Bliss.

Bliss.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

And Life Goes On...(2)

The purpose of this post is simple
  1. No matter, how terrible life is, no matter what your problem is, no matter how devastating things have turned, after a point, you cease to wallow in self pity but tend to look at it with a philosophical angle. And those dark moments actually enlighten you about the true nature of many a soul. And those who help you cross the Slough of Despondency are the ones you should be thankful to have met. 22 days on, I'm thankful for the friends I have (left). Yes, I had a particularly good day today, (I FINALLY managed to insult a deserving soul. Haha. Hippopotamus Amphibius much. :D )
  2. Sometimes, you get shattered. Let me give an example. Imagine you were a friend of Gandhi with an affinity towards alcohol. Now, Gandhi, being a teetotaler, would somehow managed to convince you to quit drinking, and with great effort, you give up the forbidden drink. Now, what would you feel if, one day, you gave Gandhi a surprise visit and find him having a glass of wine??

Friday, November 18, 2011

Dreams From Another World.

She sat outside the hut, on the barren ground, with books scattered around her. They were meant for kindergarten kids, but she couldn't make any sense out of it.

Malli enjoyed looking at these picture books. She tried to decipher the words printed below the pictures, but they remained a mystery. This was her favorite pastime.

Although her parents were construction workers and could not afford to get her educated, 10-year old Malli had big dreams. She was unlike the other kids of her clan who had resigned to their fate. Malli seldom helped her parents in the constructions. She loved wandering through the streets, playing in the children's park and making new friends. Malli was a simple girl, but despite the tattered frock and unkempt hair, she had a beauty of her own. Her brown eyes sparkled with infinite joy and her short, wavy hair was carelessly plaited. She flitted in and out of the building like a colorful butterfly.

All her life, Malli moved from one place to another, building houses and moving on. 
"When are we going to build our own house?" she often asked her parents, but they looked away furtively and mumbled something incoherent.

Making friends came easily to Malli, irrespective of social status. However, when she came  to Bangalore, the swanky malls, high rise apartments and sophistication left her overawed initially. 
But soon, she made friends at the local park and often got the old books of these kids. Of course, some parents shooed her away, considering her to be a bad influence on their children, while some snobbish children were downright rude to her. But these were exceptions and Malli, with her radiant smile and pleasant chatter, managed to win over most people.

"I'm off to the park" Malli said to her mother and skipped her way to the park on a Sunday morning. Seeing a group of kids of her age, Malli sensed an opportunity to make new friends. 

"Can I join you?" she asked with a shy smile. The group exchanged surprised looks and were unsure of what to say. They appeared to be from affluent families.

"I'm Malli. I want to play with you" she said, venturing further.

The children didn't want to upset her, but they felt they couldn't include her either. Before they could say anything, the mother of one of the boys in the group, seeing Malli among the children, arrived there. 

She eyed Malli suspiciously and asked her sternly, "Who are you? What do you want with these kids?"

Malli was rather nervous, but said, with all the courage she could muster "I'm Malli. Can I play with them?".

"You want to play with them? she said scornfully. Malli was stunned and went pale. She had never felt so humiliated. She suddenly noticed that all the kids were dressed in clean clothes while she was clad in a worn out tunic. The five children looked away uncomfortably. 
One of them hesitantly said "Maybe.. she can play with us..".

"Anmol, No." said the mother firmly.

Malli did not want to hear anymore. She turned away, her eyes swimming with tears, and ran back to her hut and cried.
For the next few days, she she did not venture near the park. On her insistence, her parents made a Jhula out of thick rope. So she contented herself with swinging from a tree branch all day long.

Malli and her parents rose early and after a hard day's work, they went to bed early. Although they were busy and spent little time with Malli, they loved her more than anything else in the world and she knew this. She never complained or sulked about their poverty because she knew they worked hard for a living. Some nights there wouldn't be much to eat, but they made sure Malli never went to bed hungry, even if it meant they had to.
In the same street, there were several children, but they never came out to play. There were two boys of her age, three girls slightly older than her, a three year old boy and two college girls. She liked to observe them and imagined what their world would be like.

One day, one of the college girls smiled at her. Malli, after her experience with strangers, was a little wary. She returned a hesitant smile. But soon, she was at ease, for Aditi seemed to be a nice girl and they quickly became friends. Every afteernoon, Malli waited eagerly for Aditi and the two girls chattered about their lives; Malli about her lifestyle and Aditi about college and studies.

"Aditi, I want to read books. I want to learn to write. Will you teach me? Please" Malli asked her with such eagerness that Aditi was touched and readily agreed.  From that day, Aditi taught Malli for twenty minutes. Malli's dedication inspired Aditi and she was pleased with her pupil's progress.
As the days passed, Malli mastered the language under the tutelage of Aditi. One evening, when Malli, slowly, but confidently finished reading an article on Thomas Alva Edison, Aditi watched her student with quiet pride.

"Aditi, what does ambition mean?" asked Malli.

Aditi thought for a moment and then said "Ambition is something you want to achieve as an adult. For that you will have to work hard. What's your ambition Malli?"

Malli replied instantly, "I want to become Aditi".

Aditi was puzzled. "Explain", she said.

"Yes, I want to become like you when I grow up. I want to teach other girls like me to read and write. That's my ambition" she said with childlike innocence.

Aditi had no words. With tears of joy, she hugged her first student, who had taught her much more than she had.







Thursday, November 17, 2011

So What's Cookin?

Hullo.
I'm very happy about the GK Blog. :) 
Reading Ruskin bond again. 
Books I've read recently:
So?
  • To cut a long story short- Jeffrey Archer
  • PG Wodehouse Omnibus
  • Unaccustomed Earth- Jhumpa Lahiri
  • A girl like me- Swati Kaushal
  • Interpreter of maladies- Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Dust in the mountains and other short stories- Ruskin Bond (In Progress)
  • School Times- Ruskin Bond (Yet to commence)
Yesterday was good. I met Chandana ma'am. I went to Maiyya's and Sapna. :)
Studying Bio. Will start Chem soon. I can't get myself to do physics. :-/

Random obsessions:
  • There's this girl who's parents are construction workers. They've tied a strong rope from the tree branch and she swings on her Jhula all day long.They live almost opposite our house in a make-shift structure. I'm seized by this random strong desire to teach her. To educate her. To make her write her name atleast. Pondering the possibilities.
  •  I want to write a novel. A science fiction? I guess so. I'm having a few VAGUE plots in mind, so nothing concrete. Let's see.
 Ok Bai then.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Adversity.

It brings out true colors. With elan. Interesting to watch. Ha.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Biology. Cell.

I've no idea why I'm posting this. Anyhoo, read and understand.

Cell Structure

Cytology- study of cell and its structure and components as seen under the microscope

Cell biology-study of all aspects of cell-structure, biochemistry, development and physiology

Cytoplasm: living part of the cell lying outside the nucleus but within the cell membrane.

Cell structures:
·         Cell membrane (Nageli and Kramer) –membrane covering the protoplast
§  Structure: thin elastic skin like membrane covering the cell.
Biochemical composition
a) phospholipids
b) Proteins
c) Carbohydrates-provide specificity
       D) cholesterol-fluidity
§  Fluid Mosaic Model of plasma membrane –Singer and Nicholson
a)Arrangement of lipids- phospholipid bilayer
b) Arrangement of proteins-
extrinsic- found on outer and inner side of bilayer
intrinsic- found inserted within the bilayer.
c) Arrangement of carbohydrates-attached to either lipids or proteins on the external surface only
§  Function of plasma membrane:
 a)Functions of membrane carbohydrates
 b)Functions of membrane proteins
 c) Transport across Membranes
 d) Passive Transport
        a) Diffusion
       b)Osmosis
e) Active Transport
    a) Bulk transport
    b) Phagocytosis
    c) Pinocytosis
·         Endoplasmic Reticulum- (name given by Porter): Biosynthetic Factory
1. Structure:
        Composed of 3 types of units:
             a)Cisternae
             b)Vesicles
             c)Tubules
       2 types of ER:
o   Rough ER – With ribosomes and synthesizes proteins
o   Smooth ER–Without ribosomes and synthesizes steroids, lipids, carbohydrates and proteins
                
               2. Functions
§  Circulatory System of the cell
§  Protein Synthesis
§  Detoxification of drugs and other poisons
§  Membrane Factory
§  Storage of synthesized materials
§  Synthesis of molecules like bile acids, phospholipids, cholesterol and hormones

·         Golgi Apparatus-(Named after its discoverer Camillo Golgi) : Traffic Director

o   Function
§  Modification and packaging of proteins
§  Produces acrosome of sperm
§  Gives rise to lysosome
§  Helps in osmoregulation in one-celled fresh water animals via contractile vacuole
o   Structure
§  Group of flattened sacs placed one over another to form a pile/ stack.
§  Each stack is called a dictyosome
§  3 types of units in the Golgi Apparatus:
v  Cisternae
v  Tubules
v  Vacuole
·         Lysosomes- Discovered by Christian De Duve (Suicide Bags)
o   Found only in eukaryotic cells.
o   Contain hydrolytic enzymes/hydrolases
o   4 functional stages are observed:
§  Primary
§  Secondary
§  Auto lysosome
§  Residual body
o   Functions:
§  Intracellular digestion
§  Apoptosis
§  Acrosome
§  Absence of lysosomal enzymes may lead to Lysosomal storage diseases
·         Mitochondria – First seen by Kolliker (Powerhouses)
o   Structure:
§  2 membranes- inner is selectively permeable and is produced into a large number of folds called cristae
§  F0F1 Particles: stalked particles in cristae involved in ATP synthesis.
§  Mitochondrial Matrix
v  Mitochondrial DNA
v  Ribosomes
v  RNA
o   Functions:
§  Krebs Citric Acid Cycle
§  Electron Transport
·         Ribosomes (First seen by Albert Claude) ; RNA + Proteins= Ribosomes
o   Not found in : Mature RBC, mature sperm, sieve tube members of phloem in plants
o   S= Svedberg Unit or Sedimentation Coefficient
o   Prokaryotes: 70S
o   Eukaryotes: 80S
o   Mitochondrial Ribosomes: 55S to 80S
o   Chloroplast Ribosomes: 70S
o   Structure:
§  Composed of 2 units: Larger subunit and smaller subunit.
o   Functions: Protein Synthesis
§  Ribosomes attached to ER: Secretory proteins (mucus and digestive enzyme) synthesis
§  Free Ribosomes: Internal use proteins (chlorophyll, haemoglobin) synthesis
·         Centrioles
o   Found only in Animal Cell
o   Centrioles of a pair occurring at right angles to each other: Diplosome
o   Functions:
§  Microtubule organizing centre during cell division
§  In animal and lower plant cells, centrioles give rise to cilia and flagella. They’re called basal bodies.
·         Cytoskeleton
o   Microtubules
o   Microfilaments
o   Intermediate Filaments
·         Nucleus (Robert Brown) Master Organelle
o   Nuclear Envelope or Karyotheca
o   Nucleoplasm or Karyolymph
o   Chromatin (dispersed- -Eu, condensed –Hetero)
o   Nucleolus
o   Functions:
§  Responsible for the continuing of the life of the cell
§  Carries hereditary information in its chromosomes
§  Nucleolus: Ribosome Factory
Ultra structure of Plant Cell
§  Cell Wall
o   Middle Lamella- Calcium and Magnesium Pectate
o   Primary Wall-pectin and hemicellulose
o   Secondary Wall-High cellulose content
§  Plastids
o   Chloroplast
§  Stroma
§  Thylakoids
§  Stroma Lamellae
o   Leucoplast (Amylopast) : Formation and storage of starch grains
o   Chromoplast: Plastids responsible for yellow, red and orange color of many flowers and fruits
§  Vacuoles
o   Bubble like structure bound by a single membrane-Tonoplast
o   Contents of vacuole: Cell Sap
o   Functions:
§  Store organic compounds
§  Contain hydrolytic enzymes for macromolecule digestion
§  Store inorganic ions like K+ and Cl-
§  Store anthocyanin responsible for red and blue color in flowers
§  Helps in increasing cell size
§  Ergastic Substances
o    Reserve Food Materials
o    Secretory products



The End

Just Do It.

I just started a new blog. A GK Blog. :) To improve my deteriorating knowledge of the outside world. :)
Now for Bio.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Laika And Liu

I guess I was in first or second standard when I first heard about Laika. The first dog in space. It sounded Incredible! And the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova... No doubt I'd come across the names in some GK Book.. And the names did not fade away from my memory for some reason..


Nearly a decade later, I'm reminded of the canine.. I was wondering if I returned alive. Wikipedia confirmed my worst fears. 10 years ago, I don't think I thought about it. I probably took it for granted that Laika would have gone on a short trip to space and would have returned back to Earth safely. Sadly, It was more like a planned murder. 

The dear old doggie :(


Liu Bolin is a Chinese artist. After the Communist party closed down his art studio in 2004 or something, he has taken to photographing himself. Catch is that you need to look twice before you can spot him. He is painted to blend in with his surroundings. I found it as an unconventional way to protest. Here have a look :) Or just go to the Yahoo homepage. Today..


Do you remember Michael Collins? Chances are slim.
Recently somebody asked me who was the 3rd person on the Apollo 11 space shuttle? Try as I might, I couldn't recollect the name, though I had a feeling that it was at the tip of my tongue.


He was the man who was SO close to the moon and yet he didn't land. Who wouldn't regret it?


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

....

Sometimes (these days, it almost ALL the time) I want to give up. Why this fight for survival? What kind of life am I leading? What have I achieved? What is the whole point of this kind of existence?

No, I'm not any friend-less dejected soul. I (had) friends. I'd like to think I still have a few left. I'm not upset because of low marks. I'm not upset because somebody dumped me. (LOL. :D That would NEVER happen ;) )

Then why are you cribbing about life, you may ask. And therein lies the catch. It's not something you publicize, is it?

And that's something I've been pondering about. Isn't it better to be open about it, rather than letting people figure it out themselves in an unpleasant manner?

Rambles Of A Wretched Soul.

On a February evening,  I was told that there would be a new addition to the family. I joyfully accepted it. I was eager, excited and thrilled. Little did I know  that my life would take a complete toss. A TOTAL massive shocking change.
Some students do well despite hardships. Eg: a broken leg, illness.
Some others do say they did well inspite of/along with  extracurricular activities. Eg. Swimming, badminton etc etc.
All this is acceptable.
Nothing else.
So basically the fact that I’m trying my best inspite of 'circumstances' counts for nothing.
N-o-t-h-i-n-g.

Monday, November 7, 2011

And Life Goes On.

Yesterday I was up till 2.30 :) Maths <3 And Yesterday was historic for another reason. Lit Fest was fine. I liked goofing up in the quiz. Reunion was good.

Re-read my God's blog yesterday. No better inspiration. Oh and btw, Coffee is the Elixir of my life. I swear. I down several glasses a day. Drunk much? :P

There's no point hiding. Yes, It's been depressing. I Actually wrote down a list of reasons why I should even live. Believe me, it isn't all that long.

Beneath the facade, there's a volcano waiting to explode.