regardless of the kid's own caliber or interest.

In literature or even while talking generally, irony is used to add fun to the conversation or explain something which is contrary to general expectation. It is fun to humor your friends by hurling random ironic statements like "The most silent place to study at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study room?" Being a part of speech used on a regular basis, ironies are familiar to many of us. Of course, we never look into whether the usage is correct or not. Found a website http://www.isitironic.com/ where we can actually check whether our usage of irony is correct or not. This website is entertaining and enlightening at the same time. Readers will cast their own vote – you can see the percentages of the votes – and the website will provide the final yes or no verdict.

Some of the best entries from this website are mentioned:

Is it ironic that the creative process (for writing) actually kills my creativity?...

83% ironic 17% not ironic

The most silent place to study at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study room?...

75% ironic 25% not ironic

My school email system marks as spam, email that is sent from the school itself?...

89% ironic 11% not ironic

After Christmas a person who hates Christmas time says "Thank God" when it is over....

75% ironic 25% not ironic

Having noted that most people do not understand the meaning of irony, we now have a crowd-sourced website that uses majority rule voting to decide what is and is not ironic....

83% ironic 17% not ironic

The bank charges you extra money for not having enough money in your account?...

86% ironic 14% not ironic

I posted a generalized statement on Facebook about being disappointed in people's behavior and the person I am aiming it at unknowingly likes my post?...

83% ironic 17% not ironic

I said "I made a typo" and then misspelled typo?

86% ironic 14% not ironic

I took the advice from the Charlie Chaplin song, "smile", with the lyric: "smile even though your heart is breaking"... which I did at a funeral. I was kicked out the funeral because people thought I was happy the deceased was dead. And because of the lyric: "smile through your fear", I smiled at a scary man who was growling at me and he punched me because he thought I was disrespecting him....

90% ironic 10% not ironic

Benedict Cumberbatch, who narrated a documentary where he mispronounced the word "penguins" numerous times, starred in the "Madagascar" spin-off film "Penguins" of Madagascar!!...

78% ironic 22% not ironic

So, irony comes from contradiction between the apparent and traditional. I am an engineering graduate in electronics and communication branch, currently working in a software company, writing a general humor blog with a defective mobile phone.

(Those who think it is ironic, please explain those who didn't get it) :P

Image Source : www.boredpanda.com

11 Rules for Critical Thinking

2015-05-26T14:10:00.001+05:30

Reflective and independent thinking can be tough these days. With media and internet becoming the source of mostly biased and opinion-based information, one has to isolate his mind for some time to introspect and understand his own opinion about things. Social media on one side is the fastest means to spread a news but it also often propagates highly judgmental views. So, how to discover our own thoughts, not the ones derived from the pre-existing and spoon-fed opinions around us.

It takes a critical approach to be original and not a mere paraphrased version of the peripheral world. Thinking "out-of-the-box" requires challenging the consensus, not taking the usual route but trying less-popular approaches. I have observed that since childhood, my critical thinking ability has reduced. May be it happens with everyone, you start accepting the general flow and start flowing in the same direction. I was very critical of the world around me. After watching "Terminator", for some time I was sure that everyone around me was a robot and Skynet knew everything about me. All the people I knew were either the ones protecting me or the those who came to destroy the only left human on the planet. Among the destroyers were my school teachers and siblings. Well, this was obviously an exaggerated critical approach to human existence but yes, children have that ability to deny what everyone believes or asks them to believe. They just reject you boldly.

While reading around, I came across "Prospero's Precepts"- 11 rules for critical thinking. These rules are contributions from great minds from history. They have immense depth, and they can serve as guidelines for thinking differently in any matters of doubt.

1. All beliefs in whatever realm are theories at some level.

(Stephen Schneider)

2. Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.

(Dandemis)

3. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.

(Francis Bacon)

4. Never fall in love with your hypothesis.

(Peter Medawar)

5. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts.

(Arthur Conan Doyle)

6. A theory should not attempt to explain all the facts, because some of the facts are wrong.

(Francis Crick)

7. The thing that doesn’t fit is the thing that is most interesting.

(Richard Feynman)

8. To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.

(Charles Darwin)

9. It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

(Mark Twain)

10. Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.

(Thomas Jefferson)

11. All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second, it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident.

(Arthur Schopenhauer)

Source : http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/01/aka-shakespeare/

Image Source : http://www.copyblogger.com/critical-thinking/

Mean Memes !!

2015-05-11T16:24:00.000+05:30

Memes have been flooding over facebook, twitter and almost everywhere else these days. I didn't know how to pronounce it correctly even after using it several times. For those who still don't know, it's not "meh-meh" but "mi-m" or "meem".

Google says meme is "an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations." Wikipedia rather gives a complicated theory behind its origin and usage. Who cares where and how they originated but they sure are entertaining. I came across some of the meanest and bang-on memes. They have a message from the society and to the society, with the perfect balance between humor and irony.

Some of the best I found... Enjoy :)

This is a fact. Not a single bunk is 100% successful. There is always a "Chatur" in every class.

Brain vs beat, fight unresolved. Brain is the practical one while sentiments matter more to the heart. Althought a research says that the heart has it's own brain (http://in5d.com/the-heart-has-its-own-brain-and-consciousness/). May be that's why I listen to my heart mostly.

The Creator of this planet was clever enough to add ingredients like "light skinned people", "medium skinned people", "dark-skinned people", birds, insects, reptiles, tress etc. "Jerks" were added for fun I guess.

I believe him!

This one is just very funny, not sure what it implies though.

Don't know who was more stupid, the human or the alien.

It's designed for humans. If I consider vice-versa is true, there are many aliens living among us. The company claims that the phone is inspired by nature and is designed for human emotions. #IdontBelieveIt

This one is really ironic and shows how virtual kindness is nothing as compared to real help and sympathy.

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of every one." - John Maynard Keynes

No offenses meant to iPhone users. But isn't that true?

Women!! :D

Source: Quora

Prologue - Who am I ?

2015-04-23T14:07:00.000+05:30

Hola !

Greetings to fellow earthly people and to the aliens who just came to earth for free wifi.

This is an introduction to my blog "My Onion Soul". Well, who am I and why this blog?

I am a keen observer.

I see people striving hard to find ideal jobs, good life and meet others' expectations. All that is obligatory in today's world, to do what is expected of you for your own better future. But in that struggle to achieve our goals, we forget who we really are and what we really like to do. I believe in preserving our real self. Sustaining our childhood hobbies helps us rejuvenate our self and fills us with new energy to achieve what we strive for.

I have tried to keep my hobbies alive; they make me feel stress free and useful. Writing blog is the recent addition to my list of hobbies. This blog is my amateur attempt to the field of writing excluding the essay competitions at school and my small personal diary. My posts might not have any morals to teach you but they would take your mind off from worldly heebie-jeebies. Not being a professional writer, I expect the readers to be encouraging and not strictly judgmental. There is no particular genre of my blog. All thoughts expressed here are inspired from real life thoughts and incidents from my life. I am open to reviews and suggestions from fellow bloggers and readers.

Happy Blogging! :)

I'll be back!! (#Arnold voice)

GIF source.

Disclaimer:

This blog is meant for recreational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely intentional and no apologies should be expected. The ideas expressed in the blog strictly belong to the author and must not be taken seriously. Any images used in the posts were searched on Google and belong to their corresponding owners and not the author. If any ideas appear to resemble yours, then the author should be considered as a mind reader and nothing else. If the reader feels insulted or irritated while or after reading the content of this blog, he/she is free to leave the page after sharing it on social websites. If condition persists, consult your physician. This blog is subject to change without notice. No animals or humans were harmed in the process of writing this blog. This blog is suitable for people with high IQ levels and also engineers. All posts of this blog belong to the author and if any part of the text is copied by anyone without prior notice and payment, the person will be punished by God in due time. Charitable investment in the form of cash, cheque or food is humbly accepted. Investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document after investing. Investors can drop a mail regarding the payment and in return get a free trip to Mars (*Conditions Applied)

Procrastination- An extract from the life of a B.Tech student

2015-04-17T10:20:00.001+05:30

I was waiting for the weekend to write another post. Not that I was busy, I just could not start working, stuck in the "making-up my mind" phase. Procrastination doesn't spare anyone. Following is a short expression (it's quite long actually) of how a typical engineering student prepares for a test in college.

I have a test tomorrow, need to score good in this one because others didn't go well. There is a full day and full night to go so I am relaxed. I plan out my schedule, decide to start preparing from today evening after having sufficient sleep to pull an all-nighter. But no, I have to go to the market to buy some stuff I have been postponing and better to do that today because I have to "study" later. I go to the market, and I find some really cool stuff too which wasn't there earlier so I have to buy that (Obviously!). I come back by 5 pm. I should have started preparing by now but I can't because I had to sleep to be awake at night. So I sincerely set an alarm to wake up after exactly 2 hours of sleep. After having a a very good nap I wake up hungry, but how can I be hungry? Because it's dinner time already. May be my alarm tone was so charming that it sent me into an "inception dream" (there is no such thing, don't Google it!). #MovieReference

Dinner lasts for another hour, find some friends on my way back from hostel mess to my room, had to ask their preparation status. They say they haven't started, I know they are lying. Yeah, I have a lie detector fixed in my head; I borrowed it from Nick Fury. So I am a little tensed now, just a little. But I am confident enough; it's just a small test.

What do I need now? I start looking for notes to study from. I had them yesterday but can't find them now. Oh! I had lent it to a friend for photostat, I didn't get it back. I sprint to her room, ask for my notes. She is a fellow procrastinator; she is watching Friends (the tv series) to freshen up "before" starting to study. We discuss the episode and some other local gossips and another hour passes. I get the notes but I need coffee for maximum concentration. Got coffee now, all is set, I settle down and seriously go through the index, mark the pages to study and happily cross the ones not to be covered. Suddenly my phone beeps, some discussion has started on the group chat regarding the syllabus. They say another chapter is also included in tomorrow's test syllabus. Little more stressed I skip the introductory part of the chapter, let's start with the important topic. I go through the text, didn't get it, read it again. Nah! Still nothing. I need to google it, I am lost in phone now and have to check facebook occasionally because my friends are commenting on my profile photo so I have the moral obligation to reply them.

So, this topic seems tough, it has a derivation which has five sections. Doesn't seem important. I skip the topic for morning. This continues for few hours. It's quite late now but I haven't done much. Feeling tired, I decide to take a short nap because I care about my health so much (only when it's not required). I'll get up in half hour and finish everything. To my disappointment I wake up half + three hours later. Sun is out already, my heart skips a beat. The test is in about two hours. Feeling horrified, I call a friend and get a list of expected questions and FAQs. I have no time now, but I can see the topics mentioned in these questions. Ultimately I haven't even covered half of the syllabus. I reach college and try to grab the seat closer to the geeks so that I can peek in their sheets.

Finally, I write the test, trying to extract the most of my poor photographic memory. Hoping for the examiner to be either lazy or too happy so that he just misses the fact that none of the answers make any sense, here I am, proud of my "hard work".

Everyone’s story might differ from this but more or less it will be the same. Temptations and distractions overpower our minds very easily. Beating procrastination would require strong commitment and today with so many distractions around it's tough for students to be consistent with hard work. And why should we be, when last day studying gets us good marks. Thanks to our awesome education system where "if you cram, you top the exam". Procrastination has been a by-product of such system. Obviously, why to cram every day when it can be done on the last day.

Being the Jack of all Trades

2015-04-13T15:39:00.000+05:30

We have heard the saying "jack of all trades, master of none". There are different perceptions of this saying. If the term "master" is considered as the label for expertise and excellence then "jack" would be mediocre or person who spreads himself thin over a broader skill set.

In the modern world, it is he who specializes who survives and thrives. I believe it's after all the society which demands specialization or needs us to gain 'expertise' in particular field and remain alien to other things. Yes, you might have a natural inclination to some skill and you might have achieved certain level of mastery in it, but this doesn't mean you shouldn't be open to new fields and experiences.

I personally wish to be the person who can be asked to fix any kind of problem. I like to be creative in my interests and try to involve myself in fields which are far apart. Obviously no one can be Leonardo da Vinci now whose wiki page describes him as a "polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer."

Being fearless in our choices and interests finally defines who we are. There is no point knowing every particular detail about a field and still digging deeper rather than taking a walk around the neighboring field. It's refreshing to dive into something new. I like to read about politics, arts, sports, geography, history; I sketch or paint often; I like to play hard; I can speak to a crowd; I am curious about things which do not necessarily have link to my field of study or profession. Now, this might make you think I have short attention span and you might be right. #Bummer

But there are scientific studies that show that when you try different things out for periods of time and you gain proficiency in different creative fields, those things build upon each other. It helps you approach problems with more creativity and more ingenuity. Having experienced that often myself, there are some negative perceptions too of being "jack". Doing a bunch of things together will lead to very slow rate of proficiency gain in those fields. But choosing one path and pursuing it wholeheartedly will make you the "master" of it in lesser time.

It sure is a debatable topic. Being a master is great because they are more popular, paid more than the "jacks", they have more influence and hence more followers. But if you are a "jack" you have insight to many areas, you can be a sort of 'Swiss knife' which can perform different tasks. Of course, there will be times when a "jack" might fail due to lack of expertise but then comes his ability to befriend a "master" of that field and get the work done finally.

I might sound biased towards the "jack team" (myself being a part of it), but I find the "masters" boring. I don't want to be a Nobel Prize winner in certain field of science at the age of 50 and not know how to play basketball or paint or even talk to people.

Why be so simple? Be too complex to be categorized or labeled.
Look far and wide. There are worlds to conquer!!

Sarcasm? ..Why not !!

2015-04-02T15:24:00.000+05:30

I consider sarcasm as one of best ways to express irony, an art of expressing the situation in an amusing manner. Yes! It might hurt the audience sometimes but if the speaker worries about people getting hurt, sarcasm loses its soul i.e. "audacity". It cannot be described as strictly hurtful or aggressive humor. It is a form of expression that prevents you from lying, gives you courage to say what is right but in a comic manner. I am a firm believer in sarcasm. I use it as a tool to initiate conversations and sometimes to dodge them too. It helps me speak my mind.

Sarcasm is often called the lowest form of wit or humor. But it's so much more fun in saying the opposite of what is happening at the time. If my friend is lurking around doing nothing, I would prefer saying "Dude, you look really busy!" rather than saying "You are so idle".

It's not always possible that the person at the receiving end of sarcasm is also witty enough or in a mood to take it. He might turn out to be Sheldon Cooper. It might cause problem sometimes. Once my friend was upset due to low score in an exam, and I greeted her as "Awesome, I am impressed. How did you manage?" She did hit me with the thickest book she had, but later we had a good laugh.

What I mean to convey here is, we can't speak truth all the time. Sometimes we can just satirize the situation. If someone shoots sarcasm at you, reply back with sarcasm 2.0. Believe me it's harmless if you have right crazy bunch of people around you. Getting punched on the nose once in a while is fine by me. Yesterday I was in an elevator with another girl; she pressed the button for 4th floor and looked too anxious to reach there. She re-pressed the button for about 4 times till the lift was about 1st floor and that was the point I couldn't control the urge to speak. "Yeah, I think now it should accelerate." I often do it, shoot sarcasm on people before thinking whether they will catch it and laugh or just punch me back. But thankfully she laughed and also didn't press the button again.

Well, I am no Chandler Bing, he is the ultimate God of sarcasm. But yes, I often use sarcasm as a shield from those annoying people who can't bear blunt truth and also don't usually understand sarcasm. This is how I choose to be. I can avoid getting too serious about things by being sarcastic and so can you.

We always need a defense mechanism against the dull world out there. So, let's be witty and take those punches head-on !!

My first few days in a software company

2015-03-28T12:15:00.000+05:30

I joined a Software company as a trainee in January, 2015. I must say it took me some time to get used to this environment. Being an engineering student I have my own speed and preferred way of doing things. Anyone who is also an engineering student will understand that we have a habit of working under pressure. This is how we pass our semester exams with presentable marks. We can't just be consistently working and complete a scheduled task well before time. It's the work done under pressure of deadline or fear of losing that extracts the best out of us. That's who we are..we are engineers.

I must say things here are weird as I have never been to a software company ever. No one in my family has. Rather it was my first ever "office experience", excluding the casual trips to my parents' offices. Coming to office every day, sitting 8-9 hours facing an emotionless knowledge box (the computer in my cubicle) and figuring out C language codes… it doesn't attract me yet.

Although, this wasn't unexpected but finally being here as a part of this lifeless air in the cubicles amidst the random "tick- tick" of keyboard and faint mouse clicks, I now understand the value of "having interest" in one's work. Why I am saying this? May be I don't have interest in programming. Or it's the unfamiliar and workaholic working conditions. In college, it was all about handling things as they come, life was uncertain and exciting. Now it's just long C language codes (by long I mean around 800 lines only in the main function), data sheets and command prompt screen.

While sitting in my cubicle I crave to rush out of the centrally cooled, sealed and corked building, see the world outside. The only relief from the damp environment is the fellow workers who are like me, just with more experience and capacity to work here. I have observed people around me; they all work and joke around often. Sometimes I hear chatter and laughter from the next cubicle discussing about a new movie or a prank played over a colleague by sending a fake invitation to every team member announcing his marriage. Such things restore my interest to this changed life.

It might take a while to get used to a professional life. I do miss the days when I could just lie around doing nothing, ROFL-ing with friends and planning a day which may or may not include attending lectures, sleeping or texting during class and tensions didn't stick along for long.

College days won't come back, what can happen is me getting used to the new life, accepting the change and be a part of it. I am a fighter, won't give up easily!

Growing Up

2015-03-23T23:24:00.000+05:30

Growing up is an interesting phenomenon. I have always thought why as kids we were so curious about the world around us. I remember how I asked all kinds of absurd questions to my father when I was around 5 – 15 years of age. I was a super curious child, had doubts about almost everything; Why is milk white in color? Why are all the leaves of a tree of the same shape? Why can't we understand animal sounds? Why do people die? These questions seem pretty deep now but at that time I just blurted them out and my father always had graspable answers for me. As a child we never really worry much about consequences of being extremely original and outright. This gradually fades away with age if not maintained.

Growing up is a matter of state of mind. It is rightly said we are as young as we feel. I am fascinated with the changes in me during this process of developing mental maturity. I have felt happiness in certain situations which denote I did grow up mentally from what I was. This post is dedicated to those small realizations I underwent in daily life, which might point out gradual evolution from being puerile to grown up.

These small things did bring joy and helped me to see the brighter side of maturity.

Some of those are mentioned here:

Keeping calm and smiling off criticism. It takes courage to hold back when people condemn you. This reminds me of Lord Buddha. A man used to insult him often, but Lord Buddha never felt offended or replied back. On being asked the reason for being so calm, he simply replied :

"If someone gives you a gift and you refuse to accept it, to whom does the gift belong?"

#SarcasmAlert

Waiting patiently in a queue and not getting frustrated easily. But this might drastically fail in case of internet queuing or waiting for the loading to complete.

Taking responsibility and finding solutions on your own. Blaming others doesn't lead you anywhere rather makes you powerless over your own life.

Radiating positivity. Making the best of what you have and never forgetting how awesome you can be.

Sorting out the inner conflicts and choosing the very first solution popping in head. Believe it or not, the first ones are mostly right.

Not getting emotionally attached to material possessions and prioritizing experiences rather than mundane objects. Clinging on to things makes it tough for us to cope up with the transforming world.

Avoiding assumptions about people before knowing them and giving second thought before criticizing. Preconceived notions will always lead to disappointment, be it about assessing a person or situation.

Making your own life-fundas. If you don't have your own experiences you are not living it right.

Being independent and self sufficient in your journeys. Handling things your own way makes you feel stronger and grown up.

All these were felt and cherished by me in recent times. May be they don't actually show that I am mature enough but it’s good to be on the right path. We are taught by our parents till a certain age and gradually we learn things on our own, finding our own paths. This reminds me of my father teaching me to ride a bicycle, he held the cycle from behind not letting it fall and I gradually paddled. I paddled for a few minutes and didn't even realize that he was left behind and I was on my own. So, we grow when we hold the handles strong, keep ourselves focused and paddle away with positivity. Falling down once in awhile will make us stronger and go farther.

My Onion Soul

2015-03-21T23:22:00.003+05:30

Onions have layers. The outermost layer is for the world to see, for bearing all the hardships of life and protecting the inner rich layers. These outside rugged layers handle the heat, pressure, dirt and all such wear and tear. They also deceive the world about what’s inside.

The more we peel an onion, richer the layers get. These inner layers are the energy containing parts which contain the food, the zest of life. The more layers you remove, the closer you get to real life.

Similar to this onion is my soul – the real “me”.

I am a thinker. Thinking gives me wings and makes me fly to unknown worlds. When I am physically idle, I am constantly thinking. The practical world around me has no relation to what’s cooking in my head. I may be reading or even taking a bath and might as well be thinking about the thrill felt while trekking. So, I have this inner self which is creative, sensitive, emotional, rebellious and also funny.

I want to preserve my inner thinker from the world outside. Like the onion, I keep layers of protective sheets over it, disguising myself like any other common person. I don't want to expose my soul to the manipulative world. I might be funny or absurdly hilarious from outside but honestly some other track is playing in my mind that time. I might be chattering about some stupid stuff, but inside, I might be going through all feasible or infeasible options to help a friend who is upset.

You might be thinking I am scared of revealing my real self or I am an introvert. Why do I need to hide my inner self? Why do I have an ‘onion soul”?

Probably I have been asking this to myself a lot. I have figured out many reasons:

#BulletPointsRock

May be I am afraid if I remove the sheets and reveal my inner thinker,people might not like me, they might find me weird and not funny as they think now.
Fear of myself being projected as a selfish person.
The weird me. One who is weird in every way; thoughts, emotions, desires. Weirdness is cool but not smoothly accepted in real world.
My inner thinker considers itself as - utterly awesome. So, I am not sure if the world is ready to know “the secret ingredient”(this one is surely inspired from Kung Fu Panda but its true).

So, I think it’s actually good to have a place only for you, away from the world, even from your best buddies sometimes. That place should be preserved, a private place where I can be “me” and only “me”. A place away from social obligations and judgemental society. A place ridden of rushed decisions and based on free thoughts. My onion soul under the rugged covers.