You were warned mister...

Myth is a reality that reveals the truth. Happy engineer is a myth. One might be a rich engineer but rich doesn't always translate into happy. For those who think it does, smell some coffee dear, think beyond Nandan Nilekanis and Chetan Bhagats and Anil Kumbles. What about the millions whose life took a tragic turn in Class XI when his parents told him, "Coaching join karlo munna, Vidyamandir sabse accha hai". The slugfest that started then, reached its dastardly culmination after 6 years of kung fu with books, in which most of the times, the books prevailed.

Apology to the readers for the persiflage, my mind is a myriad of thoughts and my semester notebook is a myriad of cartoon drawings that I made during all those somnolent lectures which made me ask, why, why did I pursue B.Tech, inspite of the various warning signals telling me not to.

My father's best friend's son got into IIT-Bombay and also topped state boards, he used to study for 18 hours in a day, my cousin's daughter aced JEE and got into IIT-D, never did anything apart from studying; no T.V. and no cell and my etc. etc. cracked some god damn bull shit entrance and studied for 1800 hours a day and did not even have Doordarshan on his T.V. Hardly met anyone in the last year of his preparations. These anecdotes might appear hypothetical to some and funny to others. Actually, they are not. We all must have encountered such amusing stories from your parents, or chachis or mamis or other (forever complaining and comparing) relatives of your family. These people tend to perennially carry measuring cylinders in their pockets and take it out at the spur of the moment. Comparisons and constant monitoring is the most dreadful part of an engineering aspirant life. You're expected to conquer the Everest , but you know that even crossing a footbridge is beyond your capabilities, you're expected to be a Barcelona striker but you know that you can't even be a 12th man for Mohun Bagan. It hurts.

Inspite of being aware about these conspicuous indicators, we unrelenting in pursuit to have the prefix Er., slog. Making Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics our girlfriends', we try to win over their hearts, on the way forgetting that performance is directly proportional to expectations. Sigh. When you perform well, the sense of achievement gets subsided by the mountain of expectations that are bundled on your fragile shoulders and volatile minds which is trying to distinguish aldehydes from ketones and relations from functions. Limit of pressure tends to infinity as the threshold of tolerance exceeds to give you a perfectly distraught graph of your future.

Alas, you cross the hurdle of the wretched entrance exams and brimming with pride and prudence enter the gates of your engineering college. "I'll become an engineer after four years", says your exorbitant mind.
The battle with books continues for another four years, reality strikes and your prudence takes a beating implying that, "Beta, warning di gayi thi, ab bhugto". Seeing the end of the tunnel, you aimlessly and helplessly embark on the journey. Then comes a day, when the beleaguered, tired warrior wallows across the finishing line. He graduates.

The story reflects how important it is to check out for warning signs and those subtle indications that prohibit you from taking life changing (some life somersaulting) decisions. Don't be wary of the complexes, don't worry what your good-for-nothing door ke rishtedaar would think or what will the patronizing and officious society say if you'd taken Arts after getting 95 in Class 10. Follow your heart, build on your interest and do what makes you happy will self-belief and dedication. You won't have to regret, and say 'If'. That's what the moral of the story is.



This article has been written for the Colgate initiative My Healthy Speak and Indiblogger.

My Party Idea

Celebrations are those special occasions that call for partying and grooving along with the people who matter in our lives. They are the special days which call for those special inputs from our side in order to result in special memories. So, the planning of that ideal party might be a more daunting task than what it seems. Kitchens of India comes for rescue through their amazing dishes that all just work on the principle oh "heat & eat".

Being an aficionado of non-vegetarian food, I'd like to base my dream party on the theme of Arabian Nights. The hall should be a spacious one with plenty of ventilators, ambience would be one of the community halls in the vicinity with good seating and lighting, middle eastern music wallowing in the year and spicy meat dishes succeeded by sweet and creamy desserts. Oh ! what an eclectic mix it would be. Truly mouth watering and intoxicating.

For the starters there would be the holy grail of non-veg stuff; the mutton seekh kebebs; succulent chops of lamb cooked on skewers giving that flavor of sand ala the sand dunes of the Arabian arid lands. Another round of starters would involve the evergreen paneer tikkas. Specially for my vegetarian buddies, straight out of the tandoor to scintillate your taste buds. A perfect tandoori pair of veg and non-veg complimenting each other.
After the dry starters, the main course would involve the gravy dishes. It would include three dishes from the ITC Kitchens of India. The first on the menu is the delectable Dal Bukhara. Without breaking your sweat, in its ready to eat avatar, truly a glutton's delight. Next would be the concoction of meat with rice, the splendid Hyderabadi Biryani cooked in a dum to perfection. nothing Arabic abou it but a perfect foil to the the third dish which would be another cottage cheese preparation, Chicken Darbari; soft cubes of cottage cheese in rich tomato gravy that is blended in Indian spices, truly a perfect delicacy to savour. The main course would be served with an assortment of breads namely the Mughlai Parantha, the traditional Naan and Missi Roti.

Those stung by the dessert locust can tread their way to some of the finest and yet the easiest to make desserts. Wait, they are ready to eat. Isn't that amazing. The Moond Dal Halwa would be an apt way to satisfy the sweet tooth. An how could we end an Arabian theme without the Kheer. Rice pudding based on milk and cooked to perfection, sprinkled with select dry fruits to give that creamy texture. One could travel miles just to smell it. Lip smacking delicious.

So, the fusion of Arabian tunes buzzing the atmosphere, the cool breeze rejuvinating the environs and the gourmet style meal prepared in minutes satisfying your soul, what else does one need to attain nirvana, a perfect party culminates. All you do is gleam with vanity and behave like a jovial and a generous host.




This article has been written as an entry for the 'My gourmet party' under Indiblogger and Kitchens of India. 

Modern healthcare: Injecting a pulse to the patient

Health is the most significant commodity of human existence. The lack of good and efficient medical facilities have been the cardinal need since the bygone era. From the advent of Ayurveda to the prowess of Charak and Sushrutha, medicine has indeed come a long way. The rapid development in the potency of life saving drugs and vaccinations have made our life safer and has increased the average life expectancy in the last few decades. Though, the developments in the various branches of medicinal therapies, namely Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Yunani and the like are rapid and have given us answers to many maladies and chronic diseases but the needs just keep on mounting for infrastructure and quality healthcare for all. Modern Healthcare shouldn't just be limited to the upper middle class living in plush urban towns but quality healthcare is needed equally if not more, in the remote villages where many people can't afford the rudimentary medical aids and are less erudite about the importance of health and hygiene.

There is a kernel of truth in the fact that most hospitals and health-oriented organisations today target the rich and provide them with the best of facilities and aids thereby filling their own pockets with tons of cash. It has indeed become a lucrative business that involves and demand and supply strategy involving the pragmatic nexus of doctors and medical honchos and the chemists/drug dealers. Though, there's nothing immoral about doing business but what is against the ethics is duping the poor patients by giving them apocryphal treatment in the name of tests and preliminary diagnosis.

The positives of modern healthcare definitely overshadows the cons. The advent of robotic surgeries used for by-pass operations, LASIK, IVF and other cutting edge technologies have been boon to patients and doctors alike.This has given a lease of life to major hospitals like AIIMS where more than half a million (500000) patients tread everyday from all over India for their healthcare needs. Though the healthcare scene in the developed countries is self sufficient and satisfactory, in developing countries much still needs to be done in terms of cutting edge technology and providing super speciality  hospitals and infrastructure at affordable prices. The need of the hour is to debilitate the burden from the Government hospitals ans private players need to come up. We have many private hospitals who are helping in this cause now. APOLLO is one of them providing innovative healthcare solutions to the deceased and the trodden. Many foreigners also have started travelling to India for treatment which is a positive sign from the perspective of our medical growth and technology

There are many illnesses whose answers are available to us today through path breaking research and as per WHO many of the epidemics of yesteryears like polio and small pox have been predominantly eradicated from our country. This deserves a thumbs up to our hospitals. Bringing a smile to cancer patient or to a child less couple is something that has been possible only due to hardwork and the gradual developments. Providing long lasting relief and hassle free mealthcare is certainly the biggest thing a patient can ask and Modern Healthcare passes the litmus test on that front.





This article is written as an entry for the APOLLO and indiblogger initiative "How Modern Healthcare touches our lives".

The Hairy tangle : Confessions of a compulsive obssesive hair manager

Whenever the question of here comes to mind, its the girls that take the limelight, but the masculine genders do give a lot of importance to their manes that rests above their hammy skulls. The spike, mohawk and the mafia looks can all be attributed to the experiments and the manipulations that we've had with our hair. I won't get into the persiflage; going round the bush talking about the girly hairstyles and the looks. I will simply delve into the styles and looks which boys prefer.

Tresemme  enlists some wonderful hairdos to don as you let yourself loose on the ramp but for me the hairstyle that would classify not just ramp ready but also the "evergreen" style, would be the one that comforts us the most. In the blistering heat of May, its better to go with cropped hair as opposed to the thick braids and messy hair.

Our hairstyles are more or less influenced by our icons, they maybe political, sporting or cinematic. The furor that a certain David Beckham at PSG or a certain Aamir Khan has after a "Dil Chahta Hai" simply impresses upon the fact that fashion's volatility is perennial. It changes by the clock and would continue to do so.

The fashion is predominantly urbane and the youngsters are its biggest victims. Just replicating the ramp to life, I quote the following lines,

Steps leading to the pedestal
Opportunity that knocks
Hits and misses part and parcel
Ambitions lead up to the orbit
Twists and turns create our mark
One error is conspicuous and stark

Sometimes, we need a second chance
Life seldom divulges the form
Ramp is like life wrapped in
a miniscule bohemian road
Chances are few and far
You hit, you're a star.

I'd like to thank TRESemme for creating a fun avenue to showcase the importance hair play in the game of fashion. You don't need to sneak out to Paris or Milan to find that trendy chic or latest hairdo. You can get it from within, if you delve deeper or from your surroundings. Just experiment and try to change it, coz change is the word for life...

Till we meet again, this is Udit signing off.