Acr-lic Colour

I saw my shadow dancing As I walked home from school I felt a pang of longing If only I could look that good. She was tall and slender, In the late afternoon sun Her hair  framed her face Curls bouncing at every turn Her silhouette looked so pretty I thought with pleasure and pain But then some clouds appeared She disappeared in the rain. Her face may be smooth Without pimples and marks Her figure well defined, Smooth and dark Her hair may look thick, She doesn't need glasses to see But I realized as the drops fell fast, I'd much rather be me. Not quite as tall, Glasses from the reading Not quite so slender, Because of chocolates I love eating The pimples I'd rather do without, But there's so much else to gain, My poor pretty dancing shadow, Can't dance in the rain!                                 -Ananya Ravikumar                 ...

Most of us  have, at some point of our lives, done a little programming. And that means most of us have at some point been beginners at it. And that means we have successfully survived a living nightmare without losing our minds. Congratulations. Shall I recount my own experiences? First, I had to install  a compiler on my system. After spending fifteen minutes installing one that was recommended to me, I realized that  the environment was completely different from the one I used at school. After struggling a little with with DOS ( about which I knew next to nothing) by typing commands whose meanings I did not know, I managed to type a simple program. Then came the moment of truth... compilation. It didn't go smoothly.There was a huge list of errors (or so it seemed). You probably know how intimidating the command prompt window looks to someone who's always used  GUI. After trying in vain to correct the errors, I gave up on that compiler and decide...

In India, the generation of the twenty first century is faced with a decision: to be traditional or  be 'not traditional'. Note that I have used neither 'modern' nor 'western' as the opposite of 'traditional' because it is not. The culture and tradtions we inherit from our ancestors form a significant part of our identity. People who disown their culture will need to start from scratch and build a new identity to replace something that took generations of experience to create. Now,considering that we are descended from those who created the traditions we follow, which means that we share genes, and perhaps a few common traits and interests with them, isn't our culture in some ways catered specifically to us and consequently, doesn't it have the highest chance of suiting us? Before you start to call me prejudiced, here's the other side of the argument. Times have changed considerably. Certain customs that came into being a few centuries ag...

What affects your emotions the most? Mine are affected by music. My feelings are like putty in its grasp. After thinking about the reason for this for a while, this is the conclusion I came to: The basic mood of a song doesn't really change , but unless the song has a very powerful personality of its own,  the emotions I associate with it are my frame of mind when I first listened to it or when I was crazy about it. Sometimes, the association may have absolutely no relation at all with what the song is about.For instance, 'Innocence' by Avril Lavigne reminds me of a morning in eighth grade when we stood on the balcony outside the art room drawing mango leaves while it was drizzling softly outside. The memory fills me with a peaceful and happy feeling, which is further strengthened by the fact that the artist is also singing about being 'happy'. Coming to the more technical/scientific aspect of this, it it quite well known that certain combinations of notes tend...

I'm sure that at some point or the other most of us have wondered what it would be like to have a friend exactly like ourselves; to have someone who would always understand what we are feeling and why we're feeling that way. But do you know what  I've come to realise? It would be terribly boring.  Imagine how it would be if you and your friend had the same set of fears and weaknesses. Who would cheer you up?Whom would you tease?Who would straighten you out when you are behaving like an idiot? And both of you would be so predictable that you'd bore each other to death.   I've never met anything (or should I say anyone?) as scary as my brain. It’s true, we love each other's jokes whether or not anyone else gets them, but on the other hand, my brain  has to have  an opinion on  everything  I do. And it won't help me think of something smart to say until long after a conversation. Talk about being mean! Oh, and its favourite line i...

As I slept, I dreamt, one day That my grandfathers Were back for a day. The dear departed- I welcomed them in with smiles and tears I couldn't reign in. Neither one said a word To break the silence. There was nothing to say. Everything too trivial For their fleeting stay. So we sat in the quiet, My grandfathers and I Until I let out A sad little sigh They looked at me Questions in their eyes I felt a deep sadness Too deep to cry Men whose wisdom Could have been mine Whom I'd talked so little to As a child Who were pillars of strength In their own ways But whom too soon Death snatched away These men, whom only time defeated I wanted their love I felt cheated So I poured my heart out On that fateful day They said not a word They had nothing to say. But in the end, As they rose to leave T...

Some time ago, I came across a story  in which a girl loses her interest in life because she realizes that the wonderful times she has with her friends are experiences that are neither unique nor special, because they're shared by millions of other schoolgirls all over the world. A similar thought struck me a few years ago. A vast majority of the experiences we have, both good and bad, have already been or are being experienced by millions of others.  However, my reaction to it was rather different. I was awestruck. There really isn't any other word for it.  There are over seven billion people  leading their respective lives all over the world. So here's how I see it, there is not one, but seven billion universes out there, with a person at the centre of each! (I'm neglecting other living organisms here for the sake of simplicity, just as one neglects air resistance while analysing the motion of a body in free fall- so animal lovers, please don't take offense ...

It seems to have gone out of fashion lately, but when I was new to Facebook, it was very common to have someone tag you in a photograph that said, 'Describe me in one word'. Perhaps I take it too seriously, but such things have always made me uncomfortable. A person has so many sides to himself or herself! Honestly, I think that mentioning a single aspect would lead to overlooking  so many other vital ones that make the person who he or she is. And things like being kind or caring just don't count (according to me, at least), because they're prerequisites for being a good friend! For example- has anyone ever asked you who your BEST friend is? For as far back as I can remember, I have never had an answer to that question, because I don't have a single best friend. I have  groups of people whom I love very, very much, but I still love them all equally. The odd thing is the people who fall into this category have widely differing personality traits, albeit some ba...

'So what do you want?' asked my dad with a smile. 'Nothing.I don't need anything.' I said at first. And then, as the reality of the results began to sink in I remembered an old promise... A few months ago, a friend treated me to my first Belgian Dark Chocolate ice cream (being a vanilla fan, I seldom tried anything else). As I took my first lick, I was overwhelmed. It was the most rich, chocolaty and delicious thing I'd ever tasted. I decided that this was something that was meant for special occasions. "What can I do to deserve one of these?',  I asked myself. The first thing that came to my mind was the board exam. 'If I get a C.G.P.A. of 10, I'll treat myself to this', I decided. ...' A Belgian Dark Chocolate ice cream' I told my father. 'I'm treating myself to one.' I grinned.

There are lots of quotes out there about how imperfection is the true perfection and how having some imperfections makes one better .But like the fox and the grapes (don’t ask me why a fox would want grapes), I think that we just find it hard to appreciate what we can never reach. For a long time, even I never liked perfect things. For instance, I disliked traditional rangoli designs because they were perfectly symmetric. I couldn’t draw them, so I decided that I preferred free hand drawings.  However, my attitude has changed lately. The change started when we began to study circles in class nine. Circles are just so… perfect. Think about it- from the fact that every single point on it equidistant from the same single point, to the fact that the ratio between circumference and diameter is always constant, there are so many amazing results that can be obtained from that simple shape! That’s probably why I love mathematics too. It is a perfect subject. If a law exists, it al...

We remember and register the strangest things. Lots of  Indian women who drive wear bangles and own a set of car keys. When I was younger and anxiously awaiting my mother’s return from wherever she’d gone- the sound of those bangles and keys was what I would listen for.When I heard the sound of her fumbling for the keys, I would rush to the door to greet her ( as I grew older I would do the opposite- turn the TV off or shut the novel I was reading and run in). But whatever the response was to the keys and bangles, I would always know they were my mother’s.  I may hear other keys and bangles, but somehow, they always sound different. To this day, that sound means ‘mum’s home’ and thus, even today, I cherish it.

Getting up at 4am in the morning and preparing to climb the Tirumala hill was exciting. So was the actual climbing experience- 2400 steps, the invigorating crisp morning air and the breath-taking view. But excitement was the only feeling in me. To tell the truth, the only reason I’d agreed to go to Tirupati was the physical challenge that the climb had presented. Two hours later, I was sitting in a room doing absolutely nothing. It was cold, I was hungry and I was bored. My family and I had managed to get a bench for ourselves, but every square inch of the floor was covered in people. Well, I had expected crowds, so I was quiet. Three and a half hours later we joined the queue. To say it moved at snail’s pace would be incorrect, because between rare, brief spurts of movement, it  didn't  move AT ALL. I don’t know how long I spent standing in that queue. Running on a small cup of coffee and a ‘Mentos’ or  two that my aunt happened to find in her purse, squished betw...

I've noticed that a lot of people in Bangalore still don't segregate their waste. Please people, start already! Here's the deal, if you spend a few seconds extra to put your banana peels in a separate bin than your old worksheets or e-waste, you're helping to create a brilliant source of manure and helping to recycle and save a tremendous amount of energy! The sad thing is that most people know this . This is where the stuff we learn in E.V.E. is supposed to be applied! Always remember, that mixed, partially decomposed and possibly toxic waste is being dumped somewhere, even if you don't see it, and there are people suffering because of it. Remember how horrible the city was when they protested and put a stop to it? It's like that all the time there. So please, take some time from your life to help the earth. You won't regret it. :) Basic guidelines if you don't already know them: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/279046/bbmp-issues-guidelines-g...

It's never easy to make the decision to move away from what you’re used to and what you love. It was only the promise of something significant in return that made me do it.  So, swallowing all my doubts and misgivings and telling myself that friends didn't matter when I was supposed to immerse myself in my studies, I stepped into the new world.  Happily for me, the change was worth it. I realised that as long as you love what you’re doing (and I really do), you don’t really feel alone.  Secondly and more importantly, if the friends you’re leaving behind are real friends, their absence doesn't matter because they’re always there, affecting some small part of your life; and the infrequent meetings are all the more sweet and satisfying because of the separation. 

"Then Lo and Behold!                                                                              I caught a bad cold  And sneezed the evening away."      This is a excerpt from my very first poem- something I wrote nearly a decade ago .     However, my perception of a cold hasn't changed very much in all these years. The sneezing, the blocked nose and the inability to speak without making a fool of yourself are still the dominating characteristics of a  bad cold ( of my colds, at least), but despite all that, I don't mind having one once in ...

I've wanted to create a blog for quite sometime now, and I've finally mustered the courage to do it! This post's main purpose is to tell you why I created it and consequently, what you can expect from it. My chosen stream is science, and although I love the subject, I am equally fond of literature and the social sciences. So I wanted a space where I did not have to restrict myself to one, as I am forced to do in most places. This blog will be an amalgamation of my thoughts on both, plus a dash of creative writing once in a while.