A New Beginning - College Diary #2

       I stepped into the world of engineering without knowing what to expect. It was never my choice - at least the stream I had entered was not! I always wanted to go for Aerospace Engineering but my dad wouldn't listen. He wouldn't send me out of my hometown. Whatever it is, I had to read staying in Shimoga only. I had went on hunger strikes too to convince him but nothing worked. So I had settled on the next best thing - Basic Science. Chemistry was my favorite and I decided to read basic science and enter research field. It sounded exciting but again, it wasn't a 'good' career option according to dad. So in the end, I ended up taking 'Computer Science' in 'Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering'. I certainly had no idea about how I was going to cope up!

       First day of college is always special. There is a feeling which resembles to the one you get when you are going on an adventure. And then there is the fear. It is always a mixed feeling. I too had somewhat similar experience. While I was all set for the adventure, I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle it all on my own. My best friends were miles away, in different colleges. I wondered if I would fit in! Finally I decided there was no use in fretting; I had to get used to the new environment.

       A smile creeps up whenever I read the diary entry of the first day - I was scared and excited at the same time. I had lost my way while finding classroom and had entered the branch where only seniors were present. Thank God I realized it before anyone started ragging! After that, I was scared to leave class room and go to canteen. The seniors were all excited - waiting to have some fun and as for us, juniors, well we were comfortable inside the class. On that very first day, I made a new friend without realizing how close we will grow over time. She had been my classmate from 5 years. Still, we had never really talked much with each other but the new surrounding had brought us closer. 

       I had embarked on this journey without knowing it would change me forever - in a good way. And now if I look back, I am so glad that I listened to dad and took this path.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Writing a Novella - A to Z Reflections

       When I did the theme reveal for this year's A to Z blogging challenge, I was sure of one thing - I wanted to write a serial story. I had always wanted to write a full length novel but when I decided to write a novella, I suddenly wasn't sure if I could churn out a novella of 26 chapters amidst my busy schedule. So I decided to write 4 serial stories in the course of A to Z challenge.

        I confess - I am never the one who writes posts well before the challenge starts. I am a student and I stand true to the rule of students - Always go for last minute preparations. That is what I did this time too. I didn't know what the novella was about, I didn't know what the next chapter would be. Sometimes the confusion was too much that I wanted to give up but the positive response and encouragement I got kept me going. And before I knew, I had finished the challenge, that too by writing a single novella with 26 chapters! I had even surprised myself.

       There are a few things I learnt during this challenge - never ever do last minute preparations. Yeah yeah I know I stick to the golden rule of students but still I have learnt the lesson. I was religiously writing and posting till 'T' post but then I had college fest to attend and I couldn't concentrate on blogging. It was the last fest of college life and I wanted to enjoy completely. As a result, my novella suffered. When I didn't post for 2 days, I got many messages asking if everything was okay. Trust me, those messages were what encouraged me to make time for writing posts even when I couldn't. A big thanks to all of you for showering me with so much love :)

       And as always, A to Z helps you discover many blogs. I have stalked a lot of blogs this time. I met many new people and some old bonds strengthened too. I loved reading the blogs of following people - Prasanna Rao, Sundari Venkatraman, Devika Fernando, Ruchi Singh, Shailaja V, Shalini, Shilpa Garg, Aathira, Shantala Nayak, Janaki, Vinay Leo, Soumya Prasad, Amrit Sinha, The Little Princess, Nibha Gupta, Suzy, Rajlakshmi, Cynthia Rodrigues, Geetika Gupta, Parul Kashyap, Vinodini Iyer, Vidya Subramanian, Vinitha Dileep, Sulekha Rawat, Eli Ert, Elli Stornebrink, Sheethal Susan, Sanch, Ina Tales, Corinne, Vidya Sury, Sushree Dash, Vishal. Sorry if I have left out any names. You know I love your blog ;)

       I had so much fun this April - writing and reading. Yes, I have missed out the reading and commenting from 'U' post and though I want to catch up, I don't know if I can. But I will promise to stay in touch from now on and stalk your blogs forever :P After all, I didn't make friends just for one month! So, lets keep in touch people. Hoping to see you all around. Till then, Happy Blogging.

PS: Many of you asked me if I have plans of publishing 'Leave Me Never'. I would love to do that but I have so much to edit before I can think of publishing. I just have one month of college life left. After that, I will give this novella a serious thought ;)

Linking this to 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge Reflections.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

Beware of L - Boards!

       I wanted to write this post right from the day I started taking driving classes but it didn't seem wise. So I held on till finally my driving license came through and now that I am not an L - Board anymore, I take the liberty to write this post.

       Have you read the fiction post I wrote about driving? If not, read it here. Even though the experience was not as scary as it was for my protagonist, it was not anything grand either. Yes, I did love the whole 'I-am-learning-to-drive-a-four-wheeler' experience but in the beginning, it was a little scary. The first day, as soon as I went to class, he made me sit in the driver's seat, told me about gears and clutch and told me to start driving! A shiver went down my spine when I thought of different outcomes that could occur because of this action. Thankfully, none of those happened! But I have learnt one thing - To be careful of the driver's with L-Boards! Why? I will tell you!

       I have been riding two wheeler from a long time. I know legal age to start riding is 18 but I had learnt it when I was 11! That too secretly, without letting my dad know. But that is another story. Riding two wheeler was easy. It just had one handle and riding it was cake walk. But the car? Steering wheel, brake, clutch, gears, accelerator and what not! Think about one and you will forget the other. I even once got so confused and instead of pressing the brake, I pressed the accelerator! Bless the driving instructor for saving me from causing an accident!

       Remembering was one thing. But facing the traffic was another. It was so confusing to get used to the width of the vehicle. In the beginning, I had to often remind myself that I have to be careful about the left side of the car, which is the part of the vehicle I am driving. And then there was trouble when someone was coming from the opposite side. Would I be able to pass within the space? That was another big question. But the worst was when someone was overtaking. They used to zoom in and go to the left and suddenly I used to turn the wheel to the left too, earning a string of expletives from the instructor! 

       The instructor was a headache too. "Don't drive too speed" was the command and if I slowed down "Press the accelerator harder. Didn't you have food" was the response. If I had the car jump on a speed breaker without slowing down or if I as much moved an inch sideways from the track I was going, then I could as well get ready for the tornado of scoldings that would follow! "Are you sleeping?" seemed to be his favorite dialogue. "I can't even manage everything with my eyes wide open. Pulling a stunt while sleeping? No Thank You!" I wanted to say. But I thought better of it and remained silent.

       Before joining the classes and experiencing all this, I used to take the L-Board drivers lightly. If I saw one driving ahead, I wouldn't have taught twice before overtaking or speeding away. But now that I know the pain, I will go easy on them! I know how the heart beats when someone is overtaking aggressively. I know the confusion that clouds the mind.

      You better go easy on them too. Because, you never know when they intend to apply brakes and end up pressing accelerator! Or when they try to give way for you to go ahead and end up smashing into you instead! Well, I was just saying ;)

PS: This is my 200th blog post :) Yay!! Time for celebrations ;)

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

Mangalore Memories #2

       I wrote yesterday in Mangalore Memories #1 about how I had ended up boarding the wrong bus. As promised, here is the rest of the story.

       I had boarded the bus at 8:30 am, hoping to reach by 1:30pm. But thanks to my high alertness negligence, now I would reach by 3:30 pm. I wanted to get down and change bus but that was not possible as I had already paid for the ticket (That too 75/- extra as it was a long route) So I sat looking out of the window, trying to think something different. Here is how my time went:

8:30 am

       The bus was going in a wrong route! Was this the right bus? What if I have boarded a wrong one? *Check the ticket* Destination is same! Then another thought stuck! What if these people are kidnapping me! I agree, I have a very creative mind to think like this :P Then a cross checking with mom confirmed what was the mistake.

8:45 am

       As the word of my blunder got out, I started getting calls. Mom, dad, uncle, my brother - they all started calling me. Mom even asked if I was sure I mentioned my destination correctly. I was getting irritated and also was feeling embarrassed.  This incident would be remembered every time I would travel somewhere. 

9:30 am

       Once the initial phone calls ended, I tried t push away the embarrassment and decided to enjoy the journey. Just 2 hours extra; no big deal! I plugged in my earphones and started listening to music. As the rock music played, I could feel my mood brightening slowly.

10:00 am

       Just when my mood was getting better, the bus stopped. There was a long line of vehicles in front of us. After enquiring, we got to know that a tree had fallen and thus the held up. It will be a few minutes before the bus could move again! There went my good mood!! To stop my mood from worsening again, I took out the novel I had brought and started reading it.

10:30 am

       The bus finally started moving. Yay! But within few minutes, we witnessed an accident scene. A bike had crashed with a jeep. Seeing the rider laying in the pool of blood, I felt nauseous! I couldn't read the book further. The murder mystery in it no longer held my interest.

11:30 am

       I had tried to sleep but couldn't. So I was listening to music again. A guy came and sat at the other end of the seat. The seat between us was empty and he had kept his bag there. After a few minutes, he moved his bag to the other end and sat beside me. He tried to make conversation but I refused to acknowledge him, pretending I didn't hear. But he wasn't giving up. So reluctantly I spoke a few words. But within a few minutes, situation had turned so that I had warned him through gritted teeth that if he tried any more tricks, I wouldn't mind hitting him! He left after that. Phew!

12:30 pm

       Something was tickling my left foot. I bent over and to my horror, saw it was a tiny baby cockroach!! One was on my foot and there were three more wandering around! It was a wonder I didn't scream or stand up on the seat. I just moved to another seat and this time, didn't opt the window seat. What had I got myself into!

1:00 pm

       Mom called to ask how was the journey. Now that she had calmed down, she was making fun of me. When I complained, she said "Get used to it. You are going to hear more once you reach Mangalore" That's when I realized the truth. My cousins were going to have fun at my expense.  I started cooking up excuses.

"I wanted to meet at friend in Chikmagaloor. So I took this route"

"I wanted to see which was the other route, you know general knowledge"

"I wanted to roam some more, before coming here"

       I spent the next one hour thinking about various excuses.

2:00 pm

       I was hungry! The bus had stopped for lunch few minutes ago and they had given 10 mins but I was afraid I couldn't make it back and thus had opted not to go. But now I was hungry. I just had one chocolate in my bag and I was opening it when the woman sitting in the front seat threw up. I lost my appetite.

2:30 pm

       The bus was moving in a ghat section. My excuse about taking this route to avoid the ghat section was void now. The driver was driving like a manic. He almost crashed into a lorry, twice! I clutched the rod tightly to avoid falling off and prayed to God, asking his help to  reach my destination alive and in one whole piece!

3:00 pm

       I had no clue where I was! There was no network either. I was feeling so bad. The conductor walked past me at that moment. He smirked every time he saw my face! I was so angry with him for not telling me the truth before. At that moment, the urge to punch his smirking face was the strongest!

3:30 pm

       My uncle had reached the bus stand and I still had no clue where I was. I was feeling entrapped. I wanted to plead them to let me go. I was ready to even crawl all the way to Mangalore, if that was what I should do to reach there. Calls were coming again, asking me where the hell I was; as if I had a clue!

4:00 pm

       Finally, we were close to Mangalore! The sign board said 10 kms. I felt like dancing. 

4:15 pm

       I ran to my uncle when the bus stopped. I had never felt so free in my life as I had felt when I had stepped out of that bus! "Are you hungry?" he asked. At that moment I could have ate anything he gave but all I said was "Just take me home first. I can't believe I was so stupid"

       I swear I am never going to board any bus from now on without checking twice. Yes, I was ridiculed once I reached home but behind that, I could see the concern for me. So I decided not to use the excuses and let them have their share of fun.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

I Have Seen You But...

       Before starting, I want to say that everything written here is as real as it can get and though it is difficult, I will give my readers complete liberty to laugh... at my expense!!! Because, well, the situation demands it! So, here we go.

       Has it ever happened to you that you come across people who look familiar but you can't remember exactly who they are and how you know them? If yes, then welcome to the club. If not, well you definitely won't understand my pain. Because I belong to the first category. 

       It has happened with me so many times that I feel like I have seen the person somewhere but I cannot remember where exactly. I think hard, rack my brain to find the answer and solve the mystery but to no avail! Apart from distracting me and giving me a headache, the quest goes nowhere. The puzzle remains unsolved and the feeling is so frustrating! Imagine how it must be to live thinking your memory is getting weak day by day that you can't even recall a name!

       Still, it is all fine. Yes it is hard putting pressure on my brain cells to remember and fail. But that is not the worst part. The real problem starts when the person about whom you are trying to recall, identifies you and comes forward to have a little chat. All you can think of at that time is what if they find out you have no clue about who they are!

       It happened with me once that I was waiting for college bus. A girl in burkha came and stood by me. She was someone I was certain I knew but didn't know how! I had seen her few times in our bus already and each time our eyes met, she used to give me a smile. I used to do the same, all the while wondering who she might be. But that day, I was out of my stock of good luck. She came and stood by me and started a chat saying "Hi Swathi". Her voice indicated she was happy to talk. Now I had no way of escaping. Still, pretending like I was equally happy, I started talking too. We spoke about how college life is and about lecturers. I was beginning to relax thinking that my secret would be safe and my ignorance would go unnoticed. But it seldom happens that everything goes as planned. Soon one of my classmates came and stood by me and asked who it was referring to the girl I was talking to!

       Now I was in a fix. If she had asked me later, I would have told her I didn't remember her exactly but she is someone I knew. But now that she had asked in front of the girl, what was I supposed to say? I looked at the girl, who was smiling beside me, having no clue about the confusions going on in my mind! Internally cursing my classmate for putting me in such an awkward position, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. I said "I know her from school" It turned out that I was right because she nodded and said "We travelled by same auto during primary" Okay. So half of the riddle was solved. I thanked my lucky stars for coming to my aid. But as it happens, my classmate wasn't the one to stand quiet. "Won't you introduce me to her?" she asked and winked.

       Suddenly the whole plot became clear to me! I had once shared it with my classmate that I had seen this girl somewhere and I don't remember who she is. And now the idiot was having fun at my expense. Why didn't I remember it sooner? I could have steered the conversation to a different topic and saved myself from the embarrassment. But glutton for punishment that I was, I had totally forgotten the incident just like I had forgot the girl's name. Without having much choice, I turned to her with a sheepish expression and said "Err, the thing is, I forgot your name" Her expression was worth watching. If you chat with someone for a long time and then tell them you don't remember their name, I am sure you will get to watch such an incredulous expression too! She kept looking at me to see if I was joking. Did she expect me to say "Ha, Come on! I was kidding"? So sad for her, because I wasn't going to say that! Instead I said "I know we were school friends but I forgot your name" I know I shouldn't have said it but my wicked classmate had put me in such a position where I had no chance of escaping. The girl on the other hand, when she saw I really meant what I said, turned away and was about to leave. "Ayesha wait. I am sorry" I said. She turned back and said "Idiot! I thought you really forgot my name! Such a drama queen you are" I let out a sigh. The bus came, saving me from further embarrassments.

       Now, let me tell you a secret. I really didn't know her name. The thing is, I read in a school where muslim students were very far and few. In school, the only names I knew were Ayesha and Fathima. So, I just tried my luck and it worked out! Now, I wouldn't try and imagine what might have happened if she wasn't Ayesha! God save me if I get struck in a situation like that ever!

       After that incident, whenever I see someone and feel I have seen them somewhere but don't remember where exactly, I maintain a good distance from them till I remember. Well, I just don't want to take risks anymore! I love myself very much to end up with a purple eye or something!

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

A Near Death Experience

       She clutched the wheel like her life depended on it. Well, maybe it did! Wait, there was no maybe. Her life was in danger and the wheel was all she had to hold on to, if she wanted to remain alive. It was her anchor to safety. She tried to concentrate on the task at hand but it was becoming difficult with each passing second. One small mistake and it would all end. Whatever was she thinking before taking up the task! 

       She saw someone approaching fast from the other direction and her heart started beating wildly. The person approaching didn't seem to read her fear or the helplessness. He seemed ruthless. What would happen now? Fear gripped her and only one question stood out. Would she survive? 

       She started praying to all the Gods that she knew and then some other which she didn't but trusted would pardon her lack of knowledge and hear her out. The person was too close now. "This is it" she thought as her hands slipped and she her grip on the wheel faltered.

       A low oath made her aware of another person's presence near her. His able hands snaked out even as he was hurling profanities at her. She flinched at his words but his presence made her feel safe nonetheless. She wanted to say sorry but the hysteria building up inside her warned her that it wasn't good to open her mouth!

       She watched as he steered the car away from the approaching vehicle and brought it to a halt. She could feel the anger emanating from him. "I am sorry Bhai" she apologized meekly. "Whatever was I thinking when I let you coax me into teaching you drive" he shook his head frustrated!

PS: This story is inspired by my experience in driving class, which I will be posting soon. No, I didn't have this horrible experience there. It was rather fun. So relax and watch out for my next post ;)

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Is Compromise the only Solution?

       It was a few weeks before my interview. I was just a little nervous, for the obvious reasons. Cousins, who visited home used to give me tips to boost my confidence. It was one such occasion when one of my cousin had visited. After speaking to me about my plans and he left to speak with others. I was on my way out, when I overheard their conversation. They were in the adjacent room and were obviously discussing about me. I would have let it pass and went on my way, when I heard the person he was talking to mention my blog. I paused, wondering what it might be they were saying and strained to hear clearly. What I heard next made me wish I hadn't stopped.

       That person was telling my cousin how I have my hands full with so many things and as if that wasn't enough I waste all my time in useless activities like blogging instead of devoting my time to studies. Two words stood out for me - 'Waste time' and 'Useless'. How can someone call it useless. Sure, it wasn't that bad, was it? It felt like someone had punched me hard. My limbs seemed to forget the fact that they were capable of walking and I stood rooted to the spot, fighting tears. After what felt like an eternity, I slowly made way to my room, wishing to stay alone for sometime. Once I was alone in my room, I let the cool composure crumble and let the feelings take over.

       I was a bundle of emotions; I could hardly think straight. I took deep breathes to calm myself and tried to analyse the situation. Once I was calm enough to think, I tried to see reason in the whole conversation. Sure, it was an important phase in my life and carelessness would affect my future. But I was careful. I hadn't avoided my studies and devoted all my time to blogging. In fact, I had written considerably less at that time. But why the accusation? Was academics everything? Was there no place for passion? Did dreams mean nothing?

       It felt like deja vu. Years ago, I was made to choose. Initially I had resisted and tried to keep living my dream but soon the younger me had felt defeated. I had given up everything; all the hobbies I dearly loved and devoted all my time to studies, trying to play the good girl role. Though I was fine over time, I had missed a certain joy in life. Now, after all these years, I had picked up writing and my life was slowly getting back on track again. I was doing something I loved, something that made me happy. But why were they making me choose again? Was compromise the only solution?

       The answer came quickly - 'No!' The thought of giving up itself caused so much pain. So, that was not an option to consider. I was old enough now to take my own decisions. I knew the difference between good and bad. I knew how much it would hurt if one lets go of their dreams. I had done it once and paid the price. I wouldn't do the same mistake again! There was no studies 'or' blogging. There was studies 'and' there was blogging. I wouldn't choose one. I wouldn't compromise for anything this time. I wouldn't let words like 'Time Waste' and 'Useless' affect me anymore. I would follow my heart and work towards realizing my dreams; of this, I was positive.

PS: This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus.

Also linking this to the Write Tribe Pro Blogger Challenge.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

2014 at Glance - Bits and Bytes!

       

       It's the end of another year and I must say, this year has been a very good and productive one for me. As  it comes to end, here is a post dedicated to 2014. A recap of all the good and bad things.

       Coming to the good things,

• I finally gathered the courage to start my blog. After almost an year of thinking, I pushed aside the uncertainties and started to blog. And I am glad I did. It gives me so much happiness.
• I also set aside my fears and participated in more activities in college. It was a big step for me but I did it. I also won a few competitions and my confidence level has been boosted.
• Made many new friends, some online (Thanks to my blog) and some offline. Met one of the blogger friends (Prasanna Rao)
• Read nearly 35 books. Though it is less considering my craze for novels, it was a start. I had given reading a break due to busy schedule but picking up this old hobby was made me realize how much I missed it.
• Learnt many things - Quilling, painting, cooking. It is always good to learn new things.
• Had awesome time with friends as we went out partying or to watch movies.
• Attended the first interview of my life and got placed in TCS. Yay!!
• Got published in an anthlogy - GOOFY. You can buy it here.
• Bought around 50 novels this year! Yeah, I am building a library :P
• Traveled a lot with family. Oh, I love travelling.

Those were some of the good things. The list goes on but right now, this is all I remember. Here are few of the lessons I learnt (bad things always teach a lesson)

• No matter how good you are, people always find faults. So it's better to ignore others and live life the way you want.
• Some friends, no matter how best you think they are, will leave you one day for their own selfish reasons. It's better not to dwell on such person's memory. After all, nothing is permanent.
• For some people, promise is just a fancy word and they use it lightly. It's better not to place faith on others blindly.
• When you are among a crowd of strangers and the fear of 'what they will think' is stopping you from doing something you really want (something crazy or something daring), it's always good to remember that they don't know you! They will forget you within few minutes but the memory you created by doing the thing you like; it will last with you forever.
• There comes a time in life, when even though you have so many people who care for you, you have to take your own path, lead your own journey to reach your goals.

That was most of it. I had fun, I made mistakes and I learnt from them. After all, nobody is perfect. I don't regret the choices I made. How can I? It made me to who I am today and I am happy with it. So that was a glimpse of 2014 in brief. Saying final goodbyes to 2014 with this blogpost (This happens to be the 150th post of the year!)  

       How was your year? Are you happy? Let me know. See you all next year ;)

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

A Terrible Encounter at the Hospital

       I rarely read newspapers but my mom reads them with utmost devotion, without missing even a single day. I don't know what it is that interests her, but reading the stories of who beat up whom or which actor hooked up with which actress or rather which actors broke up; these are all stories that I really don't mind skipping altogether. But there is one column that my mom made sure I didn't miss. It is a column in our local news paper about health issues written by a local doctor. My mom, like every other mom, is worried about how I don't pay enough attention towards my health and thus she used to make me read this column and follow the tips sincerely. And I used to, well almost, until the day I met the person.

       A year back, I was sick; I had an allergic condition and it was worsening over time. And no medicine prescribed by any of the doctors seemed to work. So mom decided we would go to 'The' doctor from the news paper. After searching a lot (his place was little difficult to find) we finally found his clinic. It wasn't as ostentatious as I had expected considering how famous he and his articles were. It was a small clinic with the outer room manned by a middle aged woman who was in charge of medicines and the inner room was the consultation room. The doctor hadn't arrived yet; so we sat on a bench in the outer room overlooking the road, waiting for him to arrive.

       I was in a hurry as I had to attend drawing class in an hour and so I kept glancing out every minute, willing for him to come soon. Minutes passed and I was getting impatient. I started thinking of different ways of convincing mom to go back. Maybe she would give in if I was persistent. But I never got to test that as the doctor arrived soon, or at least I thought he was the doctor. A car came stopped in front of the clinic. I was curious to see who the person was, who writes such interesting articles. The door opened and a short man stepped out. His face was only half visible as the other half was dominated by beard. A shudder ran through me as I stared at his face. Well, it was just another patient. We would have to wait more.

      I got a call and I went out for a minute and when I came back, mom was standing, ready to go inside. I exhaled, relieved. I went inside and saw the man whom I had seen minutes ago, searching something in the drawer. I stared at him for a second and shook my head. So he was an assistant here. "At what time the doctor will arrive?" I asked him as I stepped inside. He paused his search for a second and gave me a sidelong glance and went back to whatever he was doing. 'What an attitude he has got' I thought to myself.  Just when I was about to ask him again, he found what he was looking for - a pen. He straightened up and went to sit on the doctor's chair. He gave me a pointed look and said, "I am the doctor here". I almost turned around and left out of embarrassment; almost!

       I don't know what I was expecting but it was definitely not this. The beard stood out on his face,giving an impression that he was probably sick. It didn't look hygienic. I had assumed him as a patient even! What an irony! He definitely was someone who knew a lot but the first impression I got when I saw him, it was no where close to the person I had imagined him to be. I am sure his knowledge is what counts but sometimes, just sometimes, looks do count in creating an impression and the unshaven face is definitely the kind of thing that can ruin this impression.

PS: This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette. I was tagged for this activity by Cifar and Soumya. I tag Nabanita and Nibha for the same.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

The Power of Truth

       From childhood till now, I have always wanted to be an all rounder and in some ways, I am one. I love to sing, paint, dance, write, read novels; the list goes on. If asked to pick any one favorite hobby among these, I won't be able to. While my mom supports me in all these, there is one thing she never lets me compromise on - studies. She doesn't want me to lag behind in studies while concentrating on others. And that's exactly what I did once!

       During my second year PUC, I started taking studies lightly and having fun became top priority for me. I used to hang out with friends, go to movies, chat all the time and laze around. That naturally had an effect on my grades but as the test papers were never sent home, I was safe. When mom used to ask how the tests went, I used to say 'Good' and that was it. Though I felt guilty lying, I was sure I would make up for it by scoring well next time. But the next time never came. Finally it was the preparatory exam and I had messed up that one too. But this time the stakes were high.

       The college I studied in, had a rule. They used to send our marks to our parent's mobile. Mine was sent to my mom's cell and thankfully I had it when the message was sent. I had performed well in all subjects except Physics in which I had passed but with very less marks. I knew mom would be furious if she saw that. So I quickly deleted the message and pretended like nothing happened; or at least I tried to. But I failed.

       I have never lied to mom and so carrying the burden of this was very difficult. I tried to ease my guilt by saying 'It's not lying. It's just hiding the truth' but either ways, I was miserable. Next day when my friend's mom had come home, all I could think was 'What if she asks about marks in front of mom? Or worse, what if mom asks about how her daughter was doing and her mom ends up saying about the message!' Thankfully, that never happened. My friend's mom was in a hurry and she left soon. But I realized one thing - I cannot hide the truth anymore! 

       So gathering all my courage, I went where mom was sitting reading a magazine and confessed everything. I told her how I was scared that she would scold me and how that drove me to hide the truth. I also told how miserable I felt hiding the truth. When I was done, I suddenly felt better. The guilt that was nagging inside me was gone and I could breathe much easier. Mom, who had been silent throughout, was watching my face and I guess she understood how I felt. 'I hope you have learnt your lesson' was all she said at that time. I definitely had!

       She helped with my studies from then, till I could get back on track. She even spoke to my lecturer who made sure I paid attention. In the end, I passed the final exam with flying colors, which would have been impossible without her help. Of course, I had to listen to some lecture from mom but it was easier to listen to her admonishing me than to carry the guilt of lying to her.

       Yesterday, I saw this video on TV which reminded me of this above mentioned incident

        As shown in the video, it is definitely good to tell the truth and shred that guilt. It is totally worth it. I have experienced it. Have you?

PS: This post is written for Indiblogger Happy Hours and Kinley Water.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

100 Happy Days - Day 41 to Day 60

       Here I am again with #100HappyDays post after a long time. Since I had so much pending, I am going to combine two posts and write about Day 41 to Day 60 together.

Day 41: Received a personalized letter from none other than Rani Mukherjee herself for my Mardaani!! Indeed it was an awesome moment for me.

Day 42: I don't know why, but Vodafone people felt so generous that they recharged my cell with free net pack. I wish they would do this every month :D

Day 43: Chocolates!! My friend's cousin had come from Dubai and thus we got some yummy chocolates to enjoy :)

Day 44: Received portable charger for being the runner up of the Mardaani contest. This contest brought so many surprises and happiness. Also received a track pant for being early bird.

Day 45: I was selected again for Writer's Ezine September issue :) This came as a total surprise as I had submitted the post 2 months ago and had forgot about it completely!

Day 46: It was festival time. Gauri festival is one that is celebrated with great devotion in our home. Had fun with the whole festival mood in home.

Day 47: Ganesha festival! One of the festivals that every one celebrates with zeal. Had fun in the evening as I went out to various temples to see the Ganapathi idols.

Day 48: How good it feels if college remains closed even after 2 days of holidays? It was awesome! I wish I could enjoy the holidays for a long time.

Day 49: Prepared Jamoon at home because felt like having some.

 

Day 50: It was friend's birthday and had awesome time as we went out for a party.

Day 51: I was ecstatic seeing my Author pic posted in FB. Yes, my story is selected for Mighty Thoughts - an anthology of 26 inspiring stories. 

Day 52: A poem I wrote was printed on the invitation for Fresher's Party. It was a proud moment.

Day 53: Going out for shopping is one of the best things. I had fun shopping for the party next day.

Day 54: Party!!!! It was time for the much awaited Fresher's Party. Finally we seniors gave a welcome to juniors and had an awesome party.

Day 55: Got free recharge as a part of Line's Free Recharge Event. This happened 4 times and I finally got 120/- in the end.

Day 56: Happiness is seeing a cute pic that makes you smile :)

Day 57: Got the books of Divergent series, thanks to the voucher I received from BlogAdda.

Day 58: The book I wanted to buy from a long time, 'The Fault in our Stars' was finally in my hands. Happiness :)

Day 59: What happens when lecturers step out of the lab letting us revise? Creativity starts flowing. This is what I did using the routers and firewalls of network lab.

Day 60: Happiness is being part of a good team. I am a part of Tandem Tensome in BlogAdda's #CelebrateBlogging contest.

      So, that was the story of Day 41 to Day 60 :) Feeling happy to have completed more than half of the challenge. Just 40 more days to go :)

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Diagnosis of Study Holidays!

       These days, there is a serious epidemic affecting students from all over the country! From college students to graduation students to post graduation students, everyone is a poor victim of this heartless disease! The disease however is found to be periodic, making its appearance only during certain period. Experts are trying to find a antidote to this but not much success has been achieved. While they try to find a solution, here is a diagnosis that I made which would help us understand the problem more clearly.

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Name: Study Holidays

Description: If there is a fever that can hit students in a magnitude greater than exams, then that must be the torture of Study holidays! Though it says study holidays, there is scope for everything except that; students can neither study nor can they enjoy these as holidays. When they try to study, the holiday mood and laziness takes over. And when we try to enjoy, guilt for wasting precious time, that takes out all the fun! In short, these days are nothing short of purgatory!

Age group of patients: 16 to 24 (or sometimes more)

Season: A month before Exams

Duration: A month or so, depending on the college and universities.

Primary Symptoms: Boredom, Insomnia, Tension, Mood Swings, Hike in creativity, etc

       The symptoms are rather found to be quite a long list! Some of the peculiar behaviors of the patients affected by this fever are as follows:

1. Everything except books become interesting. Even a dot on the wall or staring just at a blank wall that has been there since ages, suddenly seems like the most interesting thing on earth!
2. Textbooks look like their mortal enemies with whom they try to break up every single day, but fail miserably.
3. Interaction with patients affected by the same increase dramatically as they call each other everyday to find out what progress the other has made. ("How much did you finish?" being a commonly heard question) The telephone companies are found to make more profit during these days!
4. The patients make groups and try to fight the disease together by making plans for the coming days, like what to study, how much to study. But these remain just that, a plan!
5. Hunger suddenly increases dramatically during odd hours at the sight of text books and dies down at lunch and dinner hours!
6. Textbooks are always accompanied by their best friend - sleep! In the process of reading, textbooks end up being used as pillows.
7. There is a sudden interest in every activities whose mere existence was unaware before! This includes crafts, drawing, gardening, to mention a few!
8. There is a sudden interest in every Indian Saas-Bahu serial which were boring before! However, this interest is found to be temporary. Once the exam ends, the interest dies down automatically.
9. This one is especially seen in writers and/or Bloggers. Their head is brimming with ideas for different stories! But there is no time to write down. Why? Because they are too busy planning what to study!
10. The day starts with the thought "What to study?" which occupies the mind whole day, never posing an answer, and ends with regret for wasting one more day and promise to make it up the coming day! And this coming day never actually comes!
11. While some are found on Whats app and Facebook 24*7, some others are found performing dangerous stunts like deleting Facebook accounts and Whatsapp from their cell phones. However, after trying continuously, they give up on such stunts.

    

       Though the disease is not contagious, the symptoms like tension and anxiety is found to be affecting the people around the patients greatly, especially mothers!

Treatment: Though this disease is affecting students from decades, no effective treatment have been found for this yet. Some experts are of the opinion that Meditation and Pranayama helps. But these ideas are not tried. Reason? If all the time goes in thinking what to study, then from where will the poor students get time for these?

Thus the only technique that can cure this disease so far has been the completion of exams, which by the grace of universities, are dragged for months together.

The only people who are aloof from these days are the 'Toppers' Studies have told that the only reason for their developing resistance to this is their love of 'Text Books' which is beyond the comprehension of common people!

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If anyone of you reading this do know a solution, please feel free to share it. It can save many lives!

Sincerely,

One of the affected student :P

PS: Linking this post to the Ultimate Blog Challenge July 2014 and NaBloPoMo.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

It is a Century!

       139 days back I had took a bold step and started my blog. I say bold because being a shy girl all my life, sharing my thoughts with the world was something that I didn't think would be easy. I had been juggling about the whole blogging idea from almost two years but that little nagging doubt in my head was stopping me from turning it into reality. Finally after a little push from my friends and the positive response I got after writing for a creative story writing competition in college, I jumped in to Blogosphere and after that there was no turning back.

       Participating in challenges like A - Z challenge, UBC April 2014 and UBC July 2014, different contests hosted by BlogAdda and also in fiction Prompts, my blog grew steadily and so did my confidence with each post. I made many friends. I read many posts. I smiled and I cried. When I wanted to share something, I created new characters and gave them my voice. It always felt good. Also the blog brought out the poet in me, which I didn't know existed. I found out about the hidden passion in me for writing, which before this, was just confined to my diary entries. It felt good to break free from the boundary and enter into a new world. 

       And I am glad I did! Who would have thought I would write my 100th post this soon? I definitely hadn't! I am totally excited as I write this post.

       During this journey, I have been published in two online magazines (Check my poem on Writer's Ezine here), have written for two anthologies and also have joined for a writing Internship program by Tell-a-Tale this month which I am definitely enjoying. You can read my internship posts here. To sum it up all in one sentence, it feels awesome to be following my heart after all these years. 

       Thank you everyone who helped me achieve this feat, supporting me with encouraging comments and also gently correcting me when I was wrong. Keep visiting and keep showering my blog with love. After all, this wouldn't have been possible without your support. It's definitely time for celebrations!

       I can go on talking about how happy I am today but for today, let me stop here. Have a great day folks.

PS: Linking this post to the Ultimate Blog Challenge July 2014 and NaBloPoMo.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)