The gist of it all

Hello everyone!So...all of us are excited with the first showers of rain.I somewhat like the atmosphere that sets in just before it starts pouring.A few days back,we went to Pune for a function.While we were travelling by the expressway,it was pouring a lot and I was really excited looking at the way the clouds had descended down the mountains.It is a great experience to see the peaks of mighty mountains sandwiched between the clouds overhead in the sky and those serenely descending towards the hearts of the mountain ranges,creating an eye-pleasing view;especially when you are travelling in a car and can witness this at a comparatively closer proximity.

Recently,I finished reading a book called,’The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ by Robin Sharma.To start with,it is a great book;in the sense,worth-reading.It is woven around the theme of a workaholic lawyer,Julian Mantle,who has a heart-attack which serves as a wake-up call for him when the doctors ask him to give up law or his life.The real story starts from there,as he sells all his material belongings,including his Ferrari,to go to India and heal himself spiritually.The whole book is basically a conversation between John(his assistant) and the lawyer-turned-monk,as he shares the knowledge he acquired from the Sages of Sivana with him.

Well,the book is not in the least boring;the very fact that I read the whole thing is a good enough proof!After reading books like The Secret,The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,The Magic of Thinking Big,The Alchemist e.t.c. I have come to the conclusion that the basic gist of all these books is quite similar.It is possible that you feel a bit cluttered while reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,but after sometime,you will realise that each and every teaching is not to be blindly copy-pasted into your life and this thought will bring a kind of soothing effect.Thinking positive thoughts,living in the now,doing your work with dedication...all these things mainly form the gist of it all.Of course,there's much more to it than this but I couldn't help noticing the major similarities.

However,even if the basic gist is similar,I did not feel like I am reading something repetitive and monotonous.I loved the comparisons and metaphorical expressions used throughout the book.The occasional use of mythical and mythological stories as well as a hint of humour in John’s dialogue was like a cherry on the cake.The mystical fable used to keep the reader hooked throughout was purely remarkable and absolutely imaginative.Well,don’t expect me to describe what the fable is all about!Read the book and find out for yourself.In my opinion,a person of any age group will find reading this book a delightful experience.Well then,Happy Reading!

Closer to nature...

Hello everyone!A few weeks back,I went to Aamby Valley.Awesome place.Without even a hint of exaggeration in my statement,I might as well go on to say that it was heavenly.It was the kind of place I had always longed to go to;surrounded by nature.There was greenery all over with multi-coloured flowers everywhere along with modern,luxurious chalets(the Timber chalet in which we lived was marvellous)as well as other exciting things which I can’t wait to describe.

The boat ride was a wonderful experience.Not only did it offer a great view of nature in general,but we were also fortunate enough to see a peacock,standing atop the steep hills,drinking water from the lake.Maybe it got scared because of the sudden attention and finger-pointing and scrambled up through the marshy slope.Luckily,I managed to capture a few pics while it was there.I was really excited as I had seen a peacock for the first time in my life.I had seen a peahen in Singapore and then, I was pretty disappointed about the fact that I couldn’t see a peacock!It is strange that sometimes things happen when you are not at all expecting them to happen and they don’t happen when you do expect them to happen...

Alright,back to the boat ride.So,in short,I was thoroughly enjoying myself.I stuck out my hand out of the boat and felt the rippling water on my hand.We played air hockey and table tennis in the Mini Club.In the recreation centre,there was a combined reading room and siesta.I comfortably rested myself out there and the surprising thing was that while we were reading out there for a stretch of three to four hours,not a soul entered that room.Even the attendant out there wore an incredulous look when I enquired about the A.C. remote in the reading room!Weird...Later,we played carom,went to Four Seasons and then returned to our Chalet.

Oh!I forgot to mention the Golf Cart part.A golf cart would come to pick us up when we wanted to go up to the reception.I just loved the golf cart ride like anything.I mean,I can’t guarantee you that a golf cart ride would be as enthralling in the city because the beauty of nature and the pleasant,clean gusts of wind blowing on your face when you bend outwards to get a better view of the surroundings added to the pleasurable experience.

At times,I would just sit in the Timber Chalet balcony,close my eyes and listen to the sweet chirping of birds.I could experience a natural calm and serenity,effortlessly,without any attempt to forcibly quieten my mind like I used to before this,the thoughts seemed to drift away,as though on their own,without any breathing exercises or other methods of feeling deep calmness which I usually resort to.Heavenly.I had heard before this that getting closer to nature helps to gain peace of mind,but there is a huge difference between hearing from other people and finding out on your own.

At night,it was pleasantly cool.After a considerably long time,I found myself counting the innumerable stars spanning the night sky!So,all in all,the whole experience of Aamby Valley was extremely delighting and enjoyable!

Change is Constant...

Hey all! It has been an incredibly long time since I last posted. Well, to start with, Happy New Year! If I am not mistaken, the day when I last posted was the last day of my summer vacations…I had described my mixed feelings about how I was not feeling exactly the way I wanted to feel about school reopening…or,it was something similar to that.

Do you remember the post,”Monsoon Musings”(at any rate, if you don’t, just scroll down!)Well,I had concluded it by saying ‘Life is about moving on’.When I was typing all that…,never in the least did I feel,that I will have to abide exactly by the same principle a few months later.I mean,though the statement sounds kind of philosophical, I had written it whilst I was in one of my most casual moods,enjoying a hot beverage and occasionally,peeping through the window to see the raindrops falling on the dust-laden grill softly;cleaning the dust and making part of the grill look coal-black once again…

Well then,so to say, I have moved on.Immediately after the change of school,I was neck-deep in completing the backlog and stuff.I decided I will return to blogging after the commencement of the vacations,but guess what?After I got the much-needed respite,I just did not feel like it.Actually,I wanted to write a lot-mind you,a LOT-about the transition from IG to ICSE,the coping up with the advanced syllabus and the new environment,topping the class even after joining late leaving people in a state of shock:), at times feeling great about the present while at times,dwelling in the past…the list is endless.

However,I never really felt a strong urge to actually write about all this-mind you,even when I had the time.Now, school has started in full swing and yet,I felt like specially taking time out for myself…for a long-forgotten hobby of mine.Well then,that’s all for today,and I hope I’ll keep taking time out for regularly updating my blog.Alright then,good-bye and enjoy life!

The general...

Hi!1 day to go.I mean,not even one full day...technically,one night to go but let’s not go in the details.A few days back I watched the movie Raajneeti.I liked it;it was not at all boring.I am mentioning this only because at first I thought I wouldn’t like it much,considering my boring experience with political flicks at first(sarkar raj)You know,I don’t write on my blog about every single movie I watch:D.

Raajneeti was like a modern day Mahabharata.You could actually recognise all the characters of the epic.I mean,not all don’t ask me who was Nakul and Sahadev and Dushasan...stuff like that,some of the main characters.

Recently,I finished reading Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde.Awesome book.Really.You may have heard that it’s about dual personality,but the way it keeps the reader engrossed till the very end is truely remarkable.Great book.

Meanwhile,as you already know,school is reopening tomorrow.Surprisingly enough,now I am not really waiting for it to reopen.Of course,I still want it to reopen,I am excited at the thought but if you know what I mean,the same desperation is missing.Maybe because the time left for it to reopen is so short...
Anyways,till then bye-bye.

Monsoon Musings

Hi!It’s really been a long time since I last wrote anything on my blog.The monsoon has begun!Well,not really,but day before yesterday,I guess,it rained for the first time this year.I just love this kind of weather.Even when it is not pouring,I find this weather soothing and nice.

You feel like sitting near the window and stare outside in this cloudy and cool atmosphere,irrespective of what the normal view is.Cool…Did I say cool weather??Well,it is cool,but it is kind of stange that even when it’s raining cats and dogs outside you have to put on the AC!So moral of the story:In Mumbai,even if it’s raining a lot,nine times out of ten,it doesn’t make any difference in the room temperature.

In any case,not yet…School is reopening on the 14th.At the starting of the vacation,I had wondered how I was going to spend such a long vacation.I thought the vacation was too long.But now it’s as though the vacation is just over without me even realising it’s over!But then,time passes…it moves on.

And that’s what life is about,right?Moving on…Alright then,I’ll end my post on this note and meanwhile enjoy the remaining days of this vacation and wait for the school to reopen.

Vacation update

Hello people of the world!(that is my favourite opening)Today,we had gone to Cheoul,Alibag where the temple of our family deity-Goddess Bhagvati is situated.We go there every year and I enjoy the travelling part immensely.
Recently,I finished reading Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception and I have started with Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony.Opal Deception was a very interesting book with a good,fast-moving plot.However,when Commander Julius Root,one of the main characters in the series is killed,the reader should get an extreme feeling of sadness.But,nothing like that happened.
I mean,you may probably say that it depends on the person's EQ,which is true to some extent,but still,some detailed description of the loss and sadness felt by the other characters can do.I felt that it just went on with the flow of incidents happening throughout the book.These kind of incidents should not be there in the book,if they are unable to pull at your heart strings.
Well,that was my opinion.Not that I like to feel sad while reading a book,but then if its there then it should be portrayed effectively.But apart from that,it's awesome.The way the plot unfolds at a bearably fast pace is totally remarkable.There are instances in the book,when you can't help but laugh out loud.For example,at the end when Artemis is thinking of reforming but finding it hard to give up his criminal enterprises,he says to himself;maybe I can be a modern day Robin Hood,steal from the rich and give to the poor.Or maybe...just steal from the rich.One step at a time!
LOL!Not only this,there are innumerable humorous instances in all the books in the series.But I won't go listing all of them,some are context-related.
So overall,the books are very enjoyable.That's all for today,I guess.Good-bye till my next post!

Hi friends!Right now,at this moment,I am in Santacruz-getting bored.The thing is,we are here for my grandmom's perimetry test.We are here sice afternoon(2:30-3:00) and none of us had any idea of the detention.Sudoku and word mole saved me but now I can't help getting bored.How I wish I had got my Artemis Fowl...

DD...

Hello people!Today was a…well,different day,to say the least.Actually,it was like any other day,but what I mean is,today I am feeling different…in the sense,strangely numb-if you know what I mean.

Maybe because I had disturbed sleep(I woke up in the midnight and was awake for quite some time after that)But the thing is,I got lots of dreams;or it atleast seemed to me like lots of dreams.But nothing new there…infact,I like to talk about and discuss about the dreams I get and sometimes have a good laugh over them(remember the post My Best Dream)

But today,inspite of the fact that it was NOT a nightmare,I felt…tired or should I say…I was feeling tired while I ‘‘watched’’the dream!And let me get this straight;I was not running or anything in it!Still,I roughly remember that there were many of my friends in it and again and again,the setting would kind of change.So I can’t narrate it like a story,like I narrated the Hogwarts dream in the post My Best Dream.

So,to sum it all up,after I woke up,I did not feel fresh at all,and felt the urge or longing for a dreamless sleep;which is so unlike me.Anyways then,that longing is still there,I don’t want any dream today and neither do I want to wake up in the middle of the night.

Alright then,that’s all there is to this post.By the way,today I felt strangely happy that I have a blog because I really needed to share this!

P.S:DD stands for disturbing dreams...

Vacation life...

Hey guys!What's up?Please don't say-the sky or the ceiling!It's just that I am fed up of such answers.Anyway,we got our report cards on friday.But somehow,I felt that the usual post-result euphoria is missing.Reason:just grades were printed(I got an A+ in mostly all subjects)We weren't even told the marks;just the range of some subjects.I don't like that:-But thankfully,I got an overall idea of my marks because our class teacher told me that I am the highest in all subjects-;)

I came to know that I am in 8a.I am happy,because ever since primary I wanted to be in the A division-just like that!I am enjoying my vacations.You know what,I am currently reading the Artemis Fowl series.It's interesting.It is basically about a criminal mastermind-Artemis Fowl who is very intelligent;infact,he has the highest IQ measured in Europe!

Some people tend to compare Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl(though not as much as people compare Harry Potter with Twilight!)But what I think is this-Harry Potter is Harry Potter;Artemis Fowl is Artemis Fowl.There are different parameters to judge whether you enjoyed either series.So don't compare,just enjoy the experience of reading!

Hope you agree with me.Hmm...so I guess,that's all for today.

Extra classes,alchemy...and more

Hi!Now there’s just one more day left for school to begin again-today!Tomorrow,our extra classes will commence.I’m happy because I’ll be meeting my friends after quite a long time and I’m sad because I won’t get to read all the books I was planning to at a stretch.But I’m excited because I’m going to school after a long time.

Talking about books,I just finished reading ‘The Alchemist’,by Paulo Coelho.It’s about following your dream (a magical fable about following your dream)and has a theme similar to ‘The Secret’.The only difference is that the secret is a non-fiction book,more like a guide ,telling you how you can actually use the secret by ways like the power of visualisation,power of gratitude,the ask,believe,receive processes e.t.c.

But the alchemist is a story of a young shepherd boy,in the quest of a treasure.He meets many different people and goes through lots of situations,in order to fulfill his dream.It is an adventure story filled with magic and wisdom.The main theme is-If you want something with all your heart,the whole universe conspires to get it to you.The Alchemist is the kind of book which you don't want to leave once you start reading it.

On the whole,’The Alchemist’is a very inspiring story and worth-reading.

Life

Hi people!How's Life?Well,here's a poem called Life which I made some days ago. I wanted to post it since quite some time.So here goes...

Not chocolates or toys,
I give you a bunch of grapes
Some will be sweet;some sour
just like life
We don't know what will happen the next hour.

It is filled with different colours
Colours of grief,colours of joy
The sooner you understand this,
The better it is,my boy!

Just like grapes,some are violet;some green
You've got to wash them clean.

Playstations and toys,
don't make sensible boys.

The real lesson of life
lies in knowing there will be times of strife.

Just like a bunch of grapes,
with moments which are sweet and sour,
You don't know what you'll experience the next hour.

Blink

Hello people!What’s up?I just finished reading Blink which I mentioned in the earlier post.To say the least,the book is very intersting and cleverly written.But why should I say the least?!It’s my blog so I can write as long as I want to(I guess you’re wishing me happy realisation at this point!)

Alright then,jokes apart,Blink-the power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell is a book about times when you instinctively know something without knowing why.
The book consists of real-life incidents in which people instantly know something or prove something which months of painstaking research couldn’t prove(in the case of the first example,when the art experts instantly spot that the kouros are fake.) This art of making snap judgements is known as thin-slicing.However,the book also mentions the dangers of thin-slicing someone only with their physical appearance which is wrong(the Warren Harding error)

There are lots and lots of examples and I won’t go on listing all of them on and on and on.The book is basically on psychology and lets you have a closer view on how the mind works.It has detailed descriptions based on research work about an autistic person’s way of looking at things and a normal person’s way of looking at things.
Not only this,but you will be surprised after knowing that how much psychological study goes into the selling of Pepsi and Coke and how much of a detailed study of emotions and facial expressions is needed to predict whether a marriage will work or not only after seeing a 15 minutes tape of the couple’s conversation.
Alright then,if I go on mentioning such small snippets of such extensive research then you won’t be able to make any head or tail of it.So,to cut a long story short,Blink is a wonderful book and should be compulsory reading for everyone!

Hi guys!My vacation's going awesome!Currently,I am reading a book called Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and I will write a full-fledged post about it after I finish reading it.You know what,I recently got my own laptop(sony vaio) as a birthday gift!My joy knows no bounds(sorry if I am
being very bookish-the way the write in novels and all)This is my first post I am writing from my laptop!
Alright then,bye-bye!and Happy Vacations!

The Blogger has Returned...

The blogger has returned…dhandhandhandha Wow!What a dramatic comeback!So finally,I’m back.Today,our final exams ended and so I am free to blog , though I had not posted anything long before the exams started for no specific reason.It was just that…never mind.

I don’t have any vacation plans in particular but I do have some book plans(the books I’m planning to read this vacation)Actually,ever since I’ve joined IG we get our vacation in instalments!Now,this is our ten days vacation after which we’ll have extra classes on 19th April.But I’m not complaining.

Alright then,let me enjoy my vacation and you enjoy yours(if you have one!)

Poetry...

Hello people of the world!How’s life?It’s been a long time since I wrote anything on my blog.Anyways,not so recently,I wrote a poem called the 3 Rs for our reuse,reduce,recycle newsletter,and recently,I wrote a poem called The Swing (it was an English activity)

Well,the swing is a really long poem and it has a philosophical tinge to it,and I’ll post it some other day(I need to type the whole thing)But the 3 Rs is quite a short one compared to the swing.So here goes…

Oh,we are in such a mess!
Plastic cans,bottle corks,dumped everywhere.
Will this mess ever become less?

Dirt and garbage all around,
no trees on the ground!
We're literally getting smothered!
But is anyone bothered?

There has to be some solution,
to the never-ending pollution...

There sure is a solution;a very easy one indeed.
Just,'REDUCE,REUSE,RECYCLE'
And our problem will be solved with speed!
-Lairai Karnik
Grade 7

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hi!HAPPY NEW YEAR!Wish you all a happy new year.Sorry I couldn't post that on Jan 1st,but anyway,it's still a happy new year!I'll soon write a detailed post of all that happened to me/I experienced/enjoyed/read/watched/got/felt,since the first of January.
Till then,bye-bye!

BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hi!I’m back from HongKong.To say the least,I had fun.I’ll write a detailed description of exactly how I had fun on my blog.
Well,to start with,Hong Kong is full of tall buildings.We saw the Victoria Peak and an overall city tour on the first day.Hang on!This isn’t some tour itinerary that I’ll tell you everything in sequence!I can just talk about the things I want to in any order!

Well,so let’s talk about Disneyland,which I liked the most.It’s just awesome!We saw the play,Golden Mickey,which was very enjoyable,except for the fact that all the characters were talking in Chinese and I had to lean over to read the English subtitles on the screen next to the stage!

Then we watched the play,Festival of the Lion King which was too good.I got to sit in the first row,which was like a cherry on the cake!The cast members were coming and shaking hands with the people in the front rows,the whole show was magical and extraordinary.Basically,the whole story of the lion king was depicted in a half-an-hour play,with songs and dances as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself in rides like flying saucer and tea cups. ‘It’s a small world’ was a complete treat to the eyes.You feel as though you are in a toy box with the whole world’s toys next to you.The thing is,you travel in a boat and to your left and right,there are lots of colourful puppets,depicting the toys of each continent.That’s a wonderful experience.The Disneyland Parade was worth-a-watch,with all the Disney characters,marching through mainstreet.

I also sat in the Disneyland train and took an overall tour of the whole of Disneyland.But there’s something which I’m dieing to tell you all…and that is,(even the thought of it freaks me out!)Space Mountain.That was sort of exciting,but at the same time,very scary.You feel like you really are in space,all the asteroids,comets and the heavenly bodies around you and you’re going at top speed in this roller-coaster.Afterwards,I had just closed my eyes and clutched my dad tightly,because if I opened my eyes,I’d get all dizzy and feel like I’m going to fall out of the car!(worse still,we were sitting on the first seat,so there was no one in front of us,except for the scary darkness.But actually,it was the speed and the jerks that were scary,more than the darkness,though the overall atmosphere and feeling that you’re in space added to the fear!And at the end of the day,we saw the fireworks which was amazing.

Madame Tussaud’s Museum was worth-seeing.I got photos with many celebrities and historical heroes.The Harbour City Mall was also wonderful.On the fourth floor,there was an open air area called Patio which comprised of many restaurants and it had a view of the sea and tall buildings surrounding it.The overall feeling of just sitting there quietly on the sofa ,watching the view was very peaceful,not to mention the experience of drinking Coke in a temperature of…say,13-15 0 C!


Well.with all this description,you must have very clearly realised that I enjoyed my Hong Kong trip a lot!(without bothering about vacation homework,exams,pending portion,e.t.c.)But now I guess I should start bothering about that,so bye-bye!And wish you all a belated MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Tastes can differ...

Hey guys!It has been almost a month since I last posted anything on my blog.Well,this post isn’t going to be full of excuses as to why I didn’t post anything!Because the most obvious reasons for not posting anything are known to all of you!(can’t think of anything to write,no time,net not working, blah,blah,blah!)

Well,merry Christmas to all of you,in advance.My Christmas vacation started yesterday.I’m emphasizing on the word ‘my’ because the other kids will get their vacation after the annual day.But,as I am going out of station (I’ll tell you where in my next post)my vacation started yesterday.

Yesterday I had fun,in general .I went to watch that movie,Paa.It’s a good movie,actually,I didn’t understand why most of my friends were condemning it,saying it’s the most idiotic movie they’ve ever seen.Well,tastes can differ,some of them had said it’s awesome and even I found it awesome.

Tastes can differ…this sentence reminds me of a funny incident in school.We were given toffees to eat in English class so that we can relate the colour or taste of the toffee to some emotion and make a sense poem out of it.We had to work in pairs so my partner and I got a toffee each called Hing-Ming.No one had ever heard of it but all the same we ate it.I liked the taste but my partner yelled out loud,saying, ‘it’s yucks’She actually felt like vomiting!Then she asked for a different chocolate and she even got it,but all that time,I was gaping at her with a startled expression,telling the teacher that the toffee,though not very delicious,was bearable.I mean,frankly speaking,I liked it and I am sure that if the others would have eaten it,they wouldn’t have reacted like that.

We had a sort of argument on this,but finally,we came to the conclusion that tastes can differ and what may seem good or wonderful to one may not seem the same to the other.

Well,so I’ll end my post on this note.Merry Christmas to you all.And look forward for the next post…I’ve not yet told you where I am going!

Till then,bye-bye!

Hello people of the world! How’s life? Mine’s fine. You won’t believe it but I wanted to write about so many things and I just didn’t seem to find the time! And when I did find the time, it was not the right time to post that post! For example, it would be sort of weird if I write a post about what I am planning for Children’s Day after children’s day!

Well, that reminds me, I can still wish you all a happy children’s day(belated)!And anyway, the universal children’s day is not over, so I can write a post after 2 days wishing everyone a happy children’s day !

So I reckon that’s all there is to this post (I’m not writing about a specific topic so the post isn’t very long)

OK then,bye-bye!

Back to school

Hello people of the world! Today my school reopened. It was fun, in general. We were shown our semester exam papers, I have scored full marks in most of the subjects till now (touchwood); some are yet to be shown.

Anyway, never mind my marks; I’ve been thinking for a few days…I want to post something more…well…formal; I mean, not like formal letters and stuff like that;but something which is……….. OH YEAH!,I guess I just figured out what I want to say(you didn’t need to read this dilemma!)

Well, so as I was saying, I’ll soon be posting some of my essays or stories and stuff I keep writing. Remember my first post-A NIGHTMARE…?Something not quite like that but somewhat like that.

Alright then,I’ll shortly post something awesome!Till then,bye-bye!