special CLASS ROOM

There was a place in the last row, where an 11th class boy used to sit. To his left it was the girls’ row, ok let’s not touch the nice part now, and let’s go to the other side. Everyone on his right seemed to be different. The guy who looks always sleepy, the guy who removes his shoes and sits folded legs, the guy to whom different things were interesting at different times, the guy who drives his own car to school, the guy who could wake up at 3AM to watch Ranji trophy, and many more.

But there was this point when all of them were scaled on the same parameters, MARKS. Marks were used to understand how good one would fair in his life. Probably then he dint realize that Marks is just made by some dumb heads, because they couldn’t see the brighter side of everybody and everybody were special, and what they do can’t be done by others.

The guys who scored better were considered bright, well to do in life. The guys who scored a little lesser where probably the hooligans, the people who have to attend special class during the evening to learn the morning lessons again, to do better in life.

Like many schools, his school didn’t understand, it’s not all about marks. The special classes they conducted were more de-motivating than the 3/100 he scored in biology. He probably escaped the illusion of marks, but there were a lot of his friends who got stuck with the illusion.

Though, Today he agrees to the fact that, even the little English he knows is because of the teachers who taught him ‘A for Apple’, it remains true that instead of asking him to read English newspaper daily so that he can get 8/10 instead of 6/10 in an essay, if she could have made it more interesting and shown the true value, he would probably be writing the same article in a better way for a newspaper and the same could have been read at the UNICEF. Even though he is coping to move on, he still feels sad about how many people are still feeling defeated because of being forced to play the game they didn't even want to.

Classrooms were fun, but the Special class-rooms were such a pain. All those whom he competed weren't there, left only to be satisfied with the increase in the probability of winning, making even probability less fun.

PASSION

Being online and for almost half of the day, sometimes doing nothing and the other times doing something, I have come across many inspiring speeches and examples on the passion but something that I saw recently, blew my mind of.

It was lazy weekday evening, where after a heavy dose of freshly cooked, steaming hot ven pongal, mixed with ginger and topped with cashews giving it a perfectly balanced taste of sweet, soar and hotness, and thenga chutney mixed with coriander leaves and pepper seeds, going as the best side-dish pongal can ever imagine for itself, I was sitting in front of the TV, watching MasterChef Australia.

This episode was like any other episode, a special guest walking in, people given some difficult task in a short span of time and cooking and the judges tasting them, it was the day of elimination and there were 4 on the hot seat, Until before the final judgment, Adam, a participant stood up and said “I don’t know whether I will be going home today, but I do know that all the other people who are here are here because cooking is their passion. I came here to do something out of routine. Being in this competition for closed to 10 weeks now has made me a better cook, has given me some great friends, and has also made me realize that, even though I love cooking, my passions is what I am currently doing, my diving business. So I don’t want to go back home (winning or losing) taking somebody’s dream, I am going back to my passion and all the best to the rest, do what your heart says”.

Even though people may claim that this is a reality show and all such dramas are bound to happen, this has re-written my definition for PASSION.

Definition!?!?!?!?!

The world is so similar yet so different because of two reasons, one definition of things and number two because of people definition of definition itself.
Webster says definition is “Defining or being defined” now let me try to compete with Mr.Webster.

Definition to conservative person is… before that, conservative to one means being cautious, to the other it means being calculative and the rest it means what it means to them. So eventually a conservative person would probably mean definition as ‘how he defines’.

Definition to a environmentalist is… but ya first definition of environmentalist,(1) a person who does green business, (2) a person who fights for the conservation of environment or to put it better conservative environmentalist (for the definition on conservative, go back a few lines) and (3)by the rest he may be defined as a person who is gonna make big money in 5years. Anyways an environmetalist would define definiton with “green” as prefix or post fix to everything.

Definition to a musician is… but asusual, music is some means peace, to some means fun and loud, to others it means something done by musicians, to others it means the songs that come in MTV. Definition may be defined as “adding music to meanings” by musicians.

To Intellects, but lets first define intelligence, for people like many it is something that’s there is others and they look at it WOW!!! For a very few, its is something that’s like their twin living in the samebody, sharing the soul. Obviously intellects define definition like what I have defined.

Comparing the various above conclusions with Webster, he was right, very right. Definition means Definition. So the competition, I had with webster can be defined in two ways, I lost it or I made him win it better.

ALONE...

Feelings are sometimes best expressed though words. Oops.. what do I do when I don’t find the right words… what if words get jumbled, what if I silence is preferred, what if there are lot of other things to do than sit and put down the words, what if I don’t get a pen, what if ….. if… if… I GET STUCK LIKE THIS.

I don’t know, I seriously don’t know, at these times, I prefer silence, having the hope that the same thought ll come down again someday, I go somewhere and spend some time alone.

Being alone is awesome. Remember alone is not solitude.

Alone is a time when u share your best version with yourself.

I have travelled alone; met new people did some of the craziest things. I have spent time alone on my house terrace and jus thinking what to think. I have spent time alone in a new place, just listening to people talk. I have spent time alone, when I was all laughing and making fun. I have spent time alone sitting in front seat of a car, when my close friends were sitting in the rear side. I have spent time alone, when I was angry... I have spent time alone, when I was sad and happy… I have spent time alone thinking, I have spent time alone, playing my instrument, I have spent time alone, doing nothing and everything.

When I was alone, I realized what I wanted in Life, when I was alone, I have understood a few things about things I did and dint understand previously, when I am alone I understand people and the times I miss.

I have been alone, when I was least alone!!! Loving been alone, I have been falling in love with the person I am alone with.

I have answered all the “what if” questions being alone, I don’t know why I am writing this, but what if I was alone, writing this time.

ASSUME

Assume that assumption will be something quite cool, until u read this.
Assumption makes things easy, for example people initially people thought (oops sorry), assumed earth was flat. It was easy enough to understand how we don’t fall.

Assume: Girls run behind guys’ wall posts and photo on facebook. First few days will be like “awesome, look at my number of notification”, but then after a few days u suddenly, find that all your photos and wall posts are commented by people whom u don’t even know, your notification list touches 3digits, if u are out of facebook for 2 days.

Assume: the girl u proposed to, immediately accepts. WOW. But when u go out, she stares at other guys as if the one sitting in front of her is a donkey.

Assume: u go to a movie and the heroine’s father accepts her love with his maid’s son, who is studying in the same college. Your movie ll be over even before the popcorn.

Assume: your best friend stays as close to you even after he has fallen for a girl, finished end of girl friend story.

The creative individual has the capacity to free himself from the web of social pressures in which the rest of us are caught. He is capable of questioning the assumptions that the rest of us accept. Assume that I said this.

Assume everybody were the same, assume U topped the class in 12th, assume U dint join the college U joined, assume u dint meet the people u met, assume u dint fall in love with your girl, assume mom does nt wake up every day, assume u never fought with your sibling, is like saying assume U WERE NOT U & NOTHING U KNOW IS TRUE.

Assumption makes a issue look perfect but they don’t give solutions, assumption made things look more beautiful but u did miss the real beauty, assumptions make u and me a BEEP…

maybe that’s why it sounds like A**-U-ME…

Dear friend

Hey mate,
its been long since I wrote to u. how are u. I am doing good. My work is challenging. I hope u are also doing good. And ya money has brought in a few things (bledy materialistic world) closer, everything from an evening snack to the vehicle I drive has got costlier, my weekends are celebrated like festivals.

But with the best things around I don’t feel complete. Ya ya, money can bring some happiness and crying in a BMW is better than on a cycle, but those moments don’t become “I wanna RELIVE them”. I have a lot of money to spend, but my question is whom do I share it with, when u are not around. Riding on a bike at 12 midnight is fun, but do u remember those days when we used to cycle down home at 1 in the noon after a day full of chemistry, do u have an adjective to express that. It was simple and beautiful when the life biggest question was “whats the most important question for tomoro’s test??”. And the best lunch was my ‘thayir sadham’ with your ‘vendakai’.

The people I meet today are fun, I can hang out with them, but I don’t feel all the same. People don’t come along without an ‘I expect this from U’ and I go don’t without a ‘ya, but only if do this for me’ tag.

I still remember celebrating your birthday in your house, with a 1Kg cake for 20 people and after cutting the cake playing basket ball with a foot ball. And now I don’t even get to call u at 00:00 accurately cos u live in a different time zone. Your birthday ll be the most expected day of the year and if your birthdays falls on a free period day, that calls for more excitement.

The days which knew no EGO, the fights which were mostly for, who is taking that extra chocolate, the timings which was 9 to 3:45, when weekends were for not to spend the complete day with u, when the chairs which were wooden with u me and our close buddies, when the evening snacks was 2 samosas divided by 5, when the vehicles were non-polluting. And the time when I got to be me always.

I MISS U MATE.

Loving (past continuous, 5TH standard English) friend,

PS: Crying in a BWM is better than a cycle, but nothing can even come close to your shoulders. I promise to spend time with u on your next birthday (buying a gift for Rs50 was easier than finding time in this bledy busy world).

I HOPE I NEVER GET TO WRITE THIS LETTER.

SMILEY ;-)

:-0, , ;-(, : ‘, :-P etc etc… wow these SMILEYs… girls call them cute, boys call them to girls call them cute. They tell us a lot about our self. They are so cool at times, u don’t need to explain beyond a few symbols. If during the beginning of book writing, full stops and punctuations made people understand English better. Now writing on facebook is made easier by smileys, cos today English is not jus about Shakespeare and Augustan, its about u and me. Imagine what ll the status “oh my god” mean. A smiley with it would better.

But these smileys tell us a lot than jus about the language, but the purpose of the language, COMMUNICATION.

We text more, we type talk more, we facebook more than we talk. May be that’s why we are polite and all sweet when it comes to digital talking.

Have we ever thought “am I talking the same way I text…? Do I sound as good as my msg sounds? Do I talk the same way my facebook wall talks to a new friend.”
The way I see it, answer is no…

1) Have we ever smiled back at a colleague while travelling in the same lift crossing 5 floors?
2) Have we ever smiled back at a stranger walking on the road?
3) Have we ever addressed a person next to my friend saying “@X: ---------- “or atleast a Hi?
4) Have we ever appreciated without gender bias ;-)?
5) Have we ever tried to make more friends, REALLY?

People are cool when they text, awesome when on face book, brilliant when chatting... but we are mass and much more when we smile (no disrespect to mass).

LET THE SMILES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!