Bliss.

Bliss.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Incendium

This is device that can really make a difference to healthcare facilities in remote regions, especially when sophisticated diagnostic devices aren't accessible.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Indian-team-in-global-competition-to-build-powerful-home-medical-device/articleshow/40487838.cms

Like the blurb says, memories can initiate different emotions in people. And there are always those memories we would like to forget/ get rid off to avoid the emotions they are associated with. This mice based experiment shows promise to PTSD and depression patients to reverse the emotions associated with certain memories by identifying the region (dentate gyrus) and tagging the neurons associated with the storage of that memory.
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/brain-circuit-links-emotion-memory-0827


Interestingly, Harvard University is also working on similar lines to 'erase bad memories' but this involves inducing Xenon gas which can block NMDA receptors [The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, a glutamate receptor, is the predominant molecular device for controlling synaptic plasticity and memory function.]
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/08/erasing-traumatic-memories/

Now, really! It's all part of evolution. We're constantly evolving. From the Stone Age man, to the advent of fire and invention of wheel, the birth of printing by Gutenberg to the age of smart phones, supercomputers and Google glasses, it's all part of an ongoing process.

http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21614088-neuroscientist-warns-will-internet-eat-your-brain

I agree, this didn't get the publicity that it deserves given the complexity of it. A paraplegic volunteer literally 'kick'started this year's World Cup in Brazil thanks to a robotic suit. Bet you didn't know that!
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27812218

And finally, I'd like to wrap up with this very promising article about the advent of Neuroscience Era.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/michio-kaku-the-golden-age-of-neuroscience-has-arrived-1408577023

Friday, August 29, 2014

Musicophilia :)

Okay, So I have this current obsession for old songs. Spent a considerable amount of time and netpack downloading them. Here they are:


  • Dil Kyun Yeh Mera (Kites)
  • Chup Chup Ke (Bunty Aur Babli)
  • Main Yahaan Hoon (Veer Zara)
  • Sandese Aate Hain (Border)
Doesn't he look similar to.:
'... Rehta Hai Bahut Door
Lekin Mere Dil Me Hai Zaroor....'? :P
  • Tanhayee (Dil Chahta Hai)
  • Agar Tum Mil Jao (Aksar?) (Beautiful song by Shreya Ghoshal)
  • Dooriyan (LoveAaj Kal)
  • Salaam Namaste (Vasundhara Das)

  • Tere Bin (This one's from Bas Ek Pal.. There are innumerable Tere Bin songs these days! :P )
  • Tu Hi Haqeeqat (Tum Mile)
  • Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam (DDLJ)

  • Falak Tak Chal Saath Chal
  • Saibo (Shor In The City)
  • Saanson Ko Saanson Mein (HumTum)
I also downloaded random Tamil Songs. Please don't question my eccentric actions. I've stopped doing so myself.

If you aren't willing, don't let others' headache become yours. Nothing would be more awkward than becoming a headache to others! Stay happy, stay focused. :)

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Dreaming Is A Free Art.

First of all,

  • Private India: James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi [A thriller about a serial killer]
  • A Painted House: John Grisham [Surprisingly enough, it doesn't have anything to do with law suits, courts or advocates. Just a simple story set in a rural Arkansas written from the POV of a 7 year old boy.]
  • The Mother I Never Knew: Sudha Murty (two novellas, set in Karnataka, simple uncomplicated tales)
  • Kim: Rudyard Kipling (currently reading..)
I discovered:
  • Quora (Hilarious, informative and interesting.)
  • Minube (I'm making distant travel plans without moving an inch.)
  • Coursera (I've signed up for a few online courses. On the Topics I Like. For FREE. from Top Universities.I'm excited! :P) I mean seriously, there's so much you can do online. I mean worthwhile stuff. :P And here I am scrolling through endless newsfeed on Facebook. -_-
This is how my weekly schedule generally is: (No really. This is for the coming week)
  • Monday: Doc Appointment, Swimming
  • Tue: Driving exam practice, Swimming JustBooks
  • Wed: DRIVING EXAM (ALL THOSE READING THIS, STOP FOR A MOMENT AND PRAY THAT I PASS. THANK YOU. NOW PROCEED.)
  • Thursday: Habba, it seems.
  • Friday: Another Habba, it seems.
  • Saturday: Swimming, Justbooks, Meet friend.
  • Sunday: Swimming, Family Time
  • Monday: Swimming it seems, Sanjana's ghar (Finally!!)
  • Tuesday: Sanjana's ghar
  • Wednesday: Vasanthnagar (Finally!!)
And so on. -_- In the past week, I went back to PESIT and met Maidha and Manasa. Yes it was good to be back, see all the familiar faces and meet up with old pals. But sadly, I felt out of place. I mean, the campus, the people and the whole atmosphere was so awesome, I felt I didn't belong there. I wish I knew why. Maybe its for the simple reason that I don't really have any 'gang of friends' there. Just a few people I'd like to keep in touch with. I didn't really do much; I chatted with Manasa and marveled her hot haircut (which I can never dare to get, despite living in a hostel, 250kms away from home.) and then hunted for Maidha. I hogged her cheese sandwich and walked her to class while grumbling about how fashionable her campus was. And then I took the bus back home. It's just 10 minutes away anyway.

By now, you might have discovered that:
  • I'm an incurable fan of Bullet Points.
  • I love announcing the books I've read, currently reading or intend to read.
  • My blogging frequency has definitely increased, but the quality of blogging has definitely dipped. Oh Well, Age does that to you. 
My latest talents include:
  • Driving a car. (while the driving instructor has another set of clutch and brakes with him, but hey I'll soon start off in the i10 :))
  • Riding a gaadi. (Yes! Finally! I ride to swimming class everyday. Okay, the funny part is that Appa's office is on the same route so he comes behind me. -_- BUTBUTBUT, I ride without anybody following me as well. It's fun. :) Will I get to zoom through the streets of Shimoga? Maybe, Maybe not.
  • Swimming several laps of the breadth of the swimming pool. Nothing can get more exhausting. But it's a lot more enjoyable than sweating it out on the treadmill for burning the same amount of calories.
  • Jumping into 8 feet depth. (Hey, maybe that's called diving! *Yayy!*)
  • Wolfing down 3/4th of a Small Peppy Paneer Pizza in MINUTES. (It's got to be a record, I swear. I was practically famished so I devoured it.)
  • Changing my WhatsApp DP alarmingly often. *giggles* I can't help it, I find all these amazing quotes and witty oneliners and sarcastic stuff that I simply can't resist from making it my DP.
  • Accepting that some people will continue to be a part of my life. What I can change is how much I'm going to care about it. This realization has actually made me a lot happier, less of a worrier. It's in my hands to decide how much importance I give to any task or any person, so it's about time I take advantage of that. :)
Fear is looming large as the days pass, results may come in the near future. What has to happen will happen. Uncertainty is hard to bear and but maybe that's solace sometimes. Because atleast, that gives you the benefit of doubt. Unsure of what lies ahead, what to expect and where I'm heading. Sometimes I wonder, where do I really belong?  It's neither here, in Bangalore, in the comfort of my home, nor there, in Shimoga, in the hostel, but with myself. That's the only constant. People move in and out of our lives, few persist, fewer will be there for us, but we are the only constant, our only hope for a better tomorrow. Nobody else, nothing else will really be there for you until the end. It's just you, at the end of the day. In the end, only you will truly appreciate your efforts and achievements, only you will sit back and regret on the lost opportunities, and only you are responsible for the kind of life you lead. 

“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” 
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.” 
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

Cheers! :) 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Reality Bites.

Cleaning can be therapeutic, as I discovered recently. A few days ago, I took upon the mammoth task of cleaning the garbage heap called my room. For the past month, I had been conveniently ignoring the trash that has piled up over the past year but I couldn't do so any longer. It's about time I do something productive.

So I began sorting out the stuff and that can be an absolutely headache because I always tend to ponder whether to Keep It or Trash It (More often than not, I end up keeping anything that has memories associated with it). 

So several ancient relics popped up as I was rummaging through my cupboard, some that made me smile, some that brought a tinge of sorrow, but hey, they all made me happy once upon a time. :)



So this was when Amma and I went on that 'Medical Colleges Tour' in Karnataka. We saw a lot of colleges and I gained an insight about what an actual medical college would seem like (something that is yet to develop at Subbaiah, truth be told). Appa had appointed me as Finance Incharge and I made a neat account of all the expenses. I wrote this when he said that there are some discrepancies in the amount given and amount spent..


The TCS 10K Run. Lately, I've been training on the treadmill but I'm exhausted by 3K. I'm frankly surprised how I managed to practice and come upto 10K!


I found the 'Stories Book' that I had started in 1st PUC. Back then, I used to squeeze in some time to write a short story or an occasional poem. Plus, the SAT preparation had enriched my vocabulary and it gave the necessary impetus to write more. After a while, I only wrote the plot outlines (In the hope that I would find time later to pen down the actual story.)



Trust me, seeing these books makes me want to read it all once again. Did I really make good use of it?


HMUN 2012. New friends from across the globe, a train journey with goofy idiots and a whole new world. The struggle to get my parents to agree, I wouldn't like to do that again. But everything about that trip is etched in my mind, It was truly incredible. I miss the penguins. 


HAHA! How unforgettable are those formulae really? Physics and I had a rocky relationship.


Oh well! :) Writing the SAT, Searching for colleges on the CollegeBoard website, Applying to colleges, zeroing in on the right colleges, running around for recommendations, filling up the CommonApp, filling up the CSS Profile for financial aid, mailing the college correspondents with a volley of doubts, the joy of a FedEX Mail, the thrill of acceptances, the music scholarship (what a fail!) and everything else. <3



And finally, I packed everything into boxes and my room is now a lot more cleaner and habitable. :)


On Tuesday night, Pa and I boarded the night bus to Mantralaya (near Raichur). The visit was pending for more than a year. After a night of disturbed sleep and trudging through untarred roads, we reached by 6AM. After quickly refreshing, we went to the temple and finished what was to be done. Post this, I was limping (I still am, mind you. I don't know how the hell I'm going to swim when I can barely bend my knee) but we took a shared auto and had a bumpy ride to Panchamukhi. After lunch, we got into the bus heading towards Bangalore. The sweltering heat left me grouchy and exhausted but our Mission was accomplished. I read a novel for a while and then Pa and I were chatting. We reached home at 11PM, Had dinner and I hobbled into bed.

“The two slight youthful figures soon grew indistinct on the distant road - were soon lost behind the projecting hedgerow.
They had gone forth together into their new life of sorrow, and they would never more see the sunshine undimmed by remembered cares. They had entered the thorny wilderness, and the golden gates of their childhood had for ever closed behind them."
Mill On The Floss- George Elliot

Sometimes, the Future is worrying. I probably live ensconced in a cocoon. In reality, the Future is bleak and uncertain. As a child and as a starry eyed teenager, we all have 'dreams' that we want to realize. We aspire for big things, we live in a Utopic setup where we assume that dreams can come true. But in reality, responsibilities exist. 

It's all probably my fault for being a dreamer, an incurable optimist and my failure to see things as they are. I've probably been looking at things with rose-tinted glasses and hence assumed that there are good times ahead. It's painful to let your dreams slip through your fingers and watch them perish but when Responsibility knocks at your door you can't exactly refuse to open the door, can you?

When we're young, we're carefree and imagine that everything is possible. It's possible to rise to greater heights, achieve your goals and live 'Happily ever after', we think. But the thought that we might never really take off, let alone fly and reach the stars, the thought that we might become just another ordinary person with a mundane existence can be crippling.

And it leaves you confused: Do you fight it? Or do you accept the Fate?




Friday, August 15, 2014

Kashmir Diaries #4


Selfie on the Gondola
*Spaz in the snow*

A Glacier near Sonmarg
Di Dad and Me. Ma couldn't make it upto the snow at Gulmarg since it either required a trek through a stony patch or a pony ride. Nevertheless, Ma got close to the snow at Zero Point and also at the above mentioned glacier.

Pari Mahal
Pari Mahal: The Abode of Fairies. A classic example of Mughal architechture is the 'Echo'


Kashmir Diaries #3

The War Memorial at Gumri, Ladakh

Apple Trees everywhere!!

At Chandanwari, the Base Camp of the Amarnath Yathra

For men may come and men may go, but I go on forever
The Brook- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Di and Me before we left for Sonmarg

The four of us on the Shikara

The grand interiors of Jacqueline Houseboat

Lake at Gulmarg.

Kashmir Diaries #2

So we visited a cricket bat factory. There are plenty in this region since they use the Kashmiri Willow.

We purchased a bat for Divya but it didn't make it out of the Aircraft at the Bengaluru Airport. Looks like it wasn't adequately sealed to be delivered. :( 
This was at a viewpoint enroute to Gulmarg.


Lake at Gulmarg.

Our guide at Gulmarg, Shabbir with Divya. It was hard for us to carry Di since we had no balance on the slippery ice ourselves, but he managed to do so with ease. 

Kashmir Diaries #1

At the Airport. Di was super excited and so was Elli the elephant who travelled with us. :P
Seen from our Shikara on the Dal Lake. We passed through a 'Floating Market', A Lily Pond and the Vegetable Garden during our Shikara Ride. We also got to taste the Kashmiri Kahwa- a drink popular in this region.

Shikaras come in varied sizes, shapes and colours. This brightly coloured one stood out among its peers.

Evening View of Nigeen Lake from our Houseboat. The calm and serene waters were a treat to the eyes and we just sat there for a long time soaking in the scenery.

Nishat Gardens.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Salaam Walekum.

Hello there. :)

So, I'm back in Bangalore after my mini vacation high up in the North and I might as well begin! :D

6th August 2014

  • Di is feeling better, Ma is on antibiotics and it's my turn to fall ill. We rush to Sanjeevini Clinic and get a few meds to get me better.
  • News arrives that Nidhz isn't keeping well and we wish her to get well soon.
  • I have driving and riding classes that evening and manage to maneuver through the traffic without crashing into any pole or person.
  • Finish up with the packing and proceed to have dinner. Dad arrives home at 8PM (So early no? -_-)
7th August 2014

  •  So it seems like I've just fallen asleep when I'm woken up by the tune of 'Kabira' at 2:00AM. The time had finally come! We quickly got ready and left home by 4:00AM The streets were dark and as we progressed towards the busier areas, people and vehicles began to multiply in numbers.
  • The Airport was abuzz with activity and we finished all the necessary baggage and security checks well ahead of the stipulated time. We spent the next hour or so lounging around in the airport, watching the sky brighten and the occasional flight take off. Di seemed excited and ran around everywhere like the hyper kid that she is. After packing some breakfast, we boarded the plane and waited patiently as an attractive airhostess explained the safety guidelines (but honestly, being attractive can distract the poor passengers from listening to the guidelines no? :P)
  • Di was rather shocked by the whole take-off process while Ma and I exchanged smiles of excitement (and Pa simply closed his eyes). She looked down and yelped in horror as the houses now looked like tiny matchboxes and the vehicles looked like ants crawling on the ground.
  • After a stop at Mumbai (Woah, what a crowded city. :O) and another at Amritsar, we finally reached Srinagar which was sweltering hot at around 33C. 
  • We had lunch (Gujarathi Thali) and then proceeded for a Shikhara ride on the Dal Lake. Post this, we visited the Nishat Bhag (Mughal Gardens) and then made our way to Jacqueline Houseboat located on the quaint, peaceful and unpolluted Nigeen Lake.
Accha so I'm ultra sleepy, tired and battling a toothache. I have riding class absymally early tomorrow so I'll just go away. Who knew swimming would leave me so exhausted? (Not that I'm complaining since I'm getting tanned and toned B) ) 

I think I'll just do a photostory. That seems more convenient. Because I can go on and on and never finish the travelogue. (Ahem, like the older ones)

Book Banter:

  • Sins of the Father: Jeffrey Archer (devoured overnight)
  • The Return of the Native: Thomas Hardy

Friday, August 1, 2014

Augustus Gloop.

  • Awaari: Ek Villain
  • Empire: Shakira
  • Wrecking Ball: Miley Cyrus
  • Heartbeat: Enrique and Nicole
  • Burn: Ellie Goulding
An hour of vigorous swimming will burn up to 650 calories. It burns off more calories than walking or biking. *YEAHHH*


  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXkW1OEVjGE
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl2LwnaUA-k