Literary Escapades!

Before going ahead, I would want to thank you for showing the courtesy to read this. When the world is full of Instagram stories, Facebook memes and Snapchat filters it takes the soul of a legend to take the time out for an amateurs work.So now you know you have the soul of a legend... ;)

This post shares my countable zest with activities in 2017 involving public speaking in which I believe there is still scope of improvement for me.Here is the gist of them in chronological order -

Inter-college Lit fest - The hardest thing about any event is that information about it always flows in late, registrations are always overflowing and finding partner is always difficult. Yes, all this happened. We had to request the organiser to consider our registration which he said will be finalised on the day of event only. His decision would be solely based on the number of participants who would actually turn up. I teamed up with my classmate but due to so less credibility of we be allowed or not on that day, we almost dropped the decision of going. Thanks to Miss Killedar we did go (yay!!), all planned at the very last moment. On the day of the event we reached well on time finding only the two of us formally dressed. It was L.O.L literally. We decided for white collar shirt with blue jeans and it was a mistake we learned from ;-). In the picture below, I can be seen debating why white shirt and blue jeans must never be worn at any event..haha

Well the actual topic was "Convicted rape juvenile be treated as an adult under the law". Got the reference to Nirbhaya Case? After almost 2 hours of the debating event, we realized that all points we were about to make have already been covered by fellow participants and we were like...ghar chalte h yaar. But guess what, we did stay, instead we did a pretty decent job. And I am happy for us.

I participated in a Group Discussion event also and believe me - I found elite groupies there. There was this bunch of students from the same college who literally owned the fest as there group members bagged prizes for most of the events. And during the GD, I found out that they were intentionally zoning out people from other colleges so that only their group members could go ahead. They would literally turn faces and ignore people speaking right on their face! YES they did so, not exaggerating.

Guess what - Plan failed!! I was there in the final round of the GD after three elimination rounds and so were members from other colleges. Thankfully, the judges were smart enough to notice this and didn't select them all. Also, some of them were pretty rude and loud like not even listening to other's argument.

After the final round, the winner was declared, it was not me(it's oka no need to awww) but a Blue turban Sardar ji. He was a very eloquent and impulsive speaker. I felt like he rapped his way out in every round.

Last thing left to do was, attend a JAM session and the JAM Master had asked the participants to introduce themselves in a funny way. And this same guy happen to rock it here also. He rapped almost instantly and man that was surreal to see in real life. I knew by now this guy is talented. And finally Who won the JAM? - the Blue turban Sardar ji only.

Solo Debate Event - This was an individual participation. Topic was really awesome - "This house believes politics should be banned from college campus". You could get the direct reference to Kanhaiya Kumar case. I literally enjoyed speaking here. And guess what the last moment heroic entry of whom happened here - THE BLUE TURBAN GUY. He wore the same shirt, jeans and turban. And I knew he would kill it on stage here also. Interesting thing to note here is, the girl sitting beside me said, "We have no chance of winning now, this guy gave debating tutorials in our college" And I went like I know right. What I found funny was that she mentioned him as the self proclaimed SALMAN KHAN of the DU Debating Society. The winner was soon announced, a differently-abled person whose debate was less a debate more an emotional account of how politics harmed his college life. He was brought on a wheel chair and spoke differently with little twisted words. Well, participants had different opinions, not everybody was happy with the decision, some considering it biased.

Youth Parliament - This had to be THE most random one. One of my friend texts up and says we are having this event in 2 days, you should participate no? I was a bit apprehensive since youth parliament is something I knew nothing about but he was generous enough to explain all titbits of it. I remember spending few hours reading only the  mandatory catalog he sent, I went for it. Ethnics was the code so Kurti because why not!

What I anticipated did not happen. The speakers were far more prepared. Since it was bilingual, Hindi speakers swept me off my feet. I was portraying BJP supporter Roopa Ganguly. And soon found out that fellow members of the house were as enthusiastic. The one portraying Arvind Kejriwal came with his signature muffler on, I mean I was impressed! The whole thing ended on a really happy note with people scribbling notes for each other and they were really complementing.And that's about it.

Ps - Any resemblance to people in real life is not my responsibility. The intent was just to share the experience nothing else. Views expressed are completely mine. I sincerely look forward to more such lit escapades as I would like to call them! Fingers crossed!

14 Advices for my Juniors

1. Stop the crap u think about girl's college- This is the Golden rule! Believe me you will have  some amazing girlfriends at the end of the year.
2. Join up a soc- Yes, you want a life apart from studies and this can help you live one. But Conditions apply here also, if you are just joining up because "You know my friends are also joining up". NO!! Join a society that suits your personality- Literary club, Drama club, Dance society, Tech society whatever ! Any thing that holds your slightest interest should be your choice.
3. Let your friends be-This doesn't applies for all but for the most.Your group will change. Let it be. People are not easy to know right?And you are not God that you may think of someone to be your type and that cannot go wrong.We make mistakes so be it. Take your time. You will find good bunch of people on the way.
4. Miss some classes and talk philosophy-Not a strict advice but yaa just a thing.We obviously don't need 100% attendance and sometimes when you skip lectures and go deeply philosophical with your friends, talk about life and all, you will know that those are best kind of conversations you will have.
5. Take up a project-  Oh yeaa! whatever branch you be in. Do one project in your initial years. Can really build up your momentum for the coming years.
6. Know the difference-It is important to know the difference between Facebook friends and real friends.Not that you don't know it already but a demarcation is important so just emphasizing it.
7. Maintain your relation with Profs- Hahaa...Yes this should be one of the things because ultimately they can do things to your Marksheets you can never imagine. Better be in good terms with them, if they won't give extra credit for good handwriting at least they won't deduct extra marks also.This really happens.Not kidding Bro.
8. Guard bhaiya can really help- Remember when you lost your notebook last sem? He was the one who kept it safe.You want extra 1/2 hr to sit in the lab and do stuff, he'll let you if you are a achaa-bachaa in his eyes.
9. Do one stage performance-  Singing, dancing, anchoring whatever do at least one! You'll make mistakes, you may embarrass yourself but at the end of the day you'll so love it, the next year you will do it like a pro and will guide young ones with the tits and bits of the thing.
10.  Don't act shy or over smart - Neither helps in college.If you want to voice an opinion say it out loud.Who the hell will stop you(Please don't try this during lectures). But yes being too timid or too loud will never help you. You'll always be overshadowed.No one is asking you to be melodramatic because this can cost you many times. If you want to ask something go Ask. Your seniors are super sweet they will always help you out ;)
11.  Help out someone with NO hidden motives- The happiness that it will give you is priceless.
12.  Get into fights.True friendship will come back- Oh yeaa..this will happen. You will fight.You will ignore.You won't talk for weeks.Won't reply to texts.But if you take the step to clarify things true friendship will always come back to you no matter what!
13.  The F word-  Use the F word very cautiously.This can be really dangerous.So you just went for it in the flow while in a brawl and later turns out that the opposite team have master F-word users and they come and shove you with the Fs making a complete a fool out of you.Damn embarrassing.
14.  After Exam plans- The biggest ditches of your life won't be in relationships but here! Turns out she has booked up Evening train to Madagascar and the second 'she' is going out with school friends and the third 'she' is committed and the only 'she' left was planning to go with all these 'shes' and is now dead having burger at Mc Donalds. So plan before the last English exam and book your things prior. heheee..

Regards

Aishwarya

2014-18 Batch

Study tips

Well, this post aims to help you in studying. Hufff!! Big task guys😎

Since I believe that sharing is caring so I am sharing these tips with you because obviously I care about you.So cheesy right?hahaha. But truly writing I was very excited about this topic for the post.

Now before reading ahead be absolutely clear that these tips I am sharing are not pro- tips😆 but definitely helpful in your helpless times. I see students from 12th around me so much into study these days, gives me Goosebumps when I think about my time😮. Believe me it was one of the toughest times.And it has gone!

Alright fellas enough moving around the bush . Let's come to business. STUDY TIPS...here you go -

1) Find yourself a partner - Yes I know difficult to do. But if you find one, it can do wonders. Group study also works the same way because you discuss things and then end up memorizing them without even knowing. That's the best part of it .Now I wrote finding a partner because if you are lucky enough to find a group with same study motives , Grrrreaaaattt! Otherwise a good partner will suffice.

2)Keep your phone away - We always try to not use our phone while studying but the temptation is so strong .We can't help it. So instead my suggestion would be-"Keep the phone at an unreachable place". Sounds weird but can seriously help.

3)Start with something interesting to prep you up - Not for all homo-sapiens out there but for most, the initial hours when you start studying are the most difficult ones😂😂.So my suggestion, start with something simple, something that holds some interest and then go for the highest climb.

4)New stationary also works - Yes yes , as weird as it sounds! Good stationary can at least push you up to use them, indirectly pushing you to study. So take some pocket money from Mumma to buy yourself a new pen😋.

5)What kind are you? - There are three types of learners namely kinesthetic, visual and listener. Know your type and work accordingly. Kinesthetic ones can't sit still. They are in active habit of moving around with the book or studying while listening to music. Like one of my friend in school could not do Maths without music playing, weird but true. Visual learners learn better by diagrams, graphs and pictures. You got to do lot of writing and drawing if you fall in this category. Listeners learn by reciting out loud. Listening to an answer from your friend might also help.So introspect and know your type!

I can just hope this was helpful because in reality we know what happens!

Single or Mingle?

Well, believe me my dear ones, that's a huge question haunting every single person in his/her youth.

But today (mark the date!) I have taken the responsibility to answer it for you guys.

Oh-come-on there is no need to thank me, Pleasure has always been mine :P

Okay! So let me tell you that I am a huge fan of YouTube channels like Superwoman and Kenneth Sebestian's channel. The one particular reason I love them is their open-mindedness. Their way of accepting themselves and talking about things so frankly that they seem the new cool!

So in one of the videos I remember they ask, "All single women in the house how u feeling?"

And a loud cheer of girls from the audience, "We r Happy!"

And they reply with a sarcastic tone -"Yaa that's what they say ;) Come-on! Stop this nonsense you all and go enjoy being in a relationship".

Huff!! Only if they knew it's not that easy ^_^

Now based on my acute observation ,I see that every group has some single and some forever-yours people and it's common to see your non-single friends trying to hook you up with someone. Woh bata Kaisa laga? Teri caste ka h! followed by a long laughter ;)

I mean stop it yaa! Why would you say so?

Actually I think that there are primarily two reasons that they do so:-

1) Because they are so happy that they want to you to enjoy things like these.

2) They feel that they are the only one being made fun of in gf-bf jokes ;) Well sorry for that, we just can't help it!

Yaa yaa I know, you would say it's the first one! But we also got brains to think!

You know when you talk to your friends about this and they say - oh man, the excitement of being in a hideaway always, that just adds to the flames and glamour of a relationship.

And u feel like Boo-Yaa! I didn't ask you that! Why all the details? Are you trying to ruin my happy place?

Well as long as you have people(good friends, family, mentors) who love you for who you are. Trust me there is no need for your better half!

But sometimes you wouldn't mind a fling too! hahahaa...Would you?

Facebook Confessions

My very-lovely, always-online and oh-so-cool friend,

I know you are addicted to Facebook for what it is.

I know you also hate Facebook for what it is.

But you also know that you just can't leave it!

So, here's a confession I have to make.Read on!

When I started using Facebook(which was quite late) I was apprehensive about it ,what to share, what not to? What's a profile picture and why do people even update it, you remain the same, don't you? Why do friends tag you in all those crazy-psychotic posts. How do I get that perfect caption? Should I upload a filtered or an unfiltered photo? How can one accept friend requests of people they barely know, people who pass by and not even smile at you(And this is absolute truth)? And ignore the ones who know you so-well that they might end up posting something you won't like? Are we one of those psychos who like to stalk people? Do we feel low looking at someone else's perfect picture?

Well, for quite a time I was like this and I can say many of you were too. But things change dear one and so do you.

You know what, many people are not like this anymore and I am lucky to be one of them. There comes a phase, when you feel above all this. When you are able to see the bigger picture and these actions look meagre. I don't feel sad now when a friend posts a photo without me or any random conversation of my friends that goes on without me! That doesn't bother me anymore because you know, that "if at all" you share a bond, that's the last thing that matters. If you feel nice with your friend and you make each other feel good then that's what is worth it and is totally amazing.

Because the whole thing was never meant to get the maximum likes or comments but it was always meant for the friendship you share.

Yours truly,

Aishwarya

       

*Disclaimer : This post was written months ago but published today, so please don't judge ;) *

The Change...

Why the education system India needs to change?

You know you are a pro at Maths , still you mug up Social Science ,you know everybody loves your voice, still you study Physics. You know that football is made for you, still you have to struggle with the chemical formulas. You know ,you have a knack for Fashion and designing, still you bear the boring Geography classes. Pretty much you know everything about you, but still... you can't help it.


This is what the education system in India is all about, you got to study things that are in no way contributing to what you want to be. Ever wondered, why a genius like Einstein failed in his classes, it's clear-" he didn't like it". But ever wondered , why Einstein is Einstein-"because he did what he LoVeD..."

The education in India doesn't allow you to do what you love you are bound to follow the "Herd Mentality". Innovation and creativity is missing in the system. While some students are born to study the established things and become great philosophers, there are some other kinds who have the zeal to create something new. Indian students rarely get the motivation and guide to put forward their innovative ideas, such is the system. After 10th, a student has just three options- Science ,Arts or Commerce. Don't you think there is a dire need for combination courses, where students can opt for a major and a minor subject? If students in America can pursue physiotherapy with Art History and Biological sciences with photography, why not in India? 

Trends clearly show that the educated people in India are increasing , but their employability skills are far from the minimum standards. Some people even after their graduation fail to do the basic math(credits-"Memorize the formula method").

Basic skills like reading ,writing , analyzing must be established in every student. But honestly , How many people, even with higher education can write a simple application CoRRectly...Be it Hindi or English.!! An overall development in the personality of a person is what is definitely needed ,people got to come out of their cocoons to face the real world. Aiming for high scores and mugging up the night before the exams is not education in any sense.

One should be able to explore , innovate and create and it is in this process that you are able to discover yourself.

What if?

Continuing my blogger friend's ideology "http://kritika16shukla.blogspot.in"
 in a less artistic and more quirky manner.I present you again -

What if you weren't this sensitive?
Me-I would have been less hurt!

What if people were less deceiving?
Me-Life would have been much easy.

What if you just didn't care?
I wish I was so.

What if you weren't a girl?
There would have been so less restrictions.

What if you hadn't chopped of your hair?
I would not have felt so free.

What if Facebook and WhatsApp didn't exist?
People would have been less jealous of others and would have talked more(This is for sure).

What if your girlfriend didn't have a boyfriend?
She would have been miserable :-P

What if you had a boyfriend?
Sorry, that just can't happen ;-)

What if you were a business tycoon?
I wouldn't have fled the country.

What if you liked pink?
I would have preferred the Stone age.

What if you were stoned ?
I would have beaten The Beatles.

What if you went and talked to him?
Blush...

People in Delhi Metro!

People you would have met in Delhi metro!

Metro Travel equals Praying time - Keeping holy books in their posh bags is old Fashioned. Now what they like to do is use Airtel 4G network to search the Hymn for the day. NO! they don't search "Hymn for the weekend", though it's a nice song to search for ;)  .

All dolled up- Heavy make-up while traveling is intolerable. How do they manage this and those pencil heels while travelling! Have you ever tried catching an auto in those. It's next to impossible!

The Ultimate talker- They generally have two phones (a Smartphone and a Nokia C2) and all their talks, boss' stories, relationship stories, Mom's advice, yelling on your junior, planning for that party, never-ending talk with a friend are done in metro only. I wonder how do they get the signal .I also own a decent phone with a decent SIM still I face signal problems :(

Eyes on your phone- The ones who just keep looking in your phones , reading every damn conversation and email you are doing. Or just observing your Facebook activities. That's most annoying, really.

Like this! They won't let you know!

So called aged - I remember, once when I was travelling, I sat on the Reserved seat for the aged people because there weren't any prospective aged in my compartment that time. I mean why leave it empty? After few stations when there arrived one and I offered the seat, she refused to have it saying,    " No beta, Keep sitting, after all, I am not that old" .You are right Aunty, you were not that old ! and you can never be. Sorry for this!

Very busy ones - Mostly school students on weekends attending coaching classes. The moment they sit, they open their books and start discussing their doubts. Perhaps, the perfect use of their long  journey with friends. After all who doesn't like gossiping!

Police with their pets -You would not have met them had you not travelled in Red line! Forget the Dabangg policeman,( I used the word "Dabangg" because they do wear black aviators sometimes) the security dogs are just so cute, mostly Labrador or Alsatian but you just admire them so much. Bad for you if you haven't travelled in red line. ;)

Make up but only in DMRC mirror - All nice and clean and they mess their look by getting ready looking in the Metro gate mirror. Some do have mirrors with them also but seriously, moving metro, passengers and make-up makes no sense.

The Reader and the Gamer - They are in their own world of fantasy, be it a novel or a game(No candy crush for God's sake).I once bumped into my school  friend who was waiting at the metro station and not boarding the metro because she was just two pages behind finishing off her novel. Embarrassed on me knowing this, she definitely regretted meeting me that day.

  

Music is my breath- These are the people who come in metro all messed up and running out of breath, frantically huffing and puffing, still the first thing they do when they enter is - earphones, I can't live without them!

The one with as many bags as kids - They have a luggage bag, a sling bag , a clutch bag and a shoulder bag  and also small kids to handle. I seriously believe after this that there should be a Baggage Handling System for all Metro stations,so that your bags could reach your destination station internally handled by DMRC. Wouldn't it be so great ,no luggage to bother for! It will reach Kashmere gate by the time I reach there. Because that pushes, people with big bags give to other people are real pain. Lol!

The Sleeper- Perhaps the best utilisation of time, hehe..... They board metro with the intention that they have to have that so needed power nap. Mostly found during evening metro travel and beware because they might use your shoulder as their pillow.

Personalities in a girl's college

Types of Personalities in a girl's college

1)The Elegant ones :- They wear black, talk less( mind you very, very less),their minds are not full of crap, they are fun to be with.

2) The Bitches :- They are evil, hideous, they talk behind your back, they almost never complete a sentence without a local slang to bitch someone. They think they are very cool(may be they are sometimes!) but they are just so mean, self-centered and God knows what else...

3) Immature professionals :- They talk formal, eat formal, sleep formal..duhh!! Live formal. They add a perspective of placements ,every time you go talk to them.

4) Studious ones :- They attend every damn lecture.(God..why ?).You go talk to them and they give you one hell of a reason as to why they won't agree to the mass bunk.

5) The Sunflowers :- Every break they get, be it lunch break, bunk break, class postponed break, teacher-late-break, they go sit in the ground  to have sunlight(got it Sunflowers!! ?) and talk crap (seriously)

6) Sitcom and movie buffs :- Every new release around the corner, sci-fi, non sci-fi(covers every other thing. Ain't  I smart? Because there are just these two types that exists for me) they are loaded with info about it. They read novels in and out while commuting. Chilled out and relaxed always. Have had many sitcom marathons.!!(WoW).

7) Fashionistas :- That Oh-so-stunning girl of the class! Pretty, Pretty, Pretty that's what describes these girls. You sincerely wonder how do they manage a figure like that when there exists such sumptuous, lip-smacking street food in this world. They are the flag-bearers of the Fashion society and manage to look like this even on exam days(How in the world can that happen!).

8) The Liars :- A lie..that's not needed at all. Just say a NO, clean and easy. They lie and pretend so much. They always lie to you that they are doing nothing just waiting for time to pass by, however in reality they have already finished that extra reference book your teacher told you to see if you have time left. Just don't fall in their trap! They would make it difficult for you to pass the semester. Stay away and awake, these are corrupted people who would attack you with the procrastination Virus. Keep your system updated with an AntiVirus program!

9) Once-in-a-bluemoon girls :- They appear just during the exam season to gather notes, give exams and that's it. You don't see them for the next few months. Seriously ,How is the attendance managed? I want this haunting question to be answered.

10) Silent Warriors :- They keep it simple. They are so busy improving themselves they have no time to criticize others. Clearly the best ones. They just slay it in the exams every time. You will admire their company.

(Disclaimer : This is a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.)

Everything Google!

Everything Google!

A day without Google is hard to imagine. With it's oh-so-good services and that perfect doodle for the day , you just can't manage your stuff without it, no matter whether you are an engineer, doctor, lawyer, manager, teacher, student or any Homosapien involved or not in a profession.

Because not exploiting Google's service just deprives you of good things in life.

Let me start by this haunting experience of mine. I had just got my PC formatted by my computer-wala-bhaiya but unfortunately he forgot installing Ms office on it. Now I had to submit this presentation to a teacher and a word doc to one of my seniors. Unaware of the scarcity of resources on my PC, I started my work quite late at night and Boomm...! I just couldn't open either word or power point,obviously because I had no Ms office installed. And those few moments were spent imagining the after-effects of this mistake. I tried finding Ms office for downloading but of no use. Then I realized that I could try doing it on my docs and presentation using Google drive. Thankfully, I was able to make my presentation and doc and it saved me from the wrath of my seniors.

Not just this but Google Drive also makes working in teams quite easy. Simultaneous editing of the same doc by different people at the comfort of their place. No more fighting on who did the less work and who more. See it being done by people in front of your eyes. It saves so much time, no separate docs to be made, no emailing, no merging in the end. Just one place for the making of your document!

It's not just Drive but many Google services that are worth admiring. Here are some of my Google memories.

"One Google account for everything Google'': This is so true. Make a Gmail account and Enjoy all Google services. Not just this, but many sites also offer an option called ''Sign in with Google'' .You don't need to enter your details on each and every site you register for, just the google account and you are good to go.

Forms: Isn't completing and sharing a questionnaire made so easy using Google forms. I mean one practically doesn't need any coding knowledge.

Translate: Translating was never so easy! as Google search engine comes equipped with translate option. We can open web pages in so many different languages. It may not be of much use to the English-speaking youth of India but in rural India it has it's importance.

Google Scholars: I remember making my research project in my first year,collecting previous researches done on the same topic can turn cruel. Google scholar looks after this need of yours. Researches on or related to your topic right there for your reference.

Maps: Lost in a new town or exploring new places on your own, with Google maps you do it all with grace. All you need is a smartphone loaded with fast internet.

There are so many more Chrome, Pocket, Google+, Google image search, Google Art Project,Google goggles, Google keep,Google Buzz, Hangouts, Calendar, You Tube, Picasa, Panoramio, Wallet and the list goes on and on. Go on and try some new google stuff .But make sure you have the googliness!

P.s. I am not a Google Ambassador nor have I watched "The Internship" recently,It has been almost a year.But Yes, I like praising good things…