American Differences

Resuming on my long forgotten interest of writing, I decided to pen down some of the differences I have felt from living in US for last 8 months compared to my 21 years of stay in India.

Not denying on the facts, US indeed has its own different culture of freedom, modernity and privacy. It's a developed country and that's so apparent in the lifestyles of people here. I would like to list down some things that I've explored to be strangely different from my experiences of US (of course this comes coupled with the caveat that US is the first country I'm staying in for longer than 2 months, so I may be listing down some trivial observations, but believe me I felt so different with each of these) -

• In US almost every apartment and building is equipped with facilities to keep temperature inside uniform, whatever be the temperature outside, No instances of shivering in colds and no more sweating under the heated roof!!
• Cleanliness is respected; your surroundings are a lot more beautiful and it makes spending time with nature a lot of fun
• Even here, you see a lot of homeless people, begging for dollar or some cents. It's unfortunate that they form a big proportion in such a developed country as well
• In US almost everyone has a good sense of humor. I never remember talking to any native who with their expressions or funny statements didn't leave me smiling or laughing
• Here people do frequent potlucks- the form of everyone-brings-a-cooked-dish get together, and informal meet-ups.
• Almost everyone owns a car, and almost every trip is made using it. They have a bad public transit, just only a lot comfortable than one's in India. Not to forget that the trains are very costly
• People are very open about religion and very rational as well. Walking in campus you will spot more than dozen signs of some bible study groups or religious messages.
• People are more generous than you can expect in India; smiling at strangers and saying thank-you for even smallest of service is in everyday habits of people
• Some neighborhoods are not well lighted and some streets are very dark in the night; not to mention the safety issues with walking on these alone.
• People don't carry stereotypes. People don't inquire and don't judge you, based on where you are from or where you live or how you speak or blah.
• Students feel no curiosity in discussing grades or how professor marking scheme has been; you just don't compare to anyone else.
• Every kind of profession is well respected and everyone deals with every kind of work; it's never a surprise if your batch-mate turns out to be a part-time waiter at a restaurant you just visited. 
• Everything you expect to get done is done at a professional store. You no longer have small shops repairing your broken shoes or fixing your broken lamp.
• Custom of tipping the waiters is very strong; government officially has rules making customary for people to pay 10-15% of the bill as the tip
• Elementary and high schools here don't have a school dress, and students dress up whatever they want to wear
• Almost everyone has a pet; they have pet stores and not to forget the all-time-dedicated resorts for pets
• Shoes are the most common footwear. 95-99% of people you'll meet on streets, stores, parks and at work have shoes to cover their feet
• Students prefer pencils over anything else. It came out a surprising fact for me, that in US pencil is mandatory for all grades from K-12. Well writing in pencil has its distinctive advantage, and the worry of someone fudging up your answer to prove you wrong isn't existent either (not when you are aware about the serious consequences of not being ethical)
• People here are a lot open about their relationships and seem casual in discussing dating and boyfriend/girlfriend stuff with just anyone, not to forget the public displays of affection

The list has no order and all points were put as they kept coming on top of my head; I just needed to get the habit of writing going!!

I'll add more as I keep experiencing new stuff. :)

Quora kagaz tha yeh man mera

The title would depict very well what I am going to pen down before you. Indeed it's the extraordinary beauty of the new social platform, where I've started to spend most of my time nowadays- 'Quora'.

I don't quite recall how I became a part of it. It rather came as an advantage of being a part of 'aware circle of friends' on facebook. Initially it started with people sharing awesome lot answers given on some very relevant issues like that of 'women rape', 'corruption', to funny and unheard questions asked about being iitian etc. My curiosity to blend in the latest trend put me to explore this platform a bit. I still was quite untouched by it, until recently when I explored its application to its best through my android phone!!

I now am in total love with it. Whenever I am around free wifi or when I've no worries of losing my internet data (for this application eats up lots of MB), I embark upon my expedition to see how beautifully people answer to the questions which range from being all absurd to being really articulate. Sometimes the questions are the one that were right in your mind for years, but you didn't had that feeling to know its answer, until it's all in front of you. Many a renowned people on quora (whose answers usually hit upvotes in multiple of thousands), sometimes give us an altogether different perspective to 'life' in general. I mean the-big-successful-people in world talking about importance of small things or sharing there ideas on different topics, its just amazing!! It also gives us an opportunity to know what people around you feel about the things around you, especially an unknown perspective that your friend never shared with you.

What's most exciting about being on quora is you learn so much in tandem with having fun. I mean really some answers are damn witty and funny. The extraordinary spell that some answers cast on me, always take my thoughts back into deep thinking, as to really how big this world is!!
If not amazed I'm always left with a smile on my face everytime I spend some time on Quora.

So if ever in future I'm a totally changed person to what you have known me before, you can attribute some of its credit(or blame) to this best ever Q/A platform. ;)

PS : I still don't answer questions on quora, for which I feel requires lot of preparedness, but ya I'm gradually adapting and breaking that shell out. You can read my first answer here.

Nothing spoken out

Its not that I forgot I have this hobby of writing.
Its also not that I like my blog to look blank and bereft.

There are so many things to speak about.
So many indeed.

I have many a pending drafts not yet published.
I have many a feelings not yet expressed.

So what stops me everytime?
The excuse of Limited time.
The excuse everyone pushes forth for their defeat
The excuse that differentiates people.

Is there something to take a lesson about?
Well ya -
Balance.

24 Hours is what we have
And what interests us should never be excluded out of those.

I need to fill it up for - 'Nothing spoken out'
Promise Indeed!!

--period--

Midsem fever

The midsems are on,

And so is the feeling of why that happens everytime?

I'm referring to the last minute cramming and rigor that goes at place. You will find almost everyone from people who love sticking tight to their pillows and skipping morning classes, to ones who have been attentive and regular in every class, bruising their heads through the vast syllabus, some of the courses hand over to us. And of course I'm no exception to that.

Obviously scoring high is the priority and one would never want to waste any moment to gain maximum to their knowledge, that they can spill out in the paper waiting hours ahead of them. But this happening every time and with every single paper, used to make me ponder - 'Is this meant to be essential for our survival or have the purpose of education got deviated a bit'?

Talking of purpose of education- we can conclude its all subjective.The relative importance we want to give to things varies a lot with the background and atmosphere we sustain.So deviation from purpose is so out of question.

But even with its global aim of creating skilled workforce,we are never been put off. We in effect are honing our skills to deal with situations at last minute. It may show our inadequacy to prepare well for things, but in effect its not. As I delved deeper, I just found people have important things to work at,which tend to make them more proficient and thoughtful. The courses and setting are there to teach us basics of topics, which either way we will get to learn. And after all the state will be all same after 10 long years because you no longer will require or remember intricate details of these courses, and the basic overview will still be there in picture.

 

So if the purpose is still holding intact then why bug ourselves for semester long studies?

Am I against working hard throughout??Well, no. I just mean if we are to educate ourselves at things we are good at and make better citizens of our country, we just need to find best out of every moment for improving ourselves. 

The midsems are on.

And so is the feeling of why that happens everytime?

But now I can feel happy and proud seeing people cramming and struggling hard at last minute,Coz they say 'Life begins at the end of your comfort zone' and midsems have just questioned our comforts.. :D

PS: Its my soil mechanics paper tomorrow and I just hope my skills comes out to its best :P

Lessons on Travel

Whenever I get a chance to travel by trains, I prefer journey in sleeper, over all other options. Of course it is cheaper but it offers me something more than just saving of money.
The diversity of people I meet in a single journey of , say 24 hours , in sleeper class, extend far more than the  people I get to know in like 1-2 months of my usual life, making me delve deeper into the humongous composition of Indian society.

Sleeper class
(:P)

Well if you are really there to judge the adversities, you will find things going so out of bounds of your acceptance.The crowd will take your breath away at first. The number of people having their tickets in waiting exceed much more than the number of seats even available. Then the cleanliness raped to its worst adds a cherry on the pudding. Then the small kids screaming out of their lungs, beggars and transgenders seeking money out of every pocket, walkways all blocked by people sitting throughout - all can worsen your life like those were 24hrs spent in hell. And not to forget the luggage occupying every possible left space in the bogies.

All will definitely make you feel like Sleeper is worst place to spend a time in,for a journey.

But there is a good side of things that I tend to enjoy and be happy about.
First is with seeing people in such squabble, living so perfectly with their lives. A whole family of 6 might be having just one seat under their name, but the happiness they possess makes me think that its not just the adaptive attitude of us, but the courage to deal with every possible situation in life, is what that make us Indians stronger. The fighting spirit is in our bloods but you simply need a moment to trigger it up.
Next is with the helping nature of people. I mean you'll see people sitting everywhere like 4-5 minimum on a seat, but none complaining about the other.Not just sitting quiet, people really move ahead to help others to their best. You'll find cool exceptions to this everywhere with arrogance of people in place, but I still appreciate the optimism and servility majority of them possess, especially the poor(I mean ones not with great lifestyle) - they are far more generous and helpful.
Next on place are the vendors moving now and then. You can see people from every possible age toning in their special voices, striding their ways ahead to earn a living. Nature's ferocity, be it chilling cold or scorching heat or flooding rain, doesn't seem to put them down. Nothing can be awe inspiring other than their hard work.

Then I also get to see the  real problems crippling India at its bottom that I learn from the discussions of people around. I see problems like superstitious influence on ideas of people leading to terrible decisions, the inadvertent attitude of corruption setting from bottom, the strong patriarchal hold crushing women in societies, children been served with utmost negligence at health and education etc. They really get me to wonder -'How will India make ways of development out of this?'

Howsoever troublesome, journey in sleeper class brings back in me the feeling of humanity and patriotism. Its more practical and lively than sitting in an AC coach with your curtains closed and music on.I just wish greater minds of our country took step forth to improve lives of millions of us struggling hard for their livings.
Hope is all I have in the end!! 

A visit to Paradise - J&K

Well I am not into describing entirety of the 5 days journey we had to Jammu and Kashmir (of which it would take 5-6 pages), but I'll just brief down the wonderful memories that have left their imprint on me. 

We(6 of us) started on the trip on 27th of november just the day our endsems bade farewell to us. Ofcourse born out of the excitement and enthusiasm, we didn't really care how it went. We took off by train to NewDelhi where we had to change back the train that took us to Jammu-Tawi. Thanks to the all time waiting status saga of seats in Indian railways, we could get some time to spare in the busy but alluring streets of New Delhi (where I had never been before), speaking of which I really found the place amazing. I don't know if the way that our Taxi took was through some specifically big posh area, but the greenery around the roads , the peacefulness of less heavy traffic  and holding & banners so aptly put up , really took me in an awe - "Mumbai is loads worst than this".

Whatever be the scene, we reached Jammu on 29th morning 11am . Our train was 3 hours late but all we could do was nothing (later we realized many of ours plans got ruined just coz it got 'late' at many a places). We took off for Katra in a bus, took a hotel for rent, relaxed in our rooms for a while and then tightened our belts to climb on the 12kms for the darshan in the holy shrine of Maa vaishno devi. I should mention like it started to rain when we reached Katra making us ponder 'What'll we do in such cold and wet', but fortunately it didn't rain anywhere later (I am not counting snow as rainfall :P ).

While climbing all up to 'bhavan' the thing that stuck me the most was the courage that people had to reach the temple. I could see old people over 50yrs age striding their way ahead, then parents with their children on back,  small kids with their small lathis- all moving forth the stony ways of the climb, which I should mention were so painful that even youths(not per se) like me had to pause and gasp badly for breath every half a km. And then the spirit of people, humming the word 'Jai mata di' all way long, did put a smile on my face - "India indeed has some things so unique with its sentiments".
We had the darshan around 11:30pm, then climbed another 2hrs to Bhaironath and then rolled back down to hotel by 5am. Return journey was pain in the hell, which I had never really imagined. Our knees had all given up :P.

Next day around 2pm we took off for srinagar hiring a package worth 11k INR that was supposed to take us through Srinagar, Gulmarg, Patni-top and places around. Sitting in the back seat of the Tavera moving up through the ups and downs & turns and rounds of the roadway, I could see the wondrous mountains, valleys and stretch of forests. It was indeed breathtaking with music at play in background. Pages from my past started flipping back and all I could do was let myself go free at that. 
We reached in srinagar around 9pm and the cold there froze our soul. But again seeing the people serving at dhabas move so efficiently through this, all I could do was hats off to the kashmiri spirit.

Me at Gulmarg

Next day off to Gulmarg was the most amazing one where we touched and lived the snow for first ever time along with great experience of skiing,sledging and rolling in it. Skiing, ought to mention, was the most difficult of all. I mean we were sweating literally like we had run 10's of kms, just around 10 min of doing it. 'People say it takes 1 month of training to learn so & then even the slope wasn't that good'- excuse we took back for not doing well :P.

Last visiting places were 'dal lake' and 'Adi-shankarcharya temple' which were awesome as ever. Dal lake especially was marvelous with shikaras & house-boats and markets floating so well over it, like it was another world set apart. We couldn't visit parks and other scenic places for which kashmir is famous, been bound in time limits(owing to traffic issues where a small accident can block the roads for hours & our laziness to move out of beds in such cold). The shredded leaves made 'The Green tunnel' look not as good as what some images assure.
Night stay on 2nd of dec at Patni-top was unforgettable. The cold there made our laptops, mobile and watches freeze to work anymore.
The ride back to Jammu next morning was again great with views so lively as paradise (won't mention the music & slipping back of memories again :P ). We took off to Amritsar on 3rd noon but owing to traffic again, we couldn't visit any a place there :( . Then what! Back in trains to our home :) 

The trip was indeed the brightest of the visits I ever had anywhere else.None of rumors of bomb blasts or curfews put us off. The all time helping nature of people in Kashmir really was unforgettable (especially our driver- respect!!). And then the Police force and the patriotic messages put around- woke back my feeling of serving the nation to its best.
 What I took back was more than the things I purchased, indeed much more. :)

Music back again

Its not the only Thing to what I normally tend to put myself into but again after  long I've decided i'll share some songs that with their beats just keep me mesmerized and make me forget all the worries that ever try to put me down. This is just a small list, yet a must hear for anyone who hasn't heard them yet. So here they are :-

1) The One That Got Away 

An awesome song by Katy perry. I like especially the part where she shows extraordinary emotions of regret of the past.
 It kind of reflects the feeling that true love never really dies and the willingness shown by her to be his 'Girl' in another life where they will be together as 'Us' against the world, is extraordinary.
Plus given that katy herself wrote(or contributed in writing) the song, I can't stop myself but to salute her.


2) Dare you to move

Another excellent sequence by Switchfoot. Rhythmic beats on guitar and drums as usual have portrayed a brilliant combination. Imagination will delve beyond the limits, Feet will lift in agitation, Constraints will be thrown away, Emotions will surpass their bonds - This is what this song assures.

Inspirational at its words it makes us realize that even though the world expects a lot from us, its we who have to "Dare to move" ahead of life.

" May be redemption has stories to tell, Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.. Salvation is Here!! " 

3) The Reason

Entertaining and Thought provoking. Video Further adds on to the fervour. The song is about the apologies a man wants to make to the girl of his life. He wants to take away all her pains and bury her sadness, by changing himself as he has found his reason to start over new.

On the canvas of my imagination I paint somewhere the love and affection that this song holds.

"I've found a reason to show .. the side of me u didn't know..

A reason for all that I do.. And the reason is You !! " 

4) We found Love

One of excellent song by Rihanna. Her voice is so awesome and especially with the context of this song, it has just grown out of bounds.
Video content might be bit repugnant for some (explanation for 38000 dislikes over 300 million likes), but the feel is just great.
Song describes feeling of a girl who is bereft of her love and about her hopelessness. Lyrics portray so much about our lives too, when we feel the same loss of hope and love,
These lines just take it all away -

"It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny.. But I gotta let it go!!"

5) Ours 

A song that describes the realities of our life. A typical office girl worried over how her colleagues make fun of her and her love life, but gaining strength from the feeling that nothing matters to the world outside you.
Its only what you portray yourself, that comes out to you - better resembled in the video. Just love what a wonderful job Taylor swift has done.

"Don't you worry your pretty little mind.. People throw rocks at things that shine.. But they can't take what's Ours.. Stakes are high.. Water is Rough, But this love is 'Ours'."

I appreciate hindi songs equally well and even more of other english songs, but these are some of few I can keep listening to forever (not literally though :P ).