I speak Inglish

Blogger wants to know if I write in:
1. English (United Kingdom) or
2. English (United States)

The answer is: Neither.
'Cause, like a true Indian of the 21st century, I speak: 'INGLISH'!

What's Inglish, you say?
You gotta talk to one of us to understand.
It's what we speak. It's how we speak.
I can give you a few examples though:
- We Indians apologize or apologise as we wish. Or not.
- We may think colors but write colours (an old habit as a result of who was taught 'British' English at school, at least for the 90s kids).
- We add suffixes to our sentences ranging from 're' to 'man' to 'naa?' to 'ya' to 'pa' to....okay, you get it!
(Btw, I detest the widely used and variably prolonged 'yaa...aar')
- We add our own little somethings borrowed from our mother-tongues to our English conversations to spice them up.
- Everyone of us has at sometime used a direct translation of a proverb/adage of their 'mother-tongue' and passed it off as English. Also, we do accept similar such usages by our brothers and sisters from the other parts of the country, 'cause India is a socialist and secular country, you know. And we gotta protect our culture and heritage.
- You can identify which part of India someone is from by the way they greet you or scold/abuse you.
- We are very accepting of new words and frequently accommodate them in our vocabulary, without regard to which part of the world they came from originally, as long as they sound good and are catchy. And we use them with full passion. Well, the more cryptic and regal they are, the better.
All of this, not considering the multiple accents across the length and breadth of the country!

So, I've been thinking lately that this discrimination and 'colonisation' of the English language is bigoted and archaic. Just as English had evolved from Latin, I think it takes on a local tang and flavour in every country it is spoken. And every country deserves its own dialect!

So let's forget about the differences and huddle under a solitary 'English'(global) umbrella together, shall we? :)

The Perks.

I finally got around to reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
And it wasn't what I was expecting!

Based on what I had read in a review, I was kinda expecting a hipster novel, because of its cult following, or just another story about a teenager's experiments with love, drugs, etc.

I was surprised to find a sensitive portrayal of a boy who is 'different' from others around him, his struggle to fit in, how he faces everything life throws at him, good and bad, but mostly bad; and especially how he is as accepting of whatever is bad as he is appreciative of the good things.

The book reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time' by Mark Haddon. (Do read it in case you haven't!) The protagonists in both books are teen-aged boys who are unconventional, have behavioural problems, and are talented in their own particular spheres (mathematics vs writing skills). Although: Christopher in 'The Curious Case..' is probably autistic, while Charlie here might have been suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

I'm not going to write a synopsis of 'The Perks..'; just going to pen down what impressed me most about the book.

From the beginning, Charlie has a difficult life. He loses his best friend in middle school. He is devastated because he can't understand why his best friend couldn't share his problems with him and had to commit suicide. He goes into high school alone, and is either ignored or bullied by his classmates. He makes friends with a pair of siblings, and is totally devoted to them. When he falls for Sam, one of them, he keeps loving her though he knows she might never love him back.

He is pure and selfless, like a child rather than a teenager, and in some circumstances, he acts mature beyond his years, in matters of love and understanding.

"I'd die for you; but I wouldn't live for you"

He doesn't judge people by their faults. He buys and makes such thoughtful gifts for his family and friends, it shows his untainted love. Even after the truth about his aunt comes out, he still willingly forgives her.

He has his stints with drugs, smoking and sex too. But his outlook towards life and his innocence and honesty permeate every experience he has, making it that much less mundane.

“And I guess I realized at that moment that I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and that didn't matter.”

Charlie's fondness for music and habit of devouring books gives another angle to his character. He has a deep appreciation for 'the people who wrote the songs' and finds himself lost inside the books he reads. His quip that his last book is always his favourite one, I think I can relate to it sometimes.

“And all the books you've read have been read by other people. And all the songs you've loved have been heard by other people. And that girl that's pretty to you is pretty to other people. and that if you looked at these facts when you were happy, you would feel great because you are describing 'unity.”

Overall, I found Charlie's character very fascinating (which you may have realised already!). The other characters in the book too are well written and consistent. The family dynamic is very realistic and also endearing, the take on homosexuality and frustrated love, the chain of abusive relationships in Charlie's parents' families, each character's personal interests and goals in life, and how it affects everything around them, it was all interesting.

There are a lot of sentences/conversations throughout the book, that make you ponder, smile and agree quietly. Here are a few more images I found on Tumbler and Google:

Maybe the happy ending did it for me too. Charlie sticking it out till the end and taking his life into his hands, his friends and family coming together to support him. 'Cause I don't think I could have accepted a wretched fate for Charlie, after everything he had gone through. With Charlie's resilience and kindness, what could have been a frustrating depressing story turns into one of hope and acceptance, optimism and faith.

One paragraph I especially liked:

There's a lot more about the book to talk about,  but I'll leave the rest for you to read and discover.

If you want to share your thoughts on the book/movie, I'd love to hear from you!

What is the opposite of Neat?

Even if you are an Indian, or more specifically, residing in India, there's a fair chance that you haven't heard of NEET. Not unless you are a medico/ aspiring medico/ parent of any of the two or you own a medical college. And even if you have, it's definitely not the whole story.

What the complete story is, no one knows. Least of all, the students whose 'future is at stake'. And in spite of the importance it holds for the future physicians/surgeons of the country, it is extremely under-covered by the media.

Looking back at the recent history of examinations for admission into medical post-graduation courses in India, there has never been a single exam for admissions into all of the colleges/ universities in the country. Most states were admitting students through the All India PG Medical Entrance Examination, while a few states had their own State Board exams, and a few had quotas for admission through both. Added to this, some deemed universities conducted their own admission procedures.

There had been talk of a single all-encompassing exam for admission into all medical colleges through a central counselling procedure for a long time. And it has been implemented last November, by the MCI (Medical Council Of India), with a short notice of two months time. (The AIPGMEE exam is usually conducted in January). That exam was NEET. Four universities have been exempted from NEET. (AIIMS, PGI, JIPMER, NIMHANS).
[The acronym 'NEET' in another context stands for 'Not in Education, Employment or Training' which unfortunately sums up the state of the medicos of the country quite correctly.]

Owing to opposition from various private medical colleges and some universities, who'd lose their 'NRI seats' (which are paid for with staggering amounts of money), and some individuals who were concerned with the unfairness of conducting the exam in this manner, cases were filed in various local courts, which were then transferred to the apex court, the Supreme Court of India. It has been on trial ever since. The court had given interim orders to all the states and universities to conduct their own exams while it pondered over the NEET decision. Results of none of the exams are to be declared till then. And so, the aspirants have been left jobless and resentful all this time, first for having to appear for NEET without adequate preparation, then to appear in all the subsequent exams, and then to wait endlessly for the verdict.

The only difference this year was that we medicos have had to write an extra exam. The term which is supposed to start by May may be delayed, or the PGs might fall behind a few months in their course, if the decision is given after the summer vacation of the Court.
What goes on behind the scenes is known to none. Day after day, the case was listed for trial, but not contested. Later on, the hearing was started, but the arguments never seem to get over. After all it's all of the private colleges against the MCI.

This year, there are around 1 lakh MBBS doctors (100,000) vying for a meagre 14-15,000 seats, including non-clinical specialties. It's anyone's guess that yearly, a lot of medicos are left without a seat and keep re-appearing for the exam the next year. This has also led to emigration of medicos to every country on the map, from USA to Tanzania to Australia and the USSR. The stress for survival is high as it is among medicos. From parents who want their children well settled, to the students' own aspirations to specialise in the area of their choice. There is also the necessity of staying on top of the medical advances that crop up every day. In the present urban and semi-urban Indian society, no one wants to consult an MBBS degree holder, when there are specialists available. This is in direct contrast to the rural areas where even MBBS-qualified doctors are scarce to find.  To clear this disparity, compulsory rural service has been proposed in some states, but without basic infrastructure and a reasonable pay, the objective of this service wouldn't be achieved, even if it were to be implemented.

One element I don't understand is the culling at the point between graduation and specialisation. The system is the same in many other countries. My question is: why should you allow someone to invest so much time, energy and ambition into the study of Medicine, and then throw them into a pit-fire for the survival of the fittest? Wouldn't it be better to limit the number early? Why nurture their souls and then break their spirits?

A lot of medicos start out with positive hopes for their future, but are forced to eventually settle in a specialty they aren't interested in, due to financial reasons, or because they are too tired of the whole process to fight anymore. The ideal solution might be the provision of more number of PG seats and good quality education and opportunities for professional growth. It is a well known fact that 'More doctors are needed for the country' as everyone is fond of saying. So why not increase opportunities for doctors to grow instead of scaring off the coming generations from opting for a career in medicine.

Maybe the problem goes deeper than this, maybe the root of it is the population explosion, the unstable economy, the corruption rooted deep in the system, which we have come to accept as a part of life. I sincerely hope that whatever the reasons are, that the present generations remember all the anguish that they have gone through when in the future, they assume positions of power. I hope that they take righteous and honest decisions, and not succumb to feelings of either revenge or apathy. I hope for better times, brought about by people working courageously for what is right, not just what is good for them or for their clan. I hope that this past year has not embittered my fellow medicos enough to let go of their devotion to medicine and their integrity. I hope we can rise high above all else.

Grammar Nazi no more! And a BIG Thank You!

I swear I was better at grammar and English in general. I even won a couple of spelling bee and essay writing competitions. (That was in high school before you think I'm boasting too much. It was not a big deal really, just saying I wasn't too bad.)

All the pictures in this post: from Google Images

And then came the obsession with the internet and later, my medical school work, having to read through piles of books trying to store all of it inside my whimpering brain, and the proportionately decreased time I spent on light (read happy) reading.
I did spend lots of time watching movies or videos on YouTube. And predictably online social networking and the meagre amount of socialising took a huge chunk of my 'free' time in those days.

Sometimes I find myself writing/typing a word and it just doesn't seem right. Maybe it's because I have seen the word misspelled in a dozen ways on the web already and now my mind is messing with me.

But it really is a downer, you know. And I feel like my vocabulary has crumbled down to half of what it was. So much for being an-almost-Grammar-Nazi only a few years earlier. (If there was anything that stopped me from being a total insufferable G-N, it was shyness and not a lack of self-righteousness!)

Anyway, on a happier note:


I've been thrilled to find a lot of great blogs ever since I've started reading blogs a while ago.
Every one of them, the witty posts, the poignant memoirs, the ambitious works of fiction or the inspiring art-y posts. They are like a breath of fresh air every time I find an interesting post to read or a beautiful photo/artwork to look at. And I'm always looking for more awesome blogs to dig into whenever I have the time.
I like to think that I can connect to the bloggers on a personal level, and it's always nice to know that someone else in the world shares my views, even though I don't know them in real life. I hope I can make a few blogger friends too to swap stories like penpals did till a decade or two earlier.


Heh! I think I'll put a stop to the blogger-love pouring out of me now.
And end with a toast!

To all the nice blogs I've found here and to all the times they've made me happy and excited and inspired! :)

Aerial Love

Every time I'm on a plane, I love to watch out the window and the view is always awesome, be it a night-time view of shimmering city lights or mounds of misty clouds.

Aerial view of an Indian city

My favourite is the coastline!
I love the way the tide keeps moving to and fro, and the frothy waves form a white oscillating border, like the edge of a blanket on a clothes-line swaying to a steady wind. Standing on the beach, the waves appear huge and as though coming from a long distance, but from a plane you can see how they form only a fringe of the ocean. And the vastness of the ocean is so overwhelming.

Next up is the view of city lights at night time.
With all the branching and intercrossing roads, the steamy streetlights, the tiny cars moving like in a video-game, still tinier windows, the occasional river/water body with its banks studded with lights as it passes through the city.

They remind me of an electric circuit like in the mother-board of a computer, as if the entire city is actually a part of one big supercomputer.

Or like it's a mirror of a starry sky (which is becoming a rare sight thanks to all the pollution) with lots of comets flashing across.

Then again I imagine sometimes that I'm an alien about to land on earth, looking down from my spaceship, trying to make sense of the maze below.  o_O

And the clouds!
Don't you feel like it would be heaven if you could just reach out and touch that fluffy white expanse or fall into its softness (not really fall! ) or flick the edge of the cloudy candy floss and eat it? ;)

Can never get enough of them!

Flying over mountains, wastelands, forests and fields isn't any less fun:

But as you can't usually see clearly what you are flying above for most of the flight, I keep praying for the pilot to fly low so that I can get more pretty sights to freeze in my memory. (Okay, I confess I've taken a few shots with my phone. But it was always on offline mode and without the air-hostess finding out that I was using my phone!)

I've taken to this 'hobby' somewhat recently, instead of snuggling up with a nice book as usual. And I find it really refreshing and fascinating. (Maybe it's because of my huge wish to try sky-diving one day.)

This is the only one of the lot that I clicked! :D

Does anyone else like aerial views from planes?

Regret and Revival

What do you do when things don't go as expected?

Do you accept that you must have messed up somewhere?

Do you try to ignore the repercussions and move on? 
Do you label it as a quirk of fate?

Do you try and convince people (and more importantly yourself) that you had given it the best you could (or would)?

Do you try to 'learn from your mistakes' and be a better person thereafter?

Do you make light of the situation and just act like nothing bad really happened even though you are thinking about it all the time?

You could choose to do any of the above, but after all whatever is done is done.

The important thing is to try not to get into such a situation again, as far as possible.

Taking life as it comes may not be that easy after all, especially when you know that you could have done something in the past, that would have made you happier in the present and the future.

Giving something your best doesn't hurt, though the idea that the end result may not be worth it and that all the sacrifices could be in vain, might scare you now.
At least not as much as the 'What If's.

So why not take that extra leap, launch yourself into the air, put on a great show like a star gymnast, and land gracefully back, the way you've always wanted to, to the cheers of your own spirit and the rest of the world that matters.

Hoping to make wiser decisions hereafter and to put a lot more into everything in life, and most importantly, not take all the wonderful things in life for granted.

Photo Credit: Me.

Of Obligatory Prunings and Optimistic Beginnings.

ORIGINAL! Really?

Is it even possible for anyone to be ORIGINAL these days??

I've been thinking over this for quite some time now, since I read about a Harvard student of Indian origin, who wrote a coming-of-age novel which had sentences very similar to ones from another famous young-adults-novel.
The young author had apparently read the original novel many times as it was one of her favourites. And she claimed that it was an unconscious action. (She lost a $500,000 worth publishing deal over it, nevertheless.)

We read books and then re-read the good ones, obsessing over the catchy passages and romantic descriptions of people, places and feelings. Inadvertently they get etched in our brains and sometimes even change our thinking patterns, for that's the power of a great author. They influence our imagination and re-arrange our perceptions.


So how would we know, when we express ourselves, if we are spewing out something that has got wired into our system, or if we are actually making that rare original statement? It's quite possible that such plagiarism happens subconsciously, without us comprehending the fact that we are in fact committing a crime.

It appears that almost every successful/critically acclaimed writer is always compared to earlier legends. We have Shakespearean-style sonnets, Keatsian-style poems, Kafkaesque fiction and so on, and this phenomenon exists in other fields as well, like music, dance and maybe even more prominently, in art.


Every new work these days is scrutinized and heedlessly categorized in the light of path-breaking masterpieces created by these legends. So does that mean that all of the stuff brewed by the seemingly innovative minds of today's world are Unoriginal Imitations of earlier works?


Plagiarism on the web, however, has become quite epidemic. People don't bother to cite the original references anymore, and admittedly, it's a little bothersome, though unlawful. I was surprised to find 'Plagiarism-checker' websites which allow you to cross-check yourself and see if the text matches with any of the already published works, available on the internet, of course.

Phew! Maybe, someday, if and when I publish something, I could take the help of these websites to keep myself Original! Imagine! I get a flash of inspiration (or so I think!), I write it all down, but there's that nagging feeling that makes me look up on the net if I'm being creative or committing 'literary theft' as Merriam-Webster so nicely calls it, and it turns out someone somewhere had already 'been there done that'.


Yeah, sad, indeed! :-|


[Disclaimer: All the images above have been directly stolen, er, downloaded from Google Images, and I don't own any of them. XD ]