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