Betwixt Lumos and Nox

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book
will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children"

As much as I avoid to agree upon, it is a fact that magic was what I dreamt of the most, as a child. The day I created my blogger account I figured out that the blog would be deemingly incomplete without a post on my childhood hero! So I figured I should do this right if I am doing it! And here goes..
Stupefy!’ ‘Experillamus’! His wand flew out of the door, outraged. Doesn't the line ring a familiar bell? Of course, it is Harry Potter. A guileful expression and Ohh! Now don’t switch off the monitor.. Close the tab or do anything drastic.. Saying "Ohh not another Harry freak!!" Well.. Actually, You can do that.. But I am on the other side.. and so I continue writing.. Err.. Typing ;)
So.. Bide a wee! :D


Lumos!!

As I lazed out of my bed that day.. The news paper had this huge article and a picture of a boy holding a wand immediately abandoning the article on the assembly proceedings that day.. I started reading
that article (Yeah.. :D I always did that..)

"A classic favourite among young readers, Harry Potter has found a place in the course curriculum of Durham University in the UK this
year. Around 80 undergraduates have already signed up for it. Though students will not be taught wizardry in keeping with the books, or how to wave a wand, the course will cover the social and cultural aspects
of life through the novel and examine prejudice, bullying and friendship in modern society."

A 11 year old me must have put up to a reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others!! Devilment!! Must have asked my father to send me for studies in the UK! :P
Well.. Not now.. I am 19!! See.. As much as I tend to abnegate today I cannot deny the fact that
12 years of age and I was one of those millions and trillions of Harry Potter freaks!!!

Not to mention all those scary dark art dreams I had all the spells waking me up in the bed! I must say I loved all that! Not just because it is fascinating and alluring but as i look back today.. I learnt many things I needed to, and Harry Potter helped me do it the right way!
In contrast to much of the Pagan discussion I've seen, I think the books and movie do teach some of our basic Wiccan values in a subtle and entertaining way, and that's part of their appeal.Courage, empathy, ingenuity and generosity are some of our core values, found in the heros and heras of thousands of fairy tales. Harry and his friends exemplify them all. They contend with the values
of his loathesome relations who represent utter conventionality (the adults) and utter selfishness and bullying (his cousin Dudley). One of the first things we see Harry do is to talk to a snake with empathy.
Stands up for his friend against the snobbery.
Magic in the Harry Potter books is a somewhat neutral force, a technology and a talent rather than an ethos. Part of the genius of the books is that the shadow side of life is dramatized so vividly.
Childhood is full of intense passions and contests of power. Witness a pair of five-year-olds playing together, and you'll see anguish, outrage, affection, hurt, jealousy and selflessness succeed each other
like rapid changes in the weather. Children's lives are determined by powerful figures who set the ground rules, provide or don't provide love, nurturing, nourishment, pleasure and privileges.
How important it is for children to see both their positive and negative impulses mirrored, The presence and absence of it, to know that greed and envy and rage are part of the common human condition. Only then can they eventually develop the maturity to grow beyond greed and hate. The shadow side is not disavowed, it's acknowledged and recognized. It's part! You can never overlook! Certainly influenced by the values in the books they read, but often in ways that are more oblique and paradoxical than we think. As a child, I read books about magic voraciously. I so desperately wanted magic to be real. The willingness to sacrifice, the concept of a deity who represents powerful, unconditional love, in a way I could understand and accept. In that world, consciousness is not limited to human beings. Animals,
plants, and objects all carry their own awareness and can be communicated with.
Isn't that the essence of the Pagan worldview: that the earth is alive, that all being has consciousness, and that we can learn to communicate with that consciousness if we are sensitive and empathetic. In a global culture increasingly devitalized, corporatized, logoized and shopping malled, where everything is reduced to a commodity that can be bought and sold, I find it cheering that kids still yearn for magic. I hope their love of Harry's magic will inspire them to cherish and defend the natural world upon which real magic is based.
Obviously, the idea of heroes fighting for values in some sense has to be part of any compelling fiction. What strikes me about the Harry Potter series is the richness of the characters and their commitment
to their personal values. There are a lot of people saying these books promote witchcraft, these books are satanic. You have a lot of fairly stringent attacks on the books by Christians. And then you have some
Christians who are arguing the books are in fact fundamentally religious in nature and are promoting key religious ideas. These are interesting debates, but I am offering a fundamentally different way
to look at the books. I am saying, yes, they do include these religious elements. But they are fundamentally at cross-purpose with Rowling’s central theme, which is all the elements related to this
heroic fight for values.

Today, rereading the books,
The magic in Harry Potter takes us back into an animate universe,
where hats talk,
pictures move,
snakes hold conversations.

This world lies just on the other side of ordinary reality, behind a
door or through a seemingly solid wall. Ahh.. How I wish there is a
door, like in Narnia! ;)

This is not a review.. This is what I felt and dreamt of a hero who
made me ‘read’!

"There are many little ways to enlarge a child's world. Love of
books is the best of all".
#Grateful!


Nox!!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Sick of all the TV viewing and lazing around,ten days into my summer vacation, I decided I should cease to be bored and be awesome instead! ;) And since my childhood, whenever there was hint of awesomeness.. My fun-map pointed it to Vizag, The city of destination! :) The magic that city holds.. I should say,It makes everything nah wait,EVERYTHING look a lot better! It fascinates me! More on that later..


Concerned of getting bored on my first lonely journey ever! I bid farewell to my parents clutching "The Bleachers-John Grisham" in my hand. Found my seat.. And was surrounded by various people..! And to my surprise.. Most of them were travelling alone too..!!
I always liked the window seat, glad on getting one, I made my way through all the clutter and sat there, waiting for the train to move towards the destination. When after a few other stations an old couple came up to the coach dabbering but well in time before the train sped past the lustrous green fields. I was enjoying the view, Once in a while, I discover the nature-lover in me! The sheeny grass and the fresh air which went missing decades ago in cities and left those with the lonesome concrete jungles!


One tall,lanky guy with a sober expression on, was sitting in the corner of the coach.. His window down,and his attire made it clear that he was least interested to start a coversation with the others..
'Ahem' One sturdy looking man who was sitting right across the coach, cleared his throat, who ofcourse obviously might have noticed that I was travelling alone, embarked inquiring me...


Student?
Why are you studying there?
Why are you going to Vizag?
Are you really travelling alone? (Why the hell would I sit alone, quietly if I were not travelling alone?)
Whats your percentage in Engineering? (I smiled, did not answer! :P )
'Aaaaaghh!! Will you stop it already?'
Yeah, to my utter bliss!! He was no more interested in my answers but, He started his tale, a doctor he was and served many people, in a private hospital before he fell ill and decided to leave the profession and go stay with his son.. At this point where one man beckoned by our conversation came in and said he was a commissioned military officer in the Indian army but resigned due to many reasons (which he did not give us!)
As we spoke a crippled old man in rags came into the coach and cleaned the cluttered floor (I only recalled of how I cribbed last night to clean my own room much to my mothers annoyance).

Live n Let Live..

The doctor continued speaking to the others, There were two business men who explained him their job and enjoined him about their commodities! When he turned to me and lectured me, of how dangerous it is for girls to travel alone (It was broad day light all along the journey! Trust me!!)
As this went on.. The old man said he was a teacher in a government school worked for 39 years before retirement and that he was visiting his son! Till they asked of what the lady did.. "She must be a House wife right? Couldn’t guess better.." With intended sarcasm, as she smiled no one noticed the old man in rags except for the old lady. She gave him some money and thanked him, and went to the washroom!


Her husband calmly spoke, She adopted 2 orphans and that they had two sons adding that they are now visiting one of those orphans, and not one of their own kids!! That was a blow out of the water, as she returned.. I looked at her, She was calm.. A peaceful smile, And no one spoke anything for few minutes.. The train screeched to halt at a very small station, the lanky guy got up from his seat, took a coin from his pocket, gave it to the old man and left! Some how, I was sure that man was a happier person when he reached his destination! Savvy!


Relished from her silent act! Basked in her glory! Little does she know that she confronted yet another soul of perdition apart from bequeathing her four nestlings!
Not knowing what to say.. Or may be I knew.. there was nothing more to say.. I continued to look out of the window.. Into the skies.. Then realizing, Every cloud has a silver Lining!!
I put in one more coin and thanked the old man... figured, that journey indeed made a difference!! As Live Love n Laugh get together so well for me.. And now, so do 'Live and Let Live'!! :)
Thanking the aborigine.. Now and more than ever! :)
A memory is a way of holding to things that you love.. The things that you are.. And the things you never want to lose..
Sometimes in the winds of change... We find our true direction!! :)
I learnt that I needed to
Stop existing and Start living!!

Lets go to the mallll..Todayyy!!! :D

Prerequisite: Watch How I met your Mother (I prefer HIMYM) 2XY episode! ;)


I think the Robin Scherbatsky aka Robin Sparkles syndrome, The mall phobia is gonna hit me soon...!! ;)
Well I don't think it is gonna be a phobia or a big secret like hers though.. :P


Point being, whenever I contrive to meet up someone here in Hyd.. The only place that can possibly strike to them is the malls! :D
True..


Don't expect all my friends to be on a shopping spree 24X7 in the malls but dunno why, but they prefer that and to my surprise only that!! Storm!!!
Aaaggghhh!!! But the malls..!! The malls, They share the feeling I have for the airports! Abominable!!

Go on.. You may ask..

Arrested at the mall??

Dumped at the mall?

Mauled at the mall?

Trapped under a fake boulder at a mall?

Lol..Not a very complicated answer like  Robin Scherbatsky

No! I am really not used to all those classy things

I hate the crowd

I hate the neatness! :O :P

I hate the elegance!

I hate the classy look they promise! :P

I just can't stand them for more than.. hmm.. lemme say 15mins?? Ohkk don't glare at me now! :P Ok Yeah.. 30 mins if my friends are with me!! :D Fine! That is it! :P You can't ask me to think again! ;)

Yeah, I like exaggerating things but not so much though..
Trust me 4 days in Hyd and I have been to 3 malls already!!

A systematic investigation to establish facts:

• Almost all the malls are named.. Three lettered.. Initials most of them!

• Every mall is a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale atleast three!!

• Every mall has half the city in it! :P Lol.. Too many people! :D

•  All the malls have a 'Cinema' in the top most storey!

The RGZ mall.. Colorful..
The GHK mall.. Swish..!!
The blah blah blah mall.. extravagant... Lol!!


Trrrrinngggg!! Trrrrinnnggg!!!
Oh Wait, I am getting a call!!


Ooohh its 'Mr.J'(Yeah, I like Hrithik.. ;) :P ) :D


Me: Heyy Wassup? Long tym..
J: Yeah Long tym.. Heard you r in Hyd.. Hwa you doing? Lets meet..
Me: Sounds kool.. Which place??
J: Hmm.. The PLR mall??


Me: '@!#@!#@$#$!@#$'
---------------------------------------------
Look!! Robin is rapping! ;)
"      Everybody come and play

              Throw every last care away

              Let's go to the mall todayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! "

---------------------------------------------

To the extent I hate malls that episode was just a lol.. Loved it!

But I still hate the malls!!!

Silver Line: I know that XY (In the prerequisite) is 09 But I want you to watch them all!! # HIMYM Freak!! ;)

Yellow Journalism | Prohibit Pulitzer or A Riot against Randolph?

39,775 newspapers

4,207 dailies
14,00 telivision stations
India: The second largest market in the world for newspapers


After waking up late and reading the Newspaper for some time, I was really keen on doing something fun to make up for my extremely lazy weekend that summer all I could come up with, is some junk food by my side and a remote control!! :D Seee.. You are right.. Television! :D is the only thing that comes to mind.. right?

Huh.. Wait for it..
That was not the first time I heard of a criminal offense in the city, but.. Butchering is what we can call, pestering an already chafed and galled mother, Tears streaming down her cheeks, refusing to stop, of
the utterly agonizing murder of her eumoirous daughter, with unending questions for that was what I see when I was lazily scanning through those news channels. The controlled tears brimming in her eyes asked several questions.. Her tears, went unanswered!

'Bing!!'
There.. I commute to a safer zone frustrated with the urge to find something soothing.. Eventually ending up with those channels which are least bothered even if the third world war is about to commence, and all that matters is a spouse's distress in a daily serial which is not even remotely TRUE!! What we see is a young lad challenging his so-called-mentor (who are never, surprisingly, taken-aback) about his skills, everything that shows his disrespect and overconfidence which comes to a young lad whenever there is a corrected ego as a result, masquerading his actual reason of being there! Couldn't take it any longer..

That is it! There is a 'Bing!!' Here again!!
To yet another station which interestingly anchors.. Of how they sold their soul to the craving before mutilating innocence!

Lol things?? Haha! There was this ‘one n half hour’ program on a celebrity’s marriage and his affairs!! Yeah, admirers would want to know personal details.. But one n half hour?!!! Come on!! And may be if I waited, they would have spoken about many other ‘sensational’ things. So, when you wonder why someone on the TV says they spoke to Obama aide and that aide said Obama will drop out soon, just remember what Yellow Journalism is. When you want to know why MSNBC trashes Hillary, dismiss it as move on and don't give in to the "shock value" that drives what they report and how they report it.

Need less to say, A country with the second largest market in the world for newspapers, that country which ranks 4th in the list of countries by number of television broadcast stations, is no exception, invigorated by the Yellow fever! Lack of good is not what a person is complaining about!! Ethics! Lack of ethics is what is being questioned here!!

There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil, is something that was long forgotten by the media that is now suffering with the yellow fever.. "Yellow journalism" (The Spanish American war did not teach anything! No aversive stimulus! Rather promised a reward’!! ) Today, the most important service rendered by the press and the magazines is that of educating people to approach printed matter with distrust. A free press will either be good or bad but a press without freedom is nothing but bad. Well if 'freedom' was understood as sensationalism, distorted stories, and misleading images for the sole purpose of boosting newspaper sales and exciting public opinion. A small voice in my head says.. 'Sorry, we are not for it!' (Conveniently unheeding the other instincts)

Meanwhile, the TRP ratings for all those 'Bing!!!s' reach a sky-high value... I don't pause and say "Uff!!! Audience!!" ( Wanna add more?! ) Ratings=Money that's what it is all about.We talk about a free press. They hide, behind the slogans of free press make a lot of money, they can come out with any crap. It's an insult to the readers.

They make us believe things.
The first search result on Google India for ‘Trust in media’ is
“Don’t trust Indian Media!” (Yeah, ‘with’ an exclamation!!!)
It is still the same, they make us be’LIE’ve things.

What is to be done? Prohibit Pulitzer?? Riot against Randolph?? Haahh!! Why not conveniently go for the 'None of the above' option? Now, all of sudden after so many years of yellow fever, A HRC comes up to realize the violation of the Human Rights 'in every aspect', yet giving an open chance to the respective TV channel managements to discuss on the verdict delivered by Commission which ofcourse obviously goes into the list of the conveniently tackledtaboos.. Quest to impute someone?? The media? The system? Or the audience?? Whom?? Or may be.. I let myself go for the 'None of the above' again... Slyly raking through those 14,00 options infront of me for something that is less disturbing... Or may be, thought provoking!! Well, if this is the case.. How many of you chose none of the above??
BREAKING NEWS!!! ??? When they begin to look like the rest of them, It's hard to pull them back. Astray. Dismiss it and move on, and don't fall for it. I think we're all smarter than this. But deep down somewhere, I know.. Someday Sometime.. I ll find another option and I ll choose that, to make a change! The ungratified mind rants.. Though clearly ignored...
Bing!!!