SUNDAY FUN ACTIVITY

        I finally had got the much needed break I longed for from so many days. But that wasn’t free of cost! I had traded this freedom with one of the events I wanted to take part in Techzone (Well what Techzone is, is for another post) I finally got to spend Sunday morning lazing around without having much to do. Well I did have assignments to complete but that was for later. All I wanted was some lazy time. But things seldom go as you wish and soon I got another work to do. To get my voter ID card corrected. I wanted to get it corrected from so many days but didn't have time for it. And today they had come near my home and mom wanted me to get it corrected when I had a chance. There goes my lazy Sunday!!!

        So I started filling form. My grandpa had warned me to pen it down elsewhere first and then to copy to the form. But since I was on the lazy mode, I directly started filling form and being the absent minded girl that I am, I wrote it wrong! Trying not to bring this to my parents’ notice for the fear I might be chided for my over confidence, I slowly tried applying the whitener. But that damn thing had stopped working. I tried, tried and tried but it was of no use! Still not willing to give up I slowly opened the nozzle and turned the whole thing upside down. Since it wasn't working, I had assumed that thing to be empty but for the love of God, it started spitting whole fluid on my hands! I was lucky that there was a waste sheet of paper I was experimenting with earlier to shield the form from this or I dare not imagine what the outcome would have been!

        By this time, my disastrous experiment caught my mom’s attention and she called out my brother to help me out while removing the form and keeping it in a safer place. My brother was very careful not to touch the ink spilled for he didn't want to get his hands stained where as my left hand had totally turned white, like I had got painted my hand with a white paint. I slowly went to the sink and started washing both my hands. I was just thinking how silly I was to have done such a thing when my brother screamed “Are you out of your mind?” At first I didn't understand what he was talking about but when I followed his eyes, I was equally appalled! Both my hands were now White as the snow! And I had a function to attend in the evening where I would be receiving prize! Whitener fluid isn't something that can be washed off easily! I imagined going up the stage with these hands and shuddered at the thought! I thought I was doomed…

        That’s when my brother stared taking action. He brought a bottle of kerosene, an old brush and started to wipe off the marks slowly by frequently dipping the brush in kerosene. He kept saying that he wouldn't have done it if I didn't have a function to attend. It took him nearly 10 minutes to wash off all the stains. When he was done, it was his turn to panic. In the process of helping me, he had completely stained his hands. And I couldn't help but laugh at the expression. But having seen how I had messed up, he was careful not to spread the stain further and washed it off effectively unlike me!

         When both of us were done, we came back inside where I found mom washing her hands. When I asked what happened, she said she was trying to help us by putting the nozzle back and now she too had stains on her hands which refused to go! I and my brother looked at each other for a second and then both burst out laughing. It was a fun filled time, all thanks to the whitener (or probably to my absent mind!) And yes! I am never going to open the nozzle of a whitener ever again in my life!!

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

WALK THROUGH THE GREENERY

          Nature is God's greatest gift to mankind. Sometimes just a walk through the greenery is enough to uplift your mood and refresh your soul.

         A painting I made some time ago. This painting does hold a special paint in my heart as its the first ever acrylic painting I did :) Would like to know your opinion about it :)

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

FROM HER PERSPECTIVE

             I hate it absolutely when I have full day classes! When I come home, my mood will be totally grumpy and I will not be in a position to talk with anyone. If you know me personally, then you will know that I am basically a friendly person but on days like this, all of my friendliness will vanish! Especially between the time I come home and the time till I have had enough rest.

              Yesterday was one such day when I had full day class. I had lab in the noon & it was 6 pm when I came home. Needless to say, I was very tired.  While entering home, I had my cell phone in hand and I was chatting with my friends. The first thing my mom said was "Is it necessary to use your mobile even when you have just arrived home?" But there was some fun discussion going on in our group on whats app; so I refused to keep my cell down. This went on and on. I was chatting while having food and even after that. My mom was trying to talk to me sitting beside me, she was curious about my day but I was only giving vague replies to her queries. She took it as long as she can but there is a limit to every person's patience and in the end, I ended up testing it to the extreme. My mom got angry and started yelling at me. Not thinking why she was angry, I shouted back saying she always just scolds me no matter what, she just needs a topic to scold me! 

                 Having said that, I stormed off from that room and sat in isolation listening to music. And for some reason, tears started rolling down my eyes. Music always has a soothing effect on me and eventually, I calmed down. Once I regained my senses, I started reflecting on my earlier outburst. I tried to view the whole incident from my mother's point of view. This is how it might have looked for her:

      I was waiting for my daughter to come back from college. She usually comes by 1 pm but today she is late. She didn't even come home in the noon for lunch! She must be so tired. I have cooked her favourite dish. Ah! Here she comes finally. But she is walking looking at her cell. I wonder what is so important that she always keeps texting. I asked her to stop chatting but she didn't listen. I am curious to know how her day went. Did something good happen to her? Oh I would love to hear it. Did she face any difficulties?  Or maybe had a bad day? I hope that wouldn't have happened. I wonder how the food is.. She didn't even notice I have cooked her favourite dish! She is so busy with her cell; she isn't even listening to what I am saying! Wish she could talk with me a little more. I don't think I could get more time like this once she moves out next year for further studies. The thought itself brings tears to my eyes! I ask her again to tell her about her day at college but she just says 'Ummm' and I lost my patience. I spend whole day alone at home and when she comes home, I think I finally can have a break from the monotonous routine I have whole day. But she doesn't even give me enough time. The thoughts bothered me and I ended up shouting at her. She was hurt. She said I would always find a reason to shout at her but only if she knew how much I loved her! She even started crying. I Wish I could have been a little easy on her...

            The thoughts made me feel so ashamed of myself! How could I have been so selfish, that I thought only about myself without even realizing that I was hurting my mom through my actions. I immediately went to her and apologized. She was happy to forgive me and overlook my misbehaviour. Later we sat there talking for a long time. I answered everything she wanted to know and yes, this time, without the cell!

               I guess we are all so self obsessed that we always think about ourselves! We assume whatever we do is correct most of the times and hate to give in to other! But often, its important to step into other people's shoe and see how it might have felt for them. Then we will get to see a whole new scenario!  

   This post was for the We post daily prompt. Today we were required to write about the last disagreement we had with a friend or family member, from their perspective.

Until the next post,

Keep smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

              

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

         If ever asked, "What is your name?", what would you say? The answer would be simple, isn't it? There is no need to think much. But there is a catch. There was a competition conducted in our college, where we had to describe our name without actually saying it! Interesting right? How would you have done it? 

       Here is how I did it :)

   A painting with a nice caption to make it easier to guess my name :)  

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

BEST FRIENDS

          Time flies by when you are happy, when you are with loved ones, when you are having fun. And partying with friends means fun unlimited! We didn’t know how the hours passed & the party came to an end! There is always excitement in the whole group when it comes to birthdays. That’s the only time when all 7 of us meet without giving any excuses (most of the time). Student life is so fun. Partying, hanging out, excitement, fun, birthdays, silly fights, picking on each other! But all this is fun only when we have friends to celebrate with. They make life so much better!

             And this post is for my best friend Sadiya Sayad, who happens to celebrate her 21^st birthday today (OOPS!! Saddy is blurted out your age! Hope you don’t mind) we both were groggy and there was still 30mins for the clock to strike 12am! There is always this competition among us as to who would wish first. When we wait for something, time stretches on and on! And for the two of us who can chat 24*7 about any topic under the sun (even absolute nonsense included); there was nothing for once to talk about! Somehow we made it till 12 & I no prizes for guessing who wished first. (I did. Yay!)

            The party in the evening; it was so fun. All 7 of us met at Saddy’s home. And the craziness, there was no limit to it. We played, we teased, pulled each other’s leg (Oh we do that all the time) and laughed till our stomach hurt. The dumb shell act was the best part, where each of us tried to give the other the most difficult movie but in the end it turned out to be a draw. But the game itself was awesome.

              Here are some of the snaps from the party.

(The pudding Saddy cooked)

              And hence one more day has been added to the list of memorable days. When it comes to friends, I don’t think I could have ever got a friend better than her, who is always there for me and most importantly whose craziness level matches with mine ;) (If anyone overheard our conversation, I think both of us would end up in an asylum) Cheers to our friendship :)

Until the next post,

Keep smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

BELIEF

          “I can’t do it Smriti!” cried Aman. He kicked the foot rest that was next to him. The beast in him was raging. Aman had completely surrendered to it. He didn’t even pay any heed to the pleas of Smriti who was constantly trying to calm him down. He had had enough. He had worked so hard for the concert & now when it was time for him to prove himself in front of the world & most importantly to himself, the memories of the past came rushing back. He remembered the taunts his father used to make. “You are no good! This singing is not your thing. Why don’t you just give it up” He had always lived in fear believing those words, never trying to explore his talent, afraid that people might laugh at him; until Smriti came. Once Smriti entered his life, he had started to believe slowly; in himself, his capabilities. He was slowly trying to get out of the shell he had hid himself for so many years. She was like music to his wounded soul. And for the first time in years Aman dared to dream. He aspired to become a singer and with music touch the hearts of people. But every time he held the mike, his father’s face and his harsh words kept flashing in his mind. He felt like he was crippled for life.

        Not being able to withstand the pressure & the fact that he was so weak, Aman threw the vase which was next to him. “Aman!!!” the cry finally caught his attention. He turned around to see Smriti watching him with a weirdest expression, a mix of fear & sympathy. Seeing fear for him in the eyes of Smriti, Aman finally broke out of his trance. He sat there, face in his hands, and whispered “Why me Smriti?” She brought a cup of coffee for him and ordered him to drink it. Like a child, Aman obliged her and slurped the coffee, still afraid to meet her eyes.

           Smriti's heart wrenched to see him in such a vulnerable position. She carefully chose her words. “Aman you can either keep thinking about your past. Then you will be afraid for your whole life. Or you can choose to start a new life. You can prove to your dad how wrong he was when he looked down on you. Just because someone said that you can’t do it, doesn’t mean you have to believe them and quit trying. You will never know your strength unless you try. I know you can do it. I believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself and then you can make wonders happen”

      Aman looked at Smriti with childlike eyes believing in every word she said, desperately hanging on to each of them for he knew she was true and that she would always stand by him no matter what happened. So with a renewed confidence, Aman slowly picked up his guitar and started strumming the wires, ready to put the past back and give his best.

PS: This post is in response for the 3 Word Wednesday writing prompt 3WW CCCLXVII which required the use of 3 words Aspire, Beast and Slurp in the story.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

LITTLE THINGS :)

              Before starting this post, lemme tell you something ;) Though it has been only 2 days since I started blogging, I have been so obsessed with it that I keep observing things around me & think maybe this would make a good topic for my next post :D Its like blogging has become the most important thing in my life right now! And just like that, I got this topic while I was watching a TV show :D

         So, coming back to today's topic, all of us have set up some goals for ourselves & are working towards it. Some want to become doctors, some engineers, some lawyers & the list goes on. There is no end to the dreams we weave & the goals we set. And its a good thing. We should all have some goals in life to keep us going, else there wont be any meaning to life. Once the goal is set, we start working in that direction day & night. And we become so obsessed with it, that we forget what matters the most! The present! We live so much in the future that we forget that the time that we are losing today, we will never get it back!

        We are so busy pursuing our goals or complaining about the unfairness of life that we forget to make time for ourselves & enjoy the small things! Take a look around you; there are so many beautiful things. It might be a blooming flower in the garden or the dew drops on the leaf early in the morning; watching the rain while sipping hot coffee or talking to an old friend after a long time. Maybe simply spending some time with family, seeing someone smile, playing with your pet or maybe just trying to pick up that old hobby you gave up coz you didn't have time. The list is infinite! Its up to us to make the choice.

         There is much to life than just the monotonous routine. We are so busy going with the flow that we forget little things. We complain about the lack of time. But its never true. Coz if we love something, then we will definitely make time for it! No excuses! 

      I totally love this pic :) It gives me a happy feeling just by looking at it :) see what I mean? Happiness is not just material comforts, it is usually hidden in the little things that we ignore in our daily run!  So from now on, lets take out some time for ourselves, enjoy life, coz when we are happy, we will definitely work better towards achieving our goals :)

Until the next post,

Keep smiling :)

Love

Swathi :)