Thanks-giving.

Thanksgiving. It’s not a festival we celebrate in India, but I really think we should. Yeah, apart from the pardoning of a turkey, which spares the lucky birds’ life entitling it eternity to roam freely on farmland, I think “Thanks-giving” would be pretty cool.

On November 28^th, my father received an audio note from his recently reacquainted school friend, a note I don’t think anyone in my family will forget. It was about how my dad, who always came first in school, had inspired her to do well, how she only wanted to keep up with him and up her level to his, of how not beating him but doing as well as he always did was her goal. I’m amazed at how she knew she wanted to do well from the third standard. Most of us, I bet, are busy making pictures with crayons or watching a TV show at that age! From rank 48, she did better and halved her ranks till she ended up finally getting a better rank than my dad in grade ten. What left me speechless was her hard work and determination. How can an eight or nine year old girl, at such a tender age, have so much of ambition? Most people don’t have that kind of will power and determination even after they graduate! But even after all of that, I admire her for saying “Thanks” and acknowledging what had motivated her. I loved how optimistic she was and how she believed that she could do it till the very end.

Most of the times, it’s difficult to say thank you when you really mean it. I can’t come to understand why that happens. But it just does.

I think, I’ve learnt two things. The first thing is that anyone can be your inspiration. It need not be some big hotshot like Chetan Bhagat or Roger Federer. It could be that “chai-wala” (a person who sells tea) across the street who greets his customers with a smile and makes them tea passionately every day, it could be that old woman who jogs up the small hill even after huffing and puffing, looking like she is about to pass out but still runs because she has decided to or maybe even a small kid learning how to cycle for whom the word “quitting” is nonexistent! But I think we all need something which keeps us motivated to go on, however much we want to give up.

The second thing is saying thank you. Like if someone helped you along the way, say a thank you – I’m sure that will bring out a smile.

So if you feel like someone deserves it, go ahead and thank them from the bottom of your heart. (Not from your atrium, okay? Only ventricle. :P) Any day could be Thanks-giving day if you want. Who said you have to wait till next November?

Kanksha :)    

One of the main reasons I feel like writing as often is because I know people are reading. So, last but not the least, thanks for reading! :D 

Talking and Telepathy.

People are the most interesting “things” ever.  Analysing their actions and at times, creeping them out is more fun than you could imagine.

I have this habit of saying “Hi” to whoever I know. Even if I've talked to that person for a minute, once upon a time. So not surprisingly, I end up greeting quite a few people. But there is this one guy I greet regularly now, just because it’s so much of fun looking at his reaction. I bet he thinks I’m excessively weird – his taken aback expression, looking up from the corner of his eyes and the forcing out of a wave with a bored look gives him away. Today, though, he simply ignored me. Then there is this ever-smiling person whom I had the honour to talk to in the lift. My friend thought she’d tell him he had a cool nose which led to all of us laughing like crazy. Needless to say, whenever I meet him again, we burst into laughter. Then there is another person who chats on Facebook but can’t bring himself to talk face to face; one more friend with whom having a ten minute conversation on the phone could be considered an achievement. I have a school friend, with whom I've made a pact of texting strictly once a week (from when he accused me of not staying in touch) and there is Aditi, on the other hand, whom I talk to almost every day.

One person told me that staying quiet and listening to people is called “being neutral”. According to that person, talking is useless. I do not agree. Talking, I feel, is an art in itself. It’s beautiful. Listening is as well. I think it’s a win-win situation if you can maintain a balance between talking and listening. Some people know just how to reduce the group of people to tears with their jokes, others have a bunch of stories to tell, a few others can go on talking for hours while others talk in minuscule amounts, but when they do, everyone else goes quiet. There is this thing about talking to new people and meeting them which is refreshing. Like reading a new book, where you yearn to know the story behind every person, which explains their actions and helps you in predicting what they are going to do! But at the same time, you have to listen. My dad is a really good listener, which is why he probably has so much to tell, as well. I think how much you have to talk is proportional to the amount you listen. So to all those people who think talking is annoying or a waste of time, think over it again. Yes, video games, books, music and your phone will keep you occupied but a real conversation is always much more awesome – you do need human company.

Another thing that intrigues me is telepathy. Does is really exist? It freaked me out when I happened to message my cousin how her trip was just when she landed. And not only that, there are so many other instances as well. Like when you know exactly what the other person is thinking. My friend Meat-Alley and Tree-sit had the same dream one night. And they aren't even biologically related. Remember when you were thinking of a person, and that person called you up exactly at that time? In more than a few books, telepathy and being able to read someone’s’ thoughts is considered to be an ability. I've even heard about how bizarre it is when twins look at each other and make decisions while staring into each other’s eyes. I think telepathy is more than co-incidence now. There has to be a reason why this happens. People have suspected and conducted experiments based on probability, but unfortunately, it's existance still hasn't been proved.

I really want to know if telepathy exists, and if yes, how it works. Whales can send messages to other whales, which are hundreds of miles away. Similarly, something must hold true for humans as well. Imagine a world where you could sense emotions or read a person’s thoughts if they let you. Yes, it would lead to an unimaginable number of complications, but it might just be worth it!

What do you think about telepathy? And what is your opinion on talking? :P

Kanksha. :)

And once again, thanks for reading.

Embrace the curious kid side of you. You may just help the world.

How many things do you know of that can be more than one thing at the same time? It could be a state of mind in which you are cluless about what to do, or maybe that time when your friend was rambling about things you weren't even interested about. It could be a game of wills of karma and yourself, where you both have absolutely nothing to do. You could be haunted by it while you were staring out of the window and plagued with it during the history lesson. If you still haven't guessed what I'm talking about, I'll do the honours and spell it out for you. B-O-R-E-D-O-M.

I know you know your spellings, but what if I said boredom and you thought it was boardom, the land of boars? If only the term boredom could be so easy to figure out. It's simple enough to say "I'm bored" but the reasons why one is bored aren't that boring at all. Like the other day, in college, I saw a group of guys socialising and I wanted to socialize as well. But I had talked to all the girls already, and everyone like me, had pretty much nothing interesting to talk about. Needless to say, I kept staring at different people, maybe took a couple of videos and ended up listening to tit bits of various conversations without meaning to.

I kept on thinking of how to define bored when the light bulb in my head switched on and I realised that dictionaries existed. I found out that 'bored' is similar to dull, tired or a cause of petty annoyance. Now my initial irritation (of not being able to define that word) turned into amusement. It's funny how human beings have slowly drifted away from the real meaning of being bored. Yes, being bored is still used when you are tired, feeling dull, gloomy and annoyed at the world for no particular reason. But we have taken it to a whole new level.

Is this becoming too much of English stuff now? :P

But seriously, sometimes I envy kids. I envy their curiosity, their ability to find every small thing interesting. A small thing like making funny faces would make them laugh. To them, everything that happens is new, different and enticing. I doubt they ever get run out of things to do. They're busy staring around and figuring things out. If we, as in people of my age and older people, let's say see a new phone which shows you stuff in 3D, we'll surely be impressed. But maybe not as impressed or mixed with wonder and confusion as a six year old would be when he/she would find out that a balloon can fly on its own.

A last thought. Would not studying in the initial stages of life help us in a twisted way? If, for a certain number of years, a person isn't made to study, does that mean that person will end up answering unanswered questions and see the world through fresh eyes?

Kanksha :)

This post is pretty short. But I'd end up extending things for no reason otherwise. Thanks for reading, as always. :D

From movies, books and music.

It feels like ages since I posted something. I took a rollercoaster to iMagica, went down the memory lane with my family watching some of the cutest videos in history, and sat for a Bollywood film. Not oak wood, mind you. :P

If you watched Krrish 3 and really liked it, the only reason I can find is because you haven’t watched Hollywood films. I hate to say this, but many Bollywood movies seem to be copied. Krrish 3 seemed to be inspired (as I bet ‘inspired’ is the word they prefer) from X-men. Like completely. Everything except the storyline. While X-Men focuses on war between mutants and humans, this movie is based on the extermination of evil. They ‘borrow’ the idea of mutants in doing so and the ability to attract metal as well. So much for being original.

On another note, I just read Allegiant by Veronica Roth, the third and final book of the Divergent trilogy. I think every character death sucks. What I don’t get is why, in every single teen fiction book, the author just has to kill someone close to the protagonist or the protagonist himself/herself. How many books have you read, in which someone’s life isn’t sacrificed for the greater good? In each one, from the Hunger Games, Eragon and Tiger’s Curse to Alex Rider and Harry Potter readers have mourned more than one melancholy death.

Then comes the story of how One Direction released a song on something other than a girl. Finally, they manage to think of something different.

I digress from what I want to say though. I find the impact movies, books and music have on our society amazing. The power they wield and the way they can transform and hypnotize the world in their own way is unbelievable. A new song comes out and hundreds of people have plugged in their headphones in the conquest of being the first few to listen to it and gush about. If a new book is launched, we have everyone downloading pirated copies, swallowing the book even faster than an anaconda could have.

Does that mean that sooner or later, these three entities will rule the world? If not rule, influence most of the things people do, their thought process, and what they think is wrong or right? After all, these things are nothing but mediums of expressing your thoughts.

Another thing to think about is if all the things you think celebrities (in every field) do actually real? Or is it just another game of pretend? Are the feelings they portray, the things they say, the way they behave just an act or a fact? Sometimes I feel like giving them the benefit of doubt and want to believe it’s all real, but how can we ever know?

Sometimes, you are infatuated because you find them stunning and their personality cool, maybe because their writing is just out of the world and stories a treat to imagine and other times you might genuinely like someone’s music; but so what? I think lots of people get blinded by what they see or hear. They stop thinking rationally. It’s like being drunk in the sea of obsession forever.

But is getting drunk always bad? ^^^^^(in this case, I believe it is.)

An acquaintance of mine had once told me that he got drunk whenever he sat to write, just without the alcohol. Only now do I truly understand what that means.

Kanksha :)

I realised that all I've done is asked questions and didn't really get anywhere. I guess that's because I'm still thinking! I hope that by now, you are as well. Procrastination is one activity that we do all the time. 

Another question that will create impulses in your brain - Have you ever wondered how fast we think? One minute you're thinking about how warm the coffee is and the next second you're reminiscing the memory of eating a Bournville which leads to how enticing Charlie and the Chocolate factory was. What if the speed at which you think is faster than the speed of light? Just saying.