#22 And i turn Twenteen !!!

Twenteen ??? well, I refuse to acknowledge im out of teenage now.. Simply because it is expected out of you to behave like a ‘matured adult’ as soon as you are out of your teenage. And while the midnight unfolded a new year for me, I sat there in front of the mirror waiting for that so hyped ‘maturity’ to enter into me..you know, just like in the movies where those spirits enter your body and you suddenly transform into some other character altogether ! lol
Since nothing of that sort happened, and I feel pretty much the same as I was a day back and all the time before that, I conclude that the whole issue about pretending to be someone else just for the heck of getting older is just some hogwash that people try to psyche you with... Comeon people, how can you measure a person’s level of maturity and intellectual (or mental or physical or spiritual or whatever that suits you) growth just by the number of years he’s spent ? Does an older person necessarily be more matured?? And does one have to necessarily get away with the kid in him and get intoxicated into the mean selfish ways of the world, to prove that he is indeed an adult ?

This birthday had nothing very blatantly special about it, if u may ask. Like every year, this birthday too was a low key affair at home during summer vacations. Not a great fan of huge birthday bash at home, ( which will definitely happen a few days later with my friends, and another few days from then in the college :P) i preferred to have a quiet, simple celebration with family and a few cousins. But what made the day extra special this time is the love and affection people displayed when they went out of the way in making the day the most rememberable one. The unexpected calls, the surprise gifts getting delivered at home, just the simple fact that people remembered when I least expected them to and made their own little contribution in getting that smile on my face…was much more than I could’ve ever asked for. These are the times when I get to know who my loved ones really are, how some people can mean much more to me than I had really thought, and how illusioned I had been to think of some people as friends when they dint bother in the least to even wish. I just love occasions like these for this reason, wish they came more than once in a year..perfect time to test your relations.. *nasty grin*

With this I also realise how important it becomes to make a difference to someone else’s life, more than brooding about your own. Touching someone’s life or making him feel special in your own little way can get so much more gratifying than all the pompous parties thrown together. And to do something special, we really don’t need any special occasion, because every day is special. Birthdays are just checkpoints. To analyse and evaluate if we’ve done things we wanted or should’ve in order to bring some happiness to someone else, or as reminders to set out to do them before it gets too late.. ( who said resolutions were meant to be for new years only? )

PS : I realise as I finished typing it, the clock hands have gone well past midnight, and so I complete 20 full years of my worthless existence on this earth. An existence that is really very special and blessed, and to be cherished and lived to the fullest :)

#21 Road mannerism, an obsolete concept ??

I was driving back home from the university in the evening, when a speeding car suddenly zipped past mine. Before I could gather back my senses, it had already hit a scooty which immediately fell down…and the guy simple drove away without even bothering to slow down to see what he had done. Can u imagine ?? Unable to follow suit, I simply stopped my car at a corner, and went to the girl to offer any help. Luckily she wasn’t hurt except for a few scratches, and got back onto her vehicle soon. While I was returning to my car, I couldnt help observe people around giving me dirty looks. I couldn’t comprehend what in the world could I have done to deserve such a reaction, so I just shrugged and kept walking.
I could understand only when a man closeby shouted….Chhoti si bachhi ho, gaadi theek se chalani nahin aati, toh kyun chalane ki koshish karti ho?? accident kara diya na ( U little girl , if u don’t know how to drive properly, why do u ? See, you caused an accident! )…. I was too shocked to be able to utter anything, so expressed my feelings with an outrageous stare at him.
~ aise kya dekh rahi ho, konsi class main padti ho, kitni umar ki ho? (What are you staring at? Which grade do u study and how old are you?
~engineering, 3rd yr... agle hafte bees saal ki ho jaungi. ( Next week,I’m turning 20)
~achha !! nayi nayi gaadi seekh rahi ho? (Ohh really, still learning driving?)
~5 saal se chala rahi hoon. (Been driving since 5 years)
The guy was quiet, perhaps to cover up for his embarrassement, he impudently turned around to his wife and remarked, ladkiyon ke haath main gaadi deni hi nahin chahiye (Girls should never be given a car to themselves)
I was stunned and completely at loss of words.

And I still am. Can’t figure out what to brood over more. Is it now in our DNA to assume that the one helping a fallen person back on his vehicle is actually the one who threw him off?? Or is the society so conditioned to be patriarchal, that it can’t digest the fact that a female can drive pretty normally, without causing an accident.

#20 Are we really safe ?

In an act displaying both ignorance and disregard for human life, Punjab cops ask passersby to hoist a motorbike, apparently loaded with explosives, onto a truck. The bomb squad wasn’t called in, even as the truck was to pass through crowded Chandigarh roads

This is how the great Indian police takes care of bombs.. Needless to say, im totally shocked and aghast.. Guess we should think twice before teaching kids to contact the police if they see an unattented suspicious object lying around.. I'm completely speechless at the extent of idiociy some of our men in uniform can display.

#19

I intended to write, rather type a long post today, non-emo , for a change :P
But now im looking for something that saves me the efforts i had to make to move my ass and brushing aside my passion of procrastination and laziness in playing with the english words to come up with something that qualifies close to being called a 'post'...But english language ( or any for that matter) yet again , seems incapable to translating my emotions exactly into words right now.
Had an eventful day, with ironically nothing much 'eventful' happening. A dull drowsy morning cleaning the trash my room had become, followed by a gloomy hot afternoon glued to the television .Had only one thing to look forward to, a nice evening and a long drive with fellow blogger and friend, Vandana. Had promised her yesterday to go mug shopping for her. Thankfully, she was sweet enough to put the details here and so i cut the post short ;)
Goodnight people..

PS: A few of my college friends arrived in the city today.. my two tech-grandads and their friend :D :D :D
I'm soo excited about meeting them tomorrow..even after them graduating from the college .. yeyy

#18 Random Reflection..

What happens to you when you discover that somebody whom you had considered a close and trustworthy pal hasnt been as sincere and honest to you, rather had always compelled you to question your own decisions and challenge your beliefs ?
Violins playing sad notes suddenly appearing in the background?
Loud metallic sounds ? Crash ! boom ! bang ??
An exquisite crystal artpiece falling in slow motion and shattering into a thousand pieces with your heart echoing every sound it makes ??
One full- fledged intensely melodramatic script forming in your head, waiting to blurt out right at the next confrontation?

Nope..
You just get up and go about your days like any other day with routine precision. You talk, you smile, you eat, you go out, you drive, you meet people, you respond to calls , you mail and mail back, you socialise, you scrap-ping-comment-tag on your online network...only at the back of the mind it seems that you have misplaced something somewhere - and when you sit and think about it, you realise it is some tiny little part of you that is probably dead.