NOTICE!!!

Aloha Readers!


This is more like a 'Notice' than some article. And I will get to the point straight away. :-)


Here's the thing- I won't be writing on Candid Convictions anymore. :-|


Reason- I have a new blog now! :-D


The new blog is called- Camouflaged Whispers... and it is hosted on Wordpress.

I hope to see you all there too. 


Take care.

Adieu.

The Naughty Intrusion

In the quietness of a  frosty night,
A puny thought opened his eyes.
He looked towards his left and then to his right
Slid the covers and revealed his disguise.
One foot down and a gesture of caution
Another foot down in the same old fashion
Slyly he sneaked out of his house
Into the night, leaving behind his spouse.

The streets were quiet, the night was dark.
Crickets kept insisting but winsome didn't bark.
This put off the fireflies and they didn't shine
The town was asleep when the clock struck nine.

In a chocolaty house of the silent town
Resided a hefty little plumber.
He sang a song and became a clown
Until his child began to slumber.
The red-haired wretch then began his mission
And knocked fiercely on the door of Mr. Kishan
Terrified, the baby began to wail.
Winsome began to bark, wagging his tail.

Into the street, stormed the fuming plumber
And many came out of their peaceful slumber
The crickets were stupefied and ceased to creak
The town was brimming with a mischievous reek.

One by one, the lights were lit
Noises began to grow, bit by bit.
Fireflies were happy and gleamed again
Each left his abode in utter disdain.

The cheeky imp, content, made for his house
Slyly he entered & lay next to his spouse
He let out a wicked laugh and slowly dossed down
Whilst each lay wide awake in his night gown.



P.S. The red-haired imp is a disturbing thought that keeps you awake all night and lets you do nothing but think about it all the time.

It's all in the state of mind...

Photo courtesy: www.glamquotes.com

Human beings are a rare species of living beings. They are the most enigmatic and weird creatures found on earth. Most importantly, each one differs from another to a 'WOW' extent. And that makes it extremely difficult to understand them; although, not impossible because wo toh sirf DON ko pakadna hi hai!. Jokes apart, I really wonder how do people even pass their Psychology papers! Anyway, coming to the point, the real purpose behind this post is to share with you all, an enlightenment that I recently received. A significant point to note here is that enlightenment is nothing but that fraction of a second in which something just clicks your mind! Lord Buddha might have sat for years under the Bodhi tree but it was only in a couple of seconds that he could see, what he had been looking for, right in front of his mind's eye. (Just a personal opinion, no offense.) Anyway, let me just begin now. What happened was this:

Since about four and a half months back, I had eagerly been waiting for the III Semesters to begin, for some reasons. They finally began towards the end of November and ended in the first week of December. The new term was supposed to begin in the New Year and so, I expected the results to roll up before the new semester began. For over a month, every day, mind you, every single day, come what may, I had been visiting www.du.ac.in in my sheer anticipation to witness the results. And that wasn't my result. About two days back, the result was finally out and to my disappointment, it was sorted only according to the Enrollment numbers, i.e., the names of the candidates wasn't displayed there. (And I wasn't aware of the specific enrollment number that could fetch me what I wanted) But to my surprise, the thing that I had been waiting for, for so many days, was finally right in front of my eyes and I just didn't care enough to hunt for it. Although I did ask few people about it but that was all. I didn't get what I wanted to know and I am totally contented and indifferent towards the issue. Moreover, I remained frustrated the whole day and that wasn't because I could not find the thing I wanted to, but because, I could not come up with a suitable topic to write on my blog! However, all this while, I was under-going the very essence of the topic. I thought it's too difficult to let go of something. But it isn't so. It is just a state of mind. We always assume that we can't move on. And on some random day, like the one I told you about, we realize that we already have...

So, I'll see you soon then...

Photo courtesy:  www.gestianpoet21.deviantart.com

Anaita was about to finish her lunch when she heard a long screech.

“Excuse me...”

Somebody was trying to make his way through the crowd. After a couple of seconds, the speaker stopped right beside her. She looked up to see two guys, one of whom, clad in a purple t-shirt, sat right beside her and almost completely over her mobile and headphone. His friend sat right opposite to him. She wondered whether the screech she heard before was let out by one of the two. She cleaned up the mess and took out a book by Robin Sharma. She began reading amidst the chatter and subsequent laughter of the two young men. She tried to concentrate, pretending that she wasn't listening to them. Robin Sharma, who has inspired several readers, could not actually inspire her to prolong reading and she had to stop right at the introduction and switch over to Justin Timberlake.

After some time, both of them got up and were about to go somewhere. The guy in the purple t-shirt wanted to take his bag from the upper berth and stood right in front of her. His shirt slid up, during the process and she could see his belly. She turned her gaze down. After few minutes, as they walked away, the compartment turned pretty silent.

The guy in the purple t-shirt came back after some time and sat towards her right. Later, he moved to his original seat to her left. He had a lower berth and she was allotted the middle one. She wanted to read her book again but the other co-passengers wanted to take a nap and so the lights were put out. Sensing her misery, he offered her to occupy the window seat and himself moved towards her right.

“You like reading Robin Sharma?” he asked.

“Well, I haven’t really gone through his works adequately. I have read about thirty-three pages of ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ and I liked it. So, I thought of buying this one.” She started reading again before perceiving his reaction. She was travelling alone and had no intention of inviting any kind of trouble.

He was watching a movie in his laptop and broke into regular fits of laughter. She found it weird in the beginning but sooner than later, she was accustomed to it.

“You're a south-Indian?” she asked.

“Sorry?” He had his ear-piece on.

“That's a South-Indian movie, ‘Bomarillu’, right?”

“Oh! Yeah”

“You're a south-Indian?”

“Yes”

“Well that's a nice movie. I have watched it”

“You belong to South-India too?”

“Oh! No. I have watched it with sub-titles.”

“Oh! Okay.”

Their brief conversation ended quickly. He continued to watch his movie and she continued with that book until it became unbearable for her. She wanted to take a nap and asked him to change places again. He got up, trying to manage a couple of wires that that lay there, tangled, and asked “So, are you through with the book?”

She smiled and said, “Well this book is quite boring”.

“Yeah your age and Robin Sharma are no good combination.”

She smiled feebly wondering whether he knew her age and if yes, then how? She was feeling drowsy and decided to ignore the matter. Minutes transformed into hours and her boredom was at its peak. At around 6pm, he spoke again “Aren't you feeling bugged?”

“Yeah, a lot”

“You're going to Allahabad?”

“Yeah”

“Is that your home town or something?”

“Yeah”

There was a little pause. Both of them were hesitating to speak.

“So you are Miss...?”

“Anaita. Anaita Chauhan. And you are Mr. Venkatesh, right?” She had heard him speaking his name over phone to his friend.

“Yeah, Venkatesh. You visit this place frequently?”

“Umm… Yes. This is the first time that I am travelling alone actually.” A part of her regretted at this statement. She could not trust a stranger. But the other part assured her that she was safe. There was certainly something about him that convinced her that she could trust him. She could not believe that a girl like her could actually talk to a complete stranger, blurting out almost all her necessary details.

“So are there any good places to visit in Allahabad?” he asked after a long interval.

She suggested him a few places that she has been to. Their talks began to gear up. They talked about each other's family members, professions, home-towns etc. She learnt that he is an army officer. Anaita had a very strong admiration and attraction towards Army men. She started thanking her lucky stars. “Wow! You do look like one” was her instant reply. Army men have always fascinated her. And there she was, sitting right beside one. He narrated a number of experiences that he underwent as a Captain. She asked him how old he was. He was 26. Most importantly, he already knew that she was 17!

They reached a station at around 8.30pm. He went out saying that he needed some fresh air. After a couple of minutes, he came back and said,”The train is going to stop here for about 15 minutes. You can get down if you want.”

“Hey just get me a....” She began to speak. “Alright, leave it. I'll come with you.” she said, changing her mind.

She followed him and got down at the station. She looked out for a stall and started heading towards one. She expected him to accompany her but he stood there, watching. She turned towards him a number of times sending out a hint that she wanted him to come along with her. But he failed to understand and she finally decided to help herself. After purchasing a water bottle, she turned back triumphantly but he was no where to be seen. She was searching for him. For a second she felt she was all alone. She went inside, kept the bottle at her seat and came out, again, looking out for him.

 She finally saw him coming towards the bogie and blurted out,”Where were you? I was looking for you.” She spoke such imposing words as if she knew him since ages and had a right over him; as if he was accountable to him. She wanted to take back her words but they did the harm already.

“I was looking for coffee actually. You want one?” he replied.

“No. Thank you.”

“Just a second, I will look out for a coffee there” he said and started moving in the opposite direction. He informed her about his intentions this time. He was probably moved by her comment. She preferred to go inside. A few minutes later, he returned with two cups of coffee in his hand.

“This one is for you” he said, smiling.

“Well I have got something to eat.” She said and bent down to take out a packet containing two patties and offered him one.

“I am on a diet actually. I don’t eat stuff like this”

“Hey, you can eat it occasionally.” I insisted.

He took it from me saying, “I should not take food from strangers”

“Then I should be the first one to return this coffee”.

They laughed.

After the refreshments they talked about each others hobbies. He turned out to be a sporty guy, as expected, and a devotee of Lord Krishna. It was now Anaita’s turn to throw some light up on her hobbies.

“I write” she said.

He seemed impressed with her reply. Delighted, she showed him her compositions and he loved them. She was glad she had something that could actually impress a guy in the Indian Army. The Army-effect was still all over her mind.

The other co-passengers had settled on their berths and were about to sleep. They switched off the lights and there she was, sitting beside a stranger.

“What is your date of birth?” She asked.

“19^th December. And yours?”

“23^rd March”

He offered her to watch a movie in his laptop and she agreed spontaneously. She did not need a second thought. By now, he was a little more than just a co-passenger to her. They settled down to watch a movie and shared the ear-piece. They sat pretty close, closer than what was right and permissible. Out of hesitation, he shifted a little away from her. With time, they became more comfortable. They changed the movie twice and finally ended up watching children’s movie, ‘Bed-time Stories’.

The movie ended and they sat beside each other in silence. She realized that they remained silent more than they conversed. But that silence was a comfortable one. Their shoulders were still in contact but this time, none of them moved.

“What do u like and hate the most?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“Umm… I love children. I hate discrimination against women. I hate child labor. What do u like?”

She wondered whether the reply was meant to impress her or was genuine. She didn’t want to assume anything.

“I like honesty. I like straight-forwardness. I like the rain. I like watching the moon. I love the night. I like children who behave like children.”

He smiled at her last statement. “And what do u hate?”

“I hate smokers. No. I hate smoking. I hate corruption. I hate hypocrisy, back-stabbers. That’s all, I guess”.

There was silence again.

They now talked about their personal lives. She asked him if he had been in a relationship before. He seemed honest with her. She was asked the same question. She was amazed at how comfortable he made her feel. He gave her the space to speak her heart out. She told him everything she desired and everything she felt. He was a great listener. She had no clue about the way in which she should address him. She tried to figure out a relationship between them. She had never befriended somebody who’s so older than her. She finally concluded, ‘Some relationships do not need a name and this was one of them’.

At 6.30am Shakira's voice woke her up. She heard the other passengers saying that the destination was still an hour away.  She peeped down to see if he was still asleep but he was nowhere to be seen. She was too drowsy to go on a hunt again and went back to sleep.

 After sometime, she felt a friendly pat on her hand, “Time to wake up”, he said in a cheerful voice. She smiled at him.

Her friends say she looks the sweetest when she wakes up in the morning. She wondered if he felt the same.

She freshened up and sat by his side.  She was thinking about the previous night. They were about to depart in a few minutes and she didn’t know if she will ever be able to see him again. She did not know what he was thinking, how he felt. All she knew was, this cannot be the end. There has to be a reason for their meeting here, in this way.

They were almost there.

“So, it was nice traveling with you, Anaita” he said, standing up and smiling at her.

“Have you watched Dear John?” she asked, paying no attention to his statement.

“Umm... Dear John...Yes. Partly, I guess”

By this time the train had already entered the station and was slowly coming to a halt. They stood there, facing each other.

“There is a one-liner in the movie that the actress always said to the actor, in a different context though. He was an army officer too.”

I looked into his eyes, smiled weakly and said, “So, I'll see you soon then...”

The Last Post- A custom!

A number of bloggers have been posting something or the other as their last blog post for the year 2011. Since I am new to blogging, I assume, this is a tradition that has to be followed. So here I am writing my last blog post for 2011. But frankly, I am too pre-occupied to write one. And I won’t be dishonest to you at least during the last hours of this year. What you are about to read here in this post might turn you against my Candid Convictions forever (in case anybody likes it!). And that’s precisely because I don’t have any idea regarding the topic.

I have been brainstorming ceaselessly for a topic and couldn’t come up with anything. I thought about scribbling about the important events of the world, good and bad, of 2011. But I really do not have the time to sum that up. My mommy washed all my clothes this morning and they haven’t dried up yet. So, the need of the hour (for me) is to come up with a suitable attire for the party that I am about to attend in a couple of hours instead of reflecting upon the bygone affairs! (I hope you agree).

I also wished to share with my readers the events that happened in my life. But soon, reality dawned upon me and I realised that that’s just my wish. Who would be interested to know about my life? I do not have even 25 followers on twitter, nobody retweets my tweets or begs me to retweet his tweets! However, without mortifying myself further, I’d like to share with you all, the biggest lesson that I learnt in 2011: Friendship is an investment of time and emotions where returns matter. Love is an investment of time and emotions where returns do not matter. I laugh out loud when I see the young ones of human beings (who barely wash their own UGs) updating their facebook status or liking a page that goes like this:

 My friends are my life (seriously man, go get a life!)

I can die for my friends (you must die for thinking that way!)

My friends are the most important part of my life (Oh! I am sorry that your parents died.)

Well, sooner than later, they shall receive enlightenment. But if any such creature is reading this, beware!

A post about New Year resolutions wouldn’t be bad either. But every one of us knows the inside story of resolutions. They are barely kept. Still bragging about them and coming up with a really good one is commendable (at least for a little while). Alright I have a good one too. My resolution would be to stick to all the commitments that I make in 2012. How’s that? ;-)

Another popular topic is to put in writing the things that I may expect to happen in 2012. Well, as I mentioned earlier, I would rather focus on the present moment (my dress) instead of pondering over the future. And because of the same reason, it’s time for me to doll up and leave for the party. So, enjoy the last night everyone and party hard. Luckily, it’s Sunday tomorrow and you all can sleep tight. But since it’s going to be the very first day of 2012, I’d rather suggest you to start it right. So, Adieu! See ya all on the other side.

Happy New Year 2012 :-)

P.S. 1. In the quest of a suitable topic, I was able to write approximately 600 words.

P.S. 2. I would really loooooove to get a feedback on this article. Let me know the extent to which you got bugged (in case you read the article completely!)

A day without internet

Like zillions other on this planet, I have a smart phone and I make sure that I utilize as much of it as I can. I have been staying at home since 5^th of Dec and by this time, my cell phone is certainly out of balance. About three days back my internet voucher expired. It was like a mini heart-attack for me! But I survived that because my mother’s phone had about 60MB of free internet usage (camouflaged angel!). Things have been pretty usual since then until this morning. I woke up in the morning and lying right where I had been the whole night, reached for my mommy’s mobile phone. Drowsily, I clicked on FACEBOOK and waited for the airtel network to make a connection via Mobile Office. Suddenly, I heard two consecutive beeps with the following two messages:

Packet data: Invalid packet data access point

Web: Unable to perform operation

It was horrifying!!

“All is well. All is well.” I consoled myself and went on with the day.

I pat myself for managing without internet for over 19 hours. But the moment I was idle, anxiety dawned upon me. It was 9.15 pm and I could not go out myself to get the recharge done on my number. I called Ravi (the shopkeeper at my hometown) but he didn’t have Vodafone vouchers. I called up a friend to get the recharge done for me (how desperate!) but it’s Tuesday and the market there is closed! Serendipity!

Ultimately, I sat down with my lappi on my lap and began writing this blog. I wondered if I received the e-mail that I have been waiting for since a few weeks or whether the semester results were out on www.du.ac.in. I longed to check out www.dublog.in for any updates and remove as well as block a person from my friend-list on Facebook urgently. I was even hopeful that Farhan Akhtar would reply to my tweets. And now when I am about to finish this entry, I long to post it on www.somya-singh.blogspot.com.

When I discovered the malfunctioning of the internet connection this morning, I thought, “A day without internet; well, how bad can that be?” Oh it’s worse than I imagined. Not all the time though. Save for the times I suffer from a fit of immense greed (not literally!). Long story short, for an addict like me it’s like gasping for air!

P.S. I finally got an internet connection after approximately 41 hours of wheezing and posted this entry about 3 hours later. 

Noble Inheritance ONLY, please!

There comes a chapter in everybody’s book or more precisely every girl’s life, where she learns to cook. While some people learn to cook willingly, others owe their skills to circumstances. In my opinion however, being able to cook is a part of being independent and hence, important. Do not worry my dear readers. I am not going to kill you by giving a lecture on “benefits of cooking”. I am jusssssssst coming to my point. Read on…

My neighbors have been trying to teach cooking to their 13 year old daughter. After a lot of efforts, she’s finally able to make tea now. She can make maggi too but well, that’s way below the standard of being able to cook (unless it involves some innovation!) My neighbors have a tendency of taking a little more sugar and salt in their food than the normal amount. Now when their daughter presented her fist cup of tea in front of me and I took the first sip, I thought: Legacy!  But my thoughts did not cease there. I continued to think and think beyond that teeny tiny sugary issue. And I deduced that it is very important to ensure a healthy influence on kids for what they see is what they learn, apart from what they are taught. If a father praises Anna Hazare on one hand and on the other, commissions a pandit for an early visit at a temple, the child finds himself in a fix. If a daughter finds her mother disrespecting her elders, she probably will tread on the same path. In other words, when you cannot respect your parents, how can you expect your child to pay reverence to you? A close associate of mine is afraid of getting married because the marital life of his parents is so full of clashes. Thus, it is also important to have a similarity between what children are taught and they see, especially till the age they gain the power to think rationally because by the time they learn to object, their mind turns into curd (Deemag ka dahi ho jata hai!!)

I repeat, it all begins with what children see and what they are taught or the distinction between the two. No doubt there will exist what we call disagreement and resentment. But once you are able to view the big picture, these micro mini arguments seem worth it. I’d like to share a few instances from my own life here. My mother got me into cooking when I was barely eight years old. My dad literally freaks out when the food gets even slightly salty and this fact makes me remain cautious, always. At about the same age or a little earlier, I was given a room of my own that comprised of a study table, chair, a bed, a cupboard and loads of lights! Unlike other girls of my age, I have been sleeping alone since then and without turning the lights on. When I stepped out of my house four years back, I met a few girls in the hostel who were afraid to sleep with the lights off because they were totally unused to seeping alone. I don’t say that there is something weird about sleeping with your parents. I do cling to my Mommy and sleep whenever I visit home but I am not dependent. My parents made me eat all sorts of vegetables. My Dad wouldn’t move until I swallowed the last bite of tomatoes or bitter gourd in my plate (I literally swallowed them with water!). I hated them for the way they tortured me. That’s how I saw it then. But when I went to hostel, I found myself way more comfortable than others who threw tantrums regarding the menu. Although I still wouldn’t choose to eat such things on my own but at least I have become smart enough to pick a couple of tomato slices from the salad section (that I hated once). When I think of those days today, I don’t think that they tortured me. They must have tried to coax me affectionately first. But when it didn’t work, they simply bent their finger to fetch the ghee! ;-)

I feel parents and children should have a friendly relation but only to an extent. If a parent starts being a friend in all respects, he should make sure that he is still able to command respect from his child. For a person, there may be many friends but there is only one mother and only one father. And I would not want to lose that. But at the same time, it is very important to listen to a child’s opinions. But remember, he may not always be right and so can’t you. Forget your ego and choose a couple of paths that are right and enjoyable at the same time as well as lead to a common goal: your child’s betterment. In my neighbor’s case mentioned at the beginning, the idea could be to tell the girl to keep the amount of sugar and salt controlled. It’s never too late for them to change but if they are so unwilling to do so, at least they can bring about a change in their kid’s lifestyle to secure her future. If you are planning to give a present to your child or your younger sibling this Christmas, in addition to giving him what he wants (candies, toys, gadgets etc), give him what he would never ask for but needs desperately- a positive influence. And let that be so optimistic that your sweetheart will always be able to what out of darkness into sunshine in every phase and every sphere of his life. Play that silent role and sooner or later, it will be recognized. :-)

Merry Christmas!!