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TRAVELLING

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travelling

TRAVELLINGOpportunity. Joy. Adventure. Happiness. Content. Satisfaction. Introspection. Teacher. Travelling is all of these nouns and adjectives, combined. Travelling is to your soul, what a drop of water is to your body, in a lost boiling desert. Your soul is thirsty for adventures, traveling, and exploring. It is up to you, to quench its thirst. Travelling, is not just a weekend getaway, or vacationing in the summer holidays. It connects your soul to the nature, to the people. The best thing about this adventure is, that it doesn’t have an age requirement; only pure will. So, as the title suggests, more than places to travel, this blog is more about inspiring the readers to go find themselves, while exploring this world.

Travelling doesn’t mean you need to board the very next flight, and cancel off your upcoming meetings or projects, it can be a simple fifteen minutes stroll in the community park, a few miles away from your apartment. That little walk can give you a lot of perspective about life. You see the young children playing, stress free, and you start remembering the last time you laughed so much, and were as stress free. You see the old couple, very calm, and smiling all the way long, and arguing. You remember the last time when you were involved in the debating sessions with your friends, arguing which hangout spot is the best.

TRAVELLING

Now when you go to travel a city, or a country, you goal shouldn’t just be to cover all the natural site seeing areas, rather, it should be to learn. You need to go out there, observe. Observe the people, their culture, talk to those people, know their stories, know their recipes, know why they dress up, know which traditions they follow, and why.

Now of course, it’s easier said, than done. There are many people who may be very adventurous, who may be more spontaneous than any of us, but they might find it a little awkward to approach other people, and randomly strike up a conversation, or may find it difficult adjusting with the other culture. That’s it! That’s the moment you need to get out of your comfort zone. What’s the worst that could happen? The people might not respond back as enthusiastically, or even worse, they are extremely rude, or even worse, they don’t respond at all! But you need to push yourself, and realise, that not all people have the same personality. There are people out there, so willing, and so proud to introduce you to their country, city, tradition, rides, jewellery, food, that you cannot even imagine at the moment. You just have to ‘STOP NOT’. And that’s where the beauty of travelling lies. You learn, you get informed about the world, you get stories, you expand your horizon, you GROW as an individual!

So, why don’t we jot down the gains of traveling, so that you do yourself a favour!

  • Confidence: You gain confidence. When you go out to a place, where no one knows you, you are allowed to become a true, unadulterated version of yourself, and even though it might take three four trips, but the purpose is served.
  • Introspection: As you remove layer by layer, your insecurities, untrue personalities, you get to know yourself a little by little more!
  • Lessons: You learn. You learn about the world, you learn about science, you learn about life, and you cannot even predict how knowledgeable you become, in any given field, which might come handy in the near future.

TRAVELLING

  • Interesting personality: Now this, is without a doubt. As you keep travelling, you keep collecting details, stories, and challenges, about that place, and its people. So when you talk to a friend, or even a stranger, you have so many stories to talk about, and obviously, you come off as an interesting identity, which helps in your corporate world too. The excitement of packing your luggage, for a trip, is a different story in itself. Choosing the right lens, Packing the clothes rolled, so that they don’t occupy much space, packing your favourite blanket, are some of the many elements that release endorphins in your body from the very thought.

TRAVELLING

  • Health: Travelling is scientifically healthy for you, because it tends to make you happy, and also, serves as a kind of anti depressant. All you require is the first step.

So, hopefully, that was inspiring enough, so that you might want to research some blogs and videos about traveling! Youtube channel, Jacks Gap, bloggers of Travelettes, and various Instagram pages like Wander lust are a few handy recommendations.

Happy travelling!

All You Need Is HUmanITY

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Large group of business people using mobile phones elevated view Stock Photo

Do you know that an average person spends four years of his life looking down at his cell phone? Kind of ironic, these touch screens can make us lose touch. But there is no wonder that these world favourite Imac, Iphones, or Ipads and so many I’s, so many selfies are not enough, us’s and we’s are.

All You Need Is HUmanITY

Technology has made us more selfish and separated than ever because while it claims to connect us, connection is getting no better. And let me express first Mr. Zuckerberg is not the one who need to be blamed but you should reclassify Facebook to what it is… “An Anti-Social Network”. Because while we may have a big friend list, so many of us are friend less, all alone because friendships are more broken on screens in phones. We sit in homes, on a computer, measuring self-worth by the number of followers and likes… ignoring those who love us, it seems we would rather write an angry post. Let me tell you, I asked a friend the other day, let’s meet up face to face and he said what time you want me to Skype? I responded with OMG! SRS and realized what about me! You do not have the patience to have conversations without abbreviations, this is the generation of Media Overstimulation. Chats have been reduced to snap chats, photos are shared on Instagram with a hash tag, the news is a hundred and forty characters and videos are of six seconds. Studies have shown that the attention span of an average adult today is one second lower than that of a goldfish.

All You Need Is HUmanITY

So, if you wanted a few people who are aquatic animals who have dared to click off or close this article… Congratulations! But let me finish by saying you do have a choice, yes, but this one my friends we cannot auto correct, we must do it ourselves. Take control or be controlled, decide. I no longer want to spoil a precious moment by recording it with a phone… I’m just going to keep those moments alive inside me. I don’t want to take a picture of my meals anymore… I’m just going to eat them. I don’t want that new software or the new update and if I want to post an old photo, who says I must wait until Thursday? #Throw Back Thursdays?

All You Need Is HUmanITY

I am so tired of performing in a pageantry of vanity and conformance accepted form of digital insanity. Call me crazy but I imagine a world where we smile when we have low batteries because that will make us one bar closer to “HUMANITY”.

THE GUN KNOWS ME BETTER  – Episode 1

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gun

Abu (Dad) was a hero. Not just for me but for the nation as well. Yes! He was an army man.  Major General Nazreem Taufiq- one of the highest-ranked army officials of his time. . I can’t say I spent the most of my time with him because he was home only for two or three months a year. But whenever I did, I had a lot to take back and cherish. One thing that I admire the most in Abu was the way he prayed. He will just transform into a whole new being in the process. One could easily sense that by just looking at his face. It had a distinct, gentle smile. He’ll forget everything around him and feel God. I always tried to pray the way he did. Ammi (Mom), Abu and I lived at Dras in Ladakh in a small, beautiful house that eventually widened and honed its beauty.

A Girl In My Life : Episode 2

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couples

Episode 2:

In the evening I reached college before 6.30 but was hiding near a tree and was waiting. She called me up at 6.30 but I didn’t answer. About 15 mins later she came out and was waiting near the entrance. It was around 7.15, I went there and she saw me as if she’s gonna smolder me to flames. “I’m very sorry, I had a flat Tyre and I had to get it fixed and that was the reason for the delay”, saying this I handed over the record book and said, “Thanks a bunch and I’m extremely sorry for the delay in returning the record as well as for making you wait for such a long time”. She grabbed the record from me and started walking without saying anything. I started my bike and went near her and said, “Come I’ll drop you home, it’s dark”. She walked hastily towards an auto rickshaw coming towards us. She hired the auto rickshaw and got into it. I followed her; after sometime the auto rickshaw stopped she got down and asked, “Why are you following me?” I said, “It is my fault and I’m responsible for your safety, its dark and the area is lonely; no street lights too. How can I trust a stranger and send you in an auto rickshaw? Come with me or if you prefer the auto rickshaw, you can go but I’ll follow you till you reach your place to ensure you reach safely” and smiled. She went to the auto rickshaw, paid him and came and sat on my bike. I started the bike and she kept giving me instructions as “left, right, and straight” she didn’t speak anything except this. After 30 mins she said, “Stop” near a ladies hostel. I asked, “Oh you stay in a hostel, which is your native, where are your parents?” As soon as I stopped she got down and walked off without saying anything. I went home and told my Mom all that happened today. My Mom said, “Poor girl, she must be feeling home sick and that’s why is always sad. Food is not good in some hostels and that could also add up to her sadness” I said, “Yeah Mom, maybe that’s the reason she is always sad. Mom, please prepare my favourite Poori tomorrow for breakfast and pack it for her too mom. She said, “Okay, I’ll do it”.

A Girl In My Life : Episode 2

The next day I went to her and said, “Hi” and placed the lunch box in her desk and said, “My mom prepared Poori today; it’s my favorite so I got it for you too. Have it during the break” I didn’t wait for her response and went to my desk. In the evening I found the box in the place where I placed it, she didn’t take it too. I felt bad, I troubled my Mom and if I take it back home she’ll feel bad too. I didn’t want to waste it so I took it home and put it in the microwave and had it and told my mom what happened. She said, “It is okay, never mind, maybe she didn’t like poori that’s why she didn’t eat” I said, “I think she didn’t even open the box mom”. She said, “It’s okay, leave it” I didn’t stop bringing food for her from my home. Every day I used to give her a box. She didn’t touch it at all. One day, I checked her date of birth with the class representative and found that she was a year and three months younger to me (I missed a year when I was studying 4th standard due to chicken pox) and her birthday is a week ahead. There was a good practice in our class and that was we used to collect 25 bucks from everyone in the class every month and celebrate our classmate’s birthday. It was an activity that excited everyone. On her birthday, before she could come I placed a gift on her desk. When she saw the gift she was surprised and was wondering if it was for her. I went to her desk and said, “Happy birthday. This is my birthday gift for you” She didn’t even open it but threw it on my desk and saying, “I don’t like gifts and I don’t have to take anything from you.”

A Girl In My Life : Episode 2

Being insulted in front of the class I felt ashamed and walked to my desk. I was very disappointed by her behaviour; yet I couldn’t hate her because I had a soft corner for her. I didn’t stop bringing food for her even after this incident and as usual she did not take it. I liked her but not her behaviour. Though initially it was the challenge that made me talk to her but now there was an unusual feeling that made me cling on to her and fight for her friendship. About a fortnight passed and to my surprise, one day the box I gave her was empty. I was very happy and asked her if she liked the food. She said, “Yes, it was nice. Thanks”. The next day during lunch break I asked her, “Shall I join you for lunch?” She said, “Okay” and we occupied a table. I grabbed her box and pushed my box to her and said, “Lets exchange our lunch today.” Before she could refuse I opened the box and started eating. You know it was sick and I felt like saying yuck; but since she’ll feel bad I said, “Hmmm tastes good henceforth we’ll exchange our lunch, okay?” She didn’t say anything but started to eat. I asked, “How is it? She said, “Very tasty” I continued, “m,y mom prepares tasty food; I love all the dishes she prepares and I asked, “How about you?” Her face turned pale and few tear droplets fell from her eyes on the table. She was struggling to pretend as if she was not crying and without finishing her lunch she left the place. I thought she was missing her parents and I felt bad that I reminded her of them. The boy who placed the bet came and asked, “How did you befriend her? Oh, I failed the bet” I said, “Never mind about the bet, I just took it because the challenge was interesting and not for money” I went to her desk, returned her lunch box and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” She said, “It is okay” and started to write some record. I left the place in dismay. At home during our dinner I told my mom about her. My dad said, “Arjun, bring her home one day, poor little girl, she must be missing her parents.” I said, “But she doesn’t speak with anyone dad, anyway I’ll invite her”. My dad said, “Invite her for your birthday” I said, “Hmm, that’s a good idea dad.” Turning towards my mom I said, “Mom, her hostel food is sick; please pack an extra box of lunch for her every day. At least she’ll have one good meal a day” She said, “Okay. Check what she likes, I’ll include in the menu and prepare it frequently”. My parents were my friends and I used to discuss everything with them; there was nothing that I hid from them. My sister Adithi was also my best friend. She’s studying in the 8th standard and I used to help her out in her studies, record works, sports, assignments etc. As days passed on Nethra and I become friends and we used to have lunch together every day. I was the only person she would talk to among all the other students in the class. She never spoke anything else other than studies. Our 1st semester got over and a month’s winter vacation was announced. Everybody had planned something or the other for the vacation. I asked her, “Nethra when are you leaving to your native?”. She said, “I’m gonna stay in the hostel” Perplexed I asked, “It is a month’s vacation and you were feeling home sick you can spend some time with your parents”. Her face turned gloomy and said, “No, I’m not going” and she left the place. I told my Mom about her vacation plans with utter displeasure. She was shocked but continued to say, “Maybe her parents are busy with their work or they must be abroad. Anyway your birthday falls during the vacation; invite her home.” I said, “Okay”.

A week later I called her and said, “Tomorrow is my birthday and we have a small party at our home and I’m inviting you for that. Be ready by 4.00 pm, I’ll come to pick you. Okay, take care, bye.” and hung the phone even before she could refuse or accept. The next day before I started I called her and informed that I started. She said, “I’m not coming don’t waste your time.” I said, “I started, no excuse. Please be ready”.

See you in Episode 3😃…

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

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Quotes From Novels

Words have the power to take people to another world. They can go within our hearts and create magic. So here are some of the quotes that will take you to a different place.

  1. “Sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together”Point of Retreat, Colleen Hoover

   15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

2. “Important encounters are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other” Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho

    15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

3. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope” Persuasion, Jane Austen

   15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

4. “Give me music and I will feel your heart, give me reality and I will feel your scars” Naked Human, Christopher Pointdexter

 15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them 

5. “I look up at the stars, endless and forever…” Archer’s Voice, Mia Sheridan

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

6. “When hearts are set on fire no complications can extinguish the flames.”Loving Mr. Daniels, Brittainy C Cherry

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

7. “The only thing I do know for sure is that if we both want to, we’ll find a way to make it work.”The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

8. “I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly and then all at once.” The Fault in our Stars, John Green

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

9. “We accept the love we think we deserve” The Perks of being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

10. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

11.“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

12. “I will never, ever regret the things I’ve done. Because most days, all you have are places in your memory that you can go to.”Me before You, Jojo Moyes

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

13. “Sometimes we let the first ones get away, but it teaches us to cherish the second ones that much more.”Kaleidoscope Hearts, Claire Contreras

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

14. “So why not live with the magic? Be a kid again and believe in the fantastical. Life is more fun with a little smoke and mirrors.”Six of Hearts, L.H. Cosway

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

15. “I want to be someone’s everything. I want fire and passion, and love that’s returned, equally. I want to be someone’s heart.”Thoughtless, S.C. Stephens

15 Quotes From Novels That Will Make You Fall In Love With Them

Hope you enjoyed reading the quotes J

Thank you J

Boards On Your Head ? No Need to Worry !

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Exams
Image source https://leftfootforward.org

So Boards approach us just like fire engulfs mortals in its flames and trust me, this is no exaggeration. We feel like we are being invited by the blaze. There is actually no escape out of the jeopardy for the time being and you know that you can get to the other end only by going through this and since it is the only route, though ardent we have no option but to make it through. They say we have to give these examinations in order to prove ourselves so why not give it your best shot? If these marks supposedly determine your merit and serve as the first step in your career(read: college), why can’t you, rather, why shouldn’t you conquer it?

You know that you can and you should have the confidence that you will. You’ve the potential to destroy anything that comes in your way and so this is the time, this is it. It’s now or never. Make sure that your make your parents proud and astonish everyone who didn’t believe in you. Give it back in their faces, so much so, that the same people have no choice but to sing your praises later. Make sure that you prove yourself to the world. Promise yourself that you’d do this not for anyone else but for the ones who have had faith in you no matter what and also for yourself, for your inner happiness, for your pride, for continuing to breathe the sheer fact that you’ve always been proving yourself at every freaking step and have never known what giving up means. You don’t know what defeat is so why crumble now? Why lose hope and confidence now? Why back up now at the last step? There is no looking back after this, nothing to stop you from reaching your destination. You’re impregnable.

Boards On Your Head ? No Need to Worry !

Just work so hard that even the planets cannot stop you from achieving what you deserve? Let everyone watch you fly now. “Come what may, I’ll do it anyway.”

 

 

Sonakshi Sinha Is Back !

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Sonakshi is bouncing back with 3 hand to hand movies

Sonakshi Sinha Is Back !

Sonakshi Sinha who made her venture into Indian Cinema with Sallu Mia’s Dabangg in 2010 is a shining star today. The actress who was last seen in Murugadoss’s Akira had hoped for the best from the film but  unfortunately the film did not work in the Box Office. However, the efforts she put into the film did not go in vein and was much appreciated by the audience. The ‘Dabangg’ actress is still not disappointed and hoping for the best from her upcoming flicks like- Force 2, Noor and Ittefaq.

Here is more info about the movies-

Film                         Genre                    Cast                          Release Date  

Force 2              Action & Thriller        Sonakshi Sinha,           18 ,Nov, 2016

                                                         John Abraham,

                                                        Tahir Raj Bhasin

Noor                  Biopic                      Sonakshi Sinha,              7,April , 2017

                                                             Karan Gill

Ittefaq              Mystery & Thriller        Sonakshi Sinha             2017-2018

Force 2

Sonakshi Sinha Is Back !

After the success of Force in 2011, director Abhine Deo came up with its sequel “ Force 2”. The film which is starring John Abraham and Sonakshi SInha in the lead role. John Abraham in the film will reprise his role of ACP Yashwardhan, whereas Sonakshi in the film will be seen as a RAW agent, who is an alpha in herself. Tahir Raj Bhasin, in the film, will play a role of bad guy who will try to kill all the RAW agents.

The film not only has hand-to-hand combat scenes, guns and chases but also internationally stylized scenes which will keep the viewers glued to their eyes. Force 2 is all set to release on 18 November,2016.

Noor

Sonakshi Sinha Is Back !

Sunhil Sippy’s Noor is a biopic of eminent Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel titled “Karachi, You’re killing Me!”. In the movie Sonakshi will play the role of a journalist who is trying to discover herself. Her character in the movie has a lot of shades and the film is based on Mumbai. The movie is scheduled to release on 7 April, 2017.

Ittefaq

Sonakshi Sinha Is Back !

The remake of Ittefaq features a fresh pair, Sonakshi Sinha and Sidharth Malhotra in the lead role. Whereas, the old version of Ittefaq (1969) starred Rajesh Khanna and Nanda in the lead role which was  directed by successful film maker Yash Raj Chopra.However, its new version will be directed by his grandson Abhey Chopra. The story is basically a murder mystery where a painter loves his passion even more than his wife and one day in rage of anger shoots her.

How is the Abhey Chopra’s Ittefaq different from the old one?

Abhey Chopra’s Ittefaq is promising to be totally different from the earlier one. The new version of Ittefaq will not have the same killer and it will also have songs as a part of background score.

There are also some other upcoming flicks in this line like Namastey England, Amrita Pritam Biopic , 1969 (Anurag Basu next), Haseena – The Queen of Mumbai. the cast, genre, story line promo and release date will be updated to you as the news will be released.

For more updates from the Bollywood stay spaced here with Buddymantra!

 

The Abandoned Hero

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karna
http://topyaps.com/karna-from-the-mahabharata

“POWER”- An attempt to define a term like this would be as futile as an attempt to define Psychology (the only science without a definition). It means something different to every individual, it is subjective. If we call him the most powerful man who conquers the world then what should he be called who conquers that invisible inevitable form, that supreme light, that mystery which lies beyond the limitless stretches of the sea of life, beyond that horizon- DEATH? My limited reading of Hindu Mythology has enlightened me to a rare form of power- the power to forgive. Not many gods possessed it, let alone humans. It is that inexplicable will, strength and magnanimity of a heroic heart. The story of one such heroic heart, the story of an abandoned hero, overshadowed by the gleam of divine glories enunciates the spirit of true power. It is that power-the power to forgive- that makes him a true hero.

The Abandoned Hero

Till death intervened…

Born of Pritha or Kunti as she is known, and the Sun God, this divine little figure was set afloat no sooner he was born to be gulped down by the high currents of the Ashva river by his mother who in order to save herself from the royal disgrace of being an unmarried mother, chose to forsake him. He was abandoned. Raised up as a charioteer’s son after battling the high tide of destiny, he went to learn the skills of archery from Guru Dronacharya who refused to teach him despite his incomparable prowess and meritorious person because he would not teach a charioteer’s son or because he knew more than anyone else that he would be an impediment in the path his favorite, Arjun.  Nonetheless, he was abandoned. The insults had just begun for him, for he carried the burden of his caste everywhere he went. But, ambitious as he was, nothing could deter him from learning archery. Bearing the brunt of his truth and unable to repress his passion, he was furious and so took the impulsive decision to hide his identity.  Young and bruised, he was unaware of the fatal consequences of a lie. He went to Guru Parshuram (who has sworn to teach archery to only Brahmins) to learn from him the art of bow and arrow. He was a diligent and the most obedient ‘shishya’ to his guru. With passion unconditional and service selfless, he grew up in the patronage and protection of Parshuram. Sometimes our biggest strength betrays us. He got betrayed by his inner strength and will power, his endurance and in a vague way his warrior blood. Bit by a poisonous insect, he did not budge lest his guru, resting in his lap, would have got disturbed. The guru astonished by this inordinate quality, believed to be possessed none but a kshtriya, understood that he has been cheated by someone posing to be a Brahmin. So, the guru didn’t blink before pronouncing one of his cruelest curses, overlooking his pupil’s dedication, spirit of endurance and forbearance over the years. And he too, abandoned him. He was humiliated in the most ignominious manner in the presence of almost all the imperial crowns by Panchaali, the only woman whom he secretly loved, again for the same reason, his caste. He was, thus, abandoned. His brothers, after nourishing the seeds of hatred for him throughout their lives, killed him by unrighteous means and mocked at his corpse with beastly satisfaction. He was abandoned.

The Abandoned Hero

An Ode to the Wronged

Generous enough to give away, without flinching, his golden armor and flesh earrings, not oblivious of its consequences and only to keep his vow, forgiving enough to pardon his bitterest of his enemies, he, who personified duty, loyalty, friendship and sacrifice, who possessed Yudhisthir’s righteous nature, Bheem’s strength, Arjun’s erudition and archery skills, and Nakul and Sahadev’s divine looks, was the abandoned hero of Mahabharata. He was Karna.

Choosing Responding Over Reaction As Netizens

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Reaction As Netizens

Sunder Pichai’s Cockroach theory has a lot to say –

“At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. She was panicky and wanted to get rid of the pest. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but it landed on another lady and the drama continued. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt. He grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies. He further adds, “It is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life. I understood, I should not react in life. I should always respond. The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.”

I belong to the 21st century. I belong to the era of memes, hate pages and Photoshop. If you want to know what my generation is up to, I can take you on an adventure that unravels after I login on my Facebook account.  We are the generation who can be easily bought with objectifying lyrics and can invent a trending topic be it someone’s buttocks or some celebrity wardrobe malfunction. The point is with great freedom and power of information bestowed upon us we only seem even more directionless. We do not build opinions but manufacture reactions. We do not think about solution, we make things viral. In short we seem to combat issues with reactions and overreactions rather than sensible response. With immense exposure to information, opportunities and possibilities, the social-media-frenzied youth are yet to utilize the newly information-evolved present for the better rather than sensationalizing controversies. Generalizations cannot be made but in the era where a song called ‘ Pen-Pineapple-Apple–Pen’ gets a Guinness World Record, there is a need for enrichment of a more cultured, intellectual and reasonable youth.

Sensationalization and reaction

Choosing Responding Over Reaction As Netizens

Tablets have replaced books, Terribly Tiny Tables have replaced novels and discussions have been replaced with a like, comment or a share button. In the drive of simplification and quickness, depth has lost its value. Can thoughts go beyond simply liking or sharing a particular topic? Do we even think before we like or share a picture comparing a potato and a singer? Do we need to share everything which says ‘according to research’? Do we need to simply write about what we had in dinner or share a picture which says ‘my laptop- dual core, my phone-octa core and my friends – haramcore’? There is nothing as infinite as what we can put in social media today. Yes we debate about Freedom of Speech and Expression but what happens when we all are simply reducing to a neurotic, narrow-minded, depth-less audience? An individual tiny little ‘like’ might not matter but what happens when it is a whole generation validating, reinforcing and spreading such non sensible disposition? As Pichai rightly says, “Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.” Sadly for youth, combating an issue has been reduced to a frenzy-motivated reaction. It only remains to be a medium to get more ‘likes’ or ‘share’ rather than a valid answer to a solution.

The Responding Responsibility

Choosing Responding Over Reaction As Netizens

Information can be good and bad and we need to understand that it is just a matter of choice which makes use the information in a particular way. Social networking sites can be used to share personal opinions but one needs to know that it is not a diary nor it is a party where you meet people you know and interact. It is a network and a huge ocean of connections without limited ability to control communication. We must understand the sanctity of personal emotions, worries and relationships. Rebuking classmates on the comment section, writing an anonymous letter as an answer to a gossip, eruption of emotions after a proposal etc need not be a status. If one means these personally then it must remain personal. These emotions can be very real and might sound ‘status-worthy’ but it is indeed a wonderful skill to resolve our personal problems without making it a public issue (unless it definitely requires public attention) Therefore one must know how to maintain a personal identity and a ‘social-media-identity’ and do not mix both.

Given the way opinions are expressed these days (through memes, gifs etc) it is difficult to avoid these mediums but we must analyse the content of these mediums before sharing them.  Some messages might be hurting the sentiments of a particular community or ideology and in return it only spreads more unwanted reactions and misinterpretations. One has the full right to agree and oppose anything. Why not find more about it, do more research on reliable sources about it, find the truth and see if we were at all biased? Then if we find an opinion at all lets write blogs, make short films about it etc so that people know more about it. As Netizens we need to be responsible and promote things that need to be heard.

We are the kids of the 21st century and we have a lot mentalities to change, narrow-mindedness to fight and new ideas to promote. Thanks to our quicker and newer inventions which facilitate us with information and social networking platforms to do so. Reducing these phenomenal inventions into superficial tools to cook more chaos and manufacture a neurotic, depth-less and purposeless youth is simply an indication of the making of a newly evolving dehumanized specie.

 

No Shave November : What, Why and More

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noshave new

So, November is here once again, it’s that time of year when you’ll see a lot of beards- fluffy, shaggy and curly – beards of all sorts popping out here and there on the faces that remain quite clean for the rest of the year! As you can already guess I’m talking about “No-Shave November” guys! So what is this new craze all about? I think we can safely call it “new”, because this trend has gained this much popularity in the recent years.

No Shave November : What, Why and More

What is No-Shave November? It certainly is more than just an excuse for lazy guys to avoid shaving for a month. The official No-Shave November website says “No-Shave November is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness.” Now, I know what you’re thinking, how exactly did cancer awareness come into the play, right? Bear with me, I am going to make everything clear to you. No-Shave November as their website says, is a web-based non-profit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness. They are raising funds to support cancer prevention in a unique way. They are encouraging people all over the world to give up shaving for one month and embrace the hair that many cancer patients lose, and to donate the money they would have otherwise spent on shaving to support the cause. How it all started? No-Shave November, without being tied to cancer prevention, had been a tradition for many years. Then in the year 2009, the Hill family from the suburbs of Chicago used it as a means to raise money for cancer research. The 8 Hill siblings lost their father Mathew Hill in November 2007, who passed away after fighting an 18 month long battle with colon cancer. Rebecca Hill, the oldest of the siblings and her friend Bret Rangdahl launched the No-Shave November campaign in the fall of 2009. It started out as a Facebook page. There were less than 50 participants in its first year. It started gaining momentum and more popularity with every passing year and in 2014 American Cancer Society partnered with them. Besides American Cancer Society they are now working with other organizations also, like Prevent Cancer Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (A big round of applause for No-Shave November!)

No Shave November : What, Why and More So basically some the people who are growing a beard this month are doing it just for fun and to some, No-Shave November is an excuse to skip shaving, while the rest are doing it for a noble cause. If you too want to support this cause you may participate by officially registering on https://no-shave.org/. The rules are very simple: Just do not shave for 30 days and at the end of the month donate the money you have saved from it to the cause. And if your workplace has a strict dress code, fret not, grooming and trimming are totally acceptable. Also, if you don’t want to commit to shagginess for a month, or if you cannot grow a beard but still want to support their cause you can buy their merchandise from the website, they have got shirts and bracelets that promote the movement of No-Shave November.

No Shave November : What, Why and More

And this is to girls and women, you can urge the men you have in your life to put down the razor for one month. A beard for a change will not be a bad thing.  Aside from that, women can take part in this campaign too. All you have to do is to let the hair grow on your legs for a month and avoid waxing. It is almost halfway through November. So the next shaving day is about a fortnight away from now. If you couldn’t do it this year, but you’re willing, don’t worry November will be back next year again. Or you can just stop shaving now and let your fur grow wildly for the rest of the month.

image courtesy: facebook.com/noshavenov