What’s Common To… Citizens & Xerophytes?

Do you know what is common between citizens and xerophytes? Well, it’s an awful comparison, but I couldn’t help noticing the similarities between them with respect to just one aspect.

A School Exhibition Using Recycled Products & More

After about 5 months of planning and running from one department of the school to another, we succeeded in setting up the exhibition of our dreams. It was on the 5th of September this year [had to rack my brains to remember... It seems so long ago that I almost forgot] and despite all the drama, tears, sweats, heated moments and panic attacks, it was the finest day we had in many months.

Taken at Home... Cameras not allowed in School :(

Our Class Presentation [12th Std.]: Short skit: Indians in India & Indians abroad

Our Class Presentation [12th Std.]: Short skit: Indians in India & Indians abroad

 

Karthiga: It’s a beautiful morning and we, the students of 12A are here to give you our class presentation. My friends have put together a skit that has a message they wish to share with all of us. It’s all about how we Indians are in India and how we are in a developed, foreign country. Over to Naveena.

NAVEENA Thanks Karthiga.  Indians in India and Indians Abroad. Indians abroad. Suresh and his friends walk by. [SCENE I – Littering]

~ Happy Independence Day !! ~ :D

 Just returned from my School's Independence Day celebrations... Was a beautiful thing to watch all the little girls and boys sing, dance and whatnot. Only wish they knew the real meaning and depth of the things they just did.

Anyways, Happy Independence Day everyone!! Another year is born in the life of Independent India, and let's celebrate this day... 'Cause Independence is not just a big word thrown out by big men who think they've conquered the world... Let's not take our freedom for granted... And cherish it every moment we breathe on Indian soil. Jai Hind! :)

My Heart Beats For India - Poem About India

A poem I wrote for the McMahon Creative Writing Competition.

There was a time, long ago
When every traveling monk and
Every vain king worth his vow
Sought to glimpse this sacred land

My Mother - A Gift from God - A Poem About My Mother

Here is a poem I wrote about my mom hope u like it

GOD'S GIFT

Glorious gifts of God
are not always cherished
No not until we perish
But I've found it, Eureka!

Indeed, couldn't have had a better one
She's the one who sowed love
brought light, joy and hope
Hope? Not just a ray but a beam

How to Choose One's Life - The Life One Wants

Life is all about choices. Good or bad, right or wrong... Your destiny will unfold according to the choices you make.

The title, I feel is a trifle misleading... This post is going to be about observations, not solutions, because in the end the answers can be given only by ourselves.

Here are the five options, I think, that teenagers of 17 or 18 years have to ponder about, to make the best of their lives... And these 5 are basically dependent on what sort of life we wish to lead:

10,000 !! :D

 :D We have made it to 10,000 views/hits on our blog! :D 

:) Thanks to all those blessed souls who stumbled upon our blog, and more thanks to those who stopped by long enough to comment :)

Let's make it 1,00,000 soon people! ;)

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The Demotivating Motivational Speaker

I'm going to these AIPMT [All India Pre-Medical Entrance Exams] classes and today, they announced that we were going to have motivational classes starting at 2 o' clock in the afternoon. Many were rather disconcerted about this, because being the real hard-working students, they saw this as a waste of time. But I was rather overjoyed [partly because I love philosophy and partly because I dislike classes]. At first someone gave us an intro and then, the motivational speaker arrived. He was a pretty tall man and had a long tilak on his forehead. He was some sort of engineer and had got distinction from ILO and UN or something [I forget].

Dr. Vasudevan, The One who Brought Plastic to the Roads

It was an exciting morning for us, fellows of 12th standard in Jeevana. The Prefects Swearing-in ceremony has always been like that: nervous about the oath-taking, sitting still like a statue for an hour and even harder, managing to stay awake while some guy drones on about hard work and determination. But this time, it was truly inspiring... because we had the most inspiring chief guest ever - Dr. Vasudevan, a Dean of Thiagaraja College in Madurai, who had invented a process of using shredded plastic to lay roads which last for about 10 years. He wasn't just some absent-minded scientist working on formulas and stuff for application of chemistry. He was a... visionary, yup... that's the word for it. He is someone who dreams of India as more prosperous than it is now, someone who encourages innovation and environmental protection and someone who values humility and spirituality.

Optimisim - The Way of Life

Optimism is simply anticipating the best possible outcome in any event.

Well here are a few tips to make us feel more optimistic...lets give it a try...

Mother's Lamentation - A Poem About a Sad Mother

Oh baby! Oh My Child!!
I was the happiest being on earth,
When they said, you were born!
'Cause I paid the heaviest price
To have you around!!!

I gave you a body, and
I bought you a soul!
I fed you my blood, when
I lent you my womb!!

I fed you, whenever
You were hungry!
I tended you, whenever
You were dirty!!

Diversity is So Beautiful!

I have been going to these AIPMT coaching classes for about a week and guess what? Every single professor teaching us is from Andhra Pradesh. No big difference, some would say, but... oh, there is. Have you ever been around people who are completely different from you, and yet not feel isolated or alone? It's awe-some!

On Killing A Tree ...

It takes much time to kill a tree ,
Not a simple jab of the knife

will do it.It has grown

Slowly consuming the Earth,

Rising out of it , feeding

Upon its crust , absorbing

Years its sunlight , air , water ,

And out of its leprous hide

Sprouting leaves .

So hack and chop

But this alone won't do it .

Not so much pain will do it ,

The bleeding bark will heal

And from close to the ground

Will rise curled green twigs .

Miniature boughs

Which if unchecked will expand again

To former size .

The Essence of Dance - The Hidden Language of the Soul

Most old people of India who were born in the 1930s or something like that, considered the arts like dance and music to be something cheap and unethical for decent folk. That taboo for the arts arose because dance and music was used in the medieval periods for lewd reasons and not for any divine purposes, as King Raja Raja Cholan had dreamt it to be... 1000 years ago.

Anyways, this one video that I came across in YouTube a long time ago, breaks that age-old taboo or the modern conception of dance/music as something just for entertainment. It shows the true essence of the art of blending music, movements and expressions.

 

"So much elegance, dignity and purity"... As a comment in YouTube puts it.

The End of the World

Revelation Chapter 6

____________________________________

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the

Lamb opened one of 

the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Just Calm Down - Dealing With Stress

We people are mostly stressed and our moods have good fluctuations

I saw this article while browsing the net.thought i could share it here and i found it very helpful.

A chemistry professor decided to teach his students a different lesson one day. Holding a glass of water in his hand, he asked the students, “How much do you think this glass of water weighs?” “500 grams!” came a voice from the back. “600,” said another student. “I don’t really know!” said the professor, holding the glass up to make sure everyone could see it. “And unless we weigh it, we won’t know.” With the glass still in his outstretched hand, the professor continued, “What will happen if I hold it like this for a few minutes?”

“Nothing!” came the reply. “Right, and if I hold it for an hour like this, what might happen?” “Your hand will begin to hurt,” said a student. “Indeed. And what would happen if I held the glass in my hand like this for 24 hours?”

“You would be in tremendous pain,” said one student. “Your hand will probably go numb,” said another. “Your arm will be paralysed and we’ll need to rush you to the hospital!” said a student on the last bench.

“True,” said the professor. “But notice that through all this, the weight of the glass did not change. What then causes the pain?”

What Comes First - Country or State?

I've been thinking a lot about this... What comes first: India or Tamil Nadu? Think of a scenario where you'll have to choose between the two. Which one would you choose? It's rather difficult if we see it from the subjective point of view... But seeing it objectively, we can get the right answers. Let's take a situation for example:

India is at war with the rest of the countries of the world. What the Indian Government decides to do is against the welfare of the world, but helps the country itself. Which one would you choose to stand up for? India, or the World?

Ooty - Simple Beauty of the Queen of Hills

These are a couple of pictures I took during my stay in Ooty... Most of the places were too crowded, so not much to talk about. Still, despite all the garbage and hoards, Ooty is really a beautiful place... Check out the images of Ooty some professional photographers had captured [a link to Google Images Result]:
http://www.google.co.in/search?q=ooty&hl=en&client=firefox&hs=M0&rlz=1R1GGHP_enIN430IN430&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=k0PlTbDUGY26vwPnremMBw&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1021&bih=607

Fun Fact: Did you know Ooty [Ootacamund] is actually the place of origin of the game Snooker? [History of Snooker] I wonder why the tourism department doesn't take it up and promote the place with snooker and the rest of the incredible things that make up our Queen of the Hills.

[I took these photos though B) ]

The Botanical Garden with its Summer Flower Show [Click to view larger image]

Foie Gras - One of Man's Most Cruel Ways of Eating

"I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead - not sick, not wounded - dead." ~Woody Allen

Guess Woody Allen should have added this word too - tortured.

This is an image of Foie Gras... Literally meaning, 'Fat liver". I'm not a very strict and dogmatic vegetarian, but even my few non-vegetarian friends will agree that this is just too gross. Well, it's not the taste I'm talking about [it's supposed to be a delicacy]... Because that would be a retarded thing to do in a blog that's more or less dedicated to making a difference. Nope, I'm talking about this:

Weird Pictures ...

There are so many things weird in this world but we should know where to see ...

A Step by Step Manual on - How To Bathe a Cat

1. Thoroughly clean the toilet.
2. Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both lids lifted.
3. Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
4. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape.

If You Want to be a PM, Fill this Applicationg Form!

Application Form To Be Filled For Contesting Indian PM Elections

----------------------------------------------------------------

1. Name of Candidate: _______________________

2. Present Address

i) Name of Jail: _______________________

ii) Cell Number: _______________________

(If not in Jail, attach proof of residence)

Everyone can make a difference ...

A store-owner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies for sale."

The signs have a way of attracting children. Soon a little boy appeared at the sign and asked, "How much are you gonna sell those puppies for?"

The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30-$50."

The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37, can I look at them?"

The store-owner smiled and whistled. Out of the kennel came this dog named Lady, running down the aisle of his store followed by five little puppies. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy.

Desi Letter

A Desi chap was deeply in love with a pretty foreign girl, whom he wanted to marry. But he did not have the courage to talk to her in person. So he decided to go alone and with the help of a dictionary, he wrote a letter of proposal to her. 

HE WROTE:

Most worthy of your estimation

after a long consideration

and much mediation.

Few Words Many Truths...

Many people will walk in and out of your life,

But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head;

To handle others, use your heart.

Believe It or Not - Buildings

Weird Buildings... [Scroll down for the one in India :D ]

Wooden Gagster House (Archangelsk, Russia)

Your sleeping style ....

Funny Love Letter...

Awesome mail…but the best part is the signature…
(By a Software Engineer… )
 
Sweetheart ,

I’ve seen you yesterday while surfing on the local train platform and realized that you are the only site I was browsing for. For a long time I’ve been lonely; this has been the bug in my life and you can be a real debugger for me now.

My life is an uncompiled program without you, which never produces an executable code and hence is useless.

You are not only beautiful by face but all your ActiveX controls are attractive as well.

Wonderful Japan...

 
1. THE CALM

Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY

Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.

The One who Loves Us..

If you never felt pain, Then how would you know that I am a Healer?

SELF ESTEEM - Importance and Ways to Boost it

IS IT SO? THEN READ THIS ARTICLE THAT GIVES   YOU CONFIDENCE........ 

What Is Self-Esteem?

          To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let's take a look at the word esteem (say: ess-teem) first. Esteem is a fancy word for thinking that someone or something is important or valuing that person or thing. 

Every Freedom in Life - Using Our Gift of Freedom

At this age... lots of dreams... dreams of coming out with flying colors...some remain just that... as dreams deep inside the heart. Now my parents give pressure for making me score high marks. I feel like I have an egg on my face every time I'm not able to attain my goal and am criticized for it. But only when my distance towards the goal starts decreasing do I rectify my mistakes. Parents give lots of freedom to us.... [Something we're fortunate enough for] I would illustrate my own experience of freedom and how many have little of it.

Holidays.... Everyone would enjoy holidays. My heart jumped in excitement when we all planned out for a trip. We went on a car journey..... with songs buzzing in my ears. My eyes enjoyed all of nature's bounties... The cloudy sky, chirping birds, green paddy fields, glittering butterflies around flowers... I admired each second.

Pursuing Dreams in School

If we dream of being a musician, artist or even a scientist, realizing those dreams while still in school is not that difficult. All we need are opportunities and dedication. But if we dream of something different – like doing some good for the society, it’s surely going to be one tough ride... But that’s exactly what I dreamt of.

Corruption ~ The Plunder of India

Corruption in India 2010 and Before
A mail from Nivedhita... :) Thanks Nive... It surely is an informative file.

Courage - Without it, Nothing is Possible - A Collection of Quotes

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."  ~ Franklin P. Jones

I never used to show people that I'm afraid or sad or disappointed... Though my face reveals it very easily, I usually keep my mouth tightly shut about such kinda feelings. I believed what Franklin P. Jones believed - the lie that bravery is not showing your feelings to people around you. But I no longer believe that and I actually disagree with Mr. Jones about it. There are lots of things one can write about bravery, courage and fearlessness, but why bother, when many amazingly wise people have written it down already with their great command of the language, immortalizing their words forever? :)

Is India growing? The So-called 'Developed Cities'

Tall buildings touching sky, sophisticated awesome cars rushing on the roads.......people busy walking on roads, flooded roads with traffic jams, metro running in jet speed. This gives the outline of urban cities. Everyone dreams to live in this type of city, to have good education, to search a satisfied job....etc. Do you know how bad is ' so called ' good, developed city?

Even I was admiring the metropolitan cities because education will be best, apart from that i can even get my own satisfied jobs. Suddenly after my 10th class my dad was transferred to Bangalore, a metropolitan city.

Religion And Culture

My English teacher and I have identical motives – to help make a difference in our country, and sometimes, even our methods are pretty much the same. But often, [almost always] we have contradicting views about almost every single aspect about India. And we never, and I mean never, hesitate to discuss them, debate about them, almost argue with each other… not to see who wins, but to see who is right, and that’s always important for us.

This is one about discussion [sadly incomplete, due to my lack of access to a computer with internet connection] which we had in facebook. My English teacher [from here on, I’m gonna call her as ET] was all praise for the BJP for banning cow slaughter and I replied that their motives were communal and hence wrong. There began the debate. Somehow the discussion went over to the relationship between culture and religion, and set me thinking.

Problem: Exam Stress; Solution: Cancel the Exams

There was a lot of noise when the Human Resources Department considered canceling the 10th board examinations for students owing to the huge stress they induced in the students. I suppose now these exams for tenth standard students have been left to the choice of students in CBSE board [I’m not sure about the other boards].

Before I talk about what I think about canceling exams for tenth, let me share with you a little story:

Cricket and India [How far Patriotism is Related]

I’ve always had this sort of aversion to cricket since 2007, when India lost to Australia in the world cup… Not because team India lost, but because I found it meaningless – the whole of it. People cheered and praised the team if it won, but if it lost, they attacked them verbally, and sometimes even physically. Another reason I started disliking the game was because everyone seemed to think that wearing a dark blue team shirt and waving a flag was all that patriotism was about. So, I totally revolted at the sound of ‘cricket’ [I even started hating the insects]. But this World Cup has helped me get in touch with the truth.

Proud to be Indian - A Little Boy's Spirit

The orange-pink sky; the dusk was so beautiful. What a feast for my eyes.... we were waiting for a darshan of lord Ganapathy, Annegudde (near Udupi) Karnataka, when I was relishing the scene. After the prayers and offerings we lingered around the village enjoying each second of the scenery. Suddenly a boy with jet black hair, so lean for his age appeared before us. He pestered us to buy pens a cost of 10 rupees. We kindly rejected his offer, but then he said something to us which nearly pierced deep inside my heart.

SELF-MOTIVATION

THE POWER OF PASSION
             

The power has and always will be within you, but nothing will happen until you get and stay motivated to make something happen, to change your life and achieve your desires.

Your Intention

Succeeding in life and business requires a strong intention to succeed. "How to" is secondary. Get inspired first. Have a dream. If you really want something you’ll invent amazing ways to achieve it.

Your intention is a synergistic combination of three elements: DESIRE, BELIEF, and ACCEPTANCE. It determines your motivation and how successfully you attain your goals

 Now the question is:-

How do you motivate yourself?

Making a Difference With a Click

Making a difference can never get any more easier... All that you need to do to feed a hungry child or two, is to go to these three websites:

• Donate 1 Click
• Bhookh
• The Hunger Site

 ... and click the "Click here to Give" button!

Websites earn money by the amount of traffic they get and also by the number of advertisements [which depend on traffic, by the way] it displays. So when you contribute to the website's traffic, then automatically,  the site will begin earning money, which it can then donate for non-governmental organizations, social workers and sometimes directly to the people who are suffering from poverty.

Proud To be Indian

This is an article by my friend Tanya Sehgal [from Triond] about why Indians have got to be proud of their country :) It's rather informative and inspiring... So I thought of sharing it here.

The largest democracy in the world. Is sometimes looked up in a bad repo. We as Indians have much to teach the world with our cultural traditions. See how rich and diverse we are…

The Climb ...

This song was written by Hannah Montana about success in life ... Hope you will enjoy it ... :) :)

I can almost see it .

The dream I am dreaming but ,

There's a voice in my head saying you never reach it ...

Every step I am taking , Every move I make feels lost in no direction my faith is shaking

But I... I got keep trying... 
Got keep my head held high

Try Answering This... >;-}

This is a genuine psychological test :

This is a small story about a girl ...

Her mother passed away when she was young.

In the funeral she met a boy. She felt that he was her life

partner at the first sight. But she forgot to ask his name and she didn't meet him again... 

One day she killed her own sister... 

Do you know why???

Try guessing for a few minutes before you click 'Read More' for the answer...

HA HA HA ...

Courtla , Chennai tamil use panna eppadi irukummnu example... [Transliterated Tamil-English]

1. YES MY LORD - Ena naina,  

2. OBJECTION MY LORD - Amiki vasi annathe,  

3. COURT ADJOURNED - Unnoru dhadaba pakalam, 

4. OBJECTION OVER RULED - Kalambu kathu varatum.  

5. ORDER ORDER - Aiya kamunu kundhu mae... 

Eppidi shoka irrukulae... LOL ...

Butterfly fly away ....

This is a song written by Hannah Montana About her father ...

Hope you will enjoy it...... :) :)

U tucked me in and turned on light ,

kept me safe and sound at night,

little girls depend on things like that ...

Brushed my teeth and combed my hair ,

Had to drive me every where....

U were always there when I looked back .

U had to do it all alone , make a living , make a home...

Must have been as had as it could be...

And when I couldn't sleep at night ,

scared things won't turn out right .

U will hold my hand and sing to me...

The Silent Love ....

One young academically excellent person went to apply for managerial position in a big company....

He passed the first interview ;

The director did the last interview , and made the last decision ....

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic performance were excellent all the way... From the secondary school till the postgraduate research never had a year when he did not score ...

The director asked :

"Did you obtain any scholarship in the school ? "

The youth answered :

" None "

The director asked :

" Was it your father who paid for the school fees "

The youth answered :

" My father passed away when I was one year old , it was my mother who paid my school fees ..."

The director asked :

" Where did your mother work ?"

The youth answered :

" She worked as a clothes cleaner "

EXAMS...... ^_^

We all know how much we LOVE learning...........

 

.....And Exams too..........................

Change Makers.... Or Change Fakers? Time for some Reflection.

Sometimes, what we really need is a spark to light our hearts on fire and from then on, motivation is really unnecessary. But sometimes, teams need something more than just a spark, they need a common goal, a common vision and a common motive. 

There's a subtle difference between each of these words - goal, visions and motive. I'm sure you would have understood it by now. Let's talk about the common motive right now. All of us are doing whatever we are doing so that we can help others, so that we can improve things around us and so that we can do something for the society rather than simply moan and groan about the way things are.