Just Another Day

Autumn is here. I think it is a bit late this year. I took a stroll today. Well, I had to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries. But yeah, why not romanticize life a little? There is a church near my house, and today, there seemed to be some ceremony because there were several people present. Right when I reached in front of the church, there was a cold breeze, and leaves started flying around. It was as if the branches were dancing to the music created by the breeze. Some leaves did get tangled in my hair, but it felt good. It wasn’t dark as the sun hadn’t set.

The sky was pretty clear, and it was as if somebody had oil painted with shades of blue. On the way, a tree-lined path led to the campus buildings. The signal had turned green for the vehicles, and we pedestrians had to wait until it turned red to cross the road. Surprisingly, I did not feel annoyed; it seemed as if the green signal was glowing with the trees in the background. The cold breeze had a soothing effect on my senses, almost like a gentle embrace from nature. It amuses me how something as simple as the wind can have such a calming influence. While I have walked this path many times before, it was as if I was experiencing it with a fresh perspective.

When I brushed aside the strands of hair from my face, even though it was for a fleeting moment, I could sense the unadulterated joy that filled me. I was sure I would remember this moment for the next few days. There would have been countless such moments in life, but this time around, I chose to recognize it. I chose to make it a memory. It will remind me of the beauty and wonders that can be found in everyday life, even in the most familiar places.

Maybe nature was announcing the change of seasons. Most of the things look hopeful and poetic when the perspective changes. Sometimes, nature offers the best therapy one could ask for, providing us with serenity and solace. Maybe it was myself longing for some positivity. A moment of reflection and appreciation for things around us can change considerable things or even make us happy and bring a smile.

Django Girls workshop – Thiruvananthapuram

This was my first experience as a coach! I had started learning Django towards the end of my second year in college and now it has been almost a year. As everyone says it is the perfectionist’s framework. It was never an easy task to learn Django though now when I look back it seems to be a simple framework. I had a tough time and somehow I happened to like the framework and went on to do some simple projects with it.

I had been following Django Girls organization since the time I had started learning Django. Their workshops used to be conducted all over the world. It was during my winter break I happened to notice the Django girls workshop at Thiruvananthapuram which is only around 2 hours far from my college. By then I had learned Django so I decided to apply as a coach. I also informed my friends who later applied for the same.

SSR – Student Social Responsibility

SSR project is conducted in our university to make the students socially responsible and good citizens. The project can be anything that is socially relevant. It will help to understand the difference between ‘education for a life’ and ‘education for a living’ which is one of the motos of the university. We get to explore the living conditions of people in rural areas and other underprivileged people. As a part of the project, we a group of six people went to a tribal village at Kulathupuzha in Kollam district of Kerala. We went to the village with the help of one of the ward members, Mrs. Divya.

There are many tribal families residing in the village. Name of the tribal community is ‘Kanikkaran’ or ‘kanikar’. The head of the village, ‘Oorumooppan’, is the one who represents the village and takes concerned decisions. There are many oil palms which can be seen while entering the village. The villagers also work on these farms. One good initiative that the government has taken is that the students in the range 5th-12th std are made to stay at a hostel in Trivandrum and Kollam and are being educated free of cost. An exam would be conducted and students are separated according to the marks. There is an L.P school for the smaller children. The Kudumbasree units are also very active and women are involved in tailoring, making umbrella etc. The men work in the nearby farms and also in other Govt. enterprises.

Thenmala Trip

As a part of my SSR project, I had to go to Kollam and then once the project was over we thought of going to Thenmala which was nearby. It was not a planned journey but became a memorable one. We were a group of six people and the climate and environment out there made all of us nature lovers. Thenmala, near Punalur town (Kollam district) in Kerala, is the first planned eco-tourism destination in India. The Thenmala dam was built across Kallada River. It is derived from Tamil names of ‘Then’ meaning South and ‘Mala’ meaning Mountain. Boating on the lake, a rope bridge, trekking, mountaineering, biking and a musical fountain are those what attracts the tourists. The Palaruvi waterfall is a beautiful scenery.

College Tour

It all started as an industrial visit but ended being a fun tour with no industries being visited. But those five days were few of the most memorable days of our lives. We started from our campus on 24th May and were back on 29th May. Most of them from our CSE batch was there though we missed some of our friends who could not join us. It was so much fun and it is not possible to describe it without missing the minute detail as it is beyond words.

The first destination was Wayanad and stayed at Amrita Vidyalayam. We went to the Kurava islands and had lots of fun while playing in the river. It is strictly a plastic free zone and takes nearly 15 minutes to walk till the river. The greenery around looks ravishing and indeed an apt place for those who admire nature. Next, we went to the Banasura Sagar dam. By the time we climbed the steps and reached on top it started raining heavily. Initially, we had umbrellas but later on we decided to enjoy those rain drops. Though the chill breeze made us shiver, to get drenched in the rain was captivating. My mind was free from all other thoughts and felt liberated. We also went to the nearby coffee shop and I must say that hot black coffee and rain is a great combination.

Gitamritam- My Life My Passion

My Life My Passion is a session in Gitamritam where prominent people would come and share their life’s experiences with us. All of them are people who have worked towards their passion without surrendering themselves to adharma or any difficult stages in life. We could learn a lot about life and the world as such from their talks. This year’s speakers were:

Mr.Vineeth Narain (Journalist)

He is a crusader and the one who brought out the Hawala scam. He was a JNU student. He launched Kalchakra, the first Hindi-language video magazine. He consistently fought against the corrupt through all ups and downs of his life. In 1996 for the first time in Indian history, several Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors and  bureaucrats were charge-sheeted for corruption. He even fought against the Chief Justice of India and when he found out that even the chief justice was joining hands with the corrupt. No media supported him and even the people who he considered to be friends were not in a state to help him. He ignored threats and offers and fought for the truth. Later he met a mahatma who made him realize that when a person changes from within then the world outside him would change automatically. He became a Krishna Bhakthan and renovated many places in Brij that were left unnoticed. He holds on to his principles firmly and also taught his children the same. He believes in the ideology that if God wants to protect someone then no one can harm him and if God wants to harm someone then no one can protect him.

Gitamritam-2016

                                                 

I attended Gitamritam from June 1-8 and I must tell you that it was a few memorable days of my life. As the name suggests Gitamritam teaches us the concepts of Gita along with its practical applications. Those few days of learning has taught me that Gita is not only a book of conversations between Arjuna and Krishna but strategies to live a successful life with a balanced mind which is essential for each one of us.

Throughout those 8 days, we had to follow a strict timetable according to which we had to wake up by 4:30am and go to bed by 11:00pm. We had yoga sessions from 5:45a.m to 6:45a.m, My life My passion sessions from 9:00a.m to 11:00a.m, yoganidra from 11:15a.m to 11:45a.m, some fun activities from 1:30p.m to 3:30pm, swimming classes from 4pm to 5pm, bhajan from 6:45p.m to 7:15p.m, some discussions til 8:30p.m, Reflections sessions from 9:315p.m till 10:30p.m and we had three Gita classes 7:15am – 8:15a.m, 12:00pm – 1:00p.m, 5:30p.m – 6:30p.m. On the first day of the camp, our mobiles were taken from us but girls got a concession of using it for 10 mins to call our parents. But we could not find even 10 minutes to use our phones and none of us even had the time to think of phones as we were engaged with Gita classes, activities or thoughts about discussions that we would have had.

Gita classes conducted by Swami Dhyanamrita Chaitanya gave a new perspective on life. We understood what dharma and adharma are and how each one of us would come across Arjuna’s dilemma in the battlefield. At some point in time, all of us will have problems in decision making and how to fight our own battle of life and that is when the role of a guru plays. All of us will need a Guru who would help us understand the meaning of life, would lead us through a dharmic path and make us realize our karma. We also understood how hard it is for us to get adapted to the changes that happen in this world may it be to the people whom we love or any other things. We learnt that change is inevitable and only by accepting it and moving on with a balanced mind would help us to lead a happy and peaceful life.

That was an awesome day

As usual, I woke up unwillingly to set forth into another day of my life. With a quick shower, I was ready for what I had been doing for the past few days, develop a shopping cart. Though I came across interesting new technical stuff, my inner-self wasn’t satisfied. I knew what it needed was nature’s touch. Half-a-day went by and nothing new happened but there was a new thought in my mind. We were promised to be taken to the nearby beach and that was what I was waiting for.

Several thoughts came running through my mind now and then. I questioned myself about the happenings of the past few days. I had proved myself that I could do things that I myself thought would never happen. Life has always been a battle of thoughts. I wondered and so did I fear whether it was part of a change or a transformation into a matured self.