Snail Mail vs E-Mail

Well right now im in Chennai, attending my Chartered Accountancy classes. This being Christmas Season and me missing everyone back at Cochin, i thought of sending some Christmas Cards and Letters via post, yes "The Indian Post". In this day and age where everything is done via email, you might be wondering why i decided to send snail mail rather than email.Well for me there is something special in sending and receiving posts and letters. Even though now rarely anyone uses the postal service for communication, there is something special that makes me want to buy a card and write a letter on a plain white paper :) and send it via post rather than just logging in on to the internet, accessing your mail, moving your hand all over the keyboard :p and finally hitting the elusive SEND button. Also i believe for the receiver too, there is a totally different feeling when you get a hand written letter or card from your loved one, than when you get an electronic one.

When you get a brightly coloured inland, its just like getting a present. You dont know what it is or who it is from. The feeling of anticipation and excitement that you feel when you get you open it is something very different to receiving the same content or message via email. Nowadays the only snail mail we usually get will be bills etc which are sure to put a frown on us. Im sure that there will be plenty put there who would disagree with me, but, for a change try snail mail once, especially during special occasions like Christmas, New Year, Birthdays etc. I guarantee you that it will surely put a smile on someones face! :)
Merry Christmas!!

Electricity Wastage! Does it have a Global Impact?

Take a look at this pic that i took a while back. This is a pic of a flat coming up next to Vyttila. To be exact, its at Chalikkavattom, close to the new Gold Souk Mall. Check out the number of tube-lights that they have switched 'on', on every floor of that 26 storey building. This flat is still under construction. The amount of electricity that they are wasting is unimaginable. Im sure its a pretty sight, looking at the flat at night with all its floors lighted up. But thats not the point. In a country where, a lot of the population does not have access to electricity, this act is definately unjust. Its not right.
But when you look at the big picture, this is not just a one off incident. It happens and is still happening all around us. Just take a look at our own homes. Aren't there plenty of instances where we leave lights and other electrical equipments switched 'on' unnecessarily. We are not only wasting a lot of electricity but unknowingly contributing a lot to Global Warming! Wondering how?? Well, i'll tell you how. When you switch 'on' a light and leave it 'on' for some time, it produces a lot of heat energy which adds to the growing temperature in the atmosphere and hence adding to the present senario of Global warming. So in a way one can say that we are endangering our own future! In a day and age where world nations are adopting various methods to tackle this universal problem, we as responsible human beings can do our bit too. So the next time you switch 'on' a light, think, whether its actually needed. Also when going out make sure that all the electrical equipments and lights are switched off. Now, you might be wondering ''whats the point in 'me' doing it, Im just a single person and what impact is it going to have on the world as a whole''. We need to change the way we approach and percieve things. Well, its not whether we make a significant impact on the world stage, its important that we set an example for the others to follow. As the saying goes - 'Tiny drops of water make a mighty Ocean', every small act on our part will help. :-)

3 Hands . . .

Love this pic too. Again took it with my 1.3 megapixel mobile camera. ;-)
Seems to me like the workers who toiled so hard at this site wanted to make the imprints of their work permanent. Anyways, good creativity though. :-D

The Road Ahead

I like this picture a lot. I took it with my 1.3 megapixel mobile camera. But it looks pretty good, doesn't it?
Everytime i look at this pic, it reminds me of the different paths that which we have chosen to follow in our lives. Some paths may be smooth while others may be rugged and hard to travel on. Some may have been travelled on by many before us while other paths may not have been. Whatever it may be, it is a path which we have chosen after much thought and consideration.
There may be times when we face a lot of hardships along the way and may be even forced into thinking of turning back. In such testing times we shouldn't lose hope and stay by our beliefs and principles and overcome the hardships. In doing so we get ever so closer to our goal. So friends, never turn back, always look forward, the end may just be around the very next corner. :-)

Go MAD!

Wondering what MAD is or if you havn't heard about it, here you go -
MAD, aka Make A Difference, is a youth volunteer network, working with orphans and unprivileged kids in India. Made up of mostly youth volunteers, MAD imparts English communication and Computer skills to children in orphanages, street shelters and poor homes. Currently, around 850 MAD volunteers teach close to 2800 kids in the Indian cities of Cochin, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Mangalore, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Chennai. It was started in Cochin, in Kerala.
So thats enough said about MAD.
I have been lucky enough to be associated with MAD for the past 2 years. Let me tell you without a doubt, i sure have had a wonderful time! I came to know about MAD through one of my friends from school. As soon as i heard about it i didn't have to think twice about going for the recruitment session and so started my association MAD. Joining MAD has been one of the best decisions of my life so far. A MAD English project volunteer is expected to take classes for 2 hours in a week at an alloted center. I take my classes at Don Bosco Big Boys, Palluruthy, Cochin. Its a shelter for kids of the age group of 13 to 20 and i teach 10 kids presently. It is definately the high point of my schedule every week and i eagerly look forward to my classes evey week. Spending those 2 hours with them is very refreshing for me. When im with them i know that i don't have to worry about my studies or work for the next 2 hours. It is a feeling that one cannot express but one which, one needs to experience. MAD for me now is not just a part of my life, its kinda like become a way of life for me. So my friend if you have genuine interest and dedication, and if you are able to spare a mere 2 hours a week, i suggest you join the MAD network and thereby as responsible citizens give a little something back to the society which has been very kind on us and not on them, the kids! I assure you, it will be an enlightening and life changing experience for you.
To know more about MAD, log on to www.makeadiff.in . So what are you waiting for....GO MAD!! :-D

Good Story! Funny Story!

After having failed his exam in "Logistics and Organization" , a student goes and confronts his lecturer about it.

Student: "Sir, do you really understand anything about the subject?"

Professor: "Surely I must. Otherwise I would not be a professor!"

Student: "Great, well then I would like to ask you a question.

If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my mark as is and go. If you however do not know the answer, I want you give me an "A" for the exam. "

Professor: "Okay, it's a deal. So what is the question?"

Student: "What is legal, but not logical, logical, but not legal, and neither logical, nor legal?"

Even after some long and hard consideration, the professor cannot give the student an answer, and therefore changes his exam mark into an "A", as agreed.

Afterwards, the professor calls on his best student and asks him the same question.

He immediately answers: "Sir, you are 63 years old and married to a 35 year old woman, which is legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 25 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. The fact that you have given your wife's lover an "A", although he really should have failed, is neither legal, nor logical."

Cute Short Story - Bijness is Bijness..!!! :-) value of 10 pounds

 

One day in a school in London, a teacher said to a class of 5-year-olds…

I'll give 10 pounds to the child who can tell me who was the most famous man who ever lived."

An Irish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Patrick."

The teacher said, "Sorry Paddy, that's not correct."

Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Andrew."

The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Hamish, that's not right either."

Then a Jewish boy put his hand up and said "David",

The Buddhist boy said "Gautama Buddha" and the Muslim boy said "Mohammed".

They all were not successful.

Finally, a Gujju boy raised his hand and said, "It was Jesus Christ."

The teacher said, "That's absolutely right, Jignesh, come up here and I'll give you the 10 pounds that I promised."

As the teacher was giving Jignesh his money, she said, "You know Jignesh, since you're a Hindu Gujarati; I was very surprised you said Jesus Christ."

Jignesh replied, "Yes. In my heart I knew it was Krishna, but Bijness is Bijness!!!!!!

LCD Auto-rikshaws in town - Kochi

Check out what i found on the roads of Cochin, a few days back. Taxi auto-rikshaws with LCD Screen attached to them showing Video ads!
Yeah, you heard me right, LCD SCREENS! lol.
At first, i too was a bit bemused by what i saw. 'What on earth is an LCD screen sitting on an ordinary Auto???'. But after giving it a bit of a thought i realized that it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Why?? Well nowadays when you go into the city you get to see plenty of Video Advertising screens of private agencies, especially at major junctions - Vyttila, Edappally, Kaloor to name a few. I feel by keeping small LCD Screens on Taxi Auto-rikshaws, they, the advertising agencies have now taken this initiative to the next level.

The auto driver told me that about 15 such auto-rikshaws are currently plying through the city. he said that it was an initiative started off mainly with the backing of major companies like 'Idea Cellular' and 'Federal Bank Limited'. If you haven't seen or travelled on such an auto yet, be on the lookout. Its easy to find such Auto's as such auto's have a board with 'LCD TAXI AUTO' written on it, on the front.

Is it a Frog? - Mobile Uploads

Found this paper thin Frog at the door handle of our car. Was in deep sleep :-P Took some time and effort to wake it up. ;-)

The Common Wealth Games Kicks off

India putforth a splendid Opening Ceremony yesterday which dazzled the world and its own people, at the 2010 Common Wealth Games, at Delhi. With this India banished a lot of the negativity and critisism that surrounded the games earlier. Even many of the foreign athletes were of the opinion that the facilities provided were 'state of the art' and some as good, if not better than the ones provided during the Olympics at Beijing, 2 years back. China too came forward in support of India and commended India's effort in putting together the games.

The Opening Ceremony truely dazzled the worldly audience and media and lets just hope that the rest of the 11days of competition would be just as colourful. How can you ever forget Mr.Suresh Kalmadi, the man behind it all, the man behind all the controversies mind you. For once i believe, Mr.Kalmadi the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Games got to sleep peacefully yesterday as everything about the Opening Ceremony went perfectly. It made me feel real proud to be an Indian. I'm sure a lot of my fellow countrymen felt the same. Lets just hope that the Indian contingent at the games puts on a good performance, that which we can all be proud of.

Happy Gandhi Jayanthi Everyone

Today's the 142nd Birthday of the Father of our Great Nation - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, lovingly referred to by his fellow Indians as Bapuji or Gandhiji.
Lets remember the great man and what he did for our country.
One of the greatest to ever walk on the face of the earth.
We'll never forget u BAPUJI.

God is watching over us!

I just wanted to share with you guys an incident that happened about 2 days back. It was about 5.30 in the evening and it was raining with a lot of thunder and lightening. Just then the phone rang. I went to answer it. It was one of my grand dads sisters. She was a nun. As there was lightening and thunder my grand mom told me to hang up the call immediately. But because of the aunt being a nun i didnt want to just immediately hang up. I thought it would be kinda rude to do that.
Just then, as i was telling her about the weather i felt a thud on the back of my right ear, as if someone had hit me there. I immediately kept the receiver down without knowning what actually transpired at that very moment. My grand mom was standing right beside me, but with her hands over her head. She was shocked as to what happened and said that she had actually seen a white light coming out of phone receiver that i was holding. We stood still for a while, not realising what actually had happened. Then we heard the loud rumbling of thunder and realised that it was actually lightening.
I was totally in shock. A lot of thoughts came into my mind. I even thought if i was dead! I ran straight to prayer room and stood in front of the big picture of Jesus and thanked him. What i strongly believe is that God was watching me at that very moment and he saved me from that bolt of lightening. Only he knows what could have happened to me if that lightening bolt had actually hit me. I got very lucky. Thank you God. Hes watching over us!

Unseen Friend

Have u ever known someone without actually getting to see them at all?
Well i have. To have a friend, who u have never seen, to talk to that perpson about your worries, sorrows, happy moments and to hear them out as well.
At first you are bound to be too desperate to see the person. But as time passes on you start to think twice about wanting to meet the person in person, out of fear that the peson in real will be different to the one drawn up in my mind.

Meet the Blogger!

Hello blogging world,
Im new to the world of blogging and this is my very first post. :-)
So, i thought i'll start off by telling u a bit more about myself.
I'm a 20 year old from Kochi in Kerala (a.k.a. God's Own Country), India. Im currently doing my Chartered Accountancy and B.com. I'm a BIG football fan and im absolutely crazy about Liverpool FC. Being from India, i have my fine share of interest in Cricket too.
Heard of Make a difference (MAD)?? Its a voluntary youth organisation working to impart basic english speaking skills to the less fortunate children in different parts of India. Im a MAD volunteer too.
Im very much God fearing and also a member of KCYM, ie, Kerala Catholic Youth Movement. Its a Catholic Youth Organisation.
I aspire to be a Chartered Accountant in the near future! :-)
Im a very simple and humble person. The rest is for you to find out.

Cheers,
rIjO :-D