Tell You What?

My Latest Obsession

2009-10-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

I've been spending an awful lot of time on Facebook. Not to chat, or to do anything else, but to use a facebook application. (FV - hint, hint, hint! Still don't get it? Read on)

Everyday, in class, it is very common that people have this kind of conversation:

A: Oh shit! Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot!

B (frantically): What?! What did you forget?

A: My strawberries!

B: Your what?

A: S-T-R-A-W-B-E...

B: I know strawberries. But what about it?

A: My three rows of strawberries, I planted them last night in my farm-

B: Lalalalal! I don't want to hear. Lalalala.

Oh yeah its this bad. (STILL didn't get it? Fine. I'll tell you.)

For all the clever always - facebooking people, you're right. Its Farmville. (Still have no idea? Check this out). It's so crazy, that my sister finds it very thrilling to choose the seeds I want to grow and harvest my crops. *cough - cough - So does my mom- cough - cough*. *cough - cough - I - think - cough - cough*

My dream farm!

I know, you'll have to play the game to understand what I'm saying.But seriously, this is what I've been doing all day. I'm going to Delhi for a vacation. I know. I can't help but not play this extremely addictive game. Are you crazy? There is no way I won't be. I will find a way, by hook or crook!

So, I told my best friend in Delhi to get ready to face a major FarmVille addict, and to keep her computer on even at 3 am. Oh, yeah, its this addictive. Manav (the guy mentioned in the earlier post) plants a whole field of rice at 7am, goes home at lunch, harvests his strawberries, and when he finally goes HOME, he harvests his pumpkins and milks his cows. Then an hour later he harvests his rice, and just before going off to sleep, he sows his bell peppers. Oh, he's not the only one who does, that everyone in our class does it. Yeah, they do. No, really don't roll your eyes. I'm not exaggerating. Even a little.

Why? Whaddaya mean why?

Fine. I'll tell you why. Check it out yourself. You'll be amazed at how true I am.

The Last Vacation

2009-10-09T04:16:00.000-07:00

"Manav Mehrotra! Shut your book and stop cribbing!"

"Ma'am, please consider waht I said. Please don't give us holiday homework , this is our last vacation!!"

"What rubbish! How the hell is it your last vacation? Don't argue!"

"Ma'am see, its very simple. After this the boards. Then 11th and 12th! and then college!! And then Life and then WIFE!!!!"

And after this we were laughing for the rest of the day, imitating him. But when I came back and looked back at his conversation, I figured that he was right. We had to turn really serious this time. The first Semester was just our warning! It is practically our 'The Last Vacation'...

So much for being responsible. *Sigh*

Till then -

I Think I'm Growing Old!

2009-10-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

or ?

I think I'm growing old. Correction, close to dead. Yeah, you must think that this is very random, and I'm probably just going crazy because I haven't been blogging for over a month, I guess. But no, I'm perfectly sane, if you see, really I am (ignore the obvious insanity that is reflected through my blogs).

I have a logical explanation (for the first time - Standing Ovation please!) to why I think so.

1. I keep forgetting everything. By everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I forget what Maggi is called, I forget my best friend's mane, I forget my teacher's mane, the subject he teaches, and what's more? To defend myself, I call it makings of the next Newton. (Me, physics, Newton? Ha Ha. Joke of the day!

2. I have a strand of white hair or two, once or twice. The first time I had it, my mother rushed me to the doctor. Even I don't understand that.

3. I don't think like people of my age should. Like, for instance, when I read a story or see a movie, I analyze each character to every inch of its soul, and when I'm satisfied about my analysis, I write an essay in the character. Something I guess which is freakishly nerdy.

4. I surprisingly, prefer the Archies' songs to Linkin Park's. Yes, I would prefer Sugar Sugar or Get on the Line for Love any day to New Divide or maybe even any Metallica songs. Honestly I think Metallica is absolute ~~rubbish~~ CRAP!!!

5. I get hit by this sudden wave of nostalgia at times. Hey! Nostalgia is only for old people, and people who just cannot get over something. I always go around telling people: Move on man! Get over with it - just let go. Ok, not all of than together, but you get the tasveer.

6. I blog. Not only about my daily life, and in perfectly readable English, but also with a sensible template, font and no pictures with heartbreak in them. Or any sort of Manga. People have to actually check my profile to see if I actually have just started off with my teenage years (Read Sakshi). And I have the best vocabulary in my class, probably better than some of my readers too. (Warning: This is not a challenge. I'm just saying for the sake of y'know...saying. So please do not sue me.)

7. I crave for comments. I feel like reading Shakespeare at times. I get 43 as my real age on a FaceBook quiz. What else do you want?

Oh Boy, Ain't I an Old Soul!

What A Let - Down!

2009-09-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

All this week, I was really excited about our trip to Jaipur. This would be my second trip to Jaipur, but last time I had been to Jaipur, I could remember was my awesome Camel ride, and that I had chicken pox. So, this should be an exciting trip right?

Our teachers very gravely warned us to have low expectations when it came to fun, because we were going to an educational trip. Hell yeah, educational trip. We interpreted it as two hours of writing about some rubbish an the last day, or preferably in the train, or the station when we're returning. Who cares?

The first day, every one was very excited when we got our itinerary. Apart from the 5:30 AM wake up call and only 15 minutes to shower, the rest of the plan was PERFECT. We started to discuss what we would wear, what we should wear, its a big difference you see. What would we do, where we would go, and the biggest, what we would eat!*

As the week rolled by, we had to go through a reality check. We figured that to finish 5 projects, we would have to stay up late even in Jaipur, and would have to spend lesser time gossiping, moaning, teasing and *sigh* we would not have the shower for ourselves for half an hour - I know, its shocking!

We have 5 projects to do, History, Geography, Maths, English and Hindi. Aaah!

Well, I guess this is the negative side to the Jaipur trip. Also, if anyone knows anything about Keshari Singh Champawat and Gopal Singh Kharawa, please email me.

This is how I learnt my Hindi... and got such pathetic marks

2009-09-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Recently, my exams got over. Giving the exams were hard, but preparing for them was much much harder. I thought posting a few of my hindi notes, as I had taken them down on my notebook, would be fun, because they come with a twist...

हनुमान पर एक टिप्पणी लिखें
पवनपुत्र हनुमान राम भक्त थें. He was 1 of the main characters in the Ramayana. He is worshipped as a very महान सेवक even today. He had considered Sitaji his mother (मातुल्य माना था) He went to her with a message from her husband - Ramji. By playing a major role in the राम - रावण युद्ध, he completely दहनed the city of Lanka. He was very साहसी और बुद्धिमान.

राधा पर एक टिप्पणी लिखिए
सुशील - समझदार नारी. Educated and capable housewife. दूर्दर्शी Radha is an आदर्श पात्र in this एकांकी. She is an intelligent, सुशील woman who wants to keep मधुर relations with her husband's family. Radha's dialogue " बेटियाँ तो सबकी साँझी होतीं हैं" shows that she considers her देवर's daughter like her own. She warns her husband to stay away from Raghuraj. Against her husband's wishes, she goes to Kishan Singh's house to give Lakshmi her wedding gift. She's आर्थिक and a गुणों का भंडार. Only women like Radha can save a बिगड़ता घर.

Gosh! Even they're telling me!

रघुराज पर टिप्पणी लिखिए:

Villain
A complete निगोड़ा, as Radha says. (Raghuraj was a jerk, and an idiot)
Narrow बुद्धि - ed.
Thinks that औरतs should always know their औकात and be डराओed - धमकाed so they don't dance on your सर.
Put fire to Mangal Singh's Factory, and hence betrayed him.
In short, local trouble-maker.

Ishita

Waiting

2009-09-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

I stared at the clock, out of sheer habit. I'd been doing that since the past half hour or so.

Five minutes left.

My wait seemed endless. I could not stand it. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Four minutes and thirty seconds. Sigh.

Concentrate on something else. Something other than the time, something you can see, something you can hear, I told myself. The distant noise in the background. Think about that. I didn't mind the noise anymore. I was attuned to it. The noise was a habit for me now. It happened everyday.

15 seconds had passed. Whoever said this was true. Thought, not light is the fastest thing on Earth.

I looked at the sheets of paper in front of me. And the two blue coloured books. I was really hoping that they would miraculously reduce to ashes, probably because someone set fire on the them.

Three minutes.

I took a swig of coke from the bottle I was holding. I was growing more impatient by the minute. Correction, impatient by the second, because it was too bad that the minutes were going too slow. They were slower than the people on the movies who run, more of crawl, in slow mo when they try to catch a gun falling from the sky - so they can kill a maniac.

Now, I have thought enough (crap). I'm so darn sure. I know it is. I look at the clock again. Its just been 42 seconds? What the hell? I cannot believe this. There has to be something wrong with the stupid machine.

A chill ran down my spine. I was cold. I tried to imagine myself in a nice, sunny and warm place. Probably Delhi. The Delhi summers, of course. Delhi is a place I still miss. It is a place full of colours, culture, art and architecture of all kinds, the largest variety of people, and my favourite, full of mouth watering Punjabi food.

Smiling inwardly, I looked at the clock again. 30 seconds left! Wow. The time had suddenly started flying, to my great amazement.

Twenty seconds.

I was bursting with joy, in a matter of a few seconds, I would...

Ten

Nine

Eight

I can't wait, I can't wait. I realized that everyone around me too was looking at the clock.

Five

Four

Three

Two

One...

There was a shrill, loud noise. And in the room I was if there were decible meters in our room, they would probably break. Not because of the short shrill noise, but because the distant buzz in the background had gone up some 100 octaves.

Phew. Finally. Now I can fly, soar, jump, walk, run. Whatever I want to. For the next 3 months.

I was saved by the bell. School's Out!

Ishita

Mission Impossible : Accomplished!

2009-09-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

YES!

My since-after-the-summer-vacations-six-month-plan worked!!!! Oh let me rewind. I promised myself that I would completely win my English teacher. Like I always did, in some lucky cases, the teacher turns up to be either:

Bengali, like me. So she's got that soft corner.
Gullible
Both

This has always been very easy. I make sure that my first 10 impressions are perfect. And the first 3 jobs she gives me.

But as luck had it, we got EXCELLENT teachers. Oh yes 2 teachers. But who can refuse a challenge? One of them was Bengali, but there was absolutely no soft corner, because she's not the partial kind and she didn't know I was a Bengali too.

Our second and my favourite teacher was not Bengali, or gullible. And she was probably the best teacher our school had seen so far. What's more? On her first day, she told us that she forgot names very easily. That would be another challenge. But I WILL NOT GIVE UP.

I tried the usual 'behaved child' methods. Not working. One day, I had a dream. There, I heard someone. She said whoever that someone was: "You have to by the carrots on the way home. You have to be an orchid, and most importantly you have to show your teacher you potential to make her like you." Half of it does not make sense, but I went for it. I was present for every single class of hers, I wrote down notes, did her subjects really well, and what not. I tried to top the class in a test. But SN, maintained her position and would not budge.

So, by winning the spelling bee contest, and God knows what not, I finally came into her line of sight. I did a Gk quiz, where my GK is zero. I did another spelling bee. I even did a CMUN thing.

So now I can proudly say, Mission Accomplished!

Ishita

I'll Tell You Why We're So Impatient!

2009-09-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

I came up with a very very very frustrating chain of events recently. And I figured that this can not happen ANYWHERE but in India.

1. I needed Passport size photographs for my registration for some registration in school. So, I went to the Photo place, to get instant photos, which BTW, as the name suggests, is supposed to be instant. When I asked for it, they promptly sent me to the studio. They clicked my pic within the next 30 seconds. Fine. Then they told me to return for the 'Instant photo' 25 minutes later. Great. I said I'd be back in 10 mins time. Then, I did come back after 10 minutes. They stirred, and then reluctantly agreed. So, they started with some stuff. They printed a girl's photo, but that girl was not me. This took them approx 10 mins. Then they realized that I was shooting them dirty looks, and so they started printing another passport sized photo. Phew! Finally. And then the photo that got printed was some ugly looking woman's ARRRGGGHHH!!!! Then they finally did. I wish I was working. With some money on hand, I could sue them.

2. When I came home, I wanted to see a movie online. And this is what it said:

Ooops! No cookie was found.

You need to submit your email to our sponsor before viewing this media. Please click here to do so, then refresh the page.

I had to fill in some 8 sign up forms, and then they said that,

Sorry, this movie is not available for your country. Please come back later and check. Thank You. Sorry for the inconvenience.

And I felt like beating up the computer with a bat.I logged in for some stupid Shaadi. com, Naukri.com and god knows what not?

3. I had to get something printed in my school for my teacher, and for that, I had to use the printer in the staff room. The printer kept saying:

What can get better? Then I had to go to the technician, and try and get it fixed, but did he even try, Oh of course he did, he did his very best, and observed every minute detail, 30 minutes later. I had missed my Science class, plus, the technician could not figure out the defect. He actually gets paid? Even a rupee?!

This is why we get impatient. Airtel calls us what they really like to call, an 'Impatient Generation'. See for yourself.

(For the record, some of their broadband services are pretty darn slow)

Ishita

Two Words: EXAMS SUCK!!!!

2009-08-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

I know I told you guys that I won't blog for at least 2 whole weeks, but sorry, I just could not resist. Al though I don't have anything to write about, I'll tell you what I do from morning to night:

6:00 : Mom's 1st attempt to wake me up.

6:30 : Second attempt.

6:45 : I finally wake up.

7:00 : Go in for a shower.

7:30 : Come out for a nice, long bath.

7:30 : Eat and study simultaneously.

8:00 : Leave for school, with textbook in hand.

8:15 : Study. study, study and go in to a state of panic.

11:00 : Finish one exam.

11:30 : Start second exam.

2:00 : Finish second exam.

3:00 : After a lot of lazing around, finally start studying again...

(With breaks in the middle of course)

11:00 : Stop studying. Go off to sleep.

This is what my room looks like!

P.S: Guys, do you like my the font? Its the exact copy of my writing!

Ishita

Rukavat Ke Liye Khed Hai

2009-08-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

I will be 'temporarily out of service' for 2 weeks. I have my exams coming up, so, I can't write. Or even think about writing for that matter. So, the petty number of people following me, Sorry for the inconvinence.

Honesty Is The Best Policy (and I'm running out of ideas)

2009-08-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

My very first award, given to me by The Ultimate Blogger - Sujata. Thank you so, so much. I didn't write about it because I didn't know what to do with the award. Now I do, I have to tell my bloggers 10 things they don't know about me.

1. I am very bad at mixing with people. It took me a span of 6 years to find a steady friend.

2. I have read more books than most of the people in my class. I read around 20 - 30 books a year, on the minimum.

3. My favourite subject is English, bio and... maths.

4. Nobody ever told me how to operate the computer, or any gadget for that matter. I know this is rubbish, but I'm running out of ideas.

5. Someone invariably reads my diary every time I keep one. So, I'm going to have a picture of an apple on it and write 'Forbidden Fruit'. (Any ideas for the next one? or for that matter 5 more?)

6. I will eat anything that comes in my way (food only) unless it is fish, karela and beetroot, and at times pumpkin too.

7. I have all negative inheritances - glasses from my mom, migraine from my dad, Asthma from my mom, and the tendency to gain weight from my dad. Way to go, Murphy's Law.

8. I tried to condition my hair with ketchup once.

9. I'm a hot tempered person. And I tend to shed tears when I get really mad - and manage never to com across with my point.

10. I like the word schizophrenic a lot. And I use 'dude' too often with my friends.

P.S : This counts a lot, remember, especially since I'm going to be famous.

Aaaahhh!! I'm Famous!!!

2009-08-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

I AM FAMOUS!!!

Some reporter just interviewed me for the COVER STORY of the newspaper! Please don't ask me what it is about, because I have no clue. But amazingly, that girl, tracked me down, the school I go to, my address, my telephone number too!

Man, I am a hot topic!

This is about some survey I wrote ages and ages and ages back, about Bombay, so people get to know it better, not only as just a city of slums. I sent a copy to same minister also, via my school. (And all this while mom had absolutely no idea!).

And here I am being called by a reporter for the cover story! I'll post the link as soon as I get it. Till then, I can just dream about it in my math class.

Watch out Time, DQ, Vogue, Business Times and what not - Here I come!!!!

P.S: I'm still saving up for those ray bans though, up there - it'll complete my famous image.

The 'Tops the class' tag

2009-08-20T06:14:00.000-07:00

There was a collective gasp in the room. Everyone was staring wide-eyed at the bespectacled girl, in front of us.

She was trying very hard to remember what she was saying. You could see it.

There were still whispers and murmurs in the room. "Oh no! This is not possible! No her!"

Suddenly, a twinkle of awareness, showed up in her eyes... (is that right grammar? I think not)

Everyone looked visibly relieved, the girl herself did too.

This is SN, the topper of our class. She gets above 95 in every damn subject - even in Marathi. Marathi! Even though she's a Bengali. From the outside, she looks all sweet, but from the inside, she a fierce tigress. She aims at people, her potential threats, and shoots them down. Or pulls them down. And simultaneously lifts herself up. That's almost criminal.

Recently, I've been one of her targets. Not that I score really, really, well to be honest - I'm just average. But the day I beat her in a spelling bee contest and another science test - she had her eyes on me.

I had been really close friends with her about a year back, but then I moved, so I was no longer staying close, and we drifted apart. But while I was staying with her, I figures that the 'tops the class' tag given to her was not right - she deserved it of course, but that tag also came with a certain amount of annoyance, irritation (hope you know what I mean) from the rest of the people. Which she did not deserve. Circumstances, had forced her to become that way. Not her fault, really.

So, I've dedicated this post to her. I hope people get to know her better.

Kamini, oh sorry Kaminey

2009-08-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

So, one day I was watching some TV - the news - for further updates about the swine flu. And one of those really irritating ads came up. It was some stupid Tyra Banks like show, called On The Couch With Koel featuring Shahid Kapoor. This was supposed to be one of his interviews. The hostess, Koel said:

"So, Shahid, you know what, all the kids who are under 10, have been constantly talking about you next movie - Kaminey. Ironically, they call it Kamini!"

And I couldn't help but roll on the flor laughing. KAMINI!!! That has to be the joke of the year.

Ayushi, looking very annoyed said," Hahaha. Very funny. Stop laughing! Even I thought it was Kamini."

I immediately stopped laughing. I blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. And then I laughed and laughed till (a) My stomach hurt (b) My jaw hurt and (c) my mom looked away fom the monitor (hey that's a big thing - she's so engrossed in blogging that she never notices a thing) (d) my dad got really really annoyed (e) I was almost out of breath.

I still tease my sister about this, but (habits don't rub over each other just when you're married) I've started calling it Kamini too. Sigh.

I also really wanted to post this video. It's huge in India, and apparently in the nightclubs all across the world too!

A Forgotten World

2009-08-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

We had a History activity in class a week back. We were given a set of 6-8 pictures, and were supposed to imagine our own civilization. WOW! But, we came to know later, that we were supposed to be graded for this. So, no fooling around. It was suppose to be done in a group. So, I teamed up with my best friend, Aishvarya, and 2 other classmates (Referred to as C1 and C2).

So we, had 2 periods' time. And lunch. Anyway, all of us sat around a table, and started discussing. We analyzed the 6 pictures we had, not knowing where to begin. All of them were very vague, so we gave up and started to think of a name for our civilization. A name... something unique, umm... I realized, that Aishvarya and I were the only ones thinking. C1 and C2 were just joking around.

RRRINGGGG!!!!

The bell rang. C1 and C2 looked immensley relieved. Saved by the bell kind of look. They quickly said 2 words of apology and promised to contribute. Later. Well, I guess we would have to wait then. So, after a nice cheese sandwich, we went to meet another BFF of ours, Srishti. She told us about her project and the name. 'The Emerald Civilization'. Pretty cool huh? What's more, she also made up a cool story:

Thousands of years ago, The Earth was not the way it looks like now, (not in the obvious way) instead of rocks, there were emeralds. All was well, until, one day, the Floods came. Huge waves from the ocean devoured the land and all its people. Only 11 survived... just enough to keep the human species endangered, not extinct. Now, if you look at the clean ocean, what you see is green water, and guess why? Because the emeralds are still there somewhere underneath.

DING!!! That's the light bulb going over our heads - Aishvarya's and mine... in sync, like always.

Our pictures looked like people back then were really into arts and architecture. So we could name the project - 'The Emporium Of Magic'!!!

So, all we need was the rest of our team - who were by the way, missing. How frustrating. We decided to take the matter in our own hands. We sat down in a corner and started writing about our forgotten world...

(Sorry it isn't the same picture, tried very hard to find)

Pic 1: This shows a temple in construction. Next to the construction site, is a water body. There are 2 ships which were used for transportation. The ships were used to transport supplies, food for the water and often also carried slaves. Slavery was prominent in that area and were used to build pyramids. The people were very clever and used cubes for the building of a pyramid like structure.

Pic 2:This is the map of the city. A city plan with landmarks and a water body around. Also, this shows ships and intricately drawn land - which shows that the people knew the art of cartography very well. Here, a compass is also shown. The use of paper should also be noted.

Pic 3: This is the king which in that era was a representative of God on Earth. We deduce that this is a king because he is wearing an elaborately decorated crown, which is a sign of aristocracy. Also, he is wearing earrings, and bracelets on each wrist. His posture and jewellery, combined, tells us that he was an important person of that era.

Pic 4:This tells us about the fact that they had scripture and presented it on a slab of stone, which is not severely broken. We believe that they used hard metal to write on slabs.

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Pic 5: These are the remains of the assembly hall. The assembly hall was the place where the people of the city wold meet and discuss various issues. The civilization had some extremely diligent city planners. This is proved by the structure of the assembly hall, which has passed the test of time and still stands tall.

Pic 6: You can see the picture here. The people were greatly influenced by music and dance. They knew the use of various instruments (namely reed instruments) like the flute. They also knew the art of pottery, and made ceramic pots, and also painted them.

'The Emporium of Magic was an era of culture at its best. Where people had faith in innovation and new ideas were invited, and most of the time, put to force.

The King was believed to have mystical powers. He was the representative of God, and would help his subjects bu summoning the Gods in the time of plight.

There were talented bronze smiths and goldsmiths. Heavy ornaments were worn by the rich, whereas the poor wore shell, bone and ivory jewellery. Simple pieces of cloth tied in a complex manner were worn by both man and women.

Dance and music was considered an outlet of all their fatigue and exhaustion after a day's work.'

Return With Gladness Good For Evil Done

2009-08-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've recently been reading a book called 'My Experiments With Truth'. It is Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography. He mentioned there, a poem that had really inspired him throughout his life, it was one originally written in Gujarati, but here is the translation:

For a bowl of water give a goodly meal;

For a kindly greeting bow thou down with zeal;

If thy life be rescued life do not withhold.

Thus the words and actions of the wise regard;

Every little service tenfold thy reward.

But the truly noble know all men as one

And return with gladness good for evil done.

This poem has not failed to inspire me either and it is one, I really liked. Please tell me your opinions about it.

Step Up 2 The Streets - Final Dance

2009-07-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

This was shown to us in my dance lessons. Some of you may not like it, but I've been dying to post this.

Influence

2009-07-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

5 authors that influence me... Hmmm... 5 books...

DING! A bulb over my head suddenly turns on - something infrequent ;)

So, let me begin. (I'll be starting from 5 then go to 1. My grammar classes finally worked. I studied climax and anticlimax for A YEAR)

5. Judy Blume: Undoubtedly, she has influenced me. She writes about everyone and everything. Best friends, the conflicts in a girl's mind about religion(Are you there God, its me Margaret), divorce, break ups, growing up, a model's life, earning, everything.

4.Meg Cabot: Yeah, she writes extremely superficial stuff, most of them about boys and girls and WDW and illicit relationships, blah blah, blah. Its nice for reading just when you finished a very serious book. Also, she can be an excellent writer. Just as deep as anyone else, but I suppose she writes most of superficial books for public demand.

3.Nicholas Sparks: This writer is awesome. I have absolutely no clue how he writes such books. Amazing. You laugh and cry at the same time. Yes, aloud. I was reading A Walk To Remember in class when I stated crying in this really sad part, people thought I was crazy. I've read The Notebook, The Wedding (sequel to The Notebook) and Guardian, and I could not stop reading till I finished the book. He is a gem of a writer. Really, do yourself a favor, and read Nicholas Sparks if you haven't yet. Please.

2.Carolyn Keene: I know I'm too old to read Nancy Drew, but it has made the biggest impact any book, no, any thing has ever made in my life. I have a huge collection of Nancy Drew book, and I've finished reading all of them (the whole series I mean).

1.Stephenie Meyer: Ah, the inevitable. How could I ever forget HER? The brilliant author of the Twilight Series, a person who can't not be on the teen's list. For one thing I would like to thank her about is for increasing my vocab. Every time I read a book of hers I need to sit down with a dictionary by my side. In a few days time, I was reading the dictionary. People would ask me what book I am reading, I would say, the dictionary.And people would politely smile and say that they had to complete some notebook, and walk out of the scene in a hurry.

I know I'm breaking the rules, this is the zeroeth author:

JK Rowling: I may never have liked her, or admitted so. I may never have wanted to buy her books even when they came fresh into the bookstores, hardcover and my be costing a fortune - still I was offered. I've only read the first 2 books, I confess. Seen all the movie except for the latest one. But JK Rowling was the one who made me believe about magic, mythical creatures, and all so ans so fantasies. I'm still waiting for me to discover a wizard, witch, werewolf, vampire, zombie, or any kind of monster under my bed.

Worse Than The Swine Flu

2009-07-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tagged. I have been tagged. Like my mother - Aparna, my aunt - Sujata and many others. This is worse than the normal viral fever that we have. It is a virus which is mandatory to spread. So, I will. At the end of the post. The things that annoy me... are many. For instance:
Lack of privacy: I hate it when people invade my privacy. That's why, I like to curl up in a corner and read. I hate it when people peek into the computer to see what I'm doing. Or, insist on keeping my bedroom door open all the time.
Slow computers: Slow computers absolutely tick mt me off. Yuck. Videos that take ages to buffer, I almost delete them out of anger. I get horribly impatient. I start to play with the mouse, sometimes rather harshly when it takes too long.
Waking up early in the morning: I am expected to wake up 7 o' clock every morning. For the love of God, why don't people let students sleep till at least an hour later? We are not exactly the descendants of roosters, you see.
The TV on full volume when I am listening to music on the PC 3 inches away: So what, if you don't like rap or rock n roll? Let me listen to some music too! Every time I'm on the computer, the idiot box is blaring. Women crying at the top of their voice, men screaming at them... UGHHHH!!!!!!
When people don't let me talk: My friend, Aishvarya, has to tell me to shut up almost every 30 seconds, when she is reading a book. None of us like noise when we're reading. And in the middle of 2 periods, there is nothing to do but talk to Aishvarya, or my partner, Veeral, who pretty much talks about how Chelsea and Arsenal rock and ManU sucks.
When my partner keeps talking of USA losing to Spain in soccer: "Chelsea rocks!" "Arsenal rocks!" "Manchester United sucks!" "Real Madrid is not playing well!" The hell I care about who wins. As long as the idiot sitting next to me shuts up or talks about something but sports.
When people use me as a soundboard: Very often, I am pulled out of my friends' circle by someone or the other and used as a soundboard. "My boyfriend ditched me! Can you believe it" Actually, yes I can. If she used him just like she uses me. "My mom and Dad are fighting all the time at home, my house is in a bad shape, they're already very pissed, and today I just flunked my Math test. What do I do?" What am I, some psychiatrist? IF your boyfriend ditched you or you flunked a math test, you should know that I will be the last one to worry about it. And I am expected to listen very patiently, watching the person in front of me cry and say,"You won't be able to understand my problem. It's so bad!" Great, so let me go. I've got an UNO game on hold for me.
Lack of communication between me and my mom: For most things none of us can get our point across to each other. We can't clearly state our reasons for being so stubborn, even when both of us know that its absolutely correct. And she can't understand my recently developed Anglo - Indian accent (I can understand my friends because they have the same accent and style of communication).
Now for tagging people. Sakshi, I love your writing. So, you're tagged! I would also recommend the famouspick blog for books different people like to read. SGD, I found you post also excellent. Finally, I want to tag the writer of 'b o r e d o m at its best'. There, I'm done. Now, I know how annoying this is. So:
9. Writing this post!

We The People Of India

2009-07-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

There is fresh gossip in the corridors, once again. Everyone is included... except the ones who usually gossip. Ironic, isn't it? Well, its not exactly the subject of their interest. Or so I concluded when I didn't see them. I could be wrong. This isn't about some new kid in school, or about a celebrity. Not even WDW (Who's Dating Who, in case you don't know). So what the hell is it about?

Everyone saw We The People yesterday. It was a debate titled Education Reformed. Now, why would someone talk about something like that? Like we don't have other stuff to do. Well, if this will make it clearer, it was a debate about whether the boards, the 10th grade exams, should be scrapped out or not. All we could do sitting in front of the TV was to boo the dozens of people who stood up and said, "No, I don't think this should be the case. The boards have helped me decide my career, and I'm sure it would help the others." My foot, it would help the others. We, The People of India, could do nothing to help the poor Barkha Dutt, going from one end of the set to the other, hunting out a person who said the boards should be cancelled - and sigh with relief when she found one.

We think that it should definitely be cancelled. And we are hoping that the kind hearted Mr. Kapil Sibal's proposal comes into action fast. Especially the current 10th graders. I also know why the people said no to Sibal's proposal. Because they've already given their board exams, and would love to just chill in college while we slog all day and night, and completely disappear under the pile of books. We think that boards should be cancelled because:

a. Cramming: Learning for boards is not learning, in the sense knowing. Its just cramming all the content of the books, page by page. Go to any ex-10th grader and ask her/him about what he/she knows about, the derivation of Newton's second law of motion or Pascal's law , you'll realize that he/she will say it like a poem. They will just reproduce what they roted a few months back. So does this show how intelligent we are? NO. It just shows how well we can mug up.

b.Pressure: Every year thousands of children fall victims to anxiety attacks. I am pretty sure I will be one of them. I worry about every single thing, and class 10 exams are going to be on top of my 'to worry list'.

The mothers are also included in this debate. Every mother, including my own, feel doing away with the boards will be a blessing for us. But then how will they assess our performance? Will the schools make impartial judgement about each and every student? Let's face it, teachers have been known to be biased at times.

Everyone in the corridors is confessing to a startling fact. When they pray at night, they don't ask for a new cell phone, a laptop or a book. Not a new pair of Ray - Bans. Not even 'good health' and all that garbage. NOR an A grade in tomorrow's History test. They pray to God for success to all the noble men with noble intentions - the likes of Kapil Sibal, the Minister of Human Resources of India. God, listen to our pleas.

We are all praying - We, The People of India.

Conversations, Conversations...

2009-06-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

"Why do you keep blaming me for every single thing? I'm telling you, I didn't lose it! Stop yelling at me!"

" You didn't lose it?"

"NO!"

"Oh, well, OK, than who did? A GHOST? This happens every time! You do something and you just deny it. Enough is enough."

" You know what? I don't want to listen to another word! I'm leaving!"

Don't worry, this is not an argument between a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, although it may sound like that, it is just a daily (or 'nightly, I might say) conversation between me and mom.

Meanwhile, my father comes into the scene, walking, sluggishly after his dinner to check out the source of the noise.

"What happened? What's with all the screaming? Again?"

"Oh, nothing at all. I'm just having a conversation with Ishita"

"What's this one about?"

"A lost earring."

"Oh. Well, I can't keep up with this stuff. I'm going to watch Guns Of Navarone"

"Again?"

"Again."

I forget my resolve of leaving the room, but leave anyway, because I suddenly remember I had to get my test paper signed by mom. Gosh! 6/15, will my mom sign it? It's pretty pathetic... Forget justifications, they don't work for her. Lost in my thoughts, with anxiety as their basic theme, I reach the bed again, and the memory of our fight 5 minutes back, floods into my mind. I find these kind of confrontations extremely intimidating. They usually end up in long lectures about focus and career, or even longer arguments - pointless ones.

" I need you to sign my chemistry test paper."

"OK. How much did you get?"

Maybe it was a death wish, or something worse... I actually told my mom to sign the paper even when the teacher said it wasn't compulsory - well he didn't say it, but he doesn't bother about these trivial things. I took gulp of air and...

"6"

"On?"

"15"

Anticipation.

Silence.

"Oh, well, sure I'll sign it. I don't care honestly. I just need you to perform well in your finals."

This has got to be one of God's rare miracles. I stood there stunned. It was a good 5 minutes before I could recover.

"OK. Thanks. Oh, I also have to tell you one more thing."

"What?"

"I was late for my class today."

"WHAT? LATE FOR YOUR CLASS?"

"Yeah."

And then it starts all over again. The regular sessions of screaming. Threatening to get violent. Crying. Arguing. Frequent deep breaths in order to calm down. All of it. Now I know why they say, "The cycle of Life". Talk about history repeating itself. These kind of conversations keep happening all the time, between all mothers and their teenage daughters. I just consider myself lucky that I'm not a victim of 1 month silent treatments like my friends - Silent treatments bug the hell out of me.

The Underage Teen

2009-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

"She's such a bad girl. I've heard that she shows off her Hannah Montana mike all the time. Weird. I would never show off like that. Speaking of Hannah Montana, I want to show you something. Hold your breath... I've finally managed to imitate Hoedown Throwdown, perfectly even. My sister says that I sound exactly like Miley."

There goes my sister... the underage teen. She's lately been acting morely like a 17 year old rather than a 8 year old one. She's constantly oohing and aahing over her cute, male (and hopefully single) classmates. She makes me look so naive. Naive has so got to be an understatement. Well, I'll tell you why... I always hung around with boys, because I was too uncool to have girlfriends. I don't really have any regret, becuase if I had an exceptionally dirty boy sitting next to me, I wouldn't cringe away from the mud all over his clothes... I was too used to it (It's ironic, but I've never wanted a brother, even though I know they can be a whole lot of fun to play with).

Anyway, what would you ususally have on your list to identify a teenager with his/her behaviour?

Abnormal behaviour? Check. Ayushi never responds to anyone. She's just lost in her own world. Drawing her weird designer clothes she'll make when she grows up. All the time. When we actually want to speak to her, all we get as an acknowledgment is a grunt, or an irritated glance followed by "What now?"

Weird language? Check. Ayushi always says this weird stuff all the time, which completely goes over her head. When she figures that we didn't get our joke, she just rolls her eyes and says,"Whatever. Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything in the first palce. Why did I even bother?" Of course, she is also very cryptic. You know what I'm saying.

Different taste for music? Check. Ayushi is crazy about Miley Cyrus a.k.a Hannah Montana. Oh, also a fan of hip hop and rap music.

Bitching & Backstabbing?Double check. She gossips, spreads rumors, bitches about her own best friends, huh boy, you don't want to listen to the rest of the list - its too long.

Queen bee? Check. My sister is the ultimate fashionista in all of third grade. She sets the trends, decides what's hot and what's not... Everything. She is the popular girl in her class. One of those superficial, shallow girls (But, mind you, there are two sides to a coin. This is just one side)

Boy magnet? Check. Sorry, its confidential. No comments.

Potential Super Model? She's absolutely capable of turning up on the cover of Vanity Fair, Vogue or maybe even GQ.

Well, there goes my sister... the undreage teen. I often wonder what she'll grow up to be. An old soul? As much as I wish it was true, its highly unlikely. She could probably continue with her...stuff. She'll probably act like a tween. Well, who knows?

I also have to give her this. She's extremely intelligent. She learns faster than the average 8 year old. She understands better. Reads books for older kids. And what's more? She's a straight A+ student. Trust me on this one - she's never got a single grade lower than A. Amazing. Oh, did I mention? She's also very talented - she can draw, dance, sing, she's an excellent athlete too. She is also a very perceptive person. I get all my advices from her when I'm in a dilemma. I tell her all my secrets (She can not gossip when she wants to), she covers up for me when I probably didnt drink my water, clean up the bed or didnt eat my fish. This is the other side of the coin. This is her - my sister, Ayushi.

Oh look! I see three girls reading... Shakespear? Hey! That's my copy of As You Like It! There goes my sister...the underage teen.

Two Left Legs

2009-04-18T01:08:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw someone move like they were from another planet, couldn't keep my eyes away. I wanted to glide and spin and fly like they did. But it didn't come easy. And I knew that it never would.

This is what my inspiration was. This is what I felt when, for the first time, I saw my instructors dance. Its incredible, how they plan out every single move, how they visualise every single move, every single detail. Trust me, planning out some 1000 counts and coming up with new move every 4 counts is not really easy.

The perfect plies, grand jetes, piques, passes... and what not?!(Sorry about the technical terms) They can do it all. The only thing that drives them is sheer hard work, determination and of course, do what they are so passionate about - dance.

Some people see dancing, as people move around from one corner of the stage to another, occasionally swinging their hands and legs. Well, yeah, it is basically the same thing. But, I believe, there is another side to it. The immense practice that goes behind it is... Well, I have no words for it. Just for one show, dancers stay up the whole night and practise together. They work, work till each hand, leg, torso movement (for each person, mind you) has the same level of energy, stops at the same time, at the same place.

We practise, practise, practise till each head movement, eye movement, everything is perfectly coordinated. All this for moving around the stag from one corner to the other!

But, you know what? Even if it sounds tedious to some, this is what each dancer does. Day in - day out This is what they strive to achieve - perfection. This is what we do, and this is what we love - dancing.

Dancing, if taken up as a career, is a full time job. You NEVER work overtime - yes, even if you rehearse all night for a show. This, is just your job. It is most definitely not the kind if job which almost everyone does - sit in a comfy chair and stare for hours at the computer screen, your fingers memorising the keyboard repeatedly. Attending ca to calls every 30 seconds. Finishing work before the deadline. I'm not saying its easy, but for those who think dancing doesn't require any sort of intellect, I'll try changing your mind.

Try to imagine 30 people staring at you, expectant, waiting for you to give them some 'killer moves' but all original. 1000 killer moves. Al to be finished perfectly within a matter of 3 minutes.

Try coming to classes and finding that all 30 people are pathetic dancers. All 30 people don't know a single basic of dancing, a single technical term. And in a matter of 15 hours, making sure they attain perfection. Try coordinating every single move of theirs. From making them awfully clumsy, to breathtakingly graceful. And of course, not to mention, to to the same thing with 15 more batches everyday - continuously.

Changed your mind? Not yet? Then, TRY dancing. The way these people do.

So, the next time, when your kid comes to you saying, "Hey! Know what? I want to be a dancer!" or maybe "I would like to be an actor when I grow up", think a trillion times or bazillion times as the aspiring dancer/actor would say, before you even consider saying no. Really. Never just burst out and blabber about what kind of a third rate job it is. Well, at least I hope you won't. Know what, chances are, that this is just a phase (only if the child is 15 years or below), it'll pass. Think about it - if you don;t feel very comfortable, don't impose, give him/her subtle hints of how you feel. Even better, encourage.

Girls Under Pressure

2009-03-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

"Ishita! Hurry. We're getting late - we have a flight to board."

I sighed. I took one good look at my home. This would be my last stay here. With tears in my eyes, I left, all my memories of me growing up in this place, to make new ones. I was preparing myself mentally for the past 2 months. But, this, was unexpected. It was like all negative emotions melted together, and hit hard a chunk of iron. More of slammed hard.

3 MONTHS LATER

I opened my eyes, to a new morning. I realised that I was crying. It was a Friday. The last day of school before another weekend. Which should sound fun right? But it somehow didn't. I brushed those tears off my cheek. I got up and stared at the wall. It was like deja vu.

The same iron chunk came and slammed me so hard, that I fell back and my head hit the pillow. It hurt so much that I started crying again.

This had happened to me for the first time. I scowled, picked up my uniform and went in for a shower. I tried not to think about anything, only pleasant memories I had in the past 3 months.

The rest of the day was VERY bad. I had worn the wrong uniform, so I was made to clean my school's trophy collection after school in stead of practising basketball. "Why were there so many trophies? Curse those people who won them. Show - offs!" I thought. I hadn't done my history homework and the teacher caught me. She made me do the homework five times. I didn't get my Geography textbook to school, so the teacher wrote a note to my parents. Last semester, I almost flunked my Maths exam. So, I thought the principal would 'ask for me'; that was her tradition. She did call like a dozen people including ALL the new entrants. Only, I wasn't included (whew!). I was scared the whole day. Waiting for another catastrophe to occur.

Back at home, my anxiety and despair mad me more clumsy than my usual self. I tripped over my own shoes thrice, and just couldn't study. I felt like screaming.

The rest of the term was like...AAAAAAH!!! Every weekday, I would get up and mope around. Visit my personal hell for 7 hours, and go back home. At home I was very busy; but doing only one thing - nothing but mope. More and more each day. Then, my condition worsened. I used to cry every single day, ALL night. Except for in school. I managed not to. Slowly, I developed a morning sickness. Every morning before breakfast (thankfully), I used to feel sick.

One day, I put my foot down. I told myself: "Ishita, you cannot go around like this all the time. Its affecting you mentally and physically."

So, when people asked me,"How do you like your school?" Instead of saying," Don't assume that I even like my school", I simply lied and said I loved it. It was pretty obvious that I didn't, seeing how dull and depressed I was in school. So, I also pretended to love school. Slowly, the lie remained no more. It turned no more. It turned into the truth. And know what? I was happy.

3 YEARS LATER

"Hi Ishita!"

"Hi Gala! What's up?"

"Nothing much. I'm good. How was yesterday? What did I miss out on?"

"God, Nikisha you missed out on so much fun! Yesterday was awesome! I loved it. We enjoyed ourselves so much in lunch!"

"Hi! How are you?"

"Hi Srishti! Hey, did you get my Face Book request? I sent you one to join the 'iPod lovers' group."

"Yeah, I did. I accepted it. Hey, I read your blog. Both I and Aishvarya loved it! Its pretty cool. I really liked the poem you wrote in the end."

"Thanks a bunch. Hey, know what? Comment on it. That'll be cool. Man! It's 8:30 already! Gotta go. Bio submission!"

This is what my everyday 'life' is like. In school. I have 25 friend in class, 3 best friends, 2 boys and 3 girls who envy me. Pretty neat huh? Well, 3 years back, school used to be horrible It was like going to Central Jail everyday. Or maybe, 'I sold my soul to the devil (the principal) and I had to be her slave.

Now, I'm pretty happy staying here, going to school. Yeah, I have trouble studying, but, hey! Everyone has problems studying.

By the way, I'm not the only one having trouble. My mom and dad do too. They have trouble understanding me. They claim it to be hard...understanding teens. Well, I don't understand you guys either! I mean they speak like they were never 13! Especially mom. Which normal 13 year old girl wouldn't like dressing up, shopping and make - up?

Well, that reminds me. I have to dress up. I have a girls' night out after an hour with my friends. Bye!

Adolescence At Age 7

2009-03-07T03:13:00.000-08:00

Latitudinal Extent
Europe lies in the cool temperate zone, which is the main reason behind its predominantly temperate climate. Only a small part of Europe, which lies in the frigid zone has a low temperature.

Nearness To The Sea
The deep penetration of the sea into the mainland brings its moderating influence on the climate...

"Eeep! Wow. It would be so awesome!"
"God, I can't believe this. SHAHID KAPOOR!!!"

Trust me. When you have a zero concentration level and you're studying the climate of Europe, nothing can be worse. This is what I thought. Around 30 seconds back. Before the hooligans int my living room started screeching.

Fuming, I stomped off to the place where my sister, Ayushi, and her 2 partners in crime were screaming.

You would probably expect me to do this next: Pull my sister to one corner of the room and glare at her for a minute or two with my hands on my hips; the intensity of the glare hot enough to burn up all the books I own (Trust me, that's a strong glare). Maybe you would even think that I would say,"Why the hell don't you girls ever pipe down? You know that I'm trying to study! And you also know that I hate studying and cannot under any circumstances concentrate for more than 10 seconds!"

But no, I didn't. Instead, I stopped short on my way. No, it doesn't have to do with any kind of sympathy or guilt. As soon as my brain began to register their 'conversation', I stopped short.

This is how it went.

My sister's BFF no. 1: Oh Ayushi! It would be so lovely if Shahid Kapoor (shrieks again) replaces that stupid partner of yours. I think Aryan Baweja is useless. Hai na Supriya?

Ayushi's BFF no. 2: Totally! (sighs) But, you know what, Aryan is NOT useless. He's good.

Ayushi: Do you people like boys? (Boys a topic of conversation already?!)

BFF 1: I hate boys.

BFF 2: Me too.

Ayushi: I LOVE boys!

There How would you react to this? Well, I got completely freaked out. This is what & year olds' girl talk is supposed to be? Coming from to the man of their dreams, the famous dance instructor turned - junior artists turned - turned superstar man. He's done a movie , a Hindi movie called Jab We Met, with his ex.

This is a typical Hindi movie scene. The girl, decides to run away from home, along with a boy. Only, they haven't fallen in love..yet.

My mom was watching the movie on YouTube when we just happened to want the computer at the same time (me and my sister). Who can resist a movie? The heroine is talking. Then the talks. Suddenly, I glance sideways to check on the time.

I see Ayushi looking at the screen a little too intently. Ayushi, sighing and looking at Shahid Kapoor as if he was God. Every time he smiled, she did too. Isn't this too much of a coincidence? The 'smiling- at - the - same - time'?

If this is what they are now, at age 7, talking about boys, wishing for boyfriends, crushing on classmates, I have no idea what they will be when they will be like when they are 13.

Being a teen can be hell,

Being a teen can be heaven.

But this is too much,

Adolescence at seven!

Yeah, I Know I'm Not Size Zero

2009-02-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

'Just click here to lose all that weight!'

I sighed. I had been seeing these kind of ads everywhere. On my way to someone's house, I could see INSTANT WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM! from the car window, flashing in front of my eyes. I saw it in the newspapers, on the Internet, and guess what? The sight was just too...overwhelming.

Then, mamma started doing yoga at that time. As weeks went by, she lost oodles of weight.

All my classmates (here I am referring to the popular people. The charismatic queen bees of course) were so thin... and looked so good!

The thing was, that while they had a waistline of 28 inches, I had one of 32 inches. And I wore 'medium' size T-Shirts when they wore XS ones. And my weight... lets just say that I was overweight for a 5 feet 4 inches tall girl.

I was just 13, and I wore outfits for 14 - 16yrs.

But there was twist. I had something special. I could lose weight faster than I gained it. I believe that it was inherited. My dad gained weight very fast, and my mom lost weight very fast. When the two meet, something had to give!

Taking advantage of that, I started exercising rigorously. I knew that I would lose weight. I had experienced it before.

In a week's time, I lost 4 1/2 inches. But my routine demanded even that 1 hour I kept for exercise. So, I came back to square one. God help me.

I had a very, very busy schedule and I gave up exercising. Plus, I was too lazy. Whatever.

To control my diet, I went into various sites, read newspaper and magazine tips (My fave was Good Housekeeping. Both the site and the magazine)

I also wanted to experiment with various crash diets. But, my mom rejected them.

I didn't have any other option, but to just forget the whole thing. Initially, I felt bad but later, I did forget the whole thing.

My sister, Ayushi, had absolutely no problem. She was thin as a rail and no matter what she ate she never gained any weight. Baba (my father) also like Ayushi had absolutely no weight issues. No matter what he did, he never could shed any!

So when any of you notice that I lack that perfectly sculpted look sorry too bad. You just have to live with it. You'll have to accept me the way I am, fat or size zero. I have no intention of looking like Keira Knightly.

My Perfect Science Project

2008-11-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Ishita, I've written it down in my diary. Why should I be joking around now? That too about a project?"

I panicked.

It was not unusual about me forgetting about a project. But this, was definitely scary.

It was around eight o'clock at night and I had a physics submission day after. And if you think that it was just an assignment or a scrapbook or even a cardboard/thermocol model, you are wrong. I had to make a 'Box Type Solar Cooker'. A real working one. (Not to mention the fact that they were made only in factories.)

I ran to my father who I call 'Baba' (father in Bengali). He sighed and gave me a 'when-will-you-grow-up look.

I handed him over the diagram of the solar cooker in my physics text book. (Phew! a life saver)

While he was carefully looking at the diagram, I did some running around screaming,"How does one make a SOLAR COOKER!". (Of course, I eventually I stopped when I realised that there was no point in doing so).

After dinner Baba gave me a list of things to buy - a glass piece, a mirror, a cardboard shoe box, a thermocol sheet, a big paintbrush, and some black enamel paint.

The next day, at evening when my father came back for office, I noticed that he didn't seem as angry as the day before.

But the irony was, that he was showing no signs of even looking at the material. He kept telling me that it wouldn't take much time, but I got even more tensed every passing minute. As if that was going to convince me.

Finally, he sat down to make the cooker.

First, he cut out the 4 rectangular pieces of thermocol and I put on some glue to them. For extra support, I taped it to the sides of the box after sticking them. Then, my father took charge. He swiftly taped a glass piece and mirror to one edge of the box. All this while, I just watched completely awestruck.

I was very happy with the result but, there was a hitch there was supposed to be a metal box inside the the cardboard one. Now where the hell would one get a metal box of a perfect fit when it was 7:30 in the evening, that too by today?
We all racked our brains to find the answer, but all in vain. Then an idea struck me - what my mamma calls a 'Light Bulb Moment'. Instead of a metal box, I decided to use an ordinary aluminium foil, and paint it black.
We measured it glued it, painted it and left it to dry. Finally, we were done.
Next morning, I got very tensed. Many questions came up in my mind. Will sir understand that I did not do this project? What will be my mark for this?
The test and questionnaire went past smoothly. And guess what? I got 15 on 15!
I thank god for giving me such a helpful and caring father, who helps me in all my projects. Who not only makes sure that I make all my projects and submit it on time, but also makes sure that mine is the best of the whole lot.
Thanks Baba, for helping me out with science. I would never make it without you. I love you!
I must say, Baba's swiftness, expertise and dedication in every single job is worth admiring.
You know, not every girl is as lucky as me, to have such an amazing father

My Secret

2008-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Pssst....Can you keep a secret? I have one to share. It is a key to my success and if you read on carefully, it can be yours too. Follow me fearlessly, and it can change your life forever.

I have the ability to perform on stage without fear.

I am always ready to face the arc lights - even without practice. I can sing, dance and even act in front of the whole city, without any stage fright. However, this ability was not inborn. I had to acquire it. and it was hard.

First lets be practical. You have to be talented right? Because no matter how stage free you are, you cannot be a true success as and artist if you are not talented. But there are so many talented youngsters who never reach the place they deserve. What is it that they lack? I know ; I have cracked the success code, and here are my words of wisdom...

Practice, Practice, Practice. No matter how talented you are, never be on stage without practice without knowing your cues and steps. As I said, I am ready to perform on stage without practice; but it is not necessary that I will get all my steps right or I will be perfect all throughout my performance (whether I know my steps or not). Rigorous practice everyday will make you perfect. But make sure you look natural all the time.

Next, concentrated on your art. Give your 100% to it. When there are thousands of people watching you perform, you can be easily unnerved. So, do not lose your focus.

Confidence - that is my next secret. In spite of all the practice sessions, chances are that you will be fumble at times. Carry on confidently and don't let your audience realise your mistakes.

And finally, remember that though you have the freedom to express your artistic abilities, you also have a responsibility to your audience. They have paid great money to to see you on stage, and the onus, is completely on you to entertain them. Always give their money the full worth.

There, you have it - all my trade secrets. Remember - you are the oasis on the barren stage and people are dying to get a glimpse of you. Life on stage is a treasure. A treasure certainly not for the faint hearted.

Draw a calming breath. Be brave. Now go ahead. And don't forget - Break a leg!

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