Identifying Yourself

I often wonder what it is that makes us different from others? Why is it that some like pink and some like blue? Why is it that some prefer eating Chinese food while some prefer eating Italian food? These are simply characteristics we have identified for ourselves. These are just a few things that make us different from others but what we fail to see is a bigger picture involved.

No matter who you are or where you come from, there is always something about you that sets you apart from the others. It’s a talent that solely belongs to you and the only underlying issue to this talent is your failure to identify it. Whether it is painting, dancing, writing or even understanding how the stock market works, we all have this one characteristic that we can capitalize on. You only need to recognize it and work towards enhancing it.

So, what is it that stops you from doing so?

May be, you are trying to find yourself in somebody else. You might look at somebody successful at architecture and think, ‘Hey! May be, I can do that too!’ or you look at some people doing exceptionally well in a discipline and think, ‘whoever gets into this field is brilliant! I could earn some bucks here too!’ But the bitter truth is, it doesn’t work that way because there is something that only YOU have that somebody else doesn’t and you will only be excellent at that.

It could also be possible that you are so engrossed in being somebody you aren’t because that is expected of you that you forget your own abilities! You choose not to do what you want because it’s not acceptable to others and that is truly the moment when you fail. You disappoint yourself and that is what leads to unhappiness.

There are a hundred reasons why you are unable to find the faculty that you are outstanding in and the prevalent one remains that you don’t want to.

So, give yourself a chance because you deserve it. There is a reason why the successful ones are where they are. They are the ones who set themselves apart from others. You have that chance too, only if you allow yourself to find it. 

Just Friends

Doesn’t there always come a time in one’s life when one looks at someone and says, ‘Were we more than friends?’ ‘Could there be something more to this friendship?’ or ‘May be this is not friendship but love?’

There are so many movies and books that defend that a guy and a girl can never be friends. Right from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, each one shows that what that relationship was, was not friendship but it was love and at the end of it, the boy and the girl live happily ever after. Is that so? Does that friendship always land up being a love story?

Sumrit Shahi’s debutant novel ‘Just Friends’ deals with a similar story line as he explores the much-asked question, ‘Can a boy and a girl just be friends?’

With his wonderful style of writing, he has done his job of capturing the reader’s attention. The beginning of the novel is not very clear which makes the reader more and more interested in what exactly is going on. While reading his book, one can imagine the exact scenario and the flashbacks in the book makes one feel like they are watching a movie. His book is one that is not easy to put away because he has made one feel like a part of the book.

The novel has two parts to it, which are enough to show what an average teenager goes through in his life. He has dealt with various aspects of friendship and has done a successful job in putting forth a story that is not only humorous but also one that can easily grab one’s attention.

To conclude, a guy and a girl can be ‘just friends’, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other...Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.

I Too Had a Love Story

'Do love stories ever die?' reads the blurb and I am intrigued to know what this book is about. So, I quickly order for it on flipkart.com and wait for it to be delivered. The morning it is delivered, I am so excited to read it that I forget about everything else and sit to read this debutant novel by Ravinder Singh.

There is something about his writing that does not allow one to put the book away. He writes in a simple yet lovely manner about the true story of his love Khushi who he lost in an accident in 2007. Before beginning the book, one knows that he is not going to have her forever and yet, there is something that makes one want to read the book till the last page.

Most of his book is dedicated to how he met Khushi on shaadi.com and their love story but this only allows the reader to be more acquainted and connected to their story. At first, I thought the story was a little silly by the way he had written it but as I read more and more, I felt like I was a part of the story as well. With not any excess details, he simply described the scenario he was in and left the rest to his reader's imagination.

Ravinder's writing makes you feel every emotion that he felt throughout the book and makes one realize the true feeling of being in love. At times the writing got a little mushy gushy but it only added to the essence of the book. As one reads, one realizes the terrible pain he has felt on losing someone he loved and his book may not have a happy ending but is yet a beautiful story in itself.

I have a Dream...

“We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving and we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.”

- Louisa May Alcott 

Such is the belief of millions of children in India. They believe in making their dreams come true. All they need is a little bit of motivation, a little bit of support and off they’ll be, reaching the sky, conquering their dreams.

With the recent progress in the awareness of the importance of education, it has been seen that more and more children want to study in order to achieve a better standard of living. Over the years, the literacy rate of India has increased from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947 to 74.04% in 2011. The increase in the literacy rate of India is due to several methods opted by the Government such as opening more schools, providing free education and the mid-day meal scheme. In addition to this, there have also been a number of campaigns promoting education such as the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation and so on.

With the increase in the literacy rate of India people can dream for a better living rather than worrying about how they will earn tomorrow’s bread.

This article focuses on the dreams of several students of G.A. Kulkarni Primary and Pre-Primary School. The dreams of the students are a symbol of the dreams of an ‘Educated India’.

While most of the students’ parents are either dhobis, tailors, milkmen or delivery boys, the students dare to dream beyond. When asked, most students said they wanted to either become doctors, teachers or pilots. They didn’t want to simply follow their parent’s footsteps. They wanted to have a dream of their own, an ambition of their own. They didn’t close their eyes and dream about a beautiful life. Instead, they dreamed with their eyes open looking at the sky.

8 out of the 10 girls want to become something in their life. There has been a change in the thinking of the females. Most of them don’t want to sit at home and handle the children while their husbands are off to work. They want to do something with their life as well. They are ambitious but most of them face the trouble of not being treated as an equal to the men in the outside world. They seem to be stereotyped as someone who must learn to cook, look after their kids and handle the house where as they are capable of handling much more.

On the other hand, none of the students want to continue to do what their parents did. They believe that they are capable of much more than what their parents did. They love to gain more and more knowledge and have the dream and ambition to attain their goals. 9 year old Aditya Kuthe said, ‘to touch the sky’ when asked why he wanted to become a pilot.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true” 

G. A. Kulkarni Primary and Pre-Primary School is a Government School that provides education to several underprivileged children. They believe that they must be a student’s friend in order to get to know them better and help them ‘dream’ as they all come from an extremely poor background and do not find the support and motivation at home.

A conversation with the students makes one realize the importance of education and how happy they are to receive it. They love coming to school and they respect their teachers for they believe that they can really open up to them more than they can with their parents. The school not only teaches them various subjects such as History, Maths or English but also ethics and good manners. The students are taught how to keep themselves tidy as well as how to sit appropriately on a chair. The class also has a friendly disposition towards a stranger and are extremely well mannered.

The school believes in equality. They believe that each student is the same and they treat each of them with equal respect. They realize that not all of them are as smart as the others but they support their dreams nevertheless.

The strength of the class is 40 students and the ratio of girls to boys is 1:3. The school has seen a tremendous increase in the number of female students due to a change in the attitudes of the people. The people are ready to accept that the male and the female child are the same and must receive equal privileges. The parents now take an active part in the student’s projects and study matters and are making an attempt to get closer to their children.

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”

It’s not only G. A. Kulkarni School but several other schools and campaigns are putting in their efforts to help children fulfil their dreams of being educated and achieving something such as the ‘Pado India Bado

I have a dream and that is to see a 100% literacy rate in India. I dare to dream with my eyes open and believe that I can achieve it but all I need is a little bit of optimism, a little bit of support and a little bit of encouragement. We cannot always ‘wait’ for things to happen. We have to push a little to see dreams turning into reality and sometimes, the smallest of things that we do can change the lives of so many. I have a dream and that is to see India grow.

Just a little about me ^_^

Well, how would I describe myself? If there is anything that could describe me best, it would be average. I am an average girl living in the Suburbs of Mumbai living a perfectly normal life. There is nothing in my life that I could call incredible and yet, there is something about each day that excites me. My mind is always working. Working in various directions. I am not one of those perfect girls. The girls with a perfect dressing sense, an amazing IQ and liked by everyone. No. I am not that. I manage to look well-dressed on most days; I manage to get myself a good result; And I have a very few friends but they mean the world to me. And about my interests, I have an interest in most things. Whether it is politics or movies, business or fashion, I always like to be up to date with what is happening and I believe that it is this inquisitiveness that would help me in the long run. Things have never just come to me. I have had to work very hard to get everything that I have ever wanted and I believe, that is the what makes me put in my 100% in whatever I do.

This blog is a way in which I want to spread my views to the rest of the world. I want to connect to people beyond my Facebook friend list as I believe writing is the greatest tool. So, you may feel free to leave your views and opinions. They would be greatly appreciated.