When bombarded......

What do you do when the 60 or so of the 68 of your classmates demand that you do what they think is right and the rest 10 are not bold enough to stand their ground?

What do you do when they start talking against you?

Change?
Be someone else for somebody else?
Be who you are not?

I don't intend to. My ideals stay strong and I'm not gonna change.

I am who I am. 

Best of ___?

Best of Luck 

or

All The Best

Do I hear a "what's the difference?" ? 

Think about it. 

A guy (or a girl for that matter) is going to write an exam. Tell him 'Best of Luck' and it implies "you'd need all the luck that you can get to get through this one. I don't think you are good enough on your own to get through with it."

Tell him "All the Best" and you are just wishing that he turns out fine in all respects which implies that "I believe that you are good enough to get through this with your capabilities and may you fare well through this and through the path further ahead".

Most people don't realize the very subtle and yet significant difference between the two and, frankly, most don't care. But, it becomes significant when you say this to someone who realizes it. And, of course, the other way round works too. When someone who realizes this wishes others with these wishes, listen carefully and you'll know what he thinks about them.

Got a problem with this theory of mine. Then bring it on! ;-) 

ALL THE BEST!

Regards

Diff.Thinkr

Those Winter Days : A short story with a twist

"I wonder which  furry little rodent ate my node this time!"
"Ah, there it is! Look, right there on the walkway is where I stood last winter.Winter has always been my favorite. Not very surprising I guess. The days are wonderful and cold. The kids, the snow balls, and the skiers...
Have I told you? Once, a skier crashed into me and I got so angry that I almost impaled him with my arm! But thought people call us "cold-hearted", I let him go. It was winter! Everyone has the right to enjoy, right?  The nights are colder and sometimes I feel lonely. Just standing there all night, all alone, it feels as though I'm no more wanted but the cold day brings good news, its still winter!

Now that we have chilled for so long, let me tell you a secret. Promise to keep quiet about it? Well, last winter I met a girl. Snow had never been whiter, noses never brighter, arms never so branched and girls never so round! She was cold and gorgeous but try as I might, I could never get her to respond . Neither could I get close to her , the hard road kept our cold hearts apart. But I knew it would never last! It never does. We never know where we would end up next winter! Nevertheless, oh, how I wish to meet her again!

I'm glad you cared enough to talk to me. People almost never realise we too have a heart, cold by your standards but ones with feelings definitely. We too feel hurt and happy and just because we love the cold doesn't mean that we don't love just as you do so "warmly". You might see us around only in winter but keep in mind, we are always around watching you.

Hey! hear that bell? That's my buddy coming along. Too bad he has such a short life! Care to buy an ice cream so that I could spend some time with him? Afterall, we snowmen too need friends , you know?

Let Your Heart....

Let Your Heart float in the air,

Let fly your sorrows in the breeze,

Laugh out loud,

N' think of Love!!

Ants - A Magnificent Symbiosis

A Senior Secondary School student returns home.
Nobody's home; All are at work. He lets himself in. Its dark. He's tired after the 15 minute ride in the jam packed KSRTC bus. He sets down the bag and flips the light switch. And there on the white (not so sparkling clean) floor was a thick row of ants.

All marching in unison and yet in chaos. An army ,efficient even without a commander. An army of workers willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the colony. An army of diligent workers who works without complain, lifting weights 50 times their own. Following the strongest scent to the nearest food. Working day and night for the very same purpose that drives all creatures on this planet, to survive.

I had often mentioned my fascination with insects in general and ants in particular. In an article I wrote a while ago, I had promised to write in detail about my fascination and a wonderful symbiosis with ants. Frankly, I had forgotten about this, what with all the college excitement and the topsy-turvy way my life is turning out to be (which is wonderful!)

The scene is set in a wonderful October afternoon. It hasn't rained in while and the sky is at its best blue. A  warm breeze cools the mind after the hectic half-day even though the sun shining down would make easy work out of even the strongest tan. The school was dispersed for some reason by noon......

Apparently, he's lazy as can be. So he lets them be. His attitude, "They mind their business and me mine".

A delicious lunch later, curiosity gets the better of him. He starts tracking down the ants.
"Where are they heading? What's the target? What's for lunch, guys?" After a roller coaster ride past the couch, along the wall, up the edge, above the door and through the window. Oops! That was the wrong way!! He traced back to the couch, and under there was what he was looking for. It was a cockroach. A dead one and already in parts. The ants had already started their work!

A couple of hours later, by evening, all activity died down. By 4.30 pm, there was not a single trace of that hectic and frantic cleaning team. No wonder this secret was not found out earlier!

Of course, the guy is me and this is a true story.

The amazing thing  to note is the fact that the ants come out only when the house is empty. The go everywhere cleaning up the whole house, from dead insects to food crumbs on the floor, everything that one would usually have to take the pains to clean up.

Well, occasionally, there comes up a couple of clashes, mostly due to the "language barrier" but hey! is there any incidence of collaboration where even a slight clash hasn't occurred?

Did I mention that they also helps to keep out pests? Very few insects can match upto a  swarm of ants.working in unison.

In fact, most wise farmers, especially ones with a good traditional backing ( references 1, 2 ) has relied on ants and termites for pest control on their farms. Not only is it sustainable, eco-friendly, literally cost-free , this has been advised by many studies too!!

So, the next time you see a colony of ants marching, just let them be!
Live with Nature 
not against Her,
for you'll be fighting a losing battle right form the beginning!

Indian Republic Day - Proud To Be an Indian!

A Billion people...
Dozens of Religions...
Hundreds of Languages...
Thousands of Cultures...
Even more Outlooks...
Far more Aspirations...
A huge lot more Talent!!

A Blooming economy...
An ever Evolving culture...
A Prospering population...
A geographic Marvel...
A sub-Continent in itself...
The largest Democracy...
A world of Dreamers and Doers!!!

Proud to be INDIAN!!!

Vande Mataram
JAI HIND!!! Forever and ever more!!



Indian,
My Country,
My mother,
My protector,
My sustainer

I have never been so proud to be an Indian. The warmth of the day still burns and the flag flutters even as the day has almost come to an end. Today, when the united India turns 63 on this 26th of January, the Republic of India has stands proud and unequaled on more than a few aspects. The world does and forever will watch this huge population of diversity as can be seen NOWHERE else,
growing as one,
thinking as one,
singing "Vande Mataram" as one.

India faces challenges faced by no other nation in the world. Its one Billion citizens share not one or two  but 1,652 languages, innumerable cultures having its roots deep in the history and from around the world. A logistical, technological, in fact in all ways, a huge nightmare. Add to that the fact that it is the world's largest active, participative democracy with over 738 million eligible voters employing nearly 7 billion goverment officials as election personnel.
The voice of a billion heard and heeded.
A land Of  the People, By  the People, For the People.

With climate of all ranges, geographic features of all kinds from volcanoes to glacier, from flood plains to the Thar Desert 9th largest in the world, from 5717 km of coast line to 8611 m high mountains, with 3 oceans and thousands of rivers, India has is blessed with all that mother nature has to offer. Vivid views, vibrant biodiversity, a wonderful climate and being able to watch both the sunset and the sunrise from the same spot is definitely thrilling!

Still holding fast to the high ideals of our freedom fighters and the never to be forgotten Mahatma Gandhi, who truly was a "Great Soul", of secularism, peace, love and tolerance. A military strength to be reckoned with and yet one which never wishes to use its might. A technological marvel, which,  even in the face of millions struggling (which is nothing to be proud of),  is forging ahead with a steadfast pace towards even more technological dominance with a space program that is among the best in the world. A space program for the people, technology with humanity as its priority!

Bharath Mata Ki....

JAI!!!

As Promised

As I promised just yesterday, here I am writing about the future.

Today was a good day with a wonderful session on the Indian space technology by the former deputy chairman of ISRO followed by a quiz and a modification of a treasure hunt. ( My team grabbed the first prize , a bottle of Fanta and a milkybar for each of us, SWEET!!  ;-) !! )

But, obviously, that is not what I've planned to talk about. Its the future! Not just future, but our future, ie, each of our future. Let me just cut to the chase ;-)

Today, I spoke with two of my friends, one from my college and the other , I met at the program. I asked the former if he chose Engineering by choice. He said, he had no preference to engineering or electronics. He told me his plan is the management field. He took engineering because (according to him) having an engineering degree would give him a better base to get a good job after an MBA.

The second one, he took Aeronautical Engineering. I asked him the same thing , did he take it by choice or chance? He said choice and I salute him for that.

So few these days actually know what their heart yearns to do. And even fewer have the guts to pursue it. During the finals of our "IEEE Best Fresher" contest, one of the guys told that his passions were management and journalism. When "cross-examined" further by the judges on this topic, he was at his wits end because he had already told that he loved journalism and that he would try to take it as his "side business". Then, when he was asked if he would forfeit a 10 or 26 lakh per annum job for jouranlism and he said no! That is the value that many give to their passion. I don't know him personally and hence can't say if what he said was the complete truth. All I can say is passionate people are hard to find. Especially in engineering colleges (and medical colleges too) these days.

Whenever I'm out for an IEEE meeting or any other program, I'm always on the lookout for such passionate people, and I just started ranking them on a star basis, 1 to 5.  I wonder when I'll meet a 5 star guy (or girl, of course!)

If you think you are worthy of a star, come talk to me. No, I don't have anything to give for you, nor do I have much contacts or talents that might come in handy, but I will always treat you with a certain kind of respect for "Being Who You Are"!

That said, there are some people who are passionate and truly committed to learn and enjoy the subject to the fullest.
And to these people ,
KUDOS!!
Keep doing it!!
Keep being passionate!!
Keep LIVING the true LIFE!!!
Think Different!!

Once upon a time, there was a blogger ....

Once upon a time,

there was a blogger 

who went by the name Diff.Thinkr and fortunately , he's still alive and in college!!

Hey guys, its been such a long time since my last post and just now I deleted 2 of my old posts that I started writing but left after a single para. But this time I'm determined to complete :D

Life has been fun so far. College has presented itself lots of wonderful opportunities, great friends and new insights. A new outlook, a new openness, a whole new world to explore.
And amazingly, a good number of my friends are open minded enough to listen and even accept many of my ideas! 

Being a member of IEEE, is proving very useful and has opened a lot of new avenues to explore and, possibly get lost in too! Our college's cultural fest "Dhwani"  completely rocked (I simply can't find a better word to describe it! ) 

Ok, I'm ending this short update and hopefully, the next time I write, I'll be able to remember the "different thoughts" that I still keep getting. (I keep forgetting them :(  )

The Essence of Onam

Another Prosperous Onam has arrived at our door steps at Kerala.
A celebration of prosperity and life.
Of the harvest and the bounty of nature.
Of the vibrant colours of the spring and the mouth watering treats.
Of the refreshing fragrance of the blossoms and the sweet chirps of the birds.

But today, regretfully,even this celebration of life too has been commercialised!

Pookalam (Floral Carpets) ,one of the most integral parts of Onam , is inarguably one of the most enjoyable activites of Onam. Traditionally children (mostly) went around collecting flowers, wild and grown, planned, designed and set the pookalam. Since a couple of years, flowers can be bought taking out ,in my opinion, the most enjoyable facet of making a pookalam, ie. collecting flowers with friends and family. And now its possible to go walk upto a flower shop, pick a design, hand over the money and they'll come and setup the whole pookalam! Where's the fun in that?

One might argue that this is aimed at all the companies and such who put up pookalam. Yes its true that most ventures setup a pookalam in their offices often incorporating their own symbols. But, if you can't invest a couple of hours for this then why bother even putting up a pookalam?

On to the next issue. There aren't any flowers! My sis and I spent a lot of time searching for flowers along the roadsides and were hard pressed to find enough flowers for a decent pookalam. That said, it turned out pretty well at the end.

This year I was feeling a bit adventurous and went ahead a step further and made this.....

Yes, an "Electronic Carpet" if you may.....

Hope the years to come will preserve or even revive the age old traditions of Onam........

Notes to the Future Me - The Little Girl

If you are wondering about the title, I'm leaving this post to the future me so that one day when I read my old posts, I would remember these occasions and moments and they might come in handy at the time.

Well, here goes....

For my college admission process, I had to go to Trivandrum. We went by train and near our seat was a small family, father, mother and a girl of 4-5 years. Her (the girl's) name is Shangari. They were from Mangalore.

I usually don't play around with small kids. I think its more a result of my circumstances than a choice but that's a whole another story..... On with the story, the girl was very much interested in playing with me and we did so for the next 4 hours, almost the whole length of our journey. She was an astonishingly smart and bright girl.

At the end of the journey, she was woken up (she was made to sleep for sometime) and she bid me farewell by wishing me "Study Well". To think that a 4 year old wished me so was so very surprising to me. She was told earlier that I was going to college but I would never ever even have dreamt about such a wish. Thank You dear.

Afterwards, I was just wondering how weird and wonderful it would be to meet her again after many years. I hope so.....

A Breath of Fresh Air

Its been a long time since my last post. I've been trying to find the reason for this but still not so sure about it. But what prompted me to write this is a very timely poem sent by my English Teacher Vijayalakshmi, affectionately called Viji miss....

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

I'm on the very brink of another phase of my life, college. I've been busy with a couple of huge projects the keystone of which is Coders On Cloud. But I must admit that a couple of thoughts have been in and around my head and raking it pretty well. One of the latest just happens to be about my image in the eyes of my fellow beings. I know this goes against all that I've ever written on this blog or elsewhere but I guess every once in a while a rock has to give way to bring a fresh breath of life to a sleeping cavern of treasures. This poem did just that and for that I'm speechlessly grateful to her.  

To be precise, these are the words that mean the most to me

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

And I can truly and wholeheartedly vouch for the fact that those words are indeed true to the fullest. And now I'm as happy as ever to be me.

On a side note, I think it is high time for my "Most Influential" article and that will be up next.

Guru - The Forgotten Truths

Today, on my way home, thinking about some stuff, I struck upon an analogy that is so profound and meaningful and yet so unrealized.

Right: Reghuraman. Left: The King.
If I remember correctly, this scene comes towards the end.

Guru, meaning "teacher" in the deepest and truest sense, is the name of a movie in Malayalam . Until today, the film (which is a favorite of mine) was nothing more than an interesting story to me. But today, I realized how potent an idea it poses and frankly, I was absolutely amazed upon realizing it.

Here's a brief of the story ....

Read more »

A couple of chats

A few days back I had a chat with one of my good friends. He is a great guy but he was very sad about how he performed for his exams. But, the matter of fact is, we both performed almost the same in almost all the exams. However, that chat session was a real gem and I would like to share it with you.

Yesterday, I had another chat with another of my friend. This one was a short one but I wasn't quite expecting such replies from such a brilliant (perhaps a bit wacky but brilliant) girl. That one doesn't have much but just a single point that I would like to highlight. But a very important one nevertheless.

The original conversations were in "chat-language", so I had to edit them. I'm publishing only the relevant (but continous) parts and have added some clarifications in [ ] but apart from that, these are 100%  honest and real conversations.

Him:	I did way below my expectations for the exams
	and I'm totally disappointed
Me:	which exam?
Him:	That may be pulling me back.
	The exams that we wrote a month ago. Have you already forgotten?
	"THE ENTRANCES"

Read more »

Beauty?

I just couldn't stop myself from expressing this, but what happened to all that talk about natural beauty and self acceptance? Of late I've been seeing more and more ads about beauty products in the course of my short cartoon, science shows and movies and the newer ones really have started to bother me. The latest one is a new "Underarm fairness cream/deodorant" or something of that sort!!

Why this obsession with extreme fairness? One of the latest ads featured two girls, one of them as pale skinned as the 'white people' (please don't take this as a racist phrase) and this one asking the other how she got an even paler skin!! Frankly

Read more »

I, Me & Myself

Ever felt bad when you've had a great day followed by a bland one?
It made me think, "Hey, if all days were bland, then I wouldn't have felt bad."  It isn't the most ideal solution. In fact, it isn't a solution at all nor do I claim it to be one. It's just a thought that popped into my head. I wonder why I felt bad about it.

A smile..

When I leave a post half way through for more than a month at a stretch I know that I'm getting obsessed with my "hobbies".

Back to the more important stuff, the other day , one of my old classmate put up a picture of hers on Facebook and I was astonished. Back then, all of us knew that we couldn't stop her from smiling but now, after two years, when I asked her about the serious looking photo she had put up, all she said was, "I've changed. Can't I be serious?".

Of course people can change, but the question is, for the better or for worse?

Of all the people that I've met, very few have the uncanny ability to keep smiling even in the face of adversity. I've always admired their ability to fill any group with life and energy and to keep people active. It is a trait that I keep trying to acquire and I can confidently say "I haven't" . Maybe this admiration is due to the fact that I'm unable to keep any conversation going on with most people barring a handful or because   I once forgot how to smile or because ... no, I don't know why, but I do admire them and it is such a shame that they do not realise the immense power of a simple sweet smile can have on the world and its beings. I hope she does.

Looking Back...

I'm just about to step into another 'phase' of my life, from schools to colleges  (hopefully) and I just read through most of my older posts. Now I feel that starting this blog was a great idea. It brings back old and forgotten times back to life, long forgotten ideas back to the lime light and makes sweet memories and (sometimes sour) feelings astonishingly real.

The main chord that I felt is "Enjoy Life". Hopefully, I wouldn't forget so often again.  Excuses is yet another field I feel I need to improve in. No, not make them better but rather not make them at all.

Here's an easy way to get an easy view of all the posts 

On to my offline activities, I read one of the poems that I had to learn 2 years back. It's a great Malayalam poem. One of the few Malayalam stuff that I read willingly. I felt it was as apt time for me to read it.

Ears and a Brain

The other day, I was discussing some things with a friend of mine when I suddenly came up with a metaphor ( I'm sure its not a metaphor but have no idea what else to call it! )

How come we have two ears and bang in the middle sits our brain? Its because we are supposed to take everything through one ear and let everything through the other. The brain sits there to filter and process. We should not take the things we hear as such but should think about it, rationalize it with your own arguments and then and only then accept it.

If in case you are wondering why I said that we must let everything through the other ear, I guess I was "drawing power" from an old and famous Buddhist saying, "Only an empty cup can be filled".

In case someone wondered, I'm still alive and breathing. Sorry for the long gap, had lots of exams and looking forward to a couple more.

This "exam season" was a real eye opener for me. All the exams that I wrote in the past two months are supposed to be "important" and "life-changing" exams. But for some reason, I felt not a bit of anxiety or fear. My friends were almost cursing me for my carefree attitude.

Fear is a monster lurking in the shadows to catch the unwary. It is like a "logic suppressant". I say this for good reason for I have experienced it.

One day, a couple of months  back I was completely overcome by an irrational fear ... I don't know why! But it completely froze me out and I was almost paranoid that day and to this day I still don't know what I was afraid of that day. I tried my best to reason myself out of it but it was no good. That incident made me realized how dangerous a phenomenon fear is. Of course, in certain cases, fear helps with adrenaline as when your are about to face a black bear but then in today's world, adrenaline seems too slow especially with all the speeding cars on todays roads!

The fact that it almost always seems to decrease performance  is all the more reason  to avoid it at all cost!

Moving on, even with all these exams on hand I have managed to keep my 'work' schedule intact. It was something I had promised myself that I would do this season as most of the time in the past I used to completely change my timetables and it would wreck everything. Now, some days I program from 8 am to 9pm with maybe an hour of lunch and a couple of naps towards the evening. That around 10 hours a day! Thanks to workrave I'm still almost fit. Sometimes I think that I'm going crazy and then realize that I'm safe from such a situation as I already am crazy!!

Well, ces't la vie ...

Education, Supernaturalism and Madness!!

Today, we had our formal farewell function at school but just before that we had 3 to 4 hours of pooja ( its a Hindu ritual like an invocation).

I think I can safely say that my position on such things are clear for most people who know me (otherwise it will be as you read along) but what disturbed me the most is not the fact that most of the students didn't even care what was going on but the fact that even when the teachers are "trying" their best to help the students (through the pooja) the students still remained unruly and kept played pranks on each other. What's the point of prayers if you cant behave well to our friends and elders?

Well, I couldn't bear all this, so I said so to my class teacher and moved out of the room. A nearby classroom was empty, so I just went inside and found a note book lying around. Inquisitive as I am, I started reading the book and guess what?
I found even the answers of an 8th standard student revealing!!

It was the English (as in English subject) notebook. The first page was an essay on positive attitude. (Too bad I don't remember the contents of the book exactly. They were much better. But I'll try my best to convey the meaning). It said , in the first line,

 "Positive attitude may not make much of a change but the fact that I annoys people enough makes it worth the effort." 

The teacher had circled 'annoys' but I am of the opinion that she (the child) was very much right. Notice the word 'enough'. That conveys that it (annoying) actually performs some function other than just for the sake of annoying. Sometimes people just wont listen to reason but something annoying certainly catches any ones attention!

I continued flipping through the pages and I came across another revealing essay.
It  was about "Supernatural vs Realism". The first paragraph was about supernatural. It said (approximately)

"These days we see a lot of rituals and functions to move away negative energies, so I believe that supernatural exists".

The second paragraph was about realism which said (again approximately)

"Realism is the tendency to view or represent things as they really are. ...( some other stuff that said something like realism is to how things really are etc. ) .... I believe in the supernatural than realism!! 

That last comment made me think, what are we teaching our children. Whose ideals are the real and true ideals. Who is right about anything when it comes to such controversial topics. Most will believe what they hear without giving it a second thought. But what I find unacceptable is the fact that if we feed small children with certain thoughts or opinions, especially by people whom they trust completely (like their teachers) then it will stick to them. They will never even think about question it. They will never have the power or will to break out of that web which weaves around their mind! That box which closes itself pretty tightly! Well, most don't. Some however do, and when they talk, the others say "he's mad"

Remember Horton Hears A Who the elephant who heard little people on a clover? In it the mayor tells the city council that their centennial celebrations have to be postponed because of the anomalies caused by their moving home. And the council is too engrossed in celebrating that they forgo the safety of the citizens and says that the Mayor is a "boob". Horton (the elephant) who is the only person who can hear the people on the clover (by virtue of his large ears) too faces a similar dilemma. Nobody believes him and says (in effect) that he is mad.

For some reason, I seem to be able acknowledge such comments about me. Over the years I have heard it many a times from many of my close friends and my reply is yes. After all madness is relative. One man's madness might be another's genius!

Getting on with the events of the day, we had the formal function where some school authorities and the principal and teachers were present apart from us 99 students and a couple of juniors. We heard a couple of speeches and all the while the phrase "Good Education" kept turning up. And then one of the teachers said, 

'You should listen to and obey your teachers always. They might be wrong sometimes but you have to listen and obey no matter.' 

These two phrases totally cranked my head up.


What is a good education? For the most part of it, there is a good consensus but as in the case above, what is right is a question that can always rise up once in a while. But then people go with the majority opinion. But is the majority always right? Certainly not! Just because a hundred people solves an equation wrongly doesn't make the wrong way the 'right way'. It just makes it an attractive (and deadly) hideout.

On to the second point, how could any one justify obeying an advice that you know is wrong? Making mistakes is not a fault but (in my honest opinion) saying that one has to blindly listen to anyone ( a teacher or parent or any other for that matter) seems absurd to me. If in doubt, ask them for their justification. It may just be that they might have taken an accidental wrong turn in their thought process. Work it out. Reason and justify as far as possible. As the heroine of a Bollywood movie said (in the movie Jab We Met) 

"It is better to live life according to your own opinion. That  way, if something doesn't turn out right, you wouldn't have to blame others for your failure !"

Before I wrap up, I would like to narrate one more incident of the day. We all were expecting to receive our hall tickets today, but later came to know that we would have to go get it on another day. So, when I got some time, just before the beginning of the function, I went and talked to my English teacher who was about. I asked her if she knew why we were not given the hall tickets that day and she replied she didn't know and said that the "person who gives the orders" (the Principal) said so and so, it is so. Then I asked her if she could ask the Principal to give us the Hall tickets today and what she said next really annoyed me. She said "When you grow up and live your life, you come to realise that there is something called self respect and that it is sometimes better to keep quiet." That may be true to some extent but it sounded like a lame excuse for not doing things that you know are true but you are too 'shaken' or 'afraid of retribution' to speak up about. Then I just told her that

"That is what always happens. We know what is right and we 'talk about talking about it' (its not an accidental repetition but exactly what I meant) but never do so. Actions are what we need, not words."

That just about wraps up a most revealing day!! What do you think?


P.S. Reading this article, please don't conclude that I don't respect my teachers or mentors. I do respect all my teachers from the bottom of my heart for their commitment and dedication and make my best efforts to not sound disrespectful.