The impact of medicine

Pathology. Who would have thought that I would ever find love in a subject! This subject has made a deep impact on me. There's no subject ever since I was a child that I have loved as much.

Ever since I was small, I have wanted to be a doctor. It was my father who had first instilled this passion in me, and I’m glad that I have managed to carry it forward.

Pathology is the study of diseases, a subject that we read in the second year of MBBS. Each lesson is like a treat to read. The subject begins with the normal, and then narrates possible diseases that can occur at every part of the body. It tells us the potential deviations from the normal that have been discovered already, and of the ways we can fix them with medicines or other methods, some of which haven't even been discovered yet! It is deeply interesting to study about the various functions of the body and how they are altered in the state of disease; everything seems to work in a beautiful clockwork manner. A thorough understanding of pathology is essential in order to become a good doctor, no matter what specialty one may choose to pursue.

Our body is indeed a wonder to behold. Each and every second, there are billions of chemical reactions occurring within our cells. It's nothing but a complex web of electrochemical interactions that give rise to the illusion of consciousness that we identify as “us”. And that complicated web is something which I have partly been able to decipher once I read pathology. Any part of the web can fail at any time, making us fall ill, and the exact mechanism of that is more interesting than you'd think.

Pathology is the basis of Medicine, which is one of the main subjects we will encounter in our final year. Together, these two subjects form the basis of what constitute a doctor’s approach towards the treatment of a disease.

The study of medicine is indeed something that has made a profound impact on me. In the past three and a half years of medical school, I have been introduced to the realities of most of the people living in India. We are posted in the government-run hospital attached to our college, where some of the poorest come to seek medical treatment. I have seen the impact that the death of a sole breadwinner can have on the person’s family. I have seen firsthand how the girl child is still highly unwanted in our society. I have seen people in their near-terminal stages look up to doctors as Gods, for they were their only ray of hope, being restored to normal health by prompt medical care.

There is a quote I had read somewhere which has forever stuck to me and made a big impact on me. It cautions doctors saying that patients do look up to us as if we're God. The problem starts when we begin to believe in it ourselves, too. A doctor must always be aware of his vulnerability, the fact that he is only a tool of nature that has made the task of restoring others to better health his profession; he is by no means infallible and superior to anyone else.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Passion is truly fantastico

Many of us have no answer when we're asked what we love to do. Yet we hate and complain about our job or the course we're in – that’s often a sign that we are not doing what we love!

To be able to have a passion is truly fantastico! Passion is a very strong feeling about something; enthusiasm that compels you to keep at it. Some people really identify themselves with their passions. It is a feeling of intense love and desire for more of something. It's the thing that you work towards with no complaint. It's the answer to why you're alive at all. Without passion, we'd all be dead - with no drive or zeal to live at all.

Passion is what some people live for. When a person talks about his passion, his eyes sparkle with intensity like never before. That's the time when they're the most attractive! We often have heard of passion mostly in the context of love for another person, but passion when it's meant for an art is equally enthralling as well.

Some of the world's greatest discoveries and inventions have taken place because the people behind them were very passionate about their work. Albert Einstein was intensely passionate about physics. Charles Darwin was intensely passionate about the workings of nature. Sachin Tendulkar played cricket with enormous passion of the game in his heart.

When people work for their passion, and not just for their boss, they are psychology satisfied and happy; they are less irritable and stressed out. These are the people that are truly successful in their career, and rich, too. Though they aren't as much concerned about the money and fame, they are the ones who have it all. One that works for his passion isn't as much influenced by the opinions of others or by office politics; he does work just for the sake of it. What's more fantastico than simply enjoying the basic nature of the work we're forced to do, day in and day out?

In our country, many of us are forced to give up our passions because of peer pressure or a lack of opportunities. A clear indicator of this is the medal tally that India has at the Olympics every year. One would probably look at it and wonder – does India have a dearth of talent? Are these people not competent enough in sports? The answer is no, most of the talented sportsmen are busy studying engineering! We, as a country, do not give ample opportunities to our sportsmen to be able to confidently pursue their passions without fear of being in an unstable job or not earning enough to maintain a basic standard of living. Once given enough scope and facilities, there is nothing that can stop us – a young, passionate population of over a billion – from being the best in the world.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

A fantastico interview

This post describes a fantastico interview which I'd given to a fellow blogger quite recently.

1. What would you be doing, if money was not a factor?
 The same thing, I guess. I'd say "chilling out at home doing nothing"..  but that'd get boring after a while. Or I'd say "going on an indefinite world tour", but life wouldn't really mean much unless you DO something. So yeah, the same thing :)

2. What is the one event of the past you regret most?
That's a tough one, and to be honest, I can't really point out ONE single incident like that. There are many things I've done I wish I hadn't, many things I haven't done I wish I did.... but nah, no ONE incident really makes the cut.

3. What is the one thing you think that would make world a fantastico place?
Well, most people would tend to say stuff like "more love", "more compassion" and other abstractisms like that (which isn't really my area of expertise, so I'd rather not venture there). Though there are many things that, in my opinion, would make the world better - from 'unlimited pizza' to 'ban Honey Singh songs' to 'phones which can be charged in a minute' - the ONE thing which truly qualifies is, well, UNLIMITED PIZZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. What is the word that you use the most?
Well, I guess it's.... "well"? "I guess"? Maybe... "maybe"?

5. Which is your favorite book/movie?
I think you can take it for granted that the answer obviously isn't gonna be one. Books... J K Rowling's an all-time favorite, The Lost Symbol is high up there with the very best; and I've always loved reading any Sherlock Holmes story. Movies: Inception and The Social Network.

6. What is your favorite blog post, that's is not written by you?
My only honest answer to this can be "I don't know". I've read dozens of absolutely breathtaking stuff over the past few years - some humorous, some personal, some filled with wisdom - and it'd simply be impossible to point out one.

7. Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Nope.

8. What is important?
The questions your seniors tell you to read the day before the exam :P Okay. On a more serious note, everything is important. Every single thing you do/see/hear/speak has an impact on your mind, however small it may be - and everyone of us in turn has an impact over the rest of the world. Heard of the butterfly effect? This isn't just true philosophically; the space-time continuum depends on it too.

9. What is one lesson we all can learn from you? *serious*
Aha, good question! Maybe you can learn how to write from me... oh wait, you mentioned "serious". Well, you can learn keyboard shortcuts from me, I use them all the time :P Fine, to be serious, I think I can give lessons on how to act normal at moments when nothing's going right.

10. Why are you so special?
'Coz I'm the only one of my kind in the world! And you're special too, because you're the only one of your kind, and there's NO one, absolutely no one who is exactly like you, nor has there ever been or will be. Absolutely fantastico!

Those answers were rather long, but then, this is one place where I can really manage to write long answers... (definitely not on the exam paper)

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

An impacting story

This post is about a story that can make an impact on you.

‘It was the winter of 1980; the 7th of December, to be exact. I still remember the day so vividly; it could’ve been yesterday.’

‘Mmhmm’, I said, bending my neck a little forward.

‘I was at my tailor shop as usual. The winter was unusually cold, so my business had been pretty brisk that month; more than half of my work that week had been knitting sweaters for kids. Red, pink, blue – ah, you name it, the kids loved wearing those.’

I felt like I saw a hint of a tear in his eyes.

‘Then two tall, well-built men appeared suddenly from nowhere’, he continued, ‘I had never seen them anywhere before. They came in, and asked for two army-style jackets. I gave them a place to sit, brought my tape, and made them stand one by one and took their measurements. Army jackets were quite in vogue in those days, and I had a row of them ready at my shop. I gave them the jackets that matched their sizes, wrote the receipt on a slip of paper…’

His face stiffened as he spoke these last words. ‘What happened then?’, I said. I was getting really curious.

‘I gave them the piece of paper, they paid the money and left. They seemed to be in a hurry..’
The words were coming out so mechanically from his mouth, it looked like he had said the same story a hundred times over.

‘The next day, I was watching news on the small TV set I had in my shop. All of a sudden, a flash appeared on the screen: “BREAKING NEWS! TERRORISTS OPEN FIRE AT NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION”. I was numb for a few seconds. The only one in the world whom I could call close to me – my brother – was in Jaipur, so I just shut my eyes and whispered a silent prayer hoping that everyone could be saved somehow.’

‘My friend lost his sister in that massacre’, I said.

‘I saw visuals of the shootout on TV later, captured from CCTV cameras. There were two tall men wearing army jackets shooting at everyone they could see. It was horrifying.’

‘Then?’

‘The police managed to shoot down one of the terrorists after seven minutes. 57 people had died’, he said, a solemn look on his face now. ‘The other one escaped. He had simply vanished. The police was on the hunt for a week, and still they had no clue. The public was getting livid at the police and government authorities – and rightly so. How could a man just kill so many people and escape? Where was he now? Where would his next attack be? The whole nation was in a state of shock.’

‘I see’, I said, deeply intrigued. The incident had happened three years before I was born, and since I was never properly educated, it was the first time I’d been hearing about it in so much detail.

‘The government was getting desperate. With elections coming up in two weeks, this sort of a debacle would grossly dent their chances. They needed a way out, to assuage the public that they were on to something. And I was their answer.’

‘I…didn’t quite understand.’

‘The police had searched the pockets of the sole terrorist whom they had shot down. In his army jacket was a receipt. And on the receipt, there was the name of my shop.’

‘And..?’, I said, as things finally began to form a picture in my head.

’15 December. It all happened in a flash. A jeep came and parked in front of my shop, and two armed policemen got down, a slip of paper in one of their hands. Before I could make sense of what was happening, there were handcuffs on my wrists and I was being dragged into the van. Then I was locked inside and before I got down, a black cloth was put over my face. They said I had been arrested for aiding the terrorists.’ A lump began to form in his throat now.

‘The police had finally got a “lead” on the case. The public had calmed down a little. A poor man with a small tailor shop with no one to look after had done it for money, or maybe was just a psychopath – I was the perfect accomplice. The public never got to know of the details of my arrest – they were just told that the police were progressing on the case.’

‘God, that is so unfortunate.’ I whispered.

‘The starting few days were unimaginable. It was like my life had turned upside down. I thought I was dreaming. I was locked in a dark room and food was thrown at me twice a day. The saddest part of the whole thing was that I was not even in a position where I could die. The guards kept watch over me. I was tortured every night – forced to confess that I had been a part of the crime. And each time I refused, they beat me harder.’

I had no words to say.

‘As the reality began to sink in, I resigned myself to this fate. Three months after I had been put in this jail, I was informed by one of the guards that my brother – my only living relative – had died of tuberculosis. That was the moment when I lost all desire to live. Or to die. To do anything.’

There was a long pause.

‘Slowly, I began to stitch clothes for the inmates here. If there was one thing I was good at in this world, it was stitching and knitting. It gave me a portal of escape from the misery of my life here – when I was with my thread and needle, I forgot everything else.’

‘Was there no one to help you?’

‘No one in the outside world knew me – or rather, no one cared.’, he said, with a tone of indifference in his voice.

‘Did you never think of escaping?’

‘There was no chance. I wouldn’t have minded being shot while trying to escape – but the guards wouldn’t allow even that. Plus, what use would I be of even if I escaped? My shop was gone for good; I would’ve had to beg on the streets.’

This was the story of inmate no. 10874, locked in Raigad Jail since twenty-six years for a crime he hadn’t committed. His life had been shattered to pieces – the official death toll of the terrorist attack was 57, but they had failed to include this man whose life had been snuffed out of his body slowly yet completely, all these years. He had been turned into a living corpse.

I had been put into the same prison cell as him three years ago on account of a burglary case. There was another man in the same cell who had joined us just four months ago – he had been caught stealing food from a shop to feed his starving son. The father never came back ‘home’, and the son died. In these circumstances, was there ever any right and wrong?

It was upon hearing the story of this new entrant into our cell that No. 10874 had suddenly been moved. He felt like he had a job to be done in this world – an unfinished business. ‘I am wasting my life away’, he told us one cold night. It was probably the first time in years that he had uttered the words, “my life”. There was a newfound spring in his step – he seemed to walk with a sense of purpose. As ironic as it may sound, the death of one had infused life into another. It was like he suddenly realized that he had to make a difference – however small a difference he could make.

And thus over the rainy nights of 2006, an intricate plan was hatched. A plan for No. 10874’s escape from this hellhole, into the world where he could begin his life anew and probably be in a position to help others. He believed that if he had stayed alive for all these twenty-six years, it wasn’t meant to go waste after all. And if he got caught while trying to escape, he had nothing to lose anyway.

Tonight, the moment had finally come. I had a matchbox and a bunch of matchsticks in my hand; my job was to light the fire in case I heard even the slightest noise of the guards twitching from their sleep. My friend had discovered a way out through the pipeline from the latrine next to our cell; we had spent the last two months gnawing away at the edges of the drainage outlet with a stone we had found in the prison grounds. The stone, a needle, a piece of cloth, a few threads and an old watch we’d dug out from the ground were the only possessions we had in the cell. The door of the latrine was right across the corridor.

I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..." Counting the seconds seemed to me to be the only way to try and pacify my pounding heart.

The prison was dead silent except for the snores of a few. My matchsticks were ready to be lit up. He slowly unhinged the door, walked through it and closed it back again. I heard a very faint sound – that of him unscrewing the pipeline. And then…

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of science and spirituality

Science and religion are always perceived to be at loggerheads with one another. While one emphasizes the importance of reason and evidence over anything else; the other is concerned with belief. Many well-known scientists are famous atheists. However, it is not always the case. This is what the great saint Swami Vivekananda had to say about the impact of science and religion:

“Is religion to justify itself by the discoveries of reason, through which every other science justifies itself? Are the same methods of investigation, which we apply to sciences and knowledge outside, to be applied to the science of Religion? In my opinion this must be so, and I am also of opinion that the sooner it is done the better.”

Sounds revolutionary, doesn’t it? The “science of religion”? Not many spiritual leaders have sought to embrace the impact of scientific advancement. Indeed, the Church had sought to execute Galileo Galilei for his discovery that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Charles Darwin was also persecuted by religious authorities for a long time, who had disapproved of his theory of evolution which stated that humans had evolved from apes. The Church apologized for its mistake and acknowledged Charles Darwin’s contributions much later, in the year of 1993.

The impacts of science and spirituality need not always contradict each other. A lot depends on our understanding of God and how we define Him. It is universally acknowledged that the belief in a higher power provides solace and emotional stability to a lot of people. Psychiatrists and psychologists have realized this long ago by observing the trends in their patients and the general public at large. People who do not believe in God are often more likely to find themselves in an existential crisis. Depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses are more commonly found in those who believe they are all alone in this world without a system of forces and values to guide them.

On the other hand, the impact of spirituality and religion has also been negative in several ways. Many superstitions are often found to be the root cause of several illnesses and tragic incidents. When people think rationally and base their thoughts on proven evidence, they are often found to be healthier and leading more wholesome lives.

The impact of religion has also led to the occurrence of several wars and acts of violence. When people claim that their religion or belief system is superior to that of others, clashes ensue. These have claimed millions of lives across the world and rendered several more homeless and disabled throughout the course of history.

One can only hope that the impact of science and spirituality are amalgamated together to create a unifying force.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

A fantastico photo experience

In 2014, there was a competition for some medical students’ magazine. It was a picture contest; we were to take a picture of whatever we felt depicted hospital life. Photography is a hobby of a close friend of mine, so I tagged along with him as he went into the hospital attached to our college to find something worth taking a picture of. We didn't have a plan in mind; we just walked inside, in search of something, a moment maybe, that was worth capturing. By the end, he managed to take a picture of a stretcher being pushed across the hall with a patient on it. It was a fantastico photo - he used a technique to make the stretcher appear clear while the background looked like it was in motion!

While this picture was a hit with many, the one that he took before this one was my favourite. We had wandered into the paediatric department and into the room where babies were given vaccines.

My friend stood in a corner of the room, waiting for the right moment to arrive. A mother walked in with her child, uncomfortably looking around the new room. The nurse asked her to sit, with the baby in her lap, and began to prepare her syringe for the injection. The mother looked rather tense; such a big needle would pierce her tiny baby!

But the baby was in blissful oblivion, gurgling and smiling, looking around at the new room, excited by the unfamiliarity of his surroundings. As the nurse brought the needle closer, the mother cringed. The baby's expression didn't change even a bit! I'd never seen this procedure from so closely; I couldn't believe a baby to be so innocent as to not even know that a needle would hurt him. But to my surprise, he was! And then the nurse introduced the sharp needle into the baby's tender, soft, supple thigh. At this moment, my friend clicked the picture. Only after two entire seconds did the baby realise how much pain he was in, and at that moment he began to bawl. The nurse removed the needle from his thigh and taped a bandage over it, leaving the mother looking relieved. The baby didn't quit crying though! He was inconsolable.

I felt like the entire incident played in front of my eyes in slow motion; like I'd seen way too much detail! It was beautiful to see it that way. I was stricken by the sharp contrast in the reactions of someone who knows the ways of the world and someone who doesn't. I was surprised to see what polar opposites the thoughts of a child, and the child's caretaker are at! And of course, this was my most favorite picture that he ever took!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Fantastico auto rides

Uber is one of the most amazing ideas that have been out since iPhones and Android phones have become so popular. I appreciate the idea and all the convenience it has given me. Something I discovered recently on Ola, one of Uber's competitors, reminded me of something that made me absolutely nostalgic.

I booked an Ola auto the other day to take me to college. I haven't been in an auto ever since Uber has become popular, so I had forgotten all my memories in auto rickshaws. In my entire school life, I was transported to and from school in an auto. When I was smaller, a crazy illegal number of ten kids used to take a single auto to and from school; four on the seat, three on the wooden plank, and three tiny ones behind, in the "trunk" where our bags were supposed to go. Every day we'd fight about who got to sit on the seat; it was a comfort we enjoyed only when we could emerge winners in that fight (which wasn't always limited to a verbal fight; we were pretty tough back then!).

Once we grew up a bit, so many of us didn't fit in a single auto, though, and then there were fewer of us. This was the time we made some of our closest friends, even though they were from other "gangs" during school time, sometimes even from other batches. This was the place where there was no differentiation between seniors and juniors. We had some really deep, heart to heart talks in the auto.
Once I grew up more, I used autos to take me to my corporate college in twelfth grade, too. The time I got to come to college and go back home in an auto was the best time of the day for me during that phase. It was the only time that I was allowed to escape my busy schedule and cool off a bit. Even sleep was disturbed, but auto rides never were. I would plug in my earphones and listen to some music while looking outside. It thrilled me when it rained; an auto is the best place to be when it's raining! You don't get completely soaked, yet you're not deprived of the chilly drizzle that's permitted to reach you. Amazing music, goosebumps while your head is covered, and a little time to yourself; what more can one ask for? It was simply fantastico!

Auto rickshaws are the typical Indian way of public transport. They make me nostalgic! They remind me of the fantastico days of my childhood, the fantastico people I met and the fantastico time when I was allowed some peaceful solitude. It makes me sad that autos are dying out slowly, but maybe something fantastico will come that the newer generations will have fond memories of!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The fantastico thing called sleep!

Sleep is the best thing in life. Some people have the opinion that sleep is a waste of time; the necessity to sleep has led to the loss of several potentially productive hours of our lives. They say it leads to decreased time for us humans to perform wonders, like we do when we are awake. While I completely agree with that notion, I am also thankful to be able to set aside some time in my day to simply do nothing; it's fantastico.

At the end of a long day, when all you have done is slog and toil, when you have tirelessly worked hard with no break for yourself, the best feeling is that of being able to sleep. The feeling when you know that you can stretch yourself out on your bed under the covers; the satisfaction of knowing that there's nothing to be done in the next few hours is simply fantastico! What is a better thing to do when you finally get some time to yourself than to give your body and mind the wholesome rest that it's been aching and longing for, from so many hours?

When you've had a bad day, what can be a better feeling at the end of it than that of knowing that for the next few hours, you're allowed to escape your life? And the best part is that when you wake up next, it's a new day, and that means new hope! I remember many nights when I went to sleep feeling as rotten as ever, only to wake up feeling strong and fresh with an attitude that would help me take over the world.

When we know exams are nearing, my batch mates and me give up sleep and all sorts of other comforts, for months together to have enough time to study hard and try our hand at learning everything there is to be learnt in each subject. Before we are even finished with our attempts, the tiring, tedious two weeks of exams are done. On the day of the last exam, my friends all make extensive plans to have fun, but I always head straight home, to hit the sack. Being able to sink into the covers and let my burning eyes close, assuming whatever position I find the most comfortable; there's nothing more fantastico than that luxury! Sleep is a luxury even a poor man can afford. All you need is just a little time and some space. The break from your busy life  and noisy thoughts is all you need to feel relaxed; this is all you need to feel rejuvenated enough to give you energy to wake up the next morning and be back at your battles. In fact, sleep is what helps humans be effective and create wonders, and be fantastico like they were always meant to be!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The fantastico college life

Many of my friends complain that they miss their childhood, and that school days were the best days of their life. But honestly, college life is fantastico too!

I think college days are the best days of my life. This time is simply fantastico! There's freedom like none other, and in a place as diverse as this, you get to meet so many people with so many different stories. You get to know so many new things, and expand your field of vision wider than you ever imagined! You come to really know the world, and to live in it for real - not like you had been doing up till before in the little confined space that you used to call your life. You get a chance to peek out of your cave, look around, and choose where you want to go. It's scary, but it's where you're finally in control of your own life, and that's an amazing choice to have to make.

Once you're in a college or a university, your parents began to loosen up and give you space, to turn into the adult that you suddenly realise you're supposed to be. Of course, this is freedom that comes with responsibility; you begin to manage so many things that were being done for you, behind your back, without so much as a complaint or call for recognition. But you come to know that growing up is worth it! The freedom is amazing. The list of things you're allowed to do expands exponentially, and life is fantastico when you take full advantage of that!

I'm in a medical college, and that's rumoured to be the course that gives you the least freedom to pursue your other interests – and probably rightly so. Yet, I've found enough space to do everything I've wanted! I've learnt a bit of badminton and a bit of table tennis, and I've been to all the places in the city that I never thought were worth visiting before. The best part is having people to share this freedom with; people that are endlessly interesting, whom you're always welcome with. We've learnt so much together; teamwork when we've had to plan Fresher's day for our juniors, and for the college week-long festival - the peak time for batch fights when all sorts of enmity is developed. But all that hatred is dissolved when exams are nearing; we all huddle together, trying to protect each other under the dark cloud named “exams” which tides over us. It's rather fantastico to see everyone trying to help each other, studying together and explaining what the other doesn't know. We try to take the best from everyone without letting our egos get in the way during those dark times.

All in all, college life is wholesome, and no one can deny that these are the most fantastico days of our lives. This freedom is something we'll never get back again, and it's imperative for us to make the best of it!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of school

Of all the phases that I’ve experienced so far in my short lifetime, school ranks quite high on the list. The memories I’ve made in school are some of the most fantastico ones ever, and I’m going to cherish them forever in my life. School life has probably made the biggest impact on me compared to any other phase.

I have studied in three schools so far. I don’t remember a lot of things about my kindergarten school, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, except for my class teacher who was really sweet and took good care of us. We had a large playground which was filled with grass and a huge tree as well. It was the place where I first learnt to make new friends and interact with people.  We had a lot of competitions and events too! I don’t remember exactly if they were fun or not, but the photos sure indicate that they were. Though the school is closed now, I’ve been near it a couple of times recently and the school has made a special impact in my memory.

I went to primary school at Pallavi Model School. It was a much bigger school with lots of amenities. I loved the friends I made there and I’m still in touch with some of them. There was a very diverse group of students there and the teachers were simply amazing! That school was where I first learnt to play the piano too. It’s a habit that I’ve not allowed to slip away even now. The school also awakened my interests in sports – from chess and carroms to cricket and volleyball, I learnt to play everything there. I also took part in a drama which was a lot of fun!

The last five years of my schooling were done in DAV Public School, and I’m proud to say that it is so. It was a huge school that honed my talents and skills and has a huge impact on making the person that I am today. I was one of those kids who used to love going to school! I met an awesome group of friends there and I’m still very much in touch with them. Reminiscing those days still transports me to another world and brings a smile on my face.

As far as I have observed in other people too, the school one studies in makes a lasting impact on their personality forever. Our minds are moulded and given a particular shape in school; the remainder of our lives are merely a progression in the direction we’ve already been tuned into. No matter how far we go in our life, the legacy of our school life always channelizes us into a particular path and guides us according to the things we have learnt back there. Thus, the impact that school life has on us is second to none.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of alcohol

Many of us in India are hooked on to American television shows and movies nowadays. What I've found is that some of us fail to recognize that the life of Americans on TV is very different from that of ours here in India. India is not as developed as the USA, and as much as some of us are westernized already, the rest of us are lagging behind. So, when both these types of people meet, it leads to rather ugly circumstances.

One of the impacts that I've seen taking over some people whom I know is the consumption of alcohol. While it is approved in many homes, and many parents are aware that their children drink and find that fact acceptable, some still find it outrageous. The children of these people really disappoint their parents when their dirty secrets are revealed. Parents question the quality of their upbringing, which is a very sad thing to happen. Every parent gives it their best when they raise their children. They give it their all, and as children, it's our only duty to try and meet our parents' standards, and make them proud of us! Not ashamed.

Some of us are introduced to bad habits because of peer pressure, or simply because we think they're "cool". Well, they definitely aren't cool; these habits impact our health greatly, later in life.  Alcohol is an addictive substance. No matter how much alcohol we give our body, the mind asks for more. At a point, enough is not the same it was before; and slowly we get addicted to a point of no return. Alcohol leads to many diseases, like liver cirrhosis and pancreatic cancer. It leads to major oral problems and messes up with our digestive system. Many people develop a pot belly, which I am sure nobody finds "cool" at all.

Apart from its long term effects, its immediate effects aren't that pleasant either; once given enough, you're completely out of your mind! You lose control over what you say, and what you do. All the feelings that you've tried to keep to yourself are split out into the open. Many times, people create such a ghastly sight once they're drunk; definitely not cool. The things you do that will result to a complete loss of others' respect for you - that is the impact of alcohol. It definitely isn't a good idea to put yourself in such a vulnerable position that you have no control over what you're doing, and more importantly, the things that are being done to you. Many people will try to take advantage of that, and it'll be something you regret forever after.

These are just some of its impacts that I know I find to be undesirable! I'm sure there are many more.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of keeping a diary

Keeping a diary has such a wonderful impact on your day-to-day life. Everyday, we encounter so many things that we want to share with someone. But not everyone has someone interested enough in them to talk so much to, and narrate each incident; diaries are perfect for this!

Each day in our lives is a test. We deal with so many things and people; sometimes good, sometimes bad and very often, challenging. Sometimes we manage to overcome those challenges. For some others, we give up and admit failure. It's an amazing feeling to come home after a long day and have a place to vent. All these things exert an impact on us, our mood, our feelings and most importantly, on our character.

Every day, we change a little bit more based on the things that happen to us. All these things change who we are as a person, and we turn into someone more and more beautiful everyday. It's an excellent idea to keep a record of all the things that have changed us, and when. By keeping a diary, we can make those marks on us last forever; to whoever may be interested enough to know what we've learnt from our life experiences. The most important of all those people is ourselves; the other day, I was cleaning, and I found a diary from when I was eight years old. I read all the things I'd written, about how my mother was the best cook in the world, and the most loving and beautiful woman ever, and how my father was the smartest, funniest man to walk the planet. I was so swept away by the thoughts of the eight-year old me! It felt amazing as some memories came back to me, vaguely, as though from some other world. The one I'd kept then wasn't one I wrote in regularly though, and I only had the memory of some particular things. I can't say how badly I regretted not writing more often when I was little; I'd have loved to read my thoughts from the yesteryears.

After then, the only diaries I have from my childhood are some travel journals that I always made it a point to keep every time when I went on a trip, which I must say, are pretty amusing to me now.

I kept a diary in 2013, and wrote unfailingly for an entire year, every night, before I went to bed. It is an excellent experience to live that way; it helps you to keep track of your daily life and daily thoughts. It's an excellent way to watch how much closer you've made it to your goals, every day. It helps you make sure that you're staying on the path you intended to, without swaying from the true purpose you've intended to fulfill. Needless to say, 2013 was one of the most productive years of my life; such is the impact of keeping a diary!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Fantastico love

Some part of me believes that one day, I'll re-read this and laugh at myself for ever trusting that I knew what love was or what I wanted it to be. But another tiny part is scared that I'll never love like this when it's needed.

To be able to love, love someone for her beauty, to be able to love her for the marvel that she is, is what's love. To be able to appreciate her intricacies. To see how wonderful, how perfect her personality is. To be amazed and awed by her. To want to be the reason for her smile, and to want her to smile even if you aren't the reason yourself. To want her to look at herself with pride, for your own happiness is in hers. To say, to express what you feel for her when you know it makes a difference to her. To make her feel appreciated.

To be able to write a book about her. To even want to write a book about her. To understand her, and to want to understand more. To want to know more; to see more sides of her, to hear more of her stories. To be able to feel the magic in her voice.

To look at her possessions like they're  precious; to want to know her history. To be able to wipe off every tear from her face; to destroy the reasons of her tears forever. To make her feel alright whenever she's in pain. To care about her family. To learn her language. To remember little details; to make an effort. To do the things which you know would matter to her, even if costs a thing or two of your own. To think that it was worth it.

To boast about her, to be proud when you're around her, just to be with her. To want to know and appreciate all of what she thinks, because she deserves that kind of praise, just for being as amazing as she is. To reward her for how special she is.

To let yourself be transported into another world when you're with her. To not want to get away from it. To never get tired of her. To make sure she's always well-protected, even if you're not the one protecting her.

To love in such a way that it influences your own life. In a way that inspires you to ape her - the admiring kind of love. Love that shakes your ground so gently, that you don't realise when it started. Love that doesn't bind you. Love that makes you see things a little differently from where you stand now. Love that adds to its own value, just by being the giver.

That kind of love would be simply fantastico, wouldn't it?

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of my grandma

This post is a diary entry I've written about the deep impact my grandmother has on me.

One day, all of these will be a memory. A memory of a time that has gone past. A fleeting chain of occurrences that etch their marks upon the fabric of time.

My grandparents are leaving today. Yes, their stay was quite turbulent; they had to face a lot of difficulties here. I was actually looking forward to this day, and i am still glad that this day has come and that their stay was a short one.

But I shall be missing my grandma. Deeply.

My relationship with her is a bit away from the ordinary. I don't have any specific memories of her which the world would call 'memorable'. No, there's no such single incident like that which has made a big impact. It's just the little things that make up who she is to me - that peculiar knowledgeable smile. That nonchalant style of walking. That innocent giggle. That casual use of Bengali slang. Those "take some more"s while giving me food. That voice. They might not mean much to anyone else. They might not have meant much even to me, if she hadn't been my grandma - who, as I've heard, was the first person to see me in this world - after the doctors and nurses who took me out.

I'm writing this in order to preserve a concrete memory of her. Something which if i read many years from now, the exact memories of her would come flying back to my mind, tugging the same strings, bringing the same breeze. You know what, the problem with these 70-plus year-old people is, there's always a realistic doubt within you when you're saying them goodbye, if it's the last time you're doing that.

Life will go on just fine after she goes today. I've got work to do, friends, lots of people in my life. But then there's something about her - this, this particular moment when i see her walking in the house uttering something - which nothing can ever replace. A void that houses something so special to me, it can never be filled with anything else.

I love my Dida.

Now let me go and savour the last moments of her visit here before she catches the train. :D

As I look back on it, my grandmother has indeed had a profound impact on my thoughts. For a lot of people, their grandparents are their constant source of love and affection - the ones who never get tired of showering you with their fondness. In my case, it has been no different. Whenever I go to my grandmother's place in suburban West Bengal, she always has a stock of homemade savouries ready which she has made specifically for me. If I were to list a people who had a significant impact on my life, my grandmother would be right there among the top.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of modern medicine

Medical science has come a long way from its inception. Humans are now living longer than ever before, and many diseases which were once considered life-threatening are no longer a big deal at all. The impact of modern medical practices has revolutionized mankind on this planet, and things are only going to get even better from now on.

Ancient medicine was based on the principle of theorization. Diseases were thought to occur because of an imbalance among the various humours in the body, among various other causes. Many diseases were attributed to sin or the work of the devil. A doctor was a highly respected professional who was bound by a set of principles. The Hippocratic Oath, which originated in Greece about 2500 years ago, is still taken by every doctor before the commencement of his professional practice. Doctors were looked up to as healers who possessed great knowledge about the workings of the human body.

In spite of this, medical care was still at a nascent stage. Unscientific practices such as blood-letting, purging and treatment with snake venom still occupied a significant position. As a result of this, many diseases were considered incurable and the overall life expectancy was quite poor.

The impact of modern medicine has changed many of those prevailing conditions. The advent of antibiotics has been a potent weapon against a multitude of diseases. The advances in radiology such as X-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans have made diagnosis of diseases a lot easier. Modern surgical techniques such as transplants and bypass surgeries have given millions a new lease of life. Many disabling conditions such as cataract and arthritis have ceased to be a major problem. The development of vaccination has also made several health afflictions a thing of the past. Smallpox, once a deadly disease, has now been eradicated from the world. Recently, India has also become free of polio and neonatal tetanus.

It is interesting to note that modern medicine has incorporated several techniques from ancient medicine as well. Honey, prescribed in Ayurvedic texts as a potent healing agent, is now being preferred by many doctors all over the world for dressing wounds. Some of the primary drugs used nowadays to treat heart failure, high blood pressure and malaria, among others, have been tested and found to be effective based on the knowledge derived from ancient Indian and Chinese texts. The beneficial power of meditation and yoga is now accepted all over the world. Many surgical techniques described in books hundreds of years old are also a part of mainstream medicine nowadays.

Despite so many advances, the journey is far from over. New discoveries in modern medicine are being made at a relentless rate and there are still many areas in the world who have not yet received the complete benefit of this impact. The onus is on us to ensure that no one remains deprived of this – only then, can it be said that the impact of modern medicine has truly been all-encompassing.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of road safety

We live in a country which has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world. According to the latest WHO report, one person is killed every 25 seconds as a result of accidents on the road. Lakhs of lives are lost every year in India as a consequence of road mishaps; probably the most tragic part of this is that most of these are actually preventable if proper road safety measures are followed. The impact that good road safety habits can have on us cannot be understated.

It is not surprising that in a country where the most number of road fatalities occur, the compliance of safety measures is shockingly low. Look out on the road for five minutes and count the number of two-wheelers – how many of those riding them are actually wearing a helmet? Rash driving, talking on the phone while driving, drunken driving and not wearing seat belts are some of the other causes that have a significant impact in causing road accidents.

Most safety measures are well within the reach of the common man. A person who can afford to buy a motorbike can most certainly afford to buy a helmet as well. Practically every car comes equipped with seat-belts. Rash driving is something that definitely needs to be controlled; the attitude needs to be instilled in every occupant on the road. A lot of people complain that wearing a helmet or seat-belt is an inconvenience to them. In my opinion, this is a habit that needs getting used to until it ceases to be bothersome – it hardly takes more than a week. Statistics show that injuries and deaths are significantly lower in groups that adopt these road safety measures, compared to those who do not.

The non-compliance of road safety measures stems from a dangerous mind-set that says, “nothing is going to happen to me”. The basic definition of an accident is an incident that occurs unexpectedly and unintentionally, and can strike anyone at any time. Once we realize the vulnerabilities of our own existence, and the impact that our death or disability can have on others, it becomes sensible to adopt measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Many a time, it takes an unfortunate incident to strike someone close to us to realize the shoestring on which we’ve been hanging all along. I lost my uncle as a result of a freak accident four years ago, and the impact that it has had on his parents, brother, wife and little kids, as well as those who were close to him, is terrible indeed.

It is good to know that the new Tata Zica comes equipped with ABS, EBD and dual air-bags for the front seat passengers. The impact of road safety measures has been neglected in India for a long time, and it is reassuring to know that companies like Tata are leading the way.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of online shopping

In the last few years, we have changed the way we do shopping. While shopping earlier meant going to a mall or shopping complex and choosing items, the concept is now being rewritten! Nowadays, we buy more things online, from the comfort of our homes, rather than stepping out. Online shopping is a huge industry in India that has made an enormous impact over the last two years. Why, indeed, has it made such a huge impact?

The biggest impacting factor that drives us towards online shopping is its convenience. Going outdoors for shopping generally involves having to brave the traffic jams, struggling to get a parking slot and conforming to the individual shop timings. On the other hand, we can shop online at any place and any time, even at midnight lying on our bed! The second factor that online shopping brings us is its vast variety of choices. A shop, no matter how big, can never store as many products as a large e-commerce website! We have the ease of comparing prices just within a few clicks and choosing the product we want, from among a variety of brands. We are able to get access to the top brands from across the world. It also allows us to customize our designs exactly the way we want! For example, I can make my own design, put it on a t-shirt or a bag and have it delivered to my doorstep.

The third factor which has a great impact towards our shopping choices is, undoubtedly, the price. Online shopping offers sellers the flexibility of giving us products at much cheaper prices as they do not have to bear the additional expenses of running a shop, and still make a profit.

The e-commerce industry in India has become really competitive with the likes of Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal leading the pack. There are many other specialized online stores too that cater to specific groups of buyers. In this fierce battle, the real winner is the customer. Online retailers (or e-tailers) have begun to give us all sorts of added benefits in order to lure us into buying from them. Most of the leading sellers now offer same-day delivery as an option. The mobile apps have also been revamped, giving us the comfort of ordering products on the go. The standard of products has increased tremendously – one of the biggest apprehensions that come to one’s mind when ordering online is that they are not able to see and hold the product directly before buying, hence there is always a slight amount of doubt when ordering something. This is an opinion more commonly expressed by members of the older generation. Online retailers have strived to negate this as much as possible by providing standard quality products with return and refund options as well!

Online shopping is a booming trend in India and its impact is only bound to increase in the coming years. And I’m definitely not complaining!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of Twitter

There is hardly anyone in the modern world who has access to the internet and yet hasn't heard of Twitter. It is a micro-blogging service that has created a major impact on some of the ways in which people communicate with each other.

Twitter was a new concept in the era when social networking was still at its nascent stage. Blogging had been around for a long time; but people found the 140-character limit of Twitter very attractive. People are increasingly moving towards hectic lifestyles nowadays and many simply do not have the time for reading and writing blogs everyday. In this situation, Twitter provided a very handy alternative - 140 characters is something that can be both written and read very quickly! It was also embraced by people who had not taken to blogging previously but had always wanted to express their thoughts on the internet.

Twitter spread rapidly and increasingly began to be used by a large number of people, including celebrities. Twitter has made a huge impact on the way celebrities communicate with their fans. It has blurred the lines shrouding the aura around celebrities and have aided them to connect better and more directly with their fans.

Twitter has come a long way towards giving power in the hands of the people, and not making it the sole prerogative of the authorities. Many civil movements such as the Arab Spring were possible because of the ability to convey short messages to a large number of people using Twitter. A common man can easily convey his/her message to the entire world at the touch of a button. News spreads faster and appears earlier on Twitter nowadays than they do on conventional forms of media. It has also paved the way towards unbiased reporting and giving people the chance to view all sides of a given story; not just the one which the mainstream media chooses to show. Thus, it has made quite a significant impact towards increasing the accountability of the government and also towards increasing the awareness of the general public regarding several issues.

Twitter is also a great source of entertainment. There is no shortage of parody accounts and other hilarious commentators who tweet about everything under the sun. Especially if there is a cricket match going on, Twitter is the best place to be while watching cricket on television. Twitter is committed to freedom of speech and thus, it has made an impact on diluting the barriers in communication between people. Like any other tool, however, Twitter has been subject to misuse as well. Some elements have been known to use Twitter to spread false rumours and also inciting hatred among groups. Terrorist organizations such as ISIS have also used Twitter to spread their ideology.

Twitter is a great micro-blogging website with tremendous impact. If used in a proper way, it can enrich all our lives.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Khaled Hosseini - a fantastico writer

I have had the pleasure of reading a lot of books so far. However, among all of them, there is one particular author that has left a deep impression on me with his fantastico books.

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghanistan-born world-famous writer who has written three fantastico books that have changed the way the world looks at Afghanistan. The first one of these, The Kite Runner, came out in 2003. It is a very touching and emotional story of two young boys that is bound to leave a deep impact on you. The story is set in the backdrop of the Taliban invasion of Afghanistan and its effect on the people of that country. Through his book, we learn about the glorious culture and heritage of Afghanistan, and how it has been torn apart and destroyed by the Taliban terrorists. Above all, it is a tale of friendship and sacrifice. It also depicts the sublimity of the father-son relationship. There is something in the book which appeals to the very basic emotions of each reader, and that is why the book has been so popular and universally acclaimed.

If The Kite Runner moves you, then Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is going to shatter your heart and impact it in an unforgettable way. It follows the story of Mariam, an illegitimate child and the trials and tribulations she has to face in her life. Her life intersects with that of another girl named Laila, born a generation later, who has also been forced to see an unimaginable amount of tragedy in her life. A Thousand Splendid Suns is a fascinating tale of two women and how hope, sometimes, can triumph the odds. Once again narrated at the time of the Taliban invasion, this book provides more insight into the lives of the people who had suffered in the aftermath of the brutal rule.

These two books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have raised awareness all over the world about the plight of the Afghanistani people trapped in the war. The books have also helped raise several funds for the benefit of the refugees displaced by the war.

Khaled Hosseini’s third book, And The Mountains Echoed, released in 2013 and has met with similar appreciation. He captivates readers with his fantastico writing style that keeps them hooked until the very last page. His narration of the incidents is moving and makes the reader think deeply about the state that some people in the world are in.

If you haven't read them yet, I would highly recommend you to read Khaled Hosseini’s books. He is a fantastico writer who has charmed the world with his stories that have created an enduring influence upon its readers.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of living in a hostel

Most of us have lived in a hostel at some point of time or another. The years we live here form some of the most cherished memories of our lifetime. The impact that living in a hostel has on us is something that we carry forward forever in our lives.

The prospect of living in a hostel seems daunting at first. Having lived in the comfortable confines of our homes for eighteen years, hostel is not a place that most of us are willing to jump to on the first go. After all, there is no place like home. Where am I going to find that familiar bed of mine? How will I be able to sing loudly and dance in my room to my heart’s content? These are some of the questions that plague our minds as we get ready to move in there.

The initial phase is one of a strong feeling of homesickness. We miss the food our mothers used to make. We miss going back home and having the familiar company of our parents every night. We miss our room that we were always accustomed to and we can’t wait for the holidays to arrive!
Things begin to change slowly. We discover new friends with shared interests and sometimes, the friendships we forge with the ones who we live with 24x7 are one of the strongest ever. We begin to get used to the new environment; we even begin to like it. It becomes a second home for us.

Hostel gives us the freedom to try out new things that were kept latent all along. We discover our hidden talents and interests, and get the chance to pursue them as well! We also get to know people much better – their daily habits, their lifestyles and preferences. We get the opportunity to live with people from all walks of life, with diverse backgrounds. It helps us understand human emotion in a much broader sense.

Hostel allows us a chance to be independent and responsible for ourselves. There isn't even anyone to make sure we get food to eat, three times a day! Sometimes, we miss our parents, who always took constant care of us when we were at home – when we're staying in a hostel, there is no one to constantly guard us from the trials and tribulations of the outside world. We learn to tackle problems efficiently and to maintain equilibrium in the midst of unforeseen troubles. Of course, we encounter all kinds of people. In my opinion, the best ones are those that give us a hard time; they're the ones that make us stronger, the ones that toughen us up for good. We learn to become stronger individuals. We teach ourselves survival techniques to escape the pitfalls we've come to know are in the way. Hostel life impacts us in such a way that we turn from teenagers to young adults; it really helps us grow up.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Gifts... truly fantastico!

Who doesn’t like receiving gifts? They have been one of the oldest ways for us to express our affection for each other. Gifts are a fantastico means of conveying what we really feel for the ones who are close to us.

I have been fortunate enough to receive quite a lot of gifts from many people over the past few years. Each kind of a gift has its own value – gifts from relatives are generally stuff like clothes, chocolates or watches – they show how much they care for us. Books have been one of my favourite gifts of all time. Clothes get worn out after a while, chocolates are eaten up soon but there is no feeling equal to reading and rereading a really fantastico book!

There’s one gift that really stands out among all others that I’ve received from my friends, and that is something which my best friend had given me on my nineteenth birthday. It was a video 3 minutes and 17 seconds long in which she had written about various stuff and gathered sketches describing me and our friendship over the past two and a half years. It was a very heartfelt video which had evidently required a lot of time and effort to make; and the result had simply left me speechless. I still do not know how to thank her for that, and the video is something which I watch every once in a while and am going to keep with me forever. Every time I watch it, it uplifts my mood and reminds me of how lucky I am to have a fantastico friend like that.

There is another gift also which I deeply cherish. It’s a craftwork that a friend of mine had given to me on my birthday, and it is composed of over a hundred ice-cream sticks placed together to spell the words “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”. The structure of ice-cream sticks also forms a base over which many stickers have been placed. Most people would probably look at it and ask me, “what’s so great about it?”. But then, to me, the craftwork is one of the most special things that anyone has ever done for me – it showcases how painstakingly she had toiled to make that for me, and to have a friend like that who is willing to set aside so much of her time and patience in order to make something for me is one of the greatest rewards that anyone can wish for, in my opinion.

Often, the most fantastico gifts, the ones which are the closest to our heart are those which are exclusive; those which money can’t buy. Indeed, the custom of tearing out the price tag before we gift an item to someone bears testimony to the fact that the price of the gift item is so irrelevant!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of reading

The habits we are forced to inculcate from when we're kids are the biggest impacts on us in our adult life. Our parents push us towards particular directions, and most of the time, we allow it to happen. And in almost all cases, people are happy with what they turn out to be.

For me, the one habit that made a huge part of who I am today is reading. 

From when I was five or six years old, my mother and all her friends used to take their kids to the nearby children's library, and make sure they were an active part of all the programs that were conducted there. Every summer, we had a contest, where all the kids wrote down each book they'd read over the summer, and the ones that read the most would get some kind of exciting prize. I never won a prize, but it did push me to read as much as possible, and that was the starting of a wonderful habit that I'm proud of even today.

Reading changes the way you think about things; it makes your mind deeper, while simultaneously stretching it wide open, further than you ever knew it would go. It exposes you to sides of stories that you'd never imagine yourself in. It puts you directly in another person's shoes; someone with such a different life and such a different way of thinking. Yet, as long as you're reading, the protagonist is someone you relate to. Someone you'd vouch for. That's such a beautiful thing to be able to experience! Each character that you live with impacts you in a way that changes you forever. Each book opens your mind just a little bit more. 

I feel sorry the most for those who equalize books with movies; they have no idea what they're missing! Books allow us to form a movie within our own minds. Books narrate a character’s thoughts, their feelings which mean so much more than just actions. They are what make all the difference between right and wrong. They are what show you that the world isn't all coloured in just black or white. They are what open your eyes to the gray areas, and I think the gray areas are much better places to be. 

Books show you different stories, letting you pick which parts you want to for your very own. Books make you think, hard and deep, and decide answers for yourself whose questions you would never have thought of yourself. Books draw your attention to detail telling why every little deviant from the normal is important. Books make you think so much more about simple, natural things in your life that wouldn't have otherwise caught your attention. Indeed, the impact that books make on us is one that is beautiful and everlasting.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of a person's looks

The first thing we notice about a person is the way they look. We notice their height, weight, colour and abnormalities, and many of us decide whether or not they look good and form an opinion on them. People who look good tend to get friends easily and are always sought after by members of the opposite sex. I guess this is human nature, and what comes naturally to us isn't something we can fight too hard against. But it would be great if we could keep this opinion to ourselves more often than not, and prevent it from impacting their feelings.

A girl with hypothyroidism is called out on the playground- "Hey, fatty!"
She cringes and runs away.
"Penguin! Haha!" they still call after her.

A small boy is being picked on by bullies in school.
"Puny little idiot," they say to him, knocking his head. He keeps a straight face. He would never give in.

"Oh, the blackie," a dark young girl is welcomed into the classroom. She ignores it. "Blackie!"

“You lame sloth, you shall lag behind forever, ” a group of kids says to the boy who has polio.

These habits should be nipped in the bud when kids are very little and not allowed to be carried beyond school. Otherwise, they tend to persist even when they turn into adults, not knowing how much they might be hurting other people. Nowadays, the world has advanced towards this and perhaps lesser and lesser among us adults are prejudiced. However, there is still a long way to go.

The overweight girl, though now thinner and healthy, will never be able to look at herself normally again. What has been told to her in her childhood has impacted her forever; no matter who finds her beautiful, she will never feel beautiful inside again. There were too many years of being told the opposite. Inside, she's always the damaged fat kid that no one wants to play with.

The tiny boy has learnt to be strong and fend off people who try to put him down; he's defensive by nature, and it makes him unconsciously push people away. No amount of growth is going to change that about him.

The dark girl is forever shrouded by the notion that people think she looks bad. She always finds it hard to believe when someone genuinely compliments her looks.

The impact of the things we blurt out without a second thought have the potential to create a ripple and turn out to be much bigger than we would have ever imagined. The impact of our words spoken at whim could be the reason to damage someone for life. The difference between humans and animals is that humans have the capacity to think. So we should all be encouraged to think; think beyond looks!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

A fantastico success story

A result of having managed to fight my way into a considerably good medical school is the privilege of hearing many awe-inspiring, fantastico success stories from the people around me; stories of how people fought hard, against all odds, to make it to MBBS. One among those I have heard has been particularly moving for me, both because the story has such deep roots, and also because the story is of a girl who's a friend of mine.

Every person who is successful thinks that he's fought his way to the top. No one thinks it's easy and claims that luck was on his side. Everyone has to overcome problems, some more grave than the others, to achieve their goals. But of all the problems that a person can have, bad health would probably be the biggest one, both emotionally and physically. Hospitalisation can have such stress on our mind. This post is about a fantastico girl who fought all odds, including her health, to be more successful than any of the rest of us were.

My friend had adolescent-onset scoliosis. It's a disease where one has an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. She dealt with being pointing at, and being looked at differently for her handicap, during those adolescent years when every girl is the most into her looks. She had her priorities set, though; she knew what she wanted. She held her head high and studied hard. But her strength was put to a test when it was declared that she needed to urgently undergo surgery to correct her spine curvature, after her tenth grade. The surgery, the risk of never making it alive, was so much to take; eight days alone in the I.C.U. immobilised, with hardly much to do, visitors only from a window in the distance, months of hollering in her sleep from the nightmares and an entire year of wearing a two-kilogram heavy brace. That's a different level of odds she had to fight against, altogether. But she did it; she put herself through intermediate coaching in a tedious corporate college, where it is too hard for even any healthy person to stay sane. For a while she was a robot; all she did was study. But that's when good things began to happen to her. She met a boy, and found happiness like she never had before, and made it out of intermediate coaching with a whooping double digit rank in her competitive exam! That is simply fantastico! She is a standing example of the notion that hard work and strong will can take us anywhere we direct it.

She made her parents, her relatives and her boyfriend proud, and more than anyone, she's made me proud to call her my friend. And not to mention, she's one of the most beautiful young women that I know today. She is fantastico!

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of a breakup

We don't just let anyone impact us; we only take seriously those who we let near enough to us. We all have our guards up when we meet someone new. But some people manage to walk through our shields, our walls crumbling to the floor as they make their way towards us. It's rather beautiful; it makes you happy. And slowly we begin to form an opinion on them in their favour. We allow them closer and closer, and reach out to them as well, beginning to get comfortable. Then there's a point where enough is not the same it ever was before. No amount of the person is enough for you; they're a never ending ocean of things you relate to, things that interest you and make you feel good. Once you get close enough to confess that the feelings are mutual, and more than just friendship, it turns into something different altogether. Once you decide that there's no living without each other, that you form an integral part of each other's life and personality, you call it love. And from then onwards, all that exists is sweet talk, cute nicknames and the desire for more.

But all this lasts only until you discover each other’s quirks; the ones which you don't find lovable. But for the sake of everything else, that is so lovable and still keeps you longing for more, you go on. Slowly the quirks begin to outnumber the perks of being with the person, and then you stay on only for the sake of old times. You begin to realise that you called it "love" too soon.

All this goes on until one person decides they've had enough and makes a rough exit, leaving the other person's shattered heart behind. He walks out, keeping a straight face and trying to hold the pieces of his own heart tightly together. Breakups are one of the most commonly impacting things that happen to people.

They shatter your soul. They make you lose your self-respect; you start hating your own self, sometimes. The old memories keep flashing in your mind, and the desire to have that kind of love with someone again never dies out. Solitude makes you lonely, and happiness turns into something you only see far away from yourself. You're left wounded and alone, undulating between whether you want to go back to an older time, or whether you're glad to have come to a newer one. Nevertheless, they say time heals wounds; I disagree. I think intention heals wounds better than time. Intention has won many a battle, where time has lost.

With new found self-esteem and appreciation for all that we DO have, we put our head up, and try to make ourselves happy again! But the impact of the breakup never leaves us; nor do the teachings we derive from it. And maybe, just maybe, it's something to be thankful for.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of westernization in India

We live in the modern era of globalization. Ever since the opening up of the economy, as foreign goods started flowing into India, we have been a part of the large global market. In the olden days, whenever someone was coming back home from a foreign tour, the exotic chocolates and perfumes were a must! These days, we get nearly every product of every brand here in India. This has blurred the differences between borders and has also contributed in raising the standards of our indigenous goods here as well.

If someone from the 1960s had travelled in time to visit the present-day India, he would probably have found it hard to recognize his own country - such has been the impact of globalization. The impact of western culture and lifestyle on Indians has been tremendous and all-pervasive. Hardly would you see a man on the road in our cities today who is dressed in traditional Indian attire; it has been relegated only to festivals and special occasions. The same goes for Indian women too!

Westernization has made a substantial impact on our food habits as well. Gone are the days when samosas were our sole primary snack. These days, we have a large variety of options to choose from – KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Café Coffee Day have become our new go-to places for a quick meal. Not to mention the universally loved pizza too! Though, of course, samosas, kachoris and pani-puri have held their ground well amongst a multitude of foreign savouries – giving us the best of both worlds. Though it has given us the choice of multiple cuisines, westernization has also brought in its wake a multitude of diseases such as obesity and diabetes – which were much less common in India earlier. In terms of consumer products too, foreign products have flooded the market. The Indian customer in the 21^st century has access to the best of brands from across the world.

The impact of westernization has often been construed as negative and an impediment to the legacy of our heritage – however, it is not always a bad thing. Perhaps the biggest positive impact of westernization in India has been in the field of medicine. The introduction of evidence-based modern medicine in India has led to a great benefit in the overall health status in our country. It has also, to a large extent, driven away several superstitious practices and beliefs that were prevalent in India and were causing great harm to our people. On the other hand, the western world has also benefited from the positive impacts of yoga and other traditional Indian forms of medicine. Education in India has also been bolstered by westernization – the fact that English is taught at a young age in many schools in India, unlike some other Asian countries, has given us an edge in several jobs and research positions all over the world.

Thus, westernization is a double-edged sword that has both positive and negative impacts. It is a phenomenon that is changing our lives at a rapid rate.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of exams

“Exams”. It’s the dreaded word which all of us have hated at some point of time or another. Exams are an inescapable part of our lives. Exams have a huge impact on our student lives – perhaps the biggest of all. Why is that so?

From the moment we step into kindergarten school to the moment we finally get our degree from college, exams are always there to haunt us. Our entire education system is oriented towards getting as many marks in the exams as possible. We have specialized guide books and “question banks” to help us in our way towards scoring maximum marks. In the process of all this, are we letting exams have an unduly huge impact on us that the basic purpose of education is being lost?

Education in school is meant to make us better people and have an elementary level of knowledge about everything that would serve as a foundation for our higher studies. It is also meant to have a basic awareness of the world around us and teach us life skills. But then every three months come the exams! Everyone is focussed on mugging up the stuff in the textbook and puking it on the exam paper. The one who is capable of memorizing the most gets the highest marks! All the fundamental motives of education are gone for a toss.

And then come the competitive exams, the ones that hold the key to our future. According to common sense, it is absolutely preposterous to let one short span of three hours – and around 300 multiple choice questions – hold the reins of our destiny for the rest of our lives. So many careers are built and broken simply on the basis of one’s performance in those three crucial hours. This is one system that definitely needs to change and the capabilities of a student need to be holistically assessed instead of letting a single exam have such a huge impact upon us. Every year, dozens of bright minds are lost to suicide and depression as a result of the impact of these exams.

And then comes college. Being in medical school, I had expected at least the exams here to be more tuned towards real-life situations and the knowledge that doctors are going to directly apply when they deal with patients. While it is certainly true that studying for the exams do ultimately lead to gaining more knowledge and expertise on the subject, and students who score more in the exams are more likely to become better doctors, there is still a lot of scope for improvement. Irrelevant factors such as expected questions, coloured diagrams, better handwriting, memorizing definitions verbatim have an impact on scoring more in the exams. There is still a long way to go towards orienting the education system in India to have more of a positive impact upon students and reducing the negative impact it makes in the present scenario.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The impact of watching a death

25 January. It was a sunny morning as I walked into the hospital, and I was greeted by a usual scene.

An old woman was sitting towards a corner, crying loudly. Beside her, there was a young woman, presumably her daughter, whose face looked very grave.

One needed no further explanation - it was clear that someone had died a little while ago. However, apart from the two of them, the rest of the area appeared absolutely unconcerned about it - it was, like I said, a usual scene there.

Now, contrast it with the death of Nelson Mandela three years ago. Mandela needs no introduction - he was a father figure to the millions he liberated from discrimination. His funeral was attended by several prominent world leaders and about 80,000 others. It was declared a national holiday; and he shall definitely be remembered for a really long time after his death.

Both of them were humans of flesh and blood, and both were buried where they will be reduced to nothing but bones - yet one was mourned only by his immediate family, yet another was given a farewell by the entire world. Why, may I ask, does the world show this brazen duplicity?

We humans are a funny lot. All our lives, we yearn for ourselves to be more accepted. Does that girl/guy like me? Do people think I am weird? Is my Facebook DP going to get enough likes? Yet, what is going to happen when I turn my back? Everyone knows that in the end, one thing is absolutely certain - we're all going to be reduced to ashes or bones or something else - depending on how our customs choose to dispose of us.

Then, what was the fundamental difference between these two people? When you die, would you like the aftermath of your death to be narrated as a usual scene, or as an event which a large number of people are going to save in their memories?

In the course of our existence upon this planet, we meet a lot of people and do a lot of stuff - some for ourselves, some for others. We make varying impacts on a lot of people. You don't have to be a world figure to do that. A doctor who's saving lives. A construction worker who's building houses. A comedian who's giving people a good laugh. A writer who influences people. A bus driver who slows down so that the man running behind can get in on time and won't get fired by his boss. A brother who gives his sister a warm little hug when she's down. A mother. Some of our impacts on certain people are so deep that they become an integral part of our lives - most are not so profound, but still good enough to make a change.

In the end, life just boils down to the people whose lives you touch - small or big, whichever way possible. Make sure you're not the one mourning at your own death. Make sure you don't end up with a lifetime in which you're lying all alone on your deathbed and wondering 'dude, people are gonna remember me, right?'!

This was the impact that watching the scene had on me.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.