The price to education

Hardly done with the 10th grade when people started questioning me if my choice was commerce or science (Poor arts, always treated as an underdog when it isn't one!)

Oh, science is it? Will you prepare JEE? (Oh my God, it sounds tough already)

Engineering, computers only na? (Extc/Etrx for the ones who missed Computers and Mechanical, oh no you're a girl. And if you happen to mention the other branches, "Oh it is a separate branch now?")

And come second year of Engineering to an end, people are already asking, MBA or MS?

Whaaaaat? Already? Give me a break! Am I supposed to decide it right now? Isn't it too early?

Early, did you say? Look at your classmates, your peers all have joined classes already and you're yet to decide. Huh, not expected from you..

People just come, taunt and go! They'll make you feel horrible for the stupidest and silliest things on earth and you'll keep cursing yourself for something so unnatural. You have got to agree with me, there are countless decisions we have all made just because we saw our peers do them. And often such a decision taken in haste is unworthy and disappointing later in life.

Forget that, have you seen the new trend - JEE preparation from the 8th standard. In that age, I didn't even know what engineering meant. It was some some hosh-posh word to me. And imagine a child's future decided just like that! I have seen kids, literally Nursery kids go for tuition. What do they do there? Practice ABCD?

And my heart just melts to see a similar situation arise here with the onset of GRE and CAT classes. I remember they had tuition classes for Engineering studies too. At times it humiliates me. Either I am overly over confident of my capabilities or this is just mindlessness. Genius mindlessness, I'd rather say! It would have taken considerable efforts to set up a tuition where it isn't needed, right?

Those days aren't far when we will design kids as per needs just like they had in Man of Steel. Decide what the child will do before he is conceived. Perhaps a system like in the fictitious land of Meluha.

Well it roots down to the point, education is no longer a learning process. It has become a money making process. Look at the fee we are being charged, and the Indian parents pay them happily for the sake of their children's future. What thought could be worse? The fact that we are being gladly fooled by this system or that we are unknowingly(perhaps even knowingly) supporting them. How many of us really challenge such high fees or point out the nonsense carried out in the name of "extra" classes? Instead, we sit and join one ourselves.

Don't they call it "Education Sector" while referring to big MNC's in the education field on news channels? We have IPO's of different schools and classes coming up. There was a time when knowledge was divine, considered heavenly to be passed on from one generation to other. Today, it's a paid distribution of bookish knowledge.

Honestly, how many of us remember what was the chemical formula of some big polymer or what is each pin on a particular IC called or what is the integral of arc sine? Simply waste of time and energy, and of course, money in this case. The real purpose of being taught all of that is lost. We learnt the chemical formulae of compounds to ease the remembrance of structures, reproduce them and not complicate our lives by memorizing them all. We learnt about the pins of an IC to understand how they function in reality and not "rattofy" and vomit in the paper. Why did we learn integration and differentiation is still a mystery to me!

You see? Then why do we study? To pass. To qualify our "EXAMS" with good grades. First you give exams which test nothing but your memory power and on top if that later be judged on how well you fared there. I'm pretty sure the first school to hold an exam didn't have this on their mind as they materialized the concept of a test. It was made for teachers to know the grasping power of their students and for students to know how well were they soaking in knowledge. And now, they just humiliate the low scorers. What is the entire purpose of putting up results on a huge notice board? Mindlessness, like I said.

Everyone wants to move forward in the rat race we are made to compete in. And everyone wants a head start! That doesn't mean you start before the whistle even goes off. God knows why all kids want to behave as grown ups, study more than needed when their age suggests them to enjoy. I am not saying one shouldn't be focused. But that focus shouldn't be mistaken for all work and no play.

In the end it is always going to remain a circle, a cycle where you keep thriving to move forward. The path is infinitely long and we, we are unsatisfied, always, whatsoever.
It's like that joke I heard once. In our tenth we were told to study hard so we could enjoy twelfth where we were told to study hard just once more so as to enjoy college. Then at college we are being told to work hard just to get a good job. I'm pretty sure my boss is going to tell me, work hard to get an appraisal. Like I said, in-exhaustive.

The bright feathered bird

There are times when all I see is darkness. Darkness so much so that I feel afraid if I'm seeing anything at all. And then I question myself, are my eyes even open? Vulnerable to such situations, I feel like running away. Running away to some place carefree, where no one gives a damn to what I do. A place where I can be who I am. Who I want to be.

What am I bound with? Tied with this concept of society, relationships, fine lines of mannerism and behavior, unnecessary interest in social things around and keep track of favors and gratitude. It's like as if these obligations have made me a slave. A servant who blindly follows what his master commands. A slave whose own wishes are diminished against the godly wishes. Just learn to adjust, sacrifice and quietly do as asked to do. Gulp everything down given to you like medicine. You never know if that medicine is gonna do some good in the future but for now, it's a bitter liquid. No complaints - not allowed. Just acceptance.

What do I want? Freedom perhaps? Freedom from these conventional thoughts. Freedom from these "patterns" of stages in life. These patterns are being carved out since ages with little reference to the need and more intake from what-has-been-happening-to-everyone-will-happen-to-you. And we are just randomly being incorporated in this design. Lost with no identity. The only identity is that of the pattern. That has and always been lime-lighted, awarded the prime importance. And hopes shatter. Once inside this maze, there is no help given to find a way out.
But then, just like it happened in the movie The Shawshank Redemption - Hope is good.

"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."

I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged.

When Morgan Freeman said that in the movie, it blew my mind. Literally I was stunned to how positively a dialogue like that could fill up my mind. Maybe someday, someday they'll realize some things are best when left free. Maybe someday they'll know I am not someone they can keep confined. Maybe they'll all know then that my nature demands freedom, that I cannot be caged. Just like Andy - nothing can keep me in prison - neither the warden, nor the high walls, nothing.

Just clinging in to the hope that they realize it sooner. Sooner than I decide to leap forward and break those barriers away. Their feathers are just too bright. Perhaps they'll know I deserve that leap and hand it to me rightfully.

And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice.

So eventually those birds will end up freeing themselves. With or without their master's will. And what could be better than being not regretted and grieved upon. Free of guilt. Perhaps they'll feel good, feel proud that I dared to attempt something that nobody else had done. Tried doing things that were not convetnional. Did things that pleased me, that bought joy to my heart. And that happiness in the sinful part of their soul will bring peace to my soul.

Maybe people need to learn that 'Set things free. If they are yours, they are bound to return back with your right.' Infact I'll be glad to get things rolling back after I am given space, given comfort zone.

With these warming thoughts, I do go back to bed with a sense of satisfaction. Because with me I have Hope. Hope is good. Deep down I know, if I try things will be as I want them. If the ppotter will not take efforts and shape the pot, it will only be a dry brick of mud - useless and worthless. If I thrive, thrive just like Andy did, keep myself engaged in living, perhaps I will get to see the light in the tunnel.

I know it all sounds like perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.. Waiting for a magical sway of wand from the sky and the scenario changes. Just doesn't work in real life. What works in real life is :

Just like Andy said, Get busy living or get busy dying. Choice is ultimately ours.

End of the jumping jampang!

So, with no IPL match to look forward to I had no choice but dig into my pending novels to read. Sending me back to some constructive work, eh? And there it triggers my reasons-why-I-did not-like-IPL6 list:

1. Ate up my study time
   This realization has just struck me. All this while with engineering semester exams on, I hardly missed a match because I had a paper the next day. One because the matches would end early, by 12 say and two the paper would be in the afternoon. Whatever be the case, agreed that IPL ate up quite a lot of the time that could have been spent studying!
   
2. Spot fixing
   No doubt, this was one of the major reasons all of us hated IPL this year. Not denying the fact that there were speculations of spot fixing every year but seriously, who likes to hear about 3 cricketers getting arrested when the matches are still going on! Then those stories of the bookies, Vinndu Dara Singh, Pakistani Umpire Asad Rauf floating in the newspapers. Just stole the mood away! Matches won by the teams I would not support seemed like were fixed earlier.
    
3. That fight
   Gautam Gambhi and Virat Kohli. I was absolutely disheartened when I saw the two captains duel. It had reminded me of that scene from the movie Chak De where Shahrukh as the coach, awakens the hockey players that their description was one word - India. They were not individuals and captains from different states. Now that IPL is over, consider Gambhi and Kohli playing as the Indian team in International cricket. How on earth are they supposed to be brought back from Kolkata or Bangalore and play as a team? Humans, we won't forget grudges in a day.
   

   

   Possible, is it?

4. Opening Ceremony
   IPL 6 had the worst opening ceremony so far. Truestory. Agreed. The start kicked off horribly. With Pitbull giving me the creeps of Justin Beiber perform, I was unsure if what begun horrible would end well. Sharukh, Katrina and Deepika were just fine. The ceremony was a complete bore. Thankfully Jennifer Lopez was dropped! Check this link out for a fun read :D
   
5. No Pakistani players
   Love them or hate them. Admit it that Pakistani players were missed for their colorful show. Despite the Pakistani Cricket Board trying hard, seems like the Mumbai terror attacks could not have been easilu forgotten. Sureshot controversies were avoided by neglecting Pakistani players as a part of this IPL season.
   
6. Favourite players retire
   Hard as it is to digest the fact that quite a few of the players I have loved watching cricket for have announced retirement for forthcoming seasons. The thought of the next season without Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid doesn't really excite me!

No doubt the main motive behind IPL is building some quick cash - for the team owners, cricketers, the sponsors, all of them!

Either way, no doubt I have enjoyed the season. Let the criticism flow along. But times placing bets with your friends about your favorite teams and pulling legs when their teams lost always cherished. In fact I'll miss Gayle's spectacular play, Pollard's surprises and the rise of so many young cricketers.

Thought-flying

They stood right in front of that huge banner which read, “World class Kite Maker”. Even before their steps entered into the shop, Veer and Kusum could catch glimpses of the variety about to be served to them. Veer, 15 was a poor farmer’s son and Kusum; his younger sister had turned 8 only today. Their mother abandoned them shortly after Kusum was born due to ill health. Kusum’s eyes gleamed as the infinitely many kites in the shop made the big shop appear small. It was nearly impossible to see all the kites in one glance.

“Which one do I take?” Veer asked his little sister. His head was in a total mess. And he was not to be blamed, for the gentle red kite reminded him of the faint memories he had of his loving mother. While the huge yellow circular one looked exactly like their pot-bellied land owner. He was favoring the kite with beautiful flower designs as it stood for Kusum, the Indian meaning of the word ‘flower’.

After a lot of argument in her head, Kusum pointed out to a rainbow colored kite. It was the most beautiful kite she had ever seen with every possible color flaunting the patterns it made. The kite maker looked at the worn out clothes of the kids and with his eyeballs rolling from top to bottom of their dress he chortled to say, “Ah that! Kid, you will not be able to afford that one.”

Veer had managed to save about 76 bucks from his daily wages at the carpenter’s shop for his beloved sister’s birthday. Earlier this morning when Veer asked her for what she wanted, she promptly expressed her wish to learn to fly a kite. But to Veer’s agony, the first kite little Kusum pointed to could not be afforded by him. Of course, he thought in his head, what was I thinking? Everything in this world comes for a price doesn’t it? Last year to get a wage appraisal I had to work for 15 days straight at the carpenter’s store, missing my Night School.

Kusum immediately realized the situation and said, “Oh bhaiyya, actually that one is too colorful. Let’s take the plain pink one instead. I really like it.” Those words hurt Veer a lot. Compromise wasn’t a word his sister was supposed to learn on her birthday. Nevertheless without any choice, they bought the pink one and left silently.

The bright green pasture behind their farm was the ideal place to fly kites. The wind was perfect and the sun glowed enough for a fun filled afternoon. A couple of other kids from nearby farms were also kite-flying. Veer with a superior feeling took the kite in his hand and tied it to the thread for flying. ‘No sooner will we be flying it’ thought Kusum enthusiastically.

Veer held the kite in his hand close to his chest and showed it to Kusum. He then said, “Baba taught flying kites to me when I was of your age. You’ll be surprised on how this colored piece of paper reflects our story.” Kusum was standing still in bewilderment. He continued anyway, “You hold the kite like this, run a bit and set the kite free in the air, giving it a little push.” He demonstrated the push in the direction of the flowing wind and let the kite fly.

It’s just like our life, isn’t it? A small bit of motivation and Lo Behold! We are makers of history. Just that little "push" and we realize how limitless the sky is. How much our potential can stretch to fulfill the wildest of dreams. Anyway, the kite flew higher and Kusum was clapping louder than ever.

"Once set for flying, you need to constantly guide the kite using the thread. That is where the skill lies. Neither too tight neither too loose", said Veer as Kusum looked straight in his eye. She looked particularly amazed as if something had just struck her head and she smiled.

Hesitation - the thread tying our lives. And surprisingly, who controls this thread? It's us ourselves! Tighten it, keep clinging to your fears and you never seize a chance to move forward. Life is at a standstill with fear creeping your mind. Loosed it too much, and you become much of a risk-taker. The ego (which later turns a habit) of letting things free snatches away your reasoning capabilities. You donot think before you leap. The control should be just right. Right enough to allow you to grow and right enough to keep you secure.

"Oh look at that blue kite brother! I want my kite to higher than that!"

Ah, this is all where it starts getting nasty. You know you've overcome the fear, you know you've got it in you. Enter competition. Moments when you want you to out run every single chap out there, for what? For just proving you're no less. What does it give you? Satisfaction, err no really no! It's greed, you beat one. You wanna beat the next. You wanna keep climbing the stairs to superiority show.

Veer loosened his grip on the thread wheel, let the kite rise while he gave it directions to flow along with the wind. The kite soared higher into the sky till only it looked like a pink aircraft gliding smoothly. Both the kids were loving it. A few children even praised Veer for his efforts and you could see him beaming. As it goes, how long can it last?

A bunch of bullies from the other end of the field couldn't tolerate the heights at which Veer's kite flew. Swoosh, a black kite came in Veer's view. The siblings had little clue of what was happening. The intentions were becoming clearer as the black kite started crossing the pink kite Kusum bought. The evil kid was trying to tie his kite's thread around Veer's in order to snap it away.

People will try to put you down. For the weak one's rise only when they suppress the strong one's. The key lies in remaining strong-headed and focused. If others are trying to sabotage you, you know you have done enough to scare them. You're that great! Think of this and build courage to come out of such a situation. If you give in and run away, you've lost the battle.

As Veer thought, he swung his arm and put in his best efforts to untangle the kite. He managed pulling it away. In the process, the black one got snapped. "Deserved it", he muttered. You don't mess with people who have reached heights with their own efforts.

As the kite kept gliding away in the sun, it became a little monotonic. The kite acquired the maximum stability it could achieve just when... A sharp change in the winds was noticed. Wind was blowing so hard, it could pierce through the kite and tear it into pieces. Veer could not have afforded to let go off the kite. He had bought it after a lot of savings. He had to do something. He rose to his feet and steered the kite in the direction of the wind.

Sometimes, things are just not in our control. Destiny as we choose to name it. Whatever has to happen, will happen. Be it against your will. What are we to do in such situations? Well, just like how Veer did, adjust yourself in the situation. Find a way such that the situation gives you resources to grow. When Veer oriented his kite in the wind's direction, he simply used the wind's strength to make it fly higher. That was indeed a smart move. Had he been stubborn, the kite's true identity would be revealed - a thin piece of paper after all.

"That should be enough for the day", Veer called out to Kusum. They called the kite down slowly, wound up the thread to the wheel and headed home. Kusum was ecstatic after the whole kite-flying experience while Veer just was going home more mature a person after thought-flying...

The Violin Story!

Occasionally I come across people who say they are hardcore music lovers but when it comes to understanding the technicalities, they falter.
 Perhaps what they connect with is the lyrics which the singer sings – maybe the agony with which he expresses his love for a long lost lover or the ecstasy with which he announces his freedom. For them, they feel themselves in the song! If we observe, they sing the lyrics as they find some free time.
 While on the same time there are people who understand music - what is the underlying note/tune behind each guitar strum or each tingle that a piano key plays.  For them, the sounds send chills down their spines and they feel their blood flow with great pressure. While recollecting the song, they’ll always focus on humming the tune correctly. They generally find music instruments driving them to a high level of passion.

After a hectic day at my JEE Entrance class, I sat on a fast local near the window listening to “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay. In my head I was trying to calculate my friends belonged to which of the either categories, what was their type. After a while I came down to assessing myself. Sweet mother of God! I was the musical! It dawned upon me that how affectionate I was towards the drums beating at the moment perfecto and how the cello’s soothing tune sent goose bumps all over my body. It was then I decided in dramatic style, I will not die without learning an instrument completely!

Well that was just like taking my feet off the ground to make my first move of entering into a new world altogether. A few days later I started a bit of research as to what I’d like to learn. Came across hundreds of choices, I would imagine myself pose with each instrument and try to guess how cool I’d look with each(although it’s the perfectly wrong way to determine which instrument you belong to) . I was almost convinced the guitar would be amazing: easy to learn, tutors available nearby, I have friends who play it damn well and will teach me too, Awesome choice!

Somehow I couldn’t find the right “mahurat” as they say to start off my journey. Most of the times I would be scared of the commitment I would have to give to do justice to the instrument. Will I be able to practice hard enough to reach a certain level of accomplishment? Will I be able to spare that much time considering the hectic life engineering studies give me? These troublesome thoughts did not allow me to move forward and eventually, I too forgot about it.

Come December 2012, people were ending the horrible year with newer resolutions, a fresh start. Of course there were speculations of the Mayan End of the World Story. I was reminded of my nautanki wala vow: the resolution to learn an instrument before I died.

In fact there’s this thing, I tend to always look for a 1^st of any month or a Monday to give new things a fresh beginning. This is it! This new year I am off to learning a new instrument! I informed my mother of my intentions and pop comes her reply “Which instrument?”
“Of course, the guitar!”
“Guitar!? Isn’t it so common?” She listed atleast 8 people we knew who had the guitar skills.

Ah damn she was right, I need to find something else, something unique! My second favorite instrument being cello, I started reading the amount of dedication and devotion needed to learn the instrument. When I realized people in India, donot even know how to pronounce it correctly. Ouch! In vain, I knew I had to search another alternative. The closest of the family – The violin.

The connect was instantaneous. The violin is my instrument, I knew it. And my search for a tutor began the very next day. Thankfully I did manage to find a teacher who excelled at this rare instrument near to my home. I followed up with an enquiry the next day and fee payment the very next week. There! I was not even slightly worried of my sincerity. All the doubts I had in my mind suddenly vanished. Only that now I would have to miss SPQC every Thursday but kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hain na?

Without any delay I bought the violin from Sardar Flute, Santacruz. It was the first time I was seeing a violin in front of me. When I held it, I was unable to believe it’s a real instrument. It is so light! Handled with care, got it home.

All excited, I searched “violin tutorials” on youtube and started experimenting a bit. The strings screeched as I played and so I got a little disappointed with myself. “I’ll have to be patient till I start with my classes”, I thought and kept it away.

Came January 2013 and my classes begun. My ma’am began with the very basics, teaching me how to take care of the piece and maintaining it; how to handle the bow; how to ensure no screeches henceforth. Finally, some soothing sounds started flowing. The style is carnatic style. It is quite different from the Western Style of violin playing. You hold the violin between your shoulders and ankle as you sit and play it. And since it is a classical class, I started speaking Sa Re Ga Ma in no time!

As of today, not a great player but I am through with my basics, trying to adapt to newer songs and fingering positions. I am loving the journey immensely. I look forward to every class and whenever I find time, I make it a point to practice as much as I can, after all practice makes a man perfect.

Sorry to have written such a long post, I was so lost in the charms of the instrument that little did I realize how long the article’s been. It thus proves how much I love the instrument and how engrossed I can get when only talking about it! J

21st Century's Narova Kunjarova

Speaking of the truth may not always be easy and may not be the right course of action either. The ambiguous nature of the Universe first became apparent to me when I heard of this famous story:

Drona being a formidable warrior, it would be difficult to stop him and the only weakness that seemed to stop him was his affection for his son Ashwathama. Krishna hence works out a strategy and asks Yudhishtir to lie, to tell Drona that Ashwathama is dead and disturb his morale. Renowned to always speak the truth, Yudhishtir’s resistance to lie was overcome by Krishna in the name of rules of warfare. Meanwhile, Bhishma kills an elephant named Ashwathama and roars loudly, “Ashwathama is dead!” Hearing this, Drona asks Yudhishtir if what he heard was true. Yudhishtir says what Krishna asked him to and replied, “Yes Ashwathama is dead.” He pauses for a while and adds another sentence under his breath, “I don’t know if it’s the man or the elephant.” (Ashwathama hathaha iti, narova kunjarova)

Since Drona knows Yudhishtir never utters a lie, he believes him. Bowing his head, he chopped it off!!

I was dumbfounded by this excerpt from Mahabharata and it set me thinking. What is the scenario today? While we complain that we are outrageously being sacked by the competition in every field in the outside world, we simultaneously are trying to find out quick and easy solutions for the same. And, the best solution which lies within our capacity – The Half Truth.

Of course, technically speaking they are not lies. So basically you’re saved from the “guilt” of doing something wrong. If the correctly manipulated half is blurted, Bingo! Congratulations, you have managed to fool someone with your truth. And if you have had a bad day, Oh my my! Beware, you could easily get caught! You do not really need a Sherlock to figure out a half truth.

Evidently the Indian politics is a perfect citation of where such deceitful means work. Before the elections, the voices shout “Free laptops to college going children”. Once elected, only very few children get that privilege. Sadly, it still works. Another popular example could be of the Ad agencies. They highlight the prime features of the product in the fanciest manner and what the consumer forgets, the tiny little asterisk on the top inscribed in the smallest font, Conditions Apply! Let’s say for instance a washing soap bar saying Lemon Power. And the asterisk says, contains no lemons. Haha, cheated!! Social networking and internet also have given rise to such cases because often the truth is hard to predict online.

What I mean to say is, the half truth can be such a powerful weapon to get things done according to our whims. And men who are not ashamed to use this path improvise on their skills day by day. Falling a prey to this are innocent one’s who believe that the world works on trust. What a pity!

Now obviously you cannot have control over what others say but you can definitely have a stringent check on yourself. Accepting failures or mistakes simply doesn’t make you small. It in fact gives the opportunity to rise and learn. People do make mistakes and it is not the end of the world. Lying is nowhere close to a solution. People play such games under a false notion that their work will get done. However little do they realize it is only a short term saver.

And the half – truth saga has been a pain to people since ages, it has been a major reason for miscommunication. We as ethical people should try our level to stay away from using this destructive weapon. Otherwise, we may repeat history and lose combative warriors like Drona having the potential to amend changes which in turn, affects the growth of our future potential to grow as a community.

Hence as they say:

½ truth + ½ truth = 1 whole lie...

On switching to a smartphone

Until a week ago, I was using a normal-to-me "dabba" phone - Nokia X2-01. Then on my father's insistence I got myself a "Smartphone", apparently the one which is normal for everyone else! So here it is, how a smartphone is attempting to change my life..

(I was wondering on the format on how I should have written this post, but I'll just go with this: The good versus The Bad followed by non-categorized thoughts, I am still wondering which folder to put it into.)

<!-- The Goody Folder-->

1. Music Square
   The default music player on my phone has this feature called as the Music Square. With 4 different parameters to describe your mood - exciting, passionate, joyful and calm; I can decide the kind of songs I want to listen to by a swiping a graph. Cool, isn't it?
2. Smart Alarm
   In the dabba phone, when I would set up an alarm, I would be awakened by the buzzing sound of the tone all of a sudden and ruin my sleep no matter how soothing a tone I keep. Here on the other hand, when I turn on the smart alarm feature I wake up less startled. Let's say I set the alarm tone as "Walk in the forest alarm" at 8:30 a.m. The smart alarm begins playing a "Fountain" tone 3 minutes just before 8:30 i.e. 8:27 onwards, a faint sound of fountain starts playing. Somewhere my sleep patterns get a hint of what's coming. And then at 8:30 when the alarm rings, I wake up fresh!
3. Calendar
   Of course the dabba had a caledar too! In fact it very well reminded me of my Speakers Club timings, birthdays etc. However here the to-do-list is an excellent feature. I sort my to-do priority wise and keep them updated on the home screen. I always know what to do next! The interface - much much better!
4. Email Connectivity
   Earlier, I could check my mail twice a day. Of course I am still not in the stage where I receive urgent and important emails but no sooner could that begin. Staying up-to-date with email is fetching it Brownie points. Not only can I reply spontaneously but also keep a check on latest updates.
5. Apps on the Go
   Applications like let's say for instance dictionary have made life easier. I very well missed such an application in the dabba. Games like Logo Quiz, apps like GRE study, Sorting techniques, PDF Reader where I can read an Ebook is far better than forcefully listening to the neighboring lady crib about her husband's routine in the train journey!
6. Health Care
   No, I am not talking of the "Count Calories" kind of applications, what I mean here is the health care by my phone when I increase the music volume. When I am plugged into earphones and increase the volume to 50%, a toast flashes "To lower the risk of damaging your ears, do not listen to music for a long time on higher volumes." Initially the first day when I came across this, I laughed. But only 5 minutes I realized I needed to reduce the volume. Ever since the toast makes me conscious.
7. Screen Size
   The display screen is twice the size and I love watching videos here! Awesome. Finally I admit , size does matter :P
8. Camera
   5 Megapixels, I thought I was gifted a new camera itself! Then there again, Dude anything looks better than having a VGA earlier! :D I love taking snaps from this phone.
9. Contact Integration
   Joining a contact with gmail/facebook/contact numbers is quite a requisite feature. And the best part being, it automatically puts up a profile picture for each contact through either of these means; visual appeal rocks it. Sync is all thumbs up!
10. Newspaper
    With engineering shcedule timings being too long and hectic, I would generally find no time to read an article from the newspaper that I might look forward to. Applications keeping me up to-date with news are a major reason why I liked switching to a smartphone now!

<!-- The Baddy Folder-->

1. Games Addiction
   A few games have managed to pull me towards them like a magnet, the favorite one being Ruzzle. A word game, testing my competitve spirit and my flare with words, I go zesty whenever I play the game. The constant competition of who plays better is constant in my group!
   I hate getting addicted to games. They eat up plenty of my time without even making me realize what nonsense I am up to. And today if not one, next day the other, Endless games so as to endless timepass :|
2. "Nothing is anything without me" - As quoted by Mr.Internet
   Android Market has a huge "bhandaar" of applications. With over 4 Lakh applications getting installed in mobile phones all over the world, the potential is HUGE! But-however-uh oh, we have a problem. Most of the applications work if and only if we have an internet connection. Now come on! Google goggles, searches a huge database, needs internet; zomato, restaurants price cards, from the internet; Justdial again the same. Quite a few many utility apps are over the internet. Agreed that they cannot be made online but then internet connectivity reduces the scope of its usage.
3. Fancy Apps
   Certain applications, amazingly useful in my daily routine. However some I fail to understand the use for common people, students like me. For instance let us consider a Barcode/QRcode Scanner. I was initially so fascinated by the app. Tried out with shampoo bottles, chocolate wrappers, the computer department t-shirt, my college ID card, etc. After a certain limit, I was wondering what more can be done? No answer! Uninstall. Such apps great work but sadly no use to me really. I won't call it a disadvantage but it is not an advantage either.
4. Handle with care
   treat it "like a lady" delicately! :\ Keep her dressed all the time
   Earlier my dabba was treated as a rough and tough piece, I would fling it from one corner to other corner of room without any worries. It would fall off great hieghts and sustain all injuries :P
   Ever since this delicate little model has been handed over, I have trouble treating it with care! My friends say treat her like a lady, with love and care :D
   Worst of all, unlike the dabba, this needs to be kept wrapped in a cover all the time. Seems the Lady looks better with her clothes!
5. Typos
   Typinh errprs are crszy! Half thr tine I am busy correvting spellongs from the prebious senrence or keep pressibg "backspace" to avoud embarrassment. If by flule I get a spellong rifht, I wonder how did it actyally go rifht! Tge keys are tpp amall amd the wtong keys get pressed at qrong tomes.
   Tried the swipe festure, even tgat dodnot help :(
6. Hang-err-force close-crashed
   A small poor little processor overloaded with more than what it can really handle, I pity the phone at times. Occasionally do I have to come across  an error message and wait for another 5 minutes waiting for it to settle down. Pain!
   PS: The above text may indicate I definitely go through the phone manual!
7. Beep beep - Battery Low
   One of the major issues of using a smartphone is keeping up with battery drainage. Certain times there are certain applications which eat up the entire battery I would feed from home. And worst being, the percentage battery remaining keeps reminding when it's gonna go hungry again. Earlier, I would charge the phone once in two days. And now, its twice in one day!

<!-- Yet to be decided -->

1. Social Connectivity
   Exactly! You might have been waiting for this to spring up somewhere in the advantages, but ah oh, it did not make it there! Why has she not mentioned Whatsapp, facebook, etc yet!? She was missing this on her phone previously! Then why is lying here, like an unanswered question with no tag/label to go with?
   Agreed that I am better connected socially now than I was before perhaps but there is a flaw in what seems "awesome". Why, why do I need 24x7 connectivity on facebook? Why does any notification be seen that moment itself? Its not important (Of course, its facebook, how can it be remotely significant?), it can wait. Whatsapp, gtalk, if a conversation is thaaat important, why don't you send in a text message? Or if it is thaaat urgent, why don't you call me? What I am trying to prove here is that every-second social connectivity as buzzing as it sounds, is not really important. Hence just getting whatsapp or messenger does not simply imply I am doing something great, in fact I am simply wasting a lot of time :\

Perhaps I haven't really spent enough time with the phone to let it sink in my daily life but I can definitely feel the restless movements made before the earthquake it might give birth to later in my life!

Maybe evetually as I discover more I might change many views, but one is sure for now, 

I MISS MY OLD PHONE!