The Sine Curve.

I can hear my heart throb, everything is so silent, at the bow end on the coxswain's command I am right at the edge of my seat oar in, all I can see is the algae infested pungent water spreading out to the open, one kilometre is all that stands between the sweet humbling taste of victory and the sour humiliation of loss. One year on the boat house, complete with six months of in-house training for the race. The pistol bellows away into the air and I can see the spit being expelled from the boats coxswains as they direct their boats into victory. Everything happened so fast in a couple of seconds I'm going up and down the seat like a robot, my muscles are dying as we speak being intoxicated with lactic acid the pain becomes worse and worse, half my mind says give up but all I can hear is my cox commanding me to give him "Ten Hard" within seconds my heart and brain are working in the most rarest of combinations to find every bit of energy left to be pumped into the muscles, 200 metres more, the other four has got a lead, the cox takes a bad call for going all out at the 100 metre mark and we cut in second and as we break and hold her hard, Every muscle fibre is now throbbing with pain, my lungs thirsty for oxygen and my tongue trying to breathe the water vapour off the air!

Rowing, the most hardcore sport that requires extreme cardiovascular fitness, a sport that teaches an individual discipline, humility and so much more. It's not a sport, its a religion, it's a way of life. When I had the privilege of experiencing this humble beginning for a mere two years of my life it changed the person I am and who I have turned out to become. Back in 2007, my school launched and promoted the start of a rowing team, the first and only school to start the practice of this discipline. Amateur posters made by sportsmen filled every notice board on the launch of the rowing club.During my school life I was more of the invisible individual, average on academics, a high low on sports and extra curricular. I wanted to join rowing for two reason, it sounded cool and was a sport which wasn't intoxicated with peer pressure and 'cool' kids who controlled the status quo.

After joining is when I realised how helpful it would become in course of my life, rowing disciplined me as a man, made me stronger, coming from a family that pampered me on every occasion I was quite the sensitive chubby kid. Rowing threw me into the dungeons of hard life, showed me things that everyone doesn't see, rowing even though termed to be one of the most prestigious and luxurious sports it does treat humans how to be gentlemen and ladies. As I moved up the rally of members in the rowing team I finally became a senior after a strenuous six month training with a more experienced school who were very helpful in helping their competition improve. The school didn't care to hold back because we were their competition but instead they spent expensive resources on five members of our team so that we can go back to our school team with the knowledge, power and techniques of an experienced team. 

Two years into training disaster struck my life. I was gifted with three slip discs on my spinal cord, which induced horrible pain on my back and forced me into a month of bed rest and juicy 6 month period off sports. I wasn't able to do anything at all, a person who used to spend half his life at the rowing club had now nothing to do at all. I  felt useless, as though my life had no meaning, I hated that fact, after tasting the feel of being somebody being thrown back into the forests of nobody was a disaster. Being unable to stay away from the rowing club I still used to pay visits and encourage youngsters to join and help in training, On the day of a regatta, I saw a school cover the whole event with media, teens walking around with RED cameras, recording, editing and giving a live news report which was broadcasted directly through satellite. I was taken aback, I've always been fascinated by video and been the official media personnel during family occasions.

My friend told me "If only our school had a media Club, we'd so be in it!!", I replied "Why not? Bro! Why not?", days later I was standing outside my Principal's Office with a letter and documentation on the founding of a media club in School. I walked in after a thorough inspection from her secretary, my hands all jittery, yet again I heard my heart throb, the framework was clear in my head but my mouth would NOT open. After a couple of minutes she sat me down and got a gist of the idea. I founded the club upon thorough screening from the student council and faculty I had founded my very own creation . I was more than proud, Founded in 2010, the club grew exponentially in two years , starting its very own radio station, the first inter-school Photographic Competition and awarded best media Club of the Year and pulled my growth along as well, I was more than a somebody, a boy who didn't have the chance to even sit at the last row of graduation was awarded with Prefect-ship, the Student Councillor and called back to be the Chief Guest of the School Prize Giving. Who in the right mind thought that me-chubby tamizh kid could pull it off. None of this would have been possible if not for Rowing and my gift that I have to unfortunately live with, my slip discs. 

However I wasn't satisfied, this gift did have repercussions with fame it poisoned my life with bad health. I was becoming unfit and how ever trained I was mentally, medicine wanted me to be scared and I stayed indoors, lost fitness, threw me into a two year spell of fast food mixed into a cocktail of alcohol, drugs and tobacco, which made my body go haywire. I was thrown under the spell of laziness and I found it so hard to get out till I hit the hard wall of reality. Fame and good nature wasn't enough to be content, you're always surrounded by superficial people who don't look beyond the looks, I was thrown into fitness back again, my body was too weak to even run for more than 30 seconds, the mental training I was taught came back, pushed my body to run ten minutes, how much ever I panted I wasn't going to let my coach down, I wanted to make him proud, today once again I have become more refined, I'm feeling much better, I've found a purpose in life once again, I am not going to do things for others any more but for myself that's what training has taught me, I wanna look good for myself not for superficial beings, I'm going to work on Project 'Me'. This discipline has taught me so much and is still teaching me, even now even though I don't practice the art any more I am training myself back to what I was, pain does not matter any more, I have worn out of the gifts I gave birth to five years ago. Hard work is the pure ultimatum, that along with a sprinkle of intelligence no matter what it is you can reconstruct anything, it's never too late, but the later it gets the path to success gets longer. Yet again all that stands between me and the sweet humbling taste of Victory is that narrow scary path. The lights that seem to illuminate this path are as always my discipline, future goals and as always my support system-friends and family, constantly flashing milestones along the path.

A Little Something....

Cheers!

#empower gone too far?

A couple of days back an article on verge caught my eye and what I thought was wrong started to seem right. I hadn't talked to anyone about it because I thought I needed time to process it and think through because it sorta seemed wrong. All this might seem confusing because I'm trying to perceive the feeling of how confused I was with you! A week back the ESA landed a spacecraft on a comet in space which was a tremendous task and a milestone in the future to you non astrology lovers. An astrologist named Matt Taylor, one of the guys who headed the expedition during a press conference wore a bowling shirt which didnt express the female body in a positive way. Immediately things went haywire on how sexist Matt was and in the end it was a gift from his own wife-a female.

For the past couple of years, every social network portal seems to convey one very strong message. A message that meant something before but is turning into something else, it's becoming a revolution to put out a matchstick but what they don't understand is that they seem to be cutting off the oxygen by adding oil to the naked flame. The issue at discussion here is about women empowerment. I am all for woman empowerment and I understand that they deserve equal rights but what I can't understand is the fact they already do have a variety of privileges even more than what men have so to say.

Ten years back only the bravest of women would take up engineering, court of law or even a political post. Many female legends have worked their way up to the peak and ensured that the path they took would become far easier for future generations. The reason they were called legends is because of their dignity and the fact that they understood things they wanted and only worked towards that. Like all things too much of anything is the worst hazard ever, That is what is happening today, women who aren't respected by society use issues like this to address their 'nice' side of their career agenda. People should differentiate whose opinions count and whose don't count and we should question their opinion no matter what. It's a necessary evil.

Day in and day out my homepage, newsfeed, instapage are filled with videos that encourage woman empowerment by degrading men and their use in society. After seeing a video like that it makes me more angry than empathize for the defendant. The way I see things women have got a lot of freedom, people have become less judgemental, social experiments that outburst on youtube show that the current generation of  have become far more understanding. There are some men who will always be the way they are just like there are some women who would do the unnatural, but that doesn't make all of us men the same. The stereo type broke down a generation ago. The mass of the population HAS changed.

Then why are we still stuck on an earlier page? The disgusting part is that these campaigns are run by huge corporate individuals who are using this detail as an epidemic virus to sell their product to the market. Let's take a step back and understand the way things are, please appreciate the change, don't let it all go to waste and soon enough the reason people change their sexual orientation is not going to be by choice but because by force. The results I seem to spit on this post might be way above the accepted gradient, but it's required!! In the 21st Century people only lend their ears to an issue if it has an extremely bad outcome.

A little something to think about.

Cheers!

Streaks of Light.

Your head feels heavy, walking alone a poorly lit street, roads seem empty as you have no means of getting out, far out a streak of light shines  filling every crack within the night. High school is a very interesting process, kicks you in the stomach left and right as you bring yourself up and pull over to college there is always someone waiting to kick you right in the nuts no matter what it will happen. Instances like this weaken you, take you to dark places, makes you see another side of the world that is too harmful for the general public to even catch a glimpse of.

No matter what, no matter how much time it takes, you will heal during the process you most probably find people in your life that come like a stroke of thunder and overturn your lives and show you that there is so much more to life and you will slowly understand the way of things, there was a reason to drift apart no matter how bitter and painful the truth is you have to accept and get on with life.

Somewhere over the horizon all the pain will become invisible and you no longer need to hide the pain away and battle within yourself, hurting yourself for a person who doesnt care one bit for you because trust me when I tell you this that you are far better off with just one person who actually cares for you as much as you do for them rather than those who do not care for you at all. Any relationship no mater what it is, may they be your partners, siblings, parents, cousins, relatives or anyone else, if they are in your immediate circle you need to have a healthy relationship that will heal you during times of despair but not make you rethink on what to tell them or not to tell them.

It hurts most when family throws you away, disrespects you and the worst of all when they lose trust in you, try your best to make things right for some time if they don't budge its time to accept reality and move on, make a decision and stand strong by it no matter how hard it may be to hold it, things must be done to ensure a safe environment. There is not every occasion in which your friends come over family because I have seen so many families where the way they behave would surprise and redefine ways of how you can be with family, it's no ones fault and there is no better family because the reason the way they are is because of the experiences that shaped the person they are today. I'll tell you one thing though if you seem to lose members off the first circle in your family try your best and don't ever give up because you owe it to them. 

No matter what it is friends are extremely important too because it seems to sting more or even so when they betray you and behaving indifferently with you because when it all happens so sudden that too for no reason and that too not for your fault, you will be gifted with numerous lonely nights, lonely strolls down the street, secluded long drives, the construction of your 'playlist'. All you need to do when the world gets dark is to open your eyes, the most unexpected of your friends and family will rise to the occasion let the demons starve on, pat your back and get you back on your feet. Don't lose hope. There will always be light at the end of a tunnel no matter how long it may seem to be, hope is the only thing that can accelerate you towards that streak of light!

Cheers!

Stroke of Genius...

**Interstellar Spoilers Included. Sorry Guys!

You've long awaited this masterpiece. The Mozart of the media Industry in the 21st Century. As you sink into the comfortable theatrical seats to the echo of the advertisements that relay on to the feature film. A yellow certificate lights the screen up with the name of this masterpiece etched onto a corner of this monumental screen. A hush is followed by a series of claps and cheers as the movie starts. A movie that brings a new definition to a cinematic experience, It's not a movie its an experience,

Nolans' 11th but greatest piece of art 'Interstellar'. A movie that has gone through unprecedented research and so much of resources to ensure that the audience do not even have a glimpse of doubt. A place where Artificial Intelligence, Aliens, Space Travel, future of mankind has been brought out as a different entity. There is no single adjective to explain what this movie does, it keeps your mind pondering on multiple things as the credits screen rolls. To me media has been a platform where people express what they feel and try their best to spark a social movement, it's a way of emoting and telling a story, your way, This industry didnt need to employ or show genius of any kind up and until today.

He has revolutionized things, stepped up the game, made his competition rethink their every move, if I were to relate Media as a science, then Hollywood is the CERN and Christopher Nolan as Albert Einstein. During the preproduction of the movie, he worked with a very talented astrophysicist as to how a black-hole would look like, using animation and heaps of equations when simulated the results stumbled everyone, the perception of a black hole was wrong the whole 2014 odd and more years, after a thorough process of almost a petabyte, astrophysicists and professors around the world stood dumbstruck as this movie solved answers to outer space, Mother Earth's Future Plans, space time continuum, alien life and beyond that. This shows the extensive research and groundwork he has done with his story, the perfect amalgamation of intelligence and drudgery.

The Media industry isn't just a place for people to come and achieve fame by means of commercial films, starring in glamorous sequences. No, it's an art that is to be deeply respected and honoured to work with, media gives ultimate power within your hands, music that can intoxicate your soul, pictures that can deeply connect with your thoughts, storyline that can streamline your thought process and film that can slap you with an emotional connect.

All this will only occur if this sceptre placed within your hands is used to govern them well. You will have power to instil thoughts in people's mind only if your able to place a thought that is thick and strong enough to sustain the resistance of mankinds' skulls. A movie like interstellar so deeply thought and giving people at powerful places to rethink strategies to an alternate universe shows how diverse we humans are. The fact that if tapped at the right place we humans have the ability to think at such a scale with almost no efficiency within our brains, Imagine what we can do at just 15% brain functionality. What would become of us? Are we evolving? Will we become superbeings?

Ensure that whatever you do in your lives, do it seriously make people question themselves, redesign themselves for the better, thats what we need to be doing her not asking people questions, but ask everyone to question themselves, change needs to start within then be spread around. I believe that in such a manner, YES! events shown on screen will transpire into real events that we could see day in and day out.

Cheers!

Knife it!

Light never seems to diminish on this day, a day widely known as the festival of lights, lights up people's lives' everywhere! In the southern hemisphere , Deepavali is welcomed by the release of a 'Star; movie, this year it was Kaththi, a movie that sparked ideas throughout the city on the paths and lives of a Farmer. It's been two weeks since the release of the movie , the day I watched the movie I stood motivated to change lives in India in agriculture. today I stand lost and hopeless on the fact that I haven't done anything to bring about the change.

The movie sheds light on various elements on how the media works only in the being of news value but not in good for humankind, the reality of MNC's ruling countries and governments, the struggles faced by farmers due to these repercussions. After seeing this movie I seemed motivated and however fast I got that motivation I lost in  a matter of days. I understand that the silver screen is a great medium to act as an exchange of great ideas but how effective is this process? I  googled examples of social change brought about by media and fell onto an essay on studymode.com and to read the full essay I had to go through a tedious registration process followed by an eCommerce process that was waiting to grab a couple of dollars off my wallet. Social media seems to be open but is still controlled and held back, informations seems to be free but nothing is,  everything comes at a cost so how can this bring about a change?

No matter how many movies, short films come out bringing out the essence of things that needs attention like, sexual equality, extinction of sweatshops and the reason stated above, nothing will change until people around the world step down and make a change. Sharing and liking is not going to do much as expected. People need to log out, get onto the roads and see as to how they can bring about 'the change'. We need to make a plan and act on it offline that is the only we can make a difference. The movie came out two weeks back and till date I haven't seen an active protest on the ongoing problem, it created a buzz on social media and amongst people made a 100 crore turnover and the directorial team is going to move on to the next project to make their next buck.

We have to come to an understanding that no matter what all this is made for a monetary purpose but nothing else. If we need to make a change we the young change need to revolute, protest and ensure that corruption comes to an end. There is no use voting for the most promising candidate and waiting for him/her to make a change. We need to constantly remind them of problems we face day by day to ensure a better generation for our future! Things need to change around us, we need to bring about better platforms for people which is not based on 'news' or 'monetary' value but of the ultimate value that matters to the general public. We the general public should let go of certain things, because come on lads, the place we live in is at stake. If we let things as they are, soon we will lose the ability to cultivate crop, breed, live healthy. Mother Earth which is a haven to us will soon be hell. 

What can we do? 'You ask'  Revolution is the answer. We need to show the people above us what needs to be done no matter what, take the issue up and to the higher authorities. Show them what democracy means. Prompt the officials of what and what not to do. Lets reform things around here. I understand that change doesn't come fast and change that comes fast is bad, but what we face here is 'no change at all' lads! Let our minds wander! The governments can't do everything, they need our help! Let the new generation show how things are done. Most movies encase fictional characters, lets ensure that these characters become non fictional (one of us) and soon enough movies will be made about us and the advances we have brought about to our nations!!

Cheers!

P.S. I apologize for the bad writing, I blame it on my alcohol intoxication. I had to address this issue.

She Caught Me Looking At Her.

You're walking down the park, you're cruising down the freeway, you're looking out the window, you're at work. The edge of your vision catches something so beautiful, you can't just let go of it, as your mind is processing how possible it seems, you seem to realise you've been looking for more than a considerable amount of time!! Oopsie Daisy!! You totally act cool and just look straight, concentrate on work and act like nothing happened, your mind is rambling on every futuristic step that could happen and you've lost all focus. She seamlessly goes onto doing what she was doing not caring about her surroundings. If at all she was interested she'd have sent you a signal to move it further. I'm sure each one of you have felt this atleast once in your lives. If you haven't your a real bad liar!!

Let's put this the Curry way! You're walking down the park, blah blah, the way she reacts is totally different, she becomes protective, self conscious of her over dressed self not even letting a hint of skin catch sunlight. She gives you 'that' stare that makes you feel stupid, shameful and horrible. Why do they have to hold back so hard, why not let go, why not steer into adventure, humans are a couple of puzzle pieces, till we find the perfect fit we shouldn't give up, if it's meant to it's meant to be else move on and wait till you think the next person is the 'one'. How can we do this when almost every person seems to reject and shut you out without even giving a chance. If you want to date a girl in the Eastern hemisphere, you've gotta infiltrate her network, find common friends, then be noted in her life then slowly etch yourself into her bubble, be a friend and then something more. Bollywood, Kollywood and any other cinema shows'the guy'meeting a random girl and asking her out and she thinks and says.........why not, very casual about the situation, in reality all that stands between you and that experience is a pair of extremely sexy 6" heels!! Hmph!

Before I venture into this topic let me steer clear stating that I am NOT a feminist but someone who believes in the era of dating and going the whole yards. I have always dreamt of meeting the 'one', collecting every scent of bravery within my soul and making the move. From then on as we get to know one another, we start seeing one another, moving in together and then if all goes uphill from there we're meant to get married. Day in and day out I've seen numerous couples who say they are in love but they want to skip the proper dating rituals and skip to marriage, a couple of years later most of them end up at an Associates office trying to get the best deal so that they reduce the guilt of feeling cheated. Then people pull up statistics stating that arranged marriage is far more successful and the right way to go about things because of the high number of failures within love marriages.

That being well explained,I'm not here to prove which is better,  there is no better way but just one's best way, first before you venture into falling in love get to know yourself, invest time in you, take yourself out, find out what you like and somewhere, sometime you will understand what you want. Whatever may it be, it sure is the right thing, pursue that with passion and like all things you've done in your life go the whole way with this too,

Don't hold back, this is your life buddy, just let go and be willing to let him in. What's the use of holding an ego against anyone, in the end a relationship is all about giving and getting! Guys, treat your women as they need to be treated, just because she said yes doesn't mean you own her, she still has her own individuality,  it's alright to let go of certain things because they are good for you but if she/he expects you to change the kind of person you are you aren't with the right person. They must like you for who you are and not whom they perceive you to be. Every time you fall in and out of a relationship, love finds a new definition in your heart, no words can amount to the true feeling of true love. Keep fighting till you find it! If you think you've already found it you are one lucky chap!

Cheers!

Entering the Undergraduate Platform.

The lights flicker along the highway, the houses grow second by second,  minutes later the cabin shakes, the engine roars as the fore wheel touches the landing, I get that eerie feeling whether the pilot is going to get it right this time. Soon the brakes kick in and so does the thrust reversal and in a matter of seconds the Airbus comes to a halt and is Taxied to gate 7 at the Anna International Airport. As I close my eyes for a matter of seconds, multiple memories of school flash one after another. My eyes suddenly break open to the stinging sound of the attendant calling to the proceedings of ones landing protocol.

To my left I feel my Dad being tensed whether or not I will be able to join classes this year, and to my right my emotional mother is jumping between my future plans and the recent passing away of her grandmother. As I look at her, her eyes seem so confused not being able to come to a decision of either closing them or keeping them open.

I on the other hand very light minded about my surroundings, am just excited about the words Mechanical Engineer and Anna University. Studied all my life at a reputed International School and followed the British Standards of O/L and A/L, I was well versed in my basic understanding and knowledge of the High School criterion required for entrance at the institute. A couple of mates who had already started University had given me an essence of how college life was going to be, and OH was I excited. 

Within a flicker I was at the gates of Anna University and minutes later I stood outside my class with the receipt to enter class, I stood outside patiently as an old gentleman with strands of grey hair trying their best to stand straight on his head as he moved eccentrically teaching the basics of a 2 by 2 matrix to the class. As his hand moves in to squeak the chalk off the board his eyes catch me and being too afraid to enter class I sneakily turn around and walk towards my hostel in the plans of befriending a couple of people before I enter my class. With that plan in mind entered the hostel and that is a whole different story which will make this post an essay so lets just skip to a couple of weeks later. 

As I studied at college I learnt that college life in Chennai is very different and for a person like me who has been taught a very different way of learning a subject it seemed almost impossible to complete the task of a college graduation. Hence started the never ending bar sessions with fellow insurgents. Instead of armed weapons we drowned our rebellion in the friendly company of alcohol and tobacco. I tried to fight back the system, rebelling to certain people in the faculty ending up with a beautiful result of four arrears in my first semester. The result was horrible, There was no fighting back but to budge and fit into the Indian system of education which seems to force students on a safe path. Study so that you end up at a desk job but not at a job which employs so many others. The system despised free thinkers like me. I was helpless but I seemed to find a pattern of people like this. Two semesters later I somewhat mastered the art of battling and getting an all-clear! However only my fourth semester was I able to do this. 

During the course I started doing a lot of extra curricular like theatre and arts which had always inclined an interest during my foundation stages. In this process I started socialising with my fellow seniors in and out of my department, learning a flip side to this education system. There were people like me who instead of complaining and fighting back created opportunities for themselves and others to change life for the future generations. Had't I met these insurgents I would have been lost in a path of desolation. Day in and day out I had met people like me who had agreed what I said but not one of us decided to do anything about it. Before I entered college I dreamed of creating a solar vehicle alongside a  panel of the smartest students, I dreamt of halls with next-gen machinery that could analyse our ideas in a split second. Dreamt of professors and students conduct an exchange of ideas changing things for the better. In my first semester all these dreams crashed and died. However as months went by and continuous discussions and debates with fellow classmates and seniors,  I slowly understood the way things worked, I slowly revived my dreams, they have somewhat changed though, mainly due to maturity. I am once again confident, a changed person.

Today I stand along with my fellow insurgents hoping to bring about a change and the reality of college here, life here IS fun, you just need to find the right people, surround yourself with friends who are always motivating you and would stand behind you no matter what. If life throws you at a gruesome environment, flip it around and create an environment that maximises your abilities. Don't wait for change to come, Be that change. Be the Benchmark for everyone else.