DRIVING...WOAH!

I officially turned 18 a few days ago and was so very excited because, apart from the obviously much awaited  legal entry into adulthood (yay! ), I could now drive! My family is really strict about keeping to the law so I was never allowed to even attempt driving before . 

Day 1 of driving school... I am really excited and go in with bucket loads of enthusiasm. I sit behind the wheel and then ... AND THEN  I learn that driving is not as simple as i thought!

 There are gears to change, judgements to make about distance and extent of steering, signals and speed breakers to watch out for, and since I live in India, dogs, cows, and reckless drivers to deal with and dodge.OH! and don't forget ! confusion about the general mechanisms of driving a car. I guess it does not help that I am prone to watching only a limited area and am often caught in day dreams.

RESULT : A mess every morning where I end up really really confused. It has also translated onto my cycle riding skills (clean please! ) Earlier, I was good at it. I used to cycle to school and anywhere within a 5 km radius. Today, when I decided to go cycling, I saw myself constantly muttering prayers along the lines of "Please don't kill me. please don't kill me. I wont bother you, you don't bother me ok? God!!!!!!!!!!!!! help me!!! hey, Dude, yea yea awesome bike. now please stay away from me. please. " 

Basically, extremely stressful. Apparently, this is how learners usually feel in the beginning . well, i hope that's the case with me and that I can soon navigate along the roads without suffering mini- heart attacks at an alarming frequency ! Meanwhile, people who already drive, I have a new found respect for all of you.

A little boy by the tank

Sometimes, you come across these really small things ,which, for some unfathomable reason ,touch your heart and make you smile

There i was, just waiting idly in the bus stand, waiting for my annoyingly late bus. Suddenly, i see this little kid running at top speed towards me. At the last minute, he veers off, and stands panting right behind me , in front of the enclosure surrounding the mylapore tank.

He looks up, at something on a tree on the inside. He looks at it so intently, i get curious and look up too. There, I spot a mango.A green mango, ready for the picking.

The boy stares lustfully at it.He jumps, of course, he does not reach it.He jumps again, he does not reach it.He looks around, finds a stick and jumps with it... to no avail. 

He now climbs up a part of the enclosure, reaches out - still he does not touch the mango. He tries to climb farther but he slips. Now, he looks around for a bigger stick, he doesn't find any, Dejected, he walks away.

This you would think is the end of the matter. but no. Now, he comes back with iron cast determination, with a little girl in tow. The girl looks at him admiringly. He climbs up again. He stretches, stretches, almost reaches, but not quite.

'paravale anna ' She says - its ok big brother. He does not seem to hear, he tries again and again . Finally, he gives up. He climbs down and sits down , looking so sad. His sister comes up to him and with a big smile, produces a chalk. He smiles back and they both settle down, side by side, drawing squiggly things on the wall.
(ps. I would have attached pictures but they got accidentally deleted )

NOTE!

A small note :D
My friend has just started a photography blog.He absolutely loves photography and has a really unique way of looking at things.
http://tarunsfotoventure.blogspot.in/
check it out! :D

HEARTWARMING NO.1

So yeah, one of those crazy ideas, which just might work. I'm planning to write short posts about incidents which I came across , and made me go AWWW :P :D

SO,Here, is Heartwarming no.1:

 The other day, I was travelling to college by bus. I was bored, and looking out of the window, with music blaring in my headphones. The bus suddenly jolted to a stop( Chennai bus drivers, I tell you... :/).
A man and a woman got down from the bus. The man was this typical North Indian guy - Tall, super fair, with pitch black hair. The woman was a pakka madras ponnu - Thick black, well oiled hair in a  long plait, a Big red bindhi, modest salwar kameez. 
They, were obviously a couple.
 As the woman was getting out of the bus, the man held a hand out to her.They shared a meaningful look, and with a soft smile, started walking to wherever they were going .The fact that the gesture seemed so automatic was for some reason really touching. As a college student, I am exposed to copious amounts of P.D.A on an all too regular basis, But this for some reason struck me as the most romantic, sweet and charming.

Addiction and Moral Character

'Choodu! tagubothu yadava! tinnadi aragagapothe elanti picchi panulu chestharu! veelatho matladatam koda wastu!'

Translated into English, this roughly means 'LOOK!look at that useless drunkard! Even talking to his kind is a waste of time'

Growing up,many of us have heard variations of this sentence, in different languages, from different people , ranging from parents to aunts, uncles, grandparents, acquaintances and even friends.

However, this ideology that everyone who drinks, smokes or does any of the other 'vices' is  necessarily useless, or worthless exemplifies a world where everything is either black or white.
How true is this?

Now,I am not trying to support drinking, or smoking. While im not completely against them, I definitely do not encourage them . In fact, I am pro-Anti addiction.

But, what I am trying to say is this. Maybe like many other things, here too there is a vast grey area. Why do they drink? Why do they smoke? When does it become a problem? What does it say about character? Why do we judge people who have recovered from addiction ? When they are ready to help themselves and move on, WHY do we still label them and push their past in their face at every opportunity?
Some say that turning to these psychoactive substances is weakness. I say, that being able to recover and regain control over yourself and your life is strength. 
What these people, who are brave enough to accept they have a problem and strong enough to make the change need is forgiveness, encouragement, acknowledgement and a warm environment. Now im not saying forget all their sins. That is stupid because some things can never be forgotten. But try to forgive them. Or , at least try to be a passive observer, because a hostile environment is the strongest determinant of chances of rebounding.
Realize that addiction and character, while complicatedly entwined, are not necessarily inter-dependent. So the next time you see a person genuinely trying, if you cant encourage them , at least don't discourage them through your words or actions.