Saturday, May 26, 2007

@ :)

Silence invites thought. Sitting here in a significant corner of the house…. I cant help but think about a certain Sunday morning … on the august of 2004….at around 9:00 am…

I wait alone amidst a crowd… college boys and gals standing in groups… most people seem to have made friends already… so I stand there …feeling insignificant…sleepy and angry as hell that I missed my breakfast…. But little did I know that the day was going to change my life forever… It certainly did …so here goes…

So I stand there wondering when they will let us into the building and tell us why we got into this organization…what we were suppo to do… and what was to happen from there on…

What did I expect? A tall semi bald man wearing business clothes addressing us about the organization and assigning our jobroles.

MAN was I a fool or what! What was to come was a complete contrast to that! The people who run the organization were college students… I smirked the moment I realized what I got myself into! I wanted ‘the’ perfect part time job that would be a beauty in my CV… at that time….all one would think bout is getting into a decent B School and settle in life…

So here goes…what happened behind closed doors is suppo to be a well guarded secret… (don think too much….nothing over the top…lol)

At the end of that day… I did not know if I liked the day or hated it… but I had never felt the way I did… what was to come I did not know…

2 1/2 years passed by…

It was my last day as a member in AIESEC…the world’s largest ..youth run, professional organization…

I cried like never before… this experience is once in a lifetime… I am so glad I didn judge the organization day 1 .. I gave it time.. I gave myself time in it… and what I have learnt is just BEAUTIFUL… an experience that nothing can replace…

cyclo-maniaaaaa

For someone who has not ridden a cycle in 19 years of her life...

cycling suddenly on a fine sunny evening by the beach was certainly the experience of a lifetime!!!!!!

Friday, May 11, 2007

'shay day'

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?" The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child." Then he told the following story:Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning." Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.

His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. "That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

I was sent this story as an email...and i truly think its worth posting....!

All i can say is.. may your day be a "shay day"!!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

When cultures meet…



This may sound like a super serious post… but there is nothing serious to it!!

There Is this jargon that’s commonly used in the 21st century, that of “global economy” ..but lets put aside at the moment the economic aspects.. and try and look at this term socially…culturally..

Can u imagine the people of the world speaking all the languages known in the world...like speaking French while trading with france..speaking italian when ordering a pizza??? and so on..now u might wonder why I am getting into all this and complicating my life….well the thinking so much bit started after this incident….

I went to the doc’s clinic today across d road… An old Chinese lady was d doc’s PA… d doc’s an Indian... she was to plan the appointments and give away the medicines from the in house pharmacy… now that’s her job role... There were 2 indian labourers who had come for an appt….after the appointment they went to the lady to get the medicines.. she carefully explained to the men in TAMIL (they very obviously looked like tamilians, and tamil’s also 1 of 4 singapore’s national laguages so tamilians co exist here) the number of times d medicines should be consumed… “moon velai ore naal le.. rathri after sapade” and then she counted the medicines.. she went on and on….onne, rendu, moone, naale.. she went on…. Both mum n I were in awe.. we have certainly appreciated how beautifully cultures co exist in singapore….but haven seen a chinese speak in tamil before.. this place surprises me everyday.. and I am in AWE…

Thursday, May 3, 2007

TAG!!!

1.One thing you are very much afraid of??
Ehm ok next question...

2.Two incidents you can never forget in your life?

=> D day my grandma gifted me her very precious posession...
=> D day i spent in Vidyasagar on an AIESEC appointment

(2 is unfair i have many incidents that r unforgettable)

3.Three books you would love reading again and again?
Memoirs of Anne frank (when i was young, not any more tho..)
My memoir book from school...
Blogs..

4.Four women who are most beautiful?
Beauty to me is skin deep... so i have like a BIG list..cant start listing.. sply 4...not fair!

5.Five of you favorite food items?
Pulao with aalu dum
Green apple and vegetable salad
Naan with kadai vegetable
Lime soda
Mum's triffle pudding

6.Six words you use very often oral/written?

re...
dah...
awerighttt..
ei.. and eh?..'ya' a recent addition..
What the hell
coolish!
ehhe

7.Seven things you like about yourself?

This is verrrrry difficult for me ..ehhe
I like my focus
I like the way i plan
I love that i am on time.. most times.. exceptions of course...
I care for people
I can be verrrry frank when require
I take constructive criticism well...
I learn well from others...

8. Eight film personalities who are your all time favorites?

Kamal Hassan
Steve Martin
Kajol
Amir Khan
Richard Gere
Rahul Bose
Prakash Raj
Julia Roberts

9.Nine movies you wont mind watching again and again?

Father of the bride...
Anbe Sivam
Troy
Ben Hur
i guess its difficult to please me..cant think of anymore...

10.Ten songs you would like to listen to everyday?
Complicated
Headstrong
bullevard of broken dreams
Unfaithfull
Bring me to life
Clocks
In the end...
Wonderwall..
Bure Bure..
Mitwa

ah.. that wasn as easy as i thot it wud be.. so much for killing time :P

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Tryst with destiny!


Now here’s something I am proud of… India’s judicial system…I have many reasons to say so… and what truly got me thinking was the program on NDTV – “Tryst with destiny”!

The program was an hour long affair that had an eminent panel comprising of former and current law gurus… right from Soli Sorabjee to Harish salve…

Its interesting what was discussed in this program…for a change it did not look like a money making, lets increase our TRP’s kinda show … none of these panelists wanted to impress the audience… or the media men.. No unnecessary publicity tactics…

What came outta this discussion - several suggestions to improve India’s judicial system… like “Accountability and transparency should be enhanced in the system”. The public should be able to watch the court proceedings if they want. Judges should report theirs assets and net worth to some ultimate authority like America does... because they should also be liable jus like the politicians are....& mind u this coming from these law men themselves was a good thing…

The judicial system in the recent past has seen path breaking achievements in the form of providing justice in high profile cases like the “Jessica Lall” case… but the whole process is still slow and slippery… like they say “justice delayed is justice denied”.. to this the panelists argued that the system is such that the processes cannot be speedy.. the only way out is more manpower and better infrastructure….this yet again is a debate.

When I personally followed the whole reservation issue… I realize that one good thing has come outta it - that the judiciary is acting like a separate super power in the country and politicians do not seem to have a say in the proceedings… I am not even going to delve into the verdict…. because reservation is a debate that is never ending…

If nothing else this effort from NDTV’s side made me think… and that’s an achievement !!!