Trailing Happiness

Happiness is not something that comes your way. It is something that depends on what you desire in your life and how you decide to lead it. After beginning my college life, I realized that I had been running after an illusion so far. When we go to high schools, we are told that life gets easy when we start our college life and when the college life becomes our present, we are made to understand that getting placed in a good company is the beginning of our happy lives and this cycle continues on and on... How hard is it to stop and think for a moment about how all of us have been running here and there in order to survive in this cut-throat competition that we face on a daily basis? 

Nathaniel Hawthorne has quoted the lines below-

"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

It has been rightfully said that much of the happiness is overlooked because happiness is just like the sand that slips through our fingers in a blink of an eye, the moment when we busy ourselves in pursuing the illusions of worldly desires that never cease to exist in our busy lives.

Is it so hard to be happy? Is it so hard to catch the fleeting moments that may lead to a happy beautiful feeling that life gifts us with? We get so involved in our delusional lives that we fail to admire the gifts that we come across quite often. What have we obtained from such a breathless life where we end up exhausted physically and morally.

There is no happiness 'tomorrow' if we can't be happy in our 'today'. Doesn't it feel good to watch the sun rise slowly in the sky? A serene atmosphere dawns on us leading to a bright morning ahead. Haven't all of us enjoyed the warmth of the sun on chilly Sunday mornings? Sometimes, we do need to give ourselves a break from this monotonous life and do something worth-while. That feeling is really wonderful. After all, every moment should be enjoyed and savoured to the fullest.

Watch a child laugh and smile

You'll feel happy for a while 

Let the world push you down 

But do come up without a frown 

Make each day count 

Make every moment matter 

Live your life now to its fullest 

Don't wait to enjoy in the coming days after...! 

Build a circle... 

Quickly jump in 

Troubles all out 

Just happiness within 

Smile through your folly 

Smile through your way 

Smile through your hardships 

And brighten up your day. 

Tanya Jha

Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Indian Women And Army

Although India has adapted very fast in accordance with the changing trends, something which still lacks change is the condition of women. Women have been suffering from hard repression since centuries, and still in the modern world of 21st century they are facing more or less the same problem.

Take for example army. Although Indian women have been given place in the Indian army, but they are still viewed as incapable when compared to men, as they are still not under permanent commission.

I don't know what has happened to our thinking… What is the reason for all this?

Do we consider our women weak as if they can't do physical work? I would stress upon the fact that in some places they still carry a pot of 20 kg on their head and walk miles… Can't they carry a gun in their hands, just as they help the farmers in the farming work?

As for the denial of an Officer’s rank in the Indian Army, I can’t understand the logic. They, in fact, have great management skills, the live examples being our homes that are still managed by our mothers.

The main reason is that most of the JCO's and jawans who hail from the villages are still not able to accept women as their leaders in the combat situations. And some women officers are unwilling themselves due to family background and responsibilities.

So we all need a united effort to change the present situation, because then only it will give the women confidence that they are equal in all respects.

Women SHOULD be given their rights and we should all extend our encouragement and support to them.


Jai Hind!

Kushagra Sharma

Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT, Jaipur

An Interview with Sachin's Bat

Sachin has retired. He won’t be playing cricket again.

Everyone is busy. Everyone wants to take an interview of Sachin and then add another drop to the blogosphere already flooded with Sachin. I am no different. I decided to take his interview as well. I left home, and came back dejected.

Sachin was busy, taking awards, collecting mementos, getting photos clicked, delivering thank you speeches and had no time for an interview with me.

So?

So then, in a corner of the room, away from all the hustle, I saw his bat, lying down. And decided, let me interview this little piece of wood, Sachin’s better half on the cricket pitch. Something he can’t be imagined without.

Made For Each Other 

Here are some excerpts from the same:

Me : Hello, Mr. Bat. Thanks for agreeing to talk to me.

Bat : Good Evening, Annanya. Nice to see you.

Me : How do you feel today, Mr. Bat?

Bat : Right now, I’m very nervous. This is my first interview. Should have learnt about this from Sachin, He has been doing this since he was 14. We have taught each other various things over the past 24 years, but He never gave me any interview tips.

Me : So, tell me about how it all began, did you always know that you would become Sachin’s Bat?

Bat : Good Question. I guess the tree I came from knew about it. It’s an interesting story. During my childhood in Kashmiri wilderness, a woodcutter came and almost chopped down the tree. The tree, still very young, did not want to cut down. It pleaded before the woodcutter, and asked him to leave him for God’s sake. And, he did leave me, for God’s sake.

Me : Nice story. And when did you first realize that you were in great hands?

Bat : It was in Perth, during the 91-92 series. Everyone knows how great that innings what. Most of the times, I was close to His chest, such was the bounce in that pitch. Still, I met most of the balls right at my center, that was enough indication that I was in no ordinary hands.

Me : May I ask you which bowler you liked to screw the balls of the most?

Bat : Come on, Annanya. I am Sachin’s bat, not Kohli’s.

Me : Err, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.

Bat : Yeah, I know. I understand what you want to ask. I always liked hitting Australian bowlers. particularly Warne and McGrath. You can say I always had a ball of a time thrashing them out of the park. Also, Pakistan’s Shoiab Akhtar. He had such a long run-up that I used to get bored waiting for him to deliver. Hitting him was a delight, hope you all remember that six over point, when I met the ball at the bottom and still managed to send it over the fence. I always thank Sachin for that shot.

Me : Yes, that was an incredible shot. So, tell me about your equation with other bats in the dressing room.

Bat : The atmosphere in the dressing room was good. I was good friends with almost all the bats. It was only Azharuddin’s bat that I hated, that lean piece of timber. He was mean, always teasing me with fat jokes. I felt really bad sometimes, but then, later in my career, I got a new best friend, Dhoni’s bat. He was another fat one in the room, and we really enjoyed each other’s company.

Me : And how was your chemistry with Sachin?

Bat : Oh, it was awesome. We shared a beautiful relationship. He always took great care of me. Always made sure I was having the right amount of weight, the perfect grip, and was chiseled correctly. There was a tough time when He had that Tennis Elbow, and He asked me to reduce my weight. That was a tough call, because I had always been fat, and reducing weight didn’t just seem easy. But we managed to pull it off somehow. During His time in the middle, we talked a lot. About cricket, how His form is, what the match situation is, and when to hit Sehwag on the bum.

Me : Given the workaholic that Sachin is, you also would have had to work hard for the past 24 years.

Bat : Yeah, that was tough. He used to practice in the nets for hours at a stretch, I was almost drained out completely by the evening everyday. Before foreign tours, he used to have throw-downs with wet rubber balls to prepare for bouncy pitches. I just loved that wet soaky feeling. But in the nights before match-days, He used to shadow practice His shots in the hotel room. This always made me angry. How do you expect me to perform tomorrow when you don’t even let me sleep at night. But, the genius still somehow used to script masterpieces with me the next day. God-like characteristics!

Me : So, which was you favorite shot?

Bat : The straight drive. This was a shot when I could greet the ball with a bear-hug instead of just a handshake like during the leg glance or the square cut.

Me : And was there a shot you didn’t like?

Bat : Yes, unlike the rest of the world, I hated it when Sachin played the paddle sweep. My sides still hurt due to that grazing with the turf whenever He used to play that shot.

Me : Any other memories of Sachin you would like to share?

Bat : There are many memories, But I don’t think you have enough space.I may be heavy, but without Sachin, I am practically weightless. I was the Magician’s Wand. His weapon of mass destruction, and at the same time, His instrument of peace. It was using me that He brought schools, colleges, offices, and nations to a halt. It was using me that He gave people hope when all was lost. It was using me that He taught people what a fighting spirit is. It was using me that He spread joy. What more would a humble piece of Kashmir Willow want?

Me : And now that you are retiring, any future plans?

Bat : My future plans? Ummm, I guess I’ll occupy some corner in Tendulkars’ household. Those guys are like family to me. May be Arjun would like to use me sometime. Or maybe not. I’m happy with whatever Sachin decides to do with me. Thank God I’m not Afridi’s bat, otherwise I’d have had to start preparing for the next match even after retirement.

Me : Thank you very much, Mr. Bat. Was a pleasure talking to you.

Bat : Oh! Thank You too. Hope you have a great life ahead, Annanya.

Annanya Johari

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Meant to be!

Sometimes it's just meant to be

All that you want is not free

All the world's a stage

And you're a mere character in the play

You muse over your fate

Oblivious of the path

You just tread along

Don't know where it takes you…

But there's a belief, a hope

That it'll pass along your way

Your dream, your path

And you stand by the faith

That is enough to cast a trance…

Move along, my dear

Don't you stop!

Believe in your magic

Cast your own spell

Binge the light

Be the glow, That lights up this world

Be the one

That you dream to be

So that one day

Your name stands in the hall of fame…

So that you be the smile

That brightens all lives

You be the one,

Who understands

You be the one, Who is the new hope

Because somewhere down the lane

That's what it’s meant to be...

Nikita Jalodia

Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Mystery of The Soul

How to regain what I have lost,

No jewels, no pearls, but something more will cost,

The feeling of loss, tore my soul,

The sword of failure crossed my heart,

The feeling of emptiness, the feeling of mist,

Has overtaken my mind,

I am alone as usual, facing this tough time,

But the rule of life can't be changed,

It has to move, it will move,

The wounds of failure make some pain,

But the one who has fallen will rise again.

Kushagra Sharma
Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Hang In There...

There are times when we are so sullen and emotionally exhausted that we long for outlets of our emotions. Not that we need a trigger for any catharsis, but we are so choked and full to the brim that in that state of numbness, it is a far fetches thing to realize this on our own.

We have a hard time breathing, a harder time gulping and all we do is to try shaking it all off. But it never works, not for me.

Situations, circumstances or whatever one might call them in their lingos, are so twisted and wicked. No matter how hard you try, you end up in despair. That's when our faith is shaken. We start losing it. Everything around us starts annoying us.

We start to damn that whatever we are today, we were not meant to be.

'This was not my cup of tea!' 'If I were doing what I always wanted, I might have had a better life!'

But are we always right? Or we just camouflage our weaknesses and failures with lack of interest?

Past always haunts us. And low recesses of heart, like these, further invite them to torment us. So, actually we are not doing any good by revisiting that lane.

What we have now, today, only that is our cup of tea. We can't set eyes on other cups. No matter how fancy they may look and how cracked and leaky our own may seem.

There are no guarantees, after all.

There is no room for vacillation at the expense of damaging your present. You are doing nothing but vandalizing your own life.

Hang in there, for tomorrow is yet to come. And there is certainly a moment, hidden in the shell of future, that will change everything for good. Your mind set will drastically differ and you will see your life, once a miserable one, with hope.

Just live in present and you will see, however withered your life may seem, it can still be salvaged.



Mohit Joshi
Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Facing Challenges: With a Smile

One day I was having a chat with a friend of mine, who is a part of a social cause initiative named ‘Igniting Minds’ where she teaches the orphans. This task, according to her, is highly challenging, but at the same time, it’s a moment she admires the most, and it actually adds happiness to her life.

The two words ‘challenging + happy’ made me to go deep in my thoughts. I wondered that how many of us really face our challenges with happiness???

Rather, for most of us challenges are an open invitation to worries and a starting phase of sadness, which slowly peeks into our life and thus ends up creating emptiness (for most of us).

The reason why I am again and again emphasizing on the word ‘most of us’ is because it depends on the way we live our lives, the way we see our lives, the way we distinguish between the bright and dark bands of our lives.

While writing the above lines I am reminded of a quote by Joshua.J.Marine, which says --

“Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”.

So how many of us really support this saying??? The answer would be all of us. But now if I ask, how many of us really employ this in our life? It is a million dollar question that forces you to look deep inside yourself and ask yourself that for so many years you have been hearing so many influential and philosophical thoughts of great people... and what do you do after listening to each such thought; you end up saying- wow! What a thought... and then that’s where the road ends to such a beautiful and meaningful quote… and exactly why this road ends? The answer is simple enough. It is just that we don’t employ this thought. We just praise it...

AND THE PEOPLE WHO EMPLOY THESE THOUGHTS ARE THE ONES WHO START PRAISING EVERY PHASE OF THEIR LIVES. THEY START ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT OF THEIR LIFE, AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, START PLAYING WITH CHALLENGES.

Of course no one’s perfect and no one’s gifted with a perfect life. So, the challenges are bound to come and they await you in every step of yours… It depends on how you face it --with cowardice or with valour and spirit.

Many of us, when burdened with a lot of problems in our life get frightened and rather than acting and finding solutions to those problems, we sit at a corner of the room like squirrels. Okay, now I know what would be your next question. WHY SQUIRRELS??? Guys, you know I love the way a squirrel eats with its two tiny hands, the way it jumps from one branch to another, but there is one quality I don’t like about squirrels … and that is the way it faces hurdles in life. Have you ever noticed a squirrel when many vehicles arrive in its path… if not, don’t worry… let me tell you… when it is in such a situation its body is filled up with so many reflexes from its mind that it just moves haphazardly between the vehicles even when there would be so many safe places to go. Hmm… it is a little hard to relate with human life but I am at your service. So let us translate this situation into human life… It's a little weird... but still…

Squirrel=human being, vehicles=difficulties we face in our life, the reflexes=confusions we create in our mind, a safe place=a solution to our problem.

Yes my dear friends, this fact is cent percent true. Don’t you think when obstacles cover your path like a dark shadow…. instead of finding a ray of sunlight… you actually try to make that shadow much darker. When you are burdened with lots of challenges… you get so much confused in them that rather than solving them step by step, you are in a great rush to solve all of them at a single go, or you just sit and watch them overpower you.

And this is where we all do mistakes. Now, what is the solution when you are faced with challenges?

First of all don’t take challenges as challenges but as a daily soap which is going to come after a certain interval of time with a new spice always added into it.

Secondly, sometimes challenges are invited by us… but if you really ask me I club this type of so-called self-made challenges into self-made difficulties, probably because we encounter them in our life due to our lack of time management skills. If you really want to know the importance of time… ask a mother who’s trying to give her child the best nutritious food when the baby is growing in her womb, only to give rise to a healthy kid after nine months… or try to understand the importance of time from a patient who is suffering from cancer and knows that he is going to leave this world in a week… or to even understand importance of every second, ask an athlete who missed the world record by a second…

Friends, these are some real facts of life I wanted to share with all of you… obviously I know it’s really hard to employ such big things in life. Frankly speaking, even after knowing such things I am also not able to employ them in my realistic world… but at least we can try. Who knows, one day, maybe we will succeed…..

At last I would like to share some lines of a beautiful poem that I learnt way back in my school, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN –by Robert Frost

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference… 

Sanjana Mehrotra

Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

The Indian police has long been criticized for its overweight police personnel. They have been battered time and again due to this serious issue that has been plaguing the police force for decades. Although the police and the government might have come up with many solutions, none of them actually worked. But, now is the time for them to bring to test an innovative idea, which might be bizarre, but will surely bear fruit.

We all know that many (almost all) police officers are fat and overweight (read pumpkins). But why not all? Well there is a reason behind that too…

The new recruits are the ones who stay slim for at least a year. Why? The simple reason is that they have to do all the running – running the Indian police! (pun intended). But, it’s true that the Indian police force follows a strict rule (another joke!). Once the new recruits join duty, they are assigned the job of doing all the running. When someone comes to the police station to file an FIR, it is these guys who do all the hard work, i.e. chasing -- not the accused, but the ones who come to file the report; they chase these guys out of the police station! Now that’s hard work! And, mind you, there is a well chalked out plan for chasing too, i.e. a rape victim is chased up to a mile out of the police station, a dacoit victim is chased half mile and so on... Repeated offenders (those who are stubborn, and come again to file a report) are chased twice the length they were chased earlier!

Now, an intelligent question: Why don't they do the chasing in a police jeep?

Well, police jeeps are usually unavailable, thanks to globalization. These days, so many antique car rallies are being organized in India, so police vehicles are shifted there -- not for patrolling, but for participation‼!

Again, the new recruits are the ones who chase the robbers (another joke!). Well, they don't chase all the robbers, but only those who slip by the police without giving them their commission‼!

Half of you might be thinking that why the policemen don't shoot all these guys, why chase them?

Because my friend, there are, again, two kinds of police personnel in India:

• First type - the one with danda.
• Second type - the one with gun? False. The one with a danda which has a barrel attached to it!

Kyonki police ki chalti to hai nai (bandook nahi chalti; waise police ki toh chalti hai), so bandook bhi dande ka hi kaam karti hai!

Then why the hell does the government not provide them with the guns?

Well, the reason is because it is a crime in India to provide any kind of gun to a criminal gang. So the government is bound by the law, you see‼! The guns actually meant for actual policemen on display in the museums, because these are antique items‼!

Now, back to the innovative idea which was mentioned in the beginning -- how to help the policemen shed their (baby) fat?

Here’s the solution: From now on, the policemen must be assigned duty in a different manner, such as each day must be assigned to an officer irrespective of the rank. They will be assigned a job of chasing the people who flock the police station for filing FIR, and same for the robbers… And I bet, you’ll see the results in six months‼!

You might be sarcastically criticizing the Indian police by now, but they are actually doing a better job than ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) by safeguarding historical monuments and items, i.e. their own police stations, guns and their jeeps; 'cause ‘robbers often carry away a police jeep’ (remember ‘carry’, and not ‘drive’)‼!.

Now, if we do a comparison between Indian police and American police, then in Bollywood terms (Vivacity just concluded!), if American police is Hrithik Roshan, then Indian police is John, (not John Abraham, dude) but apna John Prakasa Rao Janumala, popularly known as Jonny Lever‼!


Himanshu Rawat
Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

चलो राउंड पर चलते है .....!!

Photo Credit: Ratika Garg

ग्रेड की टेंशन ...

प्रोजेक्ट में चाहिए एक्सटेंशन ...

लोगो का अटेंशन 

तो चल राउंड पर चलते है ...

थोड़ा खाया या ज्यादा , फर्क नहीं पड़ता ...

मेस के खाने से हर कोई है सड़ता ...

जेब में हो पैसे तो कैंटीन में खाते है ...

वरना रात भर भूक से दरवाजे खटखटाते है .....

क्लास में हो मज़ा या दिन भर सज़ा .....

5 बजे का घंटा बजा ...

तो चल राउंड पर चलते है ...

अपनी पसंद पर कोई हाथ साफ़ करे ..

दिल के टुकड़े देख बाकि सब मजे करे ...

सिर्फ सच्चा दोस्त दिलासा भरे… 

और फिर 10 की लस्सी ले...हम राउंड पर चले ...

ज्यादा बिजी लोग अकेले ही चले… 

बड़े लोग दीदियों के साथ चले ...

"पता नहीं अपनी कब होगी " कहते हुए बाकियों क दिल जले… 

रोज की यही कहानी पर तब भी सब राउंड पर चले ....

थड़ी पर फेफडों को दुखाना ...

या गणेश पर भूक हो मिटाना ....

क्लासेज के बाद हो उठना ..

या नाश्ता कर क सोजाना ...

जिधर अपनी भूतपूर्व देवी को देख गति होती है तेज़ ....

रास्ता बदलो या दोबारा याद करो वो डेज़ ...

यहाँ दिन कभी ग्राउंड तो कभी हाई होते है… 

चलो यार अपन राउंड पर चलते है ...

Akshat Nagar

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Reading Between the Lines: The Middle East Crisis

For many of you the American condemnation of Syria for use of chemical weapons might not come as a surprise. The American decision to invade Syria might seem to be an obvious thing for all the people, but what is not obvious is the reason for the invasion. Well it is neither oil nor the use of chemical weapons. It is, actually, much more than that. Why are the Americans so adamant to attack? And what are the exact causes?

Irrespective of what the causes are, it is for sure that the reasons are not what America claims. There is obviously more to it than what meets the eye. After all, how can it be that the world's biggest violator of human rights suddenly turns so benevolent that now it’s actually touched by the death of a thousand people by chemical misuse; and that too halfway across the world, thousands of kilometers from its own land, and mind it, that’s the same country that led to the death of lakhs of Japanese by recklessly dropping two atom bombs in World War II, despite having almost won the war. America is not talking peace but has always brought war upon others. History says that wherever American forces have landed they have brought along nothing but war, misery and death.

Now arises the big question that why is America attacking Syria; or even considering it as an option. This all didn't start a year back or so but has been going on since decades. We all know about Israel, the puppet state ally of USA in the Middle East, Israel has actually fought 5 wars against its Russian-backed neighbors, and in these wars it was not only Israel and its neighbors (Syria, Egypt, Jordan Iran, Iraq), but also America and Russia indirectly fighting. 

Whenever there has been a war in the world, these two super powers have showed up there and started supporting one faction, for e.g. in civil war in Vietnam, South Vietnam was supported by USA and North by Russia (or USSR, at that time) and again, when USSR occupied Afghanistan, it was America who supported Taliban to oppose the USSR, these two countries have always been fighting their battles in the foreign lands.

The disintegration of USSR in 1991 led to the end of the cold war; but the remnants of it can still be seen in the current conflict of Syria, where the current government is Russian friendly, and because of that they are facing the wrath of the most powerful country in the world. America is determined to topple the current regime so that the next American friendly government can be installed leading to the addition of one more ally.

In this game of influence and power the ultimate loser may be the Syrian people as their country may turn into another theater of war between the rivals Russia and America. It may turn into another Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam or Korea and the ultimate price of the conflict will be paid by the Syrian population, thus leading to the revival of the cold war era with America on one side and China or Russia on the other.

However in the past few weeks we have seen the twist in the event, as the events of the diplomatic crises between the USA and Russia unfolded and the dust started to settle. It seems that America has reluctantly accepted the peace offer extended through which Syria offers to self destroy its chemical and biological weapons arsenal. This method seems to be a perfect solution but how come a nation that was hell bent to destroy the current Syrian regime so as to put an USA friendly or at least a neutral government accepted this proposal. It's all there (reason) but you can't see it, it is not the Russian pressure and not even the UN pressure. It is the pressure of the American people; people with their most sophisticated weapon, their voice. This voice can make and break the government.

This weapon was on display in the French revolution in the past. This weapon did its work in the Libya, Yemen, Tunisia and Egypt (twice). It was the power of the people of Syria (their protest against the incumbent regime) that gave America the chance to try and overthrow the Syrian regime. If the power of the people can overthrow the most cruel and authoritative dictators and regimes then where does the USA lies. As soon as the American government or more specifically the President gave a go ahead for the attack on Syria, the popularity of the most famous president of America (in recent times) plummeted to a new low. The American people openly displayed their displeasure on the decision and disregard for president. The US president who was once termed the most powerful person of the world was brought to his knees and forced to give way to the Russian peace offer just because his people said no to war. 

This act of the American people displayed to the whole world that the person whom the whole world termed the most powerful person in the world is actually a just another man who has been assigned the task to look after the country and if he fails in his duty then he too will be fired from the job and a new one will take its place. This display of power of the people in the Middle East and USA made the so-called powerful people of the world realize that the power actually resides with the public. With the Middle East crises all set to fade into oblivion if the negotiations go well as just another chapter in the big book of cold war. The question arises which one of them has won this one, - America, Russia or Syria. The answer is simple none of them and I don't think I need to tell you who did because you know it already, it is already there but you can't see it.

Himanshu Rawat

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Cricket @ 100

The inaugural match of the Champions League T20, between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians was held in Jaipur. I went to see that match with my friends. That was my rookie experience to watch a cricket match or any match in that respect, in the stadium. When you are not a fan of cricket, it becomes more special.

I never liked cricket. But I always tried to keep it to myself to avoid the scolding from my friends, cousins and significant others around me. Suddenly, we planned to go for a match and I thought what the hell, let’s just do it. And I consented in an impulse. As the day drew closer, I pondered upon it and thought to sell off the ticket. On the match day, there was a lot of drama. We tried to find a buyer and no one consented on our rates. So finally, I half heartedly boarded in the college bus to go. Then someone called for the tickets and I refused to sell it. I had changed my fickle mind again. Screw them; I am going to watch my first cricket match.

We reached at the stadium three hours prior to the entry time and it started raining. It’s very annoying when you have so much excitement in your heart and God literally starts pouring waters on it. Finally I entered the stadium and after the three levels of security checked an innocent boy, i.e.; me.

Wow!! I was dumbstruck. It was a feeling out if the world. As if I had entered another world. Why didn’t I come here sooner? Such vastness, such grandeur. I was mesmerized even by the empty stadium which was were gradually filling. Strangely enough, the rain felt complementing to our moods. As if it was also enjoying itself with us. The tiny raindrops looked like sparklings in the floodlights, so slow, so poised and so pure. All my perceptions had changed once I got in there.

The match was preceded by an energetic performance by Mika Singh. Finally the match started and I can’t believe that I actually enjoyed every ball of it. This was a special experience and day for me.

In my first experience, I had the best experience I could have. The rain had stopped and the breeze was soothing. It was Sachin and Dravid’s last CLT20 tournament. I saw LBW, bolds, catches, and a remarkably awesome run out. I screamed like hell, I danced like never before on every boundary and six. I had not felt this much charged up in a long time. I ended up with sour throat but I didn’t care. I was on fire.

I am glad I didn’t sell my ticket or else I would have missed the chance to feel the craziness for Sachin. No wonder he is the God of cricket. Legendary Dravid waved at us, I couldn’t miss that for the world.

I am glad I didn’t sell my ticket. 100 bugs but worth much more zeroes than that.

Mohit Joshi

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

The Bollywood Boon!

The last time I watched Chak de India, it was my count 9, but it induced that same feeling of chauvinism and sportsmanship that I felt when I watched it the previous 8 times. Today when the daily is flooded with news of Indian junior women hockey team's victory, I doubt the need of one of the cast of the movie being interviewed on such occasion. Should it mean that the movie could embolden hockey in India and that we can attribute such jointure and national unification to Indian cinema?

Movies are an artistic way of evoking emotions into us and to an audience that is so easily verklempt, had a dramatic political past and has a cultural endowment and rich heritage; Bollywood in many ways has influenced the society in its 100 years of existence. Some might agree on cinema as an act of social message, or to the rest, its a stroll down the memory lane, as though the reel of their past begins to flash in front of their eyes and if nothing at all, to watch it for the soul purpose of entertainment is a real delight.

They say movies are the reflection of society. The bold, contemporary movie Rang De Basanti, that wears a socio-political message has ironically related the post independent era with the pre independent ordeal, hence audaciously scoffing at the current political scenario. It encouraged people to dissent the laws of the country and prompted citizen's support for the non government organizations. Movies like Taare Zameen Par that gravitated people's concern towards their upbringing did more than just stinging tears into the public's eyes. Only ten days after its release, CBSE decided to provide a relaxed education system for the physically and visually challenged children. 

Directors were unflinching, when they took up scripts that spoke the shenanigans of the underworld, like in Ram Gopal Verma's Satya, or the scandalous expose of prostitution in India, like in Chandini Bar. Release of these movies demanded attention and the government bit its lips, to prevent ebullition of anger and shame, immediately resorting to some serious resolution.

I can't afford to be rude that I talk of Bollywood and not speak of romance. DDLJ, Silsiley, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Veer Zara, all of these are a insignia of profound immortal love. It is a cachet that has embalmed the industry for years without being cliched and directors will continue making more of it, only to excel. If you have been watching romantic Bollywood movies for years and still believe Barfi or Dev-D are the movies of different genre, then you are correctly acknowledging the director's dexterity. All such movies camouflage their tinge of love with unconventional and whimsical ways of movie making and this art is recognized and appreciated by all, confiding those who wish to take it up as a career option.

What more? Eulogy of Indian cinema is now a part of the CBSE hindi textbooks where the goodness of the legend Raj Kapoor and his laurels are discussed under the chapter named after his most applauded movie 'Teesri Kasam'. Hence it will be seen as one's nonchalant attitude, when he thinks watching movie is scornful as Bollywood has done wonders in the past 10 decades.

Mitali Bharali

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Fight Club- Movie Review

Warning – To analyze such a movie one needs an effort much more gargantuan and an analysis much deeper than what follows, but I'll try to give it my best shot.

After a single viewing one might think that this one is no different than other films on "generation"-al social activism along the lines of forming a single social unit with a singular identity with a single most desire/rebellious streak to bring the society down in order to prove their worth/power to it, but on a critical second viewing we find the idea of the movie to be much more complex and extensive in a way that it puts it in a league of its own.

The following characters constitute the movie:

Generation Fight Club – A generation consisting of a multitude of underachieving, self-conflicting every-men who are torn between the urge to pursue their dreams, making them happy on a spiritual level, and an older generation's as well as the system's pressure to be doing what will make them happy materialistically -- this internal commotion resulting in creation of an alter ego with somewhat alternative, idealistic, opinionated and rebellious tendencies.

It was a time when men were in doubt, unsure of their personalities, their identities, their ideologies, their desires, their ambitions, their prohibitions and their inhibitions, be it because of them being defected in some way by some disease or infliction, the society deeming them to be no more men per se or because of the system being excessively material conscious rendering them oblivious to the concept of spiritual or incorporeal happiness.

They are under a lot of pressure to be MEN, no matter what the circumstances. Whatever the world throws on them, they are expected to get up, man up and fight along silently and survive doing what they hate, buying what they don't need, eating what they don't want to, living on pills to survive another day, needing instructions from somebody whom society deems wise to make their critical life altering decisions, a generation nobody wants to listen to.

For them losing all hope is freedom, to have furniture is to be secure and to have a wardrobe is to be respected. 

This tells us that they are- a generation that is lifestyle obsessed and ignorant of any or all social issues, or, in Tyler's words "things they own, end up owning them".

The Corporate Entities – Powerful, dominating, manipulative and titanic giants; they take slovenly minds as slaves with their weapons of marketing, forcing them to buy happiness in the form of their useless products. They have successfully created an illusion that the choices in matters of buying stuff define their personality and enhance their individualistic character.

The Old people – A generation bound so tightly by the social constraints that they rather not question them or else face jeopardy in the form of an identity crisis or insecurity. They are either too lethargic or too ignorant to question the system that is having a negative impact on the children they raise, causing their questioning faculties to fail and turn the progeny into a replica of the parent.

The way of the world – We were created to be hunters or gatherers, but today's world that is hugely dominated by marketing has turned us into customers (silent spectators of the world). This means we don’t need to and are not supposed to fight- this is a sort of castration of humankind, and this emasculation creates Tyler Durden- the dissociated personality of Jack (the narrator), he wants to make things simpler, he wants the animal instinct of people to lead them in this world for survival, i.e. he wants people to live life like it was meant to be lived.

Jack and Tyler/The contrast – The contrasting nature of the personalities between Tyler Durden and Jack can be seen in the contrasting ideologies, way of life, philosophies and of course the decisions both make or don't make. Visually we can see the differences in the subtleties of their behaviors, like Jack choosing to walk on the pavement while Tyler gleefully muddles in water puddles side-lining the pavement, the way they both dispose off the beer bottles and interestingly the way they treat Marla. This goes on to show the major differences in their attitude towards life -- on one hand Jack chooses an orthodox one while on the other hand Tyler chooses a nihilistic one.

Marla – The object of desire and the catalyst of destruction. She is the one Jack wants, but in the initial stages of the movie is very annoyed with her because he sees himself in her -- his lies, his miserable life, his dependence on various invigorating agents to live day to day life. He cannot stand her because she represents Tyler's antithesis -- stealing food and clothes, wanting materialistic possessions. She is the cause of his self-destruction and the self-realization that follows. Now because Marla is causing him more and more pain each day and with each passing day he realizes that she is his reflection of all things wrong with him, he gets frustrated, and subsequently, wanting a clean slate on himself, blows up his apartment. 

Tyler on the other hand appreciates her by saying that she, at least, is hitting rock bottom while citing the fact that she was in no way perfect and complete, and was making no efforts to hide that; while Jack, on the other hand, is aggravated with those tags being associated with him, and wants to get rid of them, hence his self-destruction. 

David Fincher does a damn good job with this one, with all the little details and precision adding to the characters and story of this film that we have come to associate with him. The cinematography is very germane in showing the life associated with the generation men in focus, with all the gloomy night scenes and shadowy day scenes. A true class act as far as direction is concerned with Fincher opening new avenues of filmmaking with each passing scene.

A little trivia related to the direction – Before Jack first meets Tyler we see small frames of him in some scenes, especially where the visible effects of Jack's insomnia kick in; this is because as his insomnia elongates he becomes more unhappy with his imperfect (read pathetic) life, and with each such passing moment and with each of Tyler's blink-and-miss images in such moments, we come to know that Tyler is slowly moving from the periphery of Jack's consciousness to the centre of it and finally taking over him.

Well, they do say God is on the small details.

The soundtrack by the Dust Brothers is apt to the dark undertones of the movie. 

There are some breath-taking visual effects in the movie such as the opening credits scene where the origination and movement of fear signal/s occurs inside the narrator's brain and the scene where we see the dynamics of the explosion of the narrator's condo.

This movie is unsurprisingly to be watched at least twice to make a decent head-tail story of it, a rather nerve-wrecking story at it.

Dishant Sharma

Y10 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

The Things We Do

All that we do has a purpose. Deed is juxtaposition for need. My trying to put it into words is a straight drive through my urge to write something. If this is read by the editor of this blog, this is a repercussion of his search for a worthy article. And finally, if this could make to the readers, to you, then many of you won't deny the latent desperation to kill boredom which brought you to end up at this journal.

So, this is clear that our needs precede our actions. And so is this, that it is like a polymer chain reaction. Effecting us all in some way or the other.

But how often do we think this way? How many times have we thought before making fun of a friend? Not even considering that a mole of him might feel humiliated. With how much sensibility, have we thought before lying to our parents and demanding golds from them, in the same breath?

Uncountable moments I can recall from my past where I had claimed to be empathetic to even strangers' pain and actually, delivered cold feet, even to those whom I knew well.

But all of these deeds are purposeless. No? If we introspect ourselves, we would find only one answer: "We do what pleases us".

Many a time, we find things unacceptable. We find ourselves standing alone against our friends, family, etc. We know that we are right and all we have to do is take a stand. But then, we fall a trap of baits. We negotiate. We give up. And all that is lost, the people, the things which were supposed to be a part of the other side, engrave severe damages. They create an air of discomfort, stress and guilt, in and around us. And eventually, we resolve to ebb it out.

So, do we really have a "purpose"? Are we required to act the way we do?

What would've been the scene, if we were aware of what we were doing? Awareness can save us from such situations. We can have healthy, happy and stress-free relations. We can "Live", instead of dying with shame and burden of unjust decisions.

Be aware of what you do, see clear what you see.

Mohit Joshi

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Why BJP Should Win the 2014 Elections

Time and again BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Mr. Narendra Modi has been criticized for his alleged role in the Gujarat riots, allegations only with no concrete proof and same is the case with his party which has been accused of seeking communal path to gain victory. It raises a serious question, If BJP by supporting hindus is seeking a communal path then what is Congress doing by granting 4.5 percent reservations to Muslims and what it has been doing for the past so many elections. 

BJP might be resorting to communalism in an attempt to win the upcoming election but at the moment it is our best bet if we are to get rid of the incumbent government which has brought disgrace to the country up till now in its second term and is hellbent to further push the country in an economic depression by its policies such as Food Security Bill. This proposed bill will put more pressure on the overstretched budget (costing Rs. 2 lakh crore). With Modi at the helm BJP has the power and intellect to pull the the country out of the precarious situation it has been embroiled in. 

I don't know much of economics but I know that at this delicate moment when India is staring at the financial depression (thanks to mismanagement and torrential raining of scams in UPA regime) the government, instead of addressing the problem of rising Current Account Deficit (5%OF GDP) is actually focussing on a last ditch attempt to lure the voters and win the election by dumping vast sum of money into the dustbin. If 4 rupees are spent by government in providing food to the destitute people, 1 actually reaches the targeted section and the rest 3 is absorbed in between by the corrupt officials and dealers. The proposed policy has so many loopholes and yet the government is spending more on food distribution system rather than addressing the present problems.

Tonnes and tonnes of food grains rot in the government godowns every year and yet nothing has been done to curb this, nothing has been done to rectify the problems in the public distribution system. At the moment the GDP growth rate has plunged to a decade low of 4.4 percent thanks to congress. Due to blatant corruption and the vested interests of the ruling party the growth is all time low in a decade, Rupee has plunged to 69 (all time low in the history of India), investors no longer want to invest in our country citing the volatile situation and fragile government of the center, inflation is near double digit and yet the government rather than trying to tackle all these issues is busy passing the Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill which will further put more pressure on the overburdened financial structure of the country. 

Lets hope that the Financial System doesn't collapse and there is no further slip up in the current projection of the growth rate of the country till the upcoming election, as it has become an accepted fact that in the upcoming elections BJP will grab more seats thereby snatching the power from the hands of the deceitful congress. Lets hope that we can keep it together till the elections because once the elections are done it will be the BJP government steering the country back to the safe waters and spearheading all this will be the messiah of Gujarat the man of his word, the idol of many and the greatest leader to have born following the end of Nehru-Gandhi era.

Mr. Modi, the one who led Gujarat to the path of unprecedented growth, leading to windfall gains in every sector, his leadership credentials unquestionable and his gains and achievements unparalleled in the history of modern and independent India. Lets hope that this man whose name has become the synonym of development growth and success becomes the next prime minister of our burgeoning and at the moment faltering country and lead it to the same path of development as has been witnessed by his native state Gujarat under his reign. 

Lets hope that a new deserving economist is seated as the PM of this country rather than the incumbent one whose economic policies have failed because IF THE CURRENT ONE CONTINUES TO BE IN THE OFFICE THEN WE WILL VERY SOON BE ACQUAINTED WITH A NEW TERM OF MONEY MILLIONS, BILLIONS TRILLIONS AND ONIONS. These are the famous words of a leading economist of India. 

One of the best Prime Ministers to have served the country, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the lone BJP Prime Minister to have completed the term. We as a nation have brought the Congress to power so many times since independence, now in the face of all this corruption it is time to hand over the reign of the country to someone who has proved himself than handling it to another self proclaimed prodigy of Congress whose only claim to the post is because of his family roots and who had neither been tested nor proved to be deserving for the post of the PM. 

Himanshu Rawat

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT