Rising from ashes

Hi readers,

This post might be the most heartfelt one amongst the ones I wrote. Even while writing this post I feel two tornadoes of emotions clashing inside of me -  one with restlessness,  disgust, shame and rage while other with pride, pure admiration and vigor to live. All this emanated from an article about a survivor of an acid attack, Laxmi, who was recently blessed with a baby girl. How can a person be so cruel and stone-hearted to disfigure someone just because they didn't reciprocate your feelings? What is so special about you that you decided to torture the person who just rejected your proposal? Do you have supreme mind like Ravana or do you have celestial beauty which if rejected will be like committing a sin? Just because you couldn't tolerate being rejected or accepting the fact that they don't mark you at par with your inflated ego doesn't give you a right to play God in someone else's life.

In my life I hope I would be as courageous as her or others like her. Even 10% of such courage could last me for a lifetime. I don't pity her, rather I won't call her victim at all. Because she pulled herself up and has emerged as this beautiful and splendid person who outshines any kinks that the attack had left on her personality. True, she has her insecurities from time to time like when she was afraid that her new born would cry at the sight of her but it turns out Pihu, her daughter, smiles brightly at her mother every time. With support of her partner, Alok and her family, she has risen above such setback and now is a Director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India.

There are many others who went through the same painful event but we lost few to this disheartening deed. May their souls rest in peace. But the ones who fought their way through are leading a respectful and independent life. There's a café near Taj Mahal, Agra where all the employees are acid attack victims. They basically work towards awareness of such attacks and make sure that the victims find the lost hope and confidence in them. Rising from ashes - They truly are living examples of Phoenix!!

I am not being feminist here. There are men who suffered such attacks. In fact a report generated by acidsurvivors.org shows that in 2014, men forms 50% of such attacks. The attackers are men and women who acted on their spite.

Think before you do or say something, readers. Donating clothes or money to poor or visiting holy places is easy but doesn't necessarily make you a good person. Being good person in daily life around the people you meet and interact everyday is tough. Understanding their hardships or respecting their opinions is when a person's true self is reflected. It's a shame on us when such incidents emanate from an educated society.If you ever have such thoughts to harm, just spill a drop of boiling hot oil on your arm. Did it hurt? Now imagine that pain increasing almost 10 times more - that's the kind of pain you wished to inflict on somebody. Just Pause. Think. And Reflect.

Until next time...

Have a quirky wicked day, readers !

Like a boomerang !

Hey readers,

Many people I know, who don't necessarily believe in a particular religion or God,  have their faith in Karma. The Karma law basically states that no deed is wasted - what goes around comes back - just like a boomerang.  Similarities of the same can be found in the Newton's Third Law of motion with a base that "every action must have a reaction" and while contrasting with Newton as he also considered opposite impact of an action.

Well I am being so philosophical because recently I re-read a saved article which according to me is an amusing and very interesting way to understand workings of Karma. It's the story of Ronald Opus - a man who's suicide seemed like a murder but finally ruled out as a suicide.

This case was first told at the annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFS by then the President of AAFS - Dr Don Harper Mills in 1987 which was told as an illustrative anecdote to show how different legal consequences can follow each twist in a murder case inquiry. Later on it first appeared on the Internet in August, 1994. So the case goes something like this - 

On March 23, 1994 a medical officer examined the body of Ronald Opus concluding that Mr Opus had died of a shotgun wound to the head.

Mr Ronald opus had jumped from the tenth floor with intent to commit suicide but was shot at head while falling through ninth floor which killed him instantly. 

What neither the shooter nor Mr. Ronald Opus knew was that there was a safety net spread below the eighth floor level as a precautionary measure to protect the building workers. So even if Ronald Opus has jumped, he would have been saved due to the safety net. But before that could happen he was shot at head that was emanated from the ninth floor which turned this case from suicide to murder.

Now the occupants of one of the ninth floor apartment were an elderly couple who, at the time of incident,  happened to be arguing so vigorously that at a point the husband aimed the gun at his wife and pulled the trigger. But the bullet missed his wife completely and went through the window, striking Mr. Opus. 

Ordinarily a person who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide. But here the act of suicide would not have succeeded due to the safety net, which makes the bullet shot from the ninth floor the reason of Mr. Opus's death and indicating that the old husband is guilty of murder. 

When confronted with the charge of murder the old man and his wife were adamant that they thought the gun was unloaded. The old man explained that it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with an unloaded shotgun during the course of their arguments. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr Opus appeared to be an unfortunate accident.

But then it raised other suspicions - whether the gun was really unloaded ?  And if it wasn't, then who loaded it ? 

Upon continuing the investigation, it turned up that a witness saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the argument and fatal shooting.

It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the habit of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his Father would shoot his Mother.

Since the loader of the gun, was aware of this, he was guilty of murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. Now the son was charged with murder. 

On further investigations an exquisite twist was revealed that the son was in fact, Ronald Opus. Did it blow your mind ?

It turns out Ronald opus had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his schemes for his Mother's murder and decided to give up his life due to increasing financial tension. On March 23rd 1994 he went to the the top of the ten story building and jumped off, only to be killed by a shotgun blast through the ninth story window.

How about that ! Now I know some may call it sheer coincidence, but one cannot deny the timing and almost as cruel as Ronald had planned kind of scheme that played out leading himself to death. 

With this eerie and justice-filled incident, I take a leave and hope you had a safe and happy Diwali. 

Until next time... 

Have a quirky wicked day, readers !

A Chocolaty Affair...

Hey readers,

Today is b'day of one of my dear friends and the first thing that pops in my head whilst living the memories of her would be her crazy and almost borderline psychotic love for chocolate when tried to pry from her hands ( I'm a proud survivor of such an episode). Anyways it got me thinking about how chocolate was invented and its evolution to modern age candy bar. So let me take you to the land of chocolate.

Mesoamerica also known as Aztec is where it all began. Chocolate was first taken as an alcoholic beverage by frothing and fermenting. The chocolate drink made by grounding beans of the Theobroma cacao was bitter in taste and hence mixed with spices or corn puree. Maybe it was because of this taste that its term was coined as ‘chocolate’ which came from the word of Aztec’s Nahuatl language xocoâtl or cacahuatl which literally meant "bitter water ". Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, during his conquest in Mexico came upon the Aztec tribe using cocoa beans to prepare their royal drink. Excited about this new product, Cortez took some beans back with him to Spain. By adding some cane sugar, the chocolate drink became very popular, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely started to plant cacao trees themselves which developed into a very profitable business. Remarkably, the Spaniards succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.

Spanish monks, who had been involved with the processing of the cocoa beans, leaked the secret out finally and soon Europe started to develop their own cacao bean industry. Throughout Europe, the delicious chocolate drink became hailed as a health-giving food. In 1657, chocolate drinking houses started to open up, but mainly served only the rich, since the cost to make chocolate was still very expensive. As inventors created machinery, and thus eliminated the need for grinding the chocolate with ones hands, the manufacturing process became more efficient, thus less expensive, and produced an even better tasting chocolate. By 1828, the great taste of chocolate expanded to a wider audience although it wasn’t until 1847 that the first ‘candy bar’ was invented by Joseph Fry and his son, who pressed a paste made of cocoa powder and sugar into a bar shape. The chocolate bar was further developed in 1849 when John Cadbury introduced his brand of the chocolate bar. Fry and Cadbury later joined forces to become great chocolate confectioners. The first milk chocolate bar was made by Henry Nestle and Daniel Peter in 1876 by adding milk to the traditional chocolate recipe. This results in a creamier taste and smoother texture.

So, now you know the transition of chocolate from being served in golden goblet to being sold in golden wrappers. Below are few fun facts just for you before I end this post.

• The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which triggers relaxation. (These brain waves are often used in hypnosis for deep relaxation of body) 
• Chocolate has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and protects against tooth decay (Remember this if you are a chocolate lover to ward off eating-chocolate-decays-tooth complainers).
• Dogs are not the only animals that can get sick or die by consuming chocolate. It has same effect on cats too.
• In 2013, Belgium issued a limited edition of chocolate flavored stamps. ( Usage of Stamps would be high that year)
• There's a pill that makes farts smell like chocolate.

With that absolute Ewww fact, I hope I have not dampened your craving for chocolate. Before I end this post I would like to request to savor your piece-of-heaven because there is a looming shortage of chocolate and in next 5 years the prices of chocolates might double!!

Until next time…

Have a quirky wicked day, readers!

Arrogance or Thirst to fly free

Hey readers,

Flipping through channels I found a movie playing “Amelia” based on an extraordinary woman, Amelia Earhart, who had an extravagant dream to fly round-the-globe and specifically known for being the first woman aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  She disappeared over the Pacific Ocean with her plane Lockheed Model 10 Electra (funded by Purdue University where she joined as a visiting faculty) along with her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a 2nd June 78 years ago while she was living her dream around-the-world-flight through the longest route ( following equatorial line). Had she not vanished, she would have completed her flight journey round the globe and be the first woman to do so. But something went wrong and the flight along with her and Fred vanished into thin air.

Many thought her dream to fly is the trait of arrogance. Those who knew her said that she was very determined and was somewhat foolhardy. And hence suggesting that it's probably not a big leap to say arrogant. Despite knowing the fact that there might not be a return trip, she ventured into an unexpected weather with her Electra. Howland Island, a stop for refuel which if she missed would have no other way to refuel the tank for another 2000 miles. Howland is a tiny island that was easy to be missed while flying if not searching thoroughly for it- this is where Fred Noonan came into the picture. He was hired to navigate the island which he failed due to the severed communication of the radio navigation. Earhart and Noonan had a poor understanding of the use of radio navigation, and to keep the plane as light as possible, some equipments were left behind including Morse code transmission which were used to communicate with Earhart as their radio communication was impaired and conveying only one sided message to Itasca. The frequencies Earhart was using were not well suited to direction finding and the reception quality of her transmissions was poor. Two-way communication proved impossible.

After almost eight decades of disappearance of Amelia Earhart, there are many theories regarding her disappearance and still researchers are working to know what exactly happened with the fearless pilot. But what I want to point out is had she waited enough to have knowledge and proper training to use the equipment that she carried with her or had hired someone expert in such field, she would not have unloaded the Morse code transmission machine. Also the Itasca's code message was being sent on 7500 kilocycles (they could not send voice on 7500), Earhart was tuning her receiver to 3105 to listen on the half hour. When the Itasca's transmission ended at 23:58 (11:28 for Earhart as she was following Greenwich Time) she probably didn't even have her headphones on. Not only was the weather being sent on the wrong frequency but Earhart had repeatedly asked the Coast Guard to report in English, not code, especially while she was flying.  Plus there are theories saying that she had wrong information regarding the adverse weather which might have resulted in using more fuel than intended to and the tank would have been empty before the expected time.

Amelia disappeared on her 2nd attempt to fly around the world. Had she taken more precaution to understand the technology and work out the communication with radio transmitters of different places who were helping her navigate the places to refuel and stay on her route of journey, we might have had a successful story and world would have seen Amelia live a more full life with her husband as she had intended to after completing her last flight around the world. But history has already painted her story into its canvas and though it might bring some respite to the ardent lover of hers to know what actually happened, there is nothing we can to do avoid such loss of an ambitious person.

Even though she has vanished for whatever reason, she has been model for many aspiring women pilots over the decades and also to any ambitious person out there who has a thirst to fulfill their dreams. She might have been an amateur pilot but she was fearless, determined, courageous, and fought for her independence to dream high. And she also had a feminist face which we can quite get a feel about in the following lines belonging to her: “Please know I am quite aware of the hazards...I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others.” -Earhart's letter to her husband George.

So find your way to your dreams friends and hop on its adventure. Amelia nailed the expression perfectly: “Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?”

Until next time…

Have a quirky wicked day, readers

First Rain of the season..

Hey readers,

First rain of the season brings in a whole load of fresh emotions.  The cool breeze with fragrance of the thirst quenched earth plays with a loose curl of my ponytail, making it dance in its rhythm and leaves as silently as it entered my room. Peacock and other birds are rejoicing and singing in the droplets gifted by the sky releasing them from the scorching grip of summer. I stand by my window taking in the view calming me entirely despite the entire chaos created in my house due to renovation. This spot has been my solace for years.  My house becomes my home due to my family, but this spot by my window is my respite after a long day. No other place has such effect on me. Everyone has such place where their mind longs to be in the days filled with anxiety and stress.  Some find it in the house, some at a tea stall with friends, some at an open terrace with a great view (That's my second favorite place).

After it stops raining, craving for some hot dalwadas or bhajiya to accompany the masala tea drives people out of their house.  Even long romantic drive or reminiscing the memories with friends and having gala time are few very alluring ideas that rush to our mind.

So hop out friends ! Give in to your monsoon instincts because I sure as hell am giving in to them as I take the first bite of my sizzling hot bhajiya..

Until next time...

Have a quirky wicked day, readers

Patience

Hey readers,

The word "patience" is loosely termed with the ability to wait of someone or something. But if took a second to think about it, to have patience one will have control of one's emotions, ability to divert their mind and not to be affected by the constant nagging from a part of the brain - Limbic system, which controls emotions saying you are annoyed by having to wait and they might also have forgiving nature.

In today's world patience wears thin in people. We ask quick questions and need quicker answers. We get frustrated so easily. For instance, from your lagging computers or smartphones, cursing at elevators to be too slow for your taste and wishing you had superpowers like magneto to bring it any faster- same is the case when waiting for the barrier to rise at a railway crossing or traffic lights to turn green. The list could be endless. Technology has so many benefits but has these flaws in disguise which is usually disregarded in front of its shiny features. But people don't understand that these things do not show in our behavior until few months or years have passed. I pity the new age lovers who do not have to wait for messages from their partners like they did so patiently back in 80's or 90's. People are missing the sweet painful twinge of waiting which made them much more humble and grateful when the wait ends. And now, I dare the boyfriends not to reply their girlfriends within 10 minutes of receiving their message. Now even whatsapp has 'message read' feature updated..Oh yeah! All hell will break loose ! (poor lads). 

So my impatient readers, if you have been trying to get hold of your wearing out patience then I have a suggestion. Usually we do things unconsciously, so become aware of your actions. Meditate. And try doing few of your routine actions slowly like drinking coffee . Feel the way the coffee trickles down your throat, pause and observe the scene around you,  and...take a lungful of breath..feel the moment ! 

Now tell me, doesn't it feel good to be alive ? Don't you feel a bit less restless and like mind has cleared up a bit ? Keep practicing and you will get a handle on it soon. Patience is not a character of a person but a quality that radiates when in control of yourself and more importantly - it's a choice.

Until next time ..

Have a quirky wicked day, readers !

Someday...

Hey readers,

Have you ever felt the air turn mystical after the strike of midnight ? My favorite time of the day starts from 3 am to 5:30 am. It is so silent outside with cool breeze flowing. I always have butterflies in my stomach during that time and it's like I can taste the magic or something near to it in the atmosphere. I feel like anything is possible. I believe in soul mates even if sounds girly, I do. Not love at first sight kind of, but where one can trust and be honest to the other person fully and even after being flawed they accept them for who they are and still fall in love irrevocably. I'm a downright romantic person and will fall hard for someone someday.

"Someday" is such a hopeful word but with a dark side that mostly people ignore with their optimistic conscience. The movie Knight and Day puts it correctly - Someday. That's a dangerous word. It's really a code for never.

Love is not hard actually but we put up walls after wall guarding against heartbreak. Tearing those walls cause so much friction that the journey seems tough. Everyone walks upto the edge of the mountain but to tip the balance and free-fall for someone takes a huge leap of faith. The effort of someone to know us so deeply even after so much restrain from our side is the exact same thing that makes our balance tip. It's not just with love but also with friendship. In fact the benefit of free-falling in friendship is that you will be falling together hand in hand and they will be there to cushion your fall and punch someone right in their faces in case they turn out to be bad choices !

So on occasion of Valentine's season, tear down the fortress of inhibitions and take a leap of faith readers but make sure your friends are close- just in case ! ;) 

Until next time..

Have a quirky wicked day, readers !

I wish...

Hey readers,

Turning 22 this week has had me not thinking but rather wishing things I could have. No, it is not something I wish to have as a gift but something I could have had education-wise. Don’t get me wrong, my parents gave me the best education that helps me think and ask questions like why and why not which I think is the only purpose of educating a person. To make people ponder on how and why the things work like they do- in short to get your thought process working is the purpose of education, rest is the easy road to travel. So today I’m going to state things I wish were different or that they were practiced when I was in school.

I wish we had more assistance from the education system for opting the correct career. Career is something one has to live with and for their entire life. It’s connected with the passion and desire that drives a person. To recognize such passion in young age where chatting on messaging platforms, hanging out with friends and being cool is more interesting than choosing the right career path is really difficult.

I wish that my school had more options than plain bland options like Commerce/ Science / Arts where we could choose individual subjects that entices us and venture more in self development of our inherent skills. A combined syllabus where I could learn physics along with literature and finance, rather than being defined by the stream of course that I have to opt.

I wish we had a Career Day somewhere in 7th/ 8th grade where people could guide us how we can transform our talents into career options and possible ways to pursue it. To know that there are different careers other than engineering, doctor, accountant or banking would have been a blessing and I bet there are many kids out there who are clueless about what they should pursue and worse cases are those who follow their friends or relatives’ career.

So for the parents, elder brothers and sisters, uncle-aunties... whoever is out there to care for the young minds of your family, help them find their passion. They might not know but they do need your guidance. Sometimes finding what their passion is difficult for kids because they don’t understand the depth of that word/ phrase.  Instead ask them to identify their favorite thing to do, something that gives them joy and for which they won’t mind taking time out from their schedules. For instance, Watching T.V is not a thing but loving to watch Witty advertisement can lead you to career option like making such ads. Search about it. Find out if it’s your cup of tea. If not then don’t fret, move on to another interest. You are too young and have enough time to stumble upon the correct one.

So I end my post by wishing you a good day and a very bright future ahead.

Have a quirky wicked day, readers !

Lost in time

Hey readers,

First of all, wish you very happy New Year readers and may you have a fulfilling year ahead. As the New Year begins, we like to reflect on the time in the past and this post does exactly the same thing.

Few days ago me and my nephew found an old toy truck- a companion of my early days of life and couldn't stop from reminiscing the things that I used to do at his age. While I was listing things, I realized he has neither done nor experienced those things and my best childhood memories are lost in time. It was difficult making him understand few things that he has never heard of or either seen. I suddenly had an urge to think about the things lost in time now...And here are few that were frequent items in my childhood.

Chocolate coins:

They used to be stored in a jar and just the sight of them awoke Alibaba in the kids and these coin chocolates became their treasure to be guarded with life whenever bought for them. Peeling the foil and eating them while smearing the face with chocolate!! It still does look like a treasure to unravel and teasing me sitting in this picture. I wonder where can I get a handful of these ! Yum !!

Tazo :

Now these were a huge craze in my time. They ruled the market before Bay-blades and Doremon. As far as I can remember they used to come as freebies in Cheetos. Collecting them with passion, sulking when got the same character and later exchanging it for a different one. But apart from this, the ultimate part was battle of Tazos, where if won, could earn tazo of the loser. Ah! Golden time!!!

Fountain pen:

I first held a fountain pen in my fifth grade, hand-down by my brother who told me to guard it with my life and as typical me I didn't ( still holding a grudge ! ). Writing with ink pen was so common those days. Men having a ink blotch near their pocket due to leak, ink in the pen finishing while we are half way through the exam papers and realizing we didn't bring a spare one, splashing ink on someone who coincidentally happened to be dressed in white (Yikes !!),etc were few most hilarious moment connected to it. I'm sure others might have had at least one of these experiences in firsthand

Cassette/ Walkman :

Before smart phones or mobile with FM were invented, these were the loyal companions of the commuters. Sometimes while listening to the songs, they would start sounding funny (the strip comes out of the cassette track) and the singer suddenly develops chipmunk voice!!

Mario/ Tank/ Shaktimaan/ Mowgli/ The Flinstones :

 These were my favorite summer pastime with my elder brother. We used to wait for my mom to leave for work and then sneak out these video games- mario & tank. I personally never liked tank, because I sucked at it and still do. But that was the fun part as I would challenge my brother for next day and the chain goes on. Mowgli and Shaktimaan were the only shows I used to watch on DD One channel. Mimicking Shaktimaan by spinning around with mom's red dupatta tied around the neck like cape and singing the intro song of Mowgli are the instant memories cropping up when remembering them.

Milton bottles:

The company is still working but they have changed the appearance of the bottles with the changing times. But I miss the bottles that we used to hang around our neck and used to have the cap of the bottle chained to the bottle itself. The image shown beside is the standard water bottle we used to carry in the school and due to identical bottles, our mothers would ink our name at bottom of the bottle or on its body. The best feature of these bottles was that they were handy in fights too as they were damn heavy with water filled in it.

Big babol/ Kismi/ Nutties/ Pop rocks candy :

Please note that mentioning these candies has nothing to do with my growling hunger!! These candies are not yet extinct in the market…Thank god for that ! But are not easy to get a hand on them. Recently I saw the advertisement of Kismi and I hope to find them in my nearby stores soon. In this list I have my favorite - POP ROCKS (hands-down winner!!). How can someone not love a candy that pop like crackers in your mouth? Must try list! If see any of these in the stores, do not hesitate to buy. You will love them- my guarantee!!

Personal letters :

This is the last one.

An emotional one.

I remember when I was 1st taught to write a letter, we were given homework in the following holidays to write one to our grandparents. I didn't post it as they lived within 10 minutes drive. But I did write a letter and handed it to them and they were so delighted. I can still remember their happy faces. I was so proud…Hehe... Innocent but proud. I cannot find kids doing these things anymore. I wonder why anyone wouldn’t want to see such faces lit with pure love and adoration anymore.

 Here is a short poem “How to write a letter “by Elizabeth Turner-

Maria intended a letter to write,

But could not begin (as she thought) to incite,

So went to her mother with pencil and slate,

Containing "Dear Sister," and also a date.

"With nothing to say, my dear girl, do not think

Of wasting your time over paper and ink;

But certainly this is an excellent way,

To try with your slate to find something to say.

"I will give you a rule," said her mother, "my dear,

Just think for a moment your sister is here:

And what would you tell her? Consider, and then,

Though silent your tongue, you can speak with your pen."

 You can always look back in past but do not dwell on changing the present in accordance to better times spent in the past. Because always remember if Cinderella went back to pick up her shoes, then she wouldn't have become a princess. 

On this emotional note, I take a leave and end my post here.

Until next time...

Have a quirky wicked day, readers!

P.S - Changed above line from 'have a wicked day, readers' to 'have a quirky wicked day, readers’. New Year resolution- Maintain originality. 

What's yours?