Is Communication Synonymous With Truth?

Being naturally good at communication is not a gift that everyone has. Those who do though are considered very lucky. And with good reason; successful and good communication is something that is very hard in today's world. People choose their own methods of communication. Either that, or they create them. No, I'm not talking computing legends like Steve Jobs who not only created his own method of expression, but created a device that would help millions across the world to express too. No, I'm talking about those people who have something plaguing their miserable lives which leads them to one day, possibly late at night, pick up their guitar, a pick, a pencil and a paper. Thus are produced some of the world's greatest musical legends. The other half are of course produced because they have pure raw talent. Which they then much like their instruments, pick, tune and mould into impeccable shape. The people however, who are inspired by the things happening in their lives or things they observe are the true communicators. Because when they deliver, they use examples and situations that they have seen or faced. When it comes to books or music, there is a certain poetic license which allows the writer to use their imagination which allows them to twist the truth and create a happy and unreal world for the reader or listener. In the entirely opposite circumstance, (something that usually happens in songs,) is that the writer will compose a song about a failed relationship or about loss and that is something that people will be able to relate to, only to be left feeling upset as they are left remembering their loss. However, true communicators tell the truth in a way that the public understands. They relate what they are talking about to something a majority of the crowd listening, has experienced or are likely to in the near future. To be a good communicator, the first thing you need to do, is not paint the wrong picture. But, telling the truth in a blunt way isn't good communication. You need to know where to draw the line. Good communication is about walking on the thin line between truth and lies. They say the truth is hard to face, it is good communicators who make facing this easier. My final say is that all communicators speak the truth, but all truth speakers are not communicators. Saying the truth is just the first step.

The Adventures of Tintin: Movie Review

While reading a book you love, it is inevitable that you think about how the characters will look on the big screen. An image is created in your mind and you wonder whether that is really how they will be portrayed. (You probably do this kind of subconsciously though, since it’s unlikely that you spend too much time thinking about something as trivial. Our lives have many more important things happening in them.) However, when some rich producer half-way across the world decides that he wants to make his image of the character the most well-known, and that too in the form of a performance capture motion film, path breaking movies like (The Adventures of) Tintin are made.
When Tintin buys an old beautiful model of the war ship ‘The Unicorn’, he doesn’t realise, that it is actually a path to a bigger mystery -- the secret of the hidden treasure. But finding the hidden treasure calls for decoding a few lost symbols. That's where Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) of disputed ancestry steps in and helps Tintin find the gold believed to be buried in the oceans. But only after he fights his swashbuckling ghost from the past, Ivan Sakharine, who wants it all, by hook or by crook. A due fight between the two which seeks to resolve all ancestral family feuds leads Tintin, his supremely intelligent white Wire Fox Terrier, Snowy and the foolish inept detectives Thomson and Thompson for a wild chase on the high seas through terrible thunderstorms to the shining desert country of Morocco. With phenomenal cinematography and commendable directing by globally acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, the entire journey will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This visually astounding, engaging and funny film based on the beloved comic books created by Belgian artist Herge, is one of the best movies of the year. Coincidentally, most of the year’s best movies release near the end of it. It’s unfair really, the way they keep us waiting for so long. But in the end, it’s definitely worth the wait. With its winding plot and fascinating array of beloved characters, Tintin didn’t fail to delight its legion of fans in India.
Whether it’s forty year old people who have grown up reading Tintin or a 5 year old kid who’s just learning how to read, Tintin is alluring and fun for everyone. And honestly, I’m not just saying this because it’s convention to put this at the end of every movie review, but it really is a must watch.

Three Requirements of Mankind

There are three things that matter to every person regardless of their age, colour, gender or personality. They may say that they don’t allow anything to influence them unconsciously or that they are strong willed and hard to hurt, but without these things they are inevitably a little vulnerable. The first of these things are money. You might say that money isn’t everything and that it doesn’t buy happiness which is the most important thing but, yes, I’m generalizing this, then how come those without money aren’t happy? The second of these things is love. This isn’t specifically directed at the love between a couple, but love as an emotion towards any human being. Between parents and their children, two best friends, really anyone who means something to you. Without this essential thing, your life is incomplete. But if it’s a comfort to anyone, there is no living being in this world who isn’t loved. Someone out there loves you. Always. And since there are a vast majority of people who believe in life after death, they believe even dead people are capable of loving. The third of these things are acceptance. Though everyone loves getting, there are very few who like giving. The same thing happens in the case of acceptance. Every single person wants to be accepted but when it comes to accepting people that’s just something that’s suddenly very hard to do. The standard excuse is that they’re too weird. But you know what? We are too. She might have an unusual fetish for something we don’t or he might have a different laugh but that’s who they are. You might say that accepting someone is easier said than done but that’s probably because that person doesn’t fit your impression of an acceptable person. And that’s really the challenge. Overcoming that biased image that our heads form for us, getting past that mind block and actually meaning the smile that is conventional to give to a person when you meet them for the first time or when you don’t know them too well. This is however, the primary state of acceptance. In the deeper levels, there are the people whose life goal is to be accepted. More often than not, there will be something big that either mentally or physically differentiates him from his peers. This is not about a disorder, disease or handicap. It’s more something along the lines of maybe colour, background, interests, gender preference or even height. Though they may not show it, there is always some insecurity within everyone. Something that they are scared everyone will find out about and they will be judged. Because for so many people around the world that is what the ultimate fear is. They may have a strong exterior but they’re terrified of being judged. Fortunately, today’s schools focus a lot on the concept of acceptance and it is difficult to find those extreme cases of people who aren’t accepted by anyone. A mistake that we make so often is comparing ourselves to those models on those glossy covers and wondering why we can’t be like them. Right there, flashing that brilliant smile between those perfect red pouty lips. And then, we read about their childhood. And realize for some, it was a lot worse than ours. Not accepted in high school for being too tall and having ‘kipper lips’, supermodel and English beauty Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is now the picture of perfection. Being one of the hottest models in the industry and taking the modelling world by storm, she is the best example of people who overcame their acceptance problems and became successful. She was however, not always this enamouring flawless skinned blond. Just look at her high school year book picture. Returning from the detour however, it’s back to acceptance. And now that I think of it, it’s simple to explain. Acceptance is a two-way street. You want it bad, you better be prepared to be able to give it good.

American Idol: The End of an Era

There is a famous saying “old is gold”. It refers to things that are past their prime time of glory and still are the best compared to anything that is new until the time that they completely disappear into oblivion. More often than not, people will agree that the new things are far far better than the old ones. In fact, except for things like antiques and grandparents, this saying cannot be applied to a lot of things without misleading being involved. American Idol is no different. There was time barely 3 or 4 years ago that American Idol was the most watched and loved music show in the world. That however was simply because it had no solid competitors. Now, with new shows that offer a more exciting and promising outcome and performance, American Idol’s viewers have dropped by 6%. Another reason for the drop in the viewing could be the innovativeness of the new shows such as the Voice which has blind auditions that doesn’t allow appearance to be part of the judgement made by the four celebrity judges, a judging method that is entirely appropriate for a show that chooses it participants based on their voices. The exit of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul didn’t do much to the show except ruin it a little more. With Simon’s blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about the contestants MIA; along with Paula’s sympathy and compassion, the audience missed hearing about their differences which had often resulted in extremely heated on-air exchanges and confrontations. The new shows such as X Factor offered the return of these two highly acclaimed judges on the same panel and thus resulted in the viewing of the show to increase by 4%. This however was not the only thing Idol lacked in comparison to the new music shows today. The episodes of Idol were monotonous and the way things were done were predictable, even if not inter-episode but definitely inter-season. For the impatient audience that we are, this repeat is not wholly welcome. Like a bunch of little girls the ‘glitz and glamour’ offered by shows like the Voice and the new shows on MTV and VH1 are also things that attract us towards them. Admittedly there are times when you miss the old school stuff and that’s something that can’t be offered by anything new, hence the term ‘old’. Then, it’s American Idol all the way. In the end of the day however, the conclusion can’t be termed surprising. People enter, have their time in the spotlight and then exit; making way for new people to replace them. And just like it is with the participants in them, it is with the shows themselves.

Life As We Know It

Sometimes the world seems like a horrible place. A place full of nothing but misfortune and unfairness and you seem like an insignificant object somewhere in the depths of it. Your life is treating you badly and your world seems to be falling apart. What you had planned when you were 10 years old as your life's goal seems impossible now. You realise that something you were once the best at, there's now someone better. Hardly a day goes by where you don't feel like digging a hole and jumping into it, only resurfacing when the world outside is perfect. This metaphor has been used so many times by so many people and has been heard so many times. But those people don't realised what it is that they are actually saying... When the world outside is perfect? How is it going to become perfect? How is it going t become what you want it to be? But then these are the questions and answers that they are running away from. This is why they want to dig a hole and hide in it. If you think about it though, is it the right thing? Running away? Is the the best solution? Or is it just a temporary one where we can smile for an hour and then end up with a creased forehead, worrying about it for the rest of the day. Maybe the best thing to do is face it; look it straight in the eye and deal with it. This of course, is easier said than done no doubt, but our minds are mentally capable of pulling off any feat currently known to man; it is only a question of how badly we want it, and what lengths we're willing to go to get it.

Twilight

Nestled in the midst of a large evergreen forest in the hills of Uttaranchal was a stone grey cittage with floor to ceiling glass windows and a wooden interior. The curtains that could be pulled over the windows were moss green and reflected the view outisde in a subtle way. The forest outside the cottage was alive with activity and if I shut my eyes and focused on nothing in particular, I could hear the soft sounds of nature. Chirping of crickets, croaking of toads and the piercing calls of birds as they flew to their nests before the sun set. The sun itself was another stunning sight. The orange ball of fire spreading it vast and still radiant glow across the sky as if engaging in a fight with the sky but losing valiantly; and finally giving up and bidding the world farewell. The dying cinders of it lit up the sky later in the form of tiny pinpricks of silver scattered across the now dark blue sky. It looked as though Micah (the local stone found in the state) had been ground and just thrown up into the air. As the sky changed from blue to black, the moon came out too casting its silver light on the trees and changing the world from a vibrant to a soft silver one.

A Tapestry of Leaves

The steady drumming of rain on the tin roof acted as background music as I sat reading my book on a sofa curled under a blanket. As I flipped the pages, I would occasionally look up at the glass windows behind which were some of the most amazing views I had ever seen. Behind the window that was directly opposite my sofa, was a tapestry of leaves that strongly reminded me of pictures of the Amazon rain forest that I had only seen in pictures. The leaves were in shades of green and shapes I didn't even know existed and the beauty of it all was that it wasn't a messy clump of misshapen green; the leaves grew together and formed a tumultuous sight of what looked like a beautifully painted canvas of an infamous artist. This however did not mean that all the leaves grew in a systematic manner; for those who have been to or seen the Amazon know that the leaves grow in a wild and beautiful way. They take their own bizarre twists and turns, grow in their own way but end up in such a symbiotic fashion that they astound the watching eye. The unruly-ness and the wild manner in which the leaves grew was another that caught my eye. There are some people in this world who think that anything that is not neat and systematic is bad and ugly and therefore not worth giving a damn about. The view outside this window proves them wrong. The un-systemaic way in which the leaves grow is what makes them amazing. The variety and unknown numbers and colours that form this tapestry is what makes it eye-catching.
As my mind sinks back into the warped and eventful world of my book, this blissful picture moves to the back of my head, waiting patiently and silently for me to lift my head again.

What I Read and Why

As a fairly avid reader, I often ask myself what the definition of a 'good author' is. The truth is, that the answer I've come up varies on different occasions. It all depends on the book I've just read. If I liked the book, the sentiments that were brought out while I was reading makes the author good and if I didn't like it, which is thankfully rare, the genre of the book will be forever dead to me in terms of ever reading it again. When I read however, the things I look for in a book and subsequently a good author are that the book doesn't too many complex characters whose story lines are only revealed half way through the book; this characteristic puts me off because of my shockingly low attention span. When I don't know what's happening even though I've read up to 75 to 80 pages of the book, I render it a part of the fore mentioned genre and respectfully put it aside, thinking that I will probably never touch it again. If a book doesn't have any exciting plots and it just droning on and on about some one's uneventful life, the book is a no-go. One of the most important things I look for in a book, is that my vocabulary should have been enhanced by the time I am finished with it. Superficial as it may seem, I love using big words. And yes, I do find out their meaning before I use them. Other than that, books with elicit characters, powerful story lines and a thorough plot are welcomed by me. Classics, as well as modern stories that have that beckoning, promised excitement have always been my favourites. Authors who are able to use their words to create new worlds and unimaginable situations are my influences. Authors who bring their life onto paper and make it interesting be with it with humour or mystery are the people I admire. Most of all, I love reading stories; sagas, novels, accounts and anecdotes which fall under the genre of fantasy. Not the children's kind, with dragons and warlocks, no, I'm talking about the other not subtle but more "grown up" fantasy, which just lures me away from the stressful and boring world I live in. Putting humour in writing, is very difficult to do. The few authors that have been able to do successfully are therefore extremely famous. P.G Wodehouse and Douglas Adams are legends in the literary world. Coming back to the topic; to understand whether you like a book or not, you must wait till the last chapter, for if your dreading to read it, it is classified as a good book. As for words, a very wise person once expressed the power of them in an interesting and sightful manner; "There is a wonder in reading Braille that the sighted will never know; to touch words and to have them touch you back."

Rising Stars

There are a lot of topics that can be used as conversation starters. One of the most frequently used ones are "have you heard (name of a song)". More often than not, the answer will be yeah, I love that song or at least, yes, I've heard it. Further investigation into this conversation will inform you that the person who answered the question would have either heard the song on the radio, at a party, or on YouTube; the last of which is the most probable. For those members of the oblivious population of the world, YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. Being the most popular website in it's field, YouTube has over 100 billion videos varying across different topics. There is hardly one topic that you'll be able to think of which will not have a related video on YouTube. YouTube has also been the source of popularity for a lot of people who are currently earning a million dollars a year, Justin Bieber and recently popularized Rebecca Black being among them. These teens uploaded their videos on their accounts and were watched by some viewers who then through blogging and social networking, spread the videos and they were soon being watched at a rapid rate and increasing the number of views by hundreds in an hour. This inevitably drew the attention of record producers who are majorly responsible for the fame on whose shoulders these rising stars ride today. Every child now aspires to be them by the time they are their age. Everywhere they go, people flock in large numbers to see them and get autographs. They are photographed at random places by paparazzi and are invitees to elite black tie dinners hosted by fellow celebrities. Who wouldn't give anything for a life like that? But is their life really what it seems like? Is it really all that glamorous as we think it to be?

Power of Serenity

In the diversity of the world, you will always meet people who have different interests and hobbies. Mine for example, is trekking. The joy I get when I trek in the mountains can mostly never be compared with the happiness offered by the city. The serenity and peace which is so difficult to obtain, yet very necessary can be found abundantly high in the hills. The feeling of being on top of the world; literally, walking through mist and emerging just like in the movies when you wish so hard you could do that, taking in the scenery that never fails to stun and feeling the pride when your on the summit when you realise you made it all the way. The mountains also have their own sense of mystery, the towering pines, the barely visible paths, the sounds of animals at random intervals and the smell of different wild flowers and berries that surround you as you trek. For some, the mountains are a place of sanctity, for others it is a place of refuge from the competitive and dirty world of the cities, and yet for some others it is home.
Just ask me. I recently summited a mountain of 12,500ft which doesn't actually happen to be a lot but gave me a hint of how those avid trekkers felt hiking in these natural wonders. After 5 days of motivation, draining us of our physical strength and mentality and using or willpower to its maximum, we reached the summit. That's when I realized what effort is. What it meant to excel. That's when I realised that the mountains didn't just want respect, no, they commanded it. For this. The feeling, the view, everything.
I've always wanted to climb Mt. Everest, as a secret dream, ever since I heard about the 16 year old Delhi boy who did last year. This year, summiting this comparatively tiny peak made me feel like I can. With unimaginable hard work and dedication, I hope that I will.

Obtaining Satisfaction

There are so many things that we want. If there was something in the world that was impossible, it would be to count the amount of things we want. Some material and some meaningful, some with matter and some which are abstract; they are all things that we desire for. If the history of desire was traced back, it would start from the day we were born when we wanted our mother's milk and then move forward to us growing up and wanting more things everyday. Research also proves that the older we get, the bigger or more expensive the things we wanted become. At 5, it was probably the pretty, blond Barbie we saw sitting on a shelf in a toy store. At 10, it would become the dress displayed behind the glass window of a store in the mall and at 15, the new Blackberry released and at 20, the sleek sports cars featured in the latest car catalogues. But what is the basis for this desire? What makes you want to have everything you see and like? My guess is that it is maybe because of the type of world we live in. The competitive character is undeniable and it is not far from obvious that everyone is vying to be the best. The feeling of satisfaction is not apparent in a lot of places, and even if it is, it's almost never long lasting. But then, what can be done to obtain that satisfactory feel? Accepting what we have and being happy with it is the first step. In most situations that we come across, the process is easy at first and it becomes harder as we progress with our endeavour. In this case however, the hardest part comes first and it becomes easier as we proceed. Once getting over the attitude of wanting to be the best is done, it will directly lead you to the satisfaction that was your initial goal. And with this prize, living life becomes a lot easier. Happiness is safely secured and with these two necessary emotions, comes the peace of mind. And these three musketeers, hand in hand, control your complete outlook on life; whether it's good or bad, is upto them.
Love,
A.

Stranded by the Branded

There can be a lot of things that can be termed influential in this world. Brands are on top of the list. As a child, it is actually customary to walk around wearing anything that your parents bought you from anywhere. This scenario in today's superficial world only applies till you're 13 years old. Then you grow up. Social acceptance becomes a bigger thing and so does your mind. The latter is exposed to more things, more influential things that take they're toll on you and you suddenly want everything. Brands are one of those things. Clothes, shoes, phones, bags everything should have atleast two zeroes at the end of its price tag. In brands defence, it is hard not to get attracted to the glamourous clothing, high-end advertising and gorgeous models that make a brand what it is. And also, it isnt always about social acceptance and your appearance. Sometimes, brands can make you feel good about yourself. They boost your ego; when you're down they can be like friends, talking to you and telling you that you look good. Because that's another thing they do; they make you look good no matter what. Brands also have the assurance that the item you buy is made of good fabric and has good durability. In the end of the day, we have got to realise that something in those brands that made them what they are. There is something those designers did to promote it, and succeeded. So despite all that is said about brands being over-rated and influential to youngsters, there is still something in them that people are attracted to. Brands therefore, like almost everything else in the world have their pros and cons, but to everyone out there who live for the magic of brands, you should remember that there is a life without brands, and in a way, you will find out who really loves you for who you are and not you're clothes or money when you're dressed in the un-classiest of unbranded clothes, and they still find you beautiful.
Love,
A.

You Always Get Caught

In a world where you find hardly anything that can be called original, writing about a "new" topic is like an ultimate challenge. Fantasy is too popular, you have too many competitors contending to be the best, non-fiction is too tough, and reading about today's issues mixed with a bit of some one's interpretation of a situation or event can sometimes be intellectually controversial and boring. Therefore, since both these extremes are too much, I've decided to write an account of a personal experience. This piece is neither easy for me to write due to my dire incapability of jotting down my emotions and neither is it exciting or funny, thus probably not living up to the "high" standards of readers these days. Not long ago, I was caught while performing a highly un-admirable task. Cheating. I was caught cheating. A highly consequential act with a lot of drawbacks, a ratio of maybe 1: 7845983456938 as per the pros and cons, I did it because I had to. No, no one had held a gun to my head, but a test without cheating was incomplete for me. Cheating had become a part of my daily life, and I hadn't even realised it. It was actually kind of the same thing as smoking, (which ironically, I am completely against.) You are introduced by a friend to these deadly bitch of an influenc-er and are addicted to it before you know it. To defend my act, I might say that smoking kills and cheating doesn't, without ever really thinking about what exactly it is that I'm saying. Cheating represents a lot of other stuff, stealing, heisting, lying included. If you look at a larger picture, cheating does get you killed; first cheat in a test, you don't get caught, you do it again, you still don't get caught, now you're becoming good at it, and by some miraculous way you graduate high school without ever being termed a cheater. Now you enter the real world, where money is your goal and you'll do anything to achieve it. Your skill as a cheater will now come of use, like a sneaky poker player with an un-readable poker face, you will navigate your way through a big investor's mind and get your $10,000,000,000. And THEN, you will get caught. Unlike the occasionally slack invigilators in an exam, the police and fraud detectors aren't like that. They will catch you and instead of 0 you will get a good number; of months in jail. And that kills you. Not directly, but it does.
Moral of this highly obstructive tale: If you want to cheat really, really badly, hope to the heavens that you get caught in school. Otherwise, I don't think even He can help you.
And to the one and only person who I can be rest assured is reading this, I won't come on the headlines of a newspaper for making an ass out of my life. I'm as sure of that as me not getting a Blackberry this week. (It's depressing that I have to bet on that.)
Love,
A.

5 Miles Below

Panic seared through my brain as I swallowed a mouthful of saline water. The primary regulator slipped out of my mouth and I tried to grab at something solid as water rushed into what seemed like my entire body sapping me of my strength. After one or two useless grabs I clutched the hand on my shoulder, squeezing it, hoping to raise an alarm. As the top of my head broke the surface of the green water in the reefpool, I gasped. Water filled my ears and my head ached. Not a good sign. But the instructors insisted I completed the entire 5 minutes underwater that was needed as a basic pass grade to help me attempt scuba diving. Seconds later, my head was beneath the surface again. Willing myself to keep calm I focused on looking at the fish around me, trying to ignore the pain welling up in my ear. Breathing steadily and thinking about other things, I found the time underwater passed faster. It was almost as if I didn't want to do this. But that idea was really stupid. People would give anything to be where I was now. Fifteen minutes later I understood why that phrase had been applied to diving so often. The feeling of looking at azure blue till as far as I could see, and watching multi-coloured fish weave in and out among their shoal was indescribable. The water felt cool on my suit and as I concentrated on breathing evenly through my regulator, the sights of the world in the ocean were unvealed to me. The blue starfish nestling quietly between the algeae or the agile clownfish with their perfectly golden-orange, black and white scales glistening in the refelection of the sun wove in and out of their anemone home which in itself ws another wonder. The seemingly gentle anemone with its attractive salmon pink transparent color lightly swayed in the direction of the waves as if dancing to some unheard hauntingly beautiful tune. Informing me when it was okay to touch something and when it wasn't, my instuctor must have had a laugh when he saw my eyes widening at an alarming rate that they did. Resurfacing was not greeted well. I wanted to spend days here, in this place of complete bliss where nothing entered your mind to plague you with unwanted thoughts; just the beaauty of the surroundings was enrapturing. But it's true what they say; nothing lasts forever, however much you wanted it to. It does leave you with memories that you can cherish for as long as you want though. And, that's probably what you're going to have to be content with.