The art of learning

Once I amazed myself. For the fact of learning something from scratch. All by myself. Through some techniques and simple observations. And picked up a skill, unaware of how it began.  And, I am describing the same to share.

How it triggered was my name. Yes! My simple name. Dozing in a class amid one dull afternoon in my 3rd year of under-graduate college, the last benchers, we the cult, were looking around for methods to kill time. Of the people around, one of them was busy scribbling in his book, some words in a language, that grabbed my eye. I asked him about what he was doing. He was writing the same words oozed by the professor, in Tamil.

I wasn't even aware that being in Bangalore and having a junta writing in Kannada, here was one person who could try something out of the box to write in his mother tongue. First of all, Tamil is a hard one to learn. As it has a script and a method totally different from the regular style. This language is very hard to speak, having so many tongue-twisters and imbibed meanings in words together which you will have decode them by joining sentences. This one simple fact of the toughness of the language caught my attention and I requested him to write my name in Tamil. And he did. So, there began my interest in the very language that I had no idea about.

When I compared my name with my father tongue Kannada and Tamil, I found a startling observation. The letters in Tamil were few to write and most of the remaining are permutations and combinations of these. It is a language which has very few vowels and implied letters which cannot be understood if, you are given to test in general. The wonderful thing was the words of Tamil and Kannada rhymed only that the writing script mattered. One sure method for people to catch/look for.

So, to the people who know Kannada, Tamil is easier to learn as it has fewer letters than the former and can be deciphered quite comfortably once the basic flow is grabbed hold. Reading and writing speed improves for obvious reasons of constant exposure. For me it were the news channels, movies, shop hoardings and billboards whenever I had a chance to visit Tamil Nadu or the local bus stands in Bangalore. Of course, I may not be well versed with the kind of exposure that the native gets, but it was an act of self-learning which I can be proud of.

Now, I amaze people in Singapore by reading and writing words in Tamil. When I can do it, so can you! Only important factor is to imbibe interest in yourself and the mission is half accomplished.

A point to ponder

As I was sipping through the evening tea amid a sunny clad weather, I noticed something. The vapours of the tea were swirling over the cup. These vapours had a flurry of dance provoked by an external agent. With the wind being that, these were fluttering along the direction in which it passed through. At some point of time, they swooned to the right and then after a pause, to the left. Maybe was it following the tune or was it signalling a message in them?

The message strikes when we juxtapose with our very own lives. Struggle, confusions and the choices that we make along as life passes. An external agent usually provokes us in one way or the other and so, our life goes into that direction. The agent? Circumstances! They in our case can make us lead to a path known or to a roadblock, only to take diversions. Choices can't be made in all situations, just like the vapours in my tea who don't know in which direction the wind carries them away. In the end, all the vapours lead into the same cloud and then the rain pours in.

What's mysterious is how we are tuned by these circumstances and then realize as we reach a certain stage in ourselves. Some are lucky to be carried in the right path, some are backtracked in an opposite way and some keep going around themselves, unaware of the fact that is controlling them. In the end, we all become individuals, the cloud. And then pours in happiness and hope, the rain. Of course, rain can also bring disasters for the circumstances in totality, cause the vapours.

I do feel that there should be a point where in we need to stop, analyze ourselves and seek for a path. But, just being carried away by the things that control us doesn't make us do that. A point to ponder?

Inconsonant Choice

People can take you for granted. Only for the reason that you let things go. Sometimes, it is okay to make fun of you in a casual manner so that you can laugh at yourself but everything has a limit not to cross to. Our own maturity lets us down in reciprocating and thus, everything sums up and reaches a boiling point where we start cutting out. Why is it that these bunch of idiots don't mind their own bloody business and remain in their arses rather than poking into others' matters unnecessarily?

The most pricking point is that, we all have a certain bunch who just can't keep their mouth shut when someone pokes at us. Laughter erupts - the snobby type- more annoying than just the talk. Thinking to keep it calm, composed and uncaring, the mistake occurs. The poking heightens! With more dumbfucks joining, this gets onto your nerves. Poking is never balanced - you make fun of the person and it is just not acceptable! Making fun of people to get a sadistic pleasure is the quality of a wannabe loser. An asshole, in fact!

Adding to the fire is the back-talk! A speciality with us Indians. Gossiping about the friend behind their back and then making fun in front is not cool. When properly questioned, comes the answer that this is just for gags! THIS IS NOT FUN, you dumb shithole! It is just plain fake behaviour displaying sheer dumbness.

The fact that hurts is of the way they behave after treating in such a manner. You then start appearing like a trash, something of no value and respect, a feat not in the lines of what they term as friendship. Friends do exactly the opposite and would always be the ones to support rather than making fun for the heck of it and not feeling an inch of sorry in them. If they really knew the value of friendship, the back-talk and the pokes wouldn't have occurred  in the very first place!

Throughout my life so far, I've been in search of good people, compatible with and like to embrace them with an open heart. I tend to connect for that one unique quality in them with distinguishes them from the "aam junta". But also to some for the sake of it through a mutual contact. Do avoid such! The choice of choosing people to network with, lies in our own hands. Was it a mistake to outlay the stupidity of our friends so that we don't see them repeat it again, thinking of their own good? Or was it our very own maturity to let things off and not retort. Or is it that inconsonant choice of ours to misunderstand the relation as pals and not just another silly crowd.

I don't know. So, all you semi-introverts like me, show the finger if somebody pokes at you and remove them from your contacts. You tend to loose nothing if they aren't in your friend's list and neither it matters to them. After all, they are there just to make fun of you and nothing else. And if a fight erupts, be ready to hit and face some punches and kicks. It gets you a respect in a way, at the least to yourself!

Creativity's chimera

One thing that strikes is the way the mind thinks. A feeling unquantifiable, relentless and serene. The right brain works in a way difficult to comprehend and this is what makes the world beautiful and demented at the same time - former for the artistic phenomenon and the latter for the infinite loop it creates through people's connectivity.

To share a personal experience, some close pals wanted to start a coffee outlet. The objective being the usual - different from other models and of a brand value building. So, work began for the fundamentals - land for the shop, bamboo furniture to lay in, talks with coffee bean dealers and the menu listing. But, in the process of brand building, they forgot the basic rule.

Of naming the outlet! At a casual meeting over a birthday treat of Samosas and chai, we debated. Many names came into being - most of them being the regular, off-beat ones which linked to only coffee and the beans. Some suggested after looking out to other outlets as their names deal with the size of the cup! A regular, boring list came up and then the discussion was about to confine. But then, at the right most point, when the argument heated up, came the ridiculousness and astonishment.

The name I suggested, was that of the tagline which sounded like the ones that I read about in some book grabbed in the store. Simply put, it tagged that it wasn't another coffee point. Ignorant people quickly found the name attractive and asked me about the main header. Suggestion was to just acronym the tag line! Jealousy came in some, for the way the name came up and happiness among one of the outlet founders. Adding this to the list, we sailed to a nearby restaurant to dine.

I don't know why the name clicked but then the founders polled it to console themselves. And thus, the brand came up. And now, is getting expanded to four more outlets!

Was surprised how a small line can be a brand. I should have asked for renumeration. The creative consultant, you see!

Weird!

People can really get annoying. Taking you for granted. You can't decipher the mindset unless you get a tight hard slap with their mouths.

Take the case of one pal. This guy is a tech freak and had inspired many to follow his list of activities. A sound applied mind with an urge to learn new technologies in the computing world, he was a sure shot of inspiration. Coming from a town having dreams of none other than becoming the next Steve Jobs, he motivated the ignorant to really look into the world in an inquisitive manner. But things turned sour one day.

It was the way he used to take in others' concerns. The way it was ditched was heinous, let alone admire the thing of the idea. He would imagine that idea into reality in a flash moment, a feat rarely seen. But the point of letting it go in a very harsh manner was not his right. Either he would dump the idea saying it as baseless or would consider very amateurish. Being brilliant with coding and algorithmic thinking but equally introverted and an attitude: harsh, demeaning and straight forward. That hurts when the advice pour in a language not supposed to be in for others.

What happened was he had shared an idea. Maybe, he just wanted to market it or show it off. But the idea was confined to a college level and the general public wouldn't be interested. Obviously, friends would think of suggesting a place to market it better, to make it more visible and popular. The manner in which the reply came was bitter. Disturbing. Hard. A reply depicting wrong attitude. That effects the mind, specially if the recipient is not adjusted to such! You then think inside of what wrong did you say and become more careful in picking up contacts.

Bah! People.