The Ugly Duckling

So I came across this column in Page 3 of Bombay Times of a seminar conducted by IITian's Pace ( a top-notch JEE coaching institute in Mumbai) for all the JEE aspirants. It was held in a 5 star hotel in which Sudhir Mishra was the guest speaker along with others .Now I wonder what he has to do with the IITs except for his partial resemblance to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The speakers were going to talk about what sets apart the WINNERS from the LOSERS.Now the winners(let's call them the swans) being the 10,000 odd students who get admission into the prestigious institutions and the losers(let's call them the ugly ducklings) being the other 4,90,000 students who don't crack the exam.
Dear Elders (Indian Education System and the coaching classes) ,this is very demotivating for the rest of the aspirants who did not clear this exam.The ducklings toiled for the exam too ,but since they did not clear it they go into depression (peer pressure leading to this 'D' word) . The ducklings too have worked hard and sacrificed almost everything for this mammoth exam. Many ducklings even contemplate suicide after not being able to turn into the beautiful swan. The prime strain that the ducklings go through is that they will be called a Failure or Coward by the society.
Anyways not everyone can have an IITian future but nevertheless a normal existence can be led by these ducklings (so they in their own time can transform into swans) ,so I request you not to tag them as LOSERS.Who am I to say all this ?Well, just another loser.





(The above written blog is in no offense to IITians,I have immense respect for you all)

The Kite Runner Revisited :)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini has been a very special book for me. Its the story about two boys - Amir and Hassan. Amir is the wealthy merchant's son whereas Hassan is the servant's son.
Although everything about this book has moved me, the following are a select few quotes followed by a poem which I would like to share :-

• For you, a thousand times over .

• It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.          

    

• There is a way to be good again .

•   People say that eyes are windows to the soul.    

•   The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.

         Who are we in this complicated world ? 

                                                                   -Rumi ( attached video) 

Converting potential to kinetic.

Months back we had to fill forms stating our city preferences for a software company where we would like to work. My preferences were these :-
1. Mumbai (as I live here,of course)
2.Pune
3.Delhi.
The third option was written as an act of innocence as I wanted to live in the nation's capital. This particular act of mine stirred a very sharp reaction from my dad. He said ,"Tanvi,if you get Delhi, you might as well say goodbye to your job. There's no way I am allowing you to go there". I was angry at him for being so overprotective. I wasn't a kid anymore. But today, I totally get him. Never again will I think of living in Delhi.

Today,as Nirbhaya, the girl who was brutally gang-raped,tortured and mutilated is announced dead, I have the following set of reactions :-

• All sorts of cuss-words for the rapists.
• Their body parts should be chopped of. She didn't get a peaceful death, why should they ?
• Anger at the government as there definitely was a cover-up. If she needed better care why not give it to her at the initial stages ?

One of my fellow classmates, whose dad is in the police said, "If you feel so much about it, why don't you join the IAS and become the next Kiran Bedi ?". My question is can't I do anything as a common girl who isn't in the system. Its not about getting my hands dirty. 

As a student I think I could do my bit by praying for her and her family, raising my voice against what has occurred, participating in the silent marches of protests, educating the poor so that they don't turn into rapists.

Is there any other way? I ask you all . This is the time for action.