Cheerful Zombies?

Four formal interactions later, when there was a subtle picture in-front of us as to how we would be down the lane in our career, one glaring and common advice I got from 8-9 officers, men and women was that 'You need to try and be cheerful!'

Between the Physical training that is extremely draining for a person who never in her life stepped into a gym and the puzzling law complexities,map readings and unarmed combats, there comes a point where there is a lot of excitement of what next while at the same time having the pain of enduring it.

While the system tries to hold on to many things that might not even make sense to a new comer like me, it also makes me cherish these moments all at the same time and sometimes even appreciate something very meaningless for an outsider, which I was,till a few months back.

For a highly nocturnal person waking up at 5 am could be the worst, doing that everyday and having to do things that are inevitably out of your hands makes you feel like a zombie, most of the days. A zombie that walks to the rhythms of Ek - Do- Ek.

Between the formal first impressions,the nasty second impressions and the acquaintances that might never turn into friendships, a glaring indeterminate future awaits us, and all the advise in the world one could get, is 'Stay Cheerful'.

How ,you ask??
I was searching for the answer for quite a while now.
It is difficult to put your finger on the answer when you search for an opportunity to learn in isolation too.Well, may be that is the challenge. None who advised me said 'Happy' everyone was careful enough to say 'Cheerful'. Ahh that blurry line between the two.. Well third time lost the charm and I ask why that particular word, to get the answer that cheer helps you get better at the job too, with 'Happy' you can't be so sure.

Then is when it struck me.. When you realize you don't have much of a choice, when you realize that you ll be pushed to expand your comfort zone to know your potential at any cost and when you realize that the element of surprise is only getting to be monotonous.. You go beyond surprise, frustration, anger, sadness.. All you have left is to grin and try to stay cheerful.. Because deep down, deep deep down, you know it is only making you better in many ways and is helping you guard what is precious in a more possessive way.

Speaking of  how to paste that grin on my face..  Those two friends I made, when they search for me just to say hi.. That does the trick!! Through all the uncertainties, aren't we all just looking for a gaze that means that someone's watching over??

Some day, the cheer will kick the zombie out, I am sure of that.. I can feel that happening already.

After all, Change is good!

The Two One-Liners

The two lines I want, etched into eternity,what better place than here... 

Honesty is an expensive gift, Don't expect it from cheap people.



Once you start changing for the better, everything seems to magically fall into place!


Just to make sure I wouldn't forget,ever!

Like a 'Son', not a 'Princess'..

Let me put the first things first. I am a true feminist <bold,italic,underline>. But may be I must be careful while saying that, I am a selective feminist, true to ideology.I am not at all concerned/disquieted about the so called relationship crisis that the modern and ultra modern girls (no offence meant, as I really don't care of the strict sense of word-use here) today face in their feebly defined domains of 'love and relationships'(Most of my encounters ended where it mattered till it changed their relationship status on Facebook)! Sorry if I am being too harsh,but those are the instances I came across. I really pity the guys there,trust me,I have to, as I grew up with a bunch of awesome brothers who turned out to be just fine men now! 
Well,I am truly concerned about the actual feminist issues,that are malignant in today's society based on a highly inviolable patriarchal ideologies, not that I am striving to change the conditions but I can say,my thoughts waver around those once too frequently! Woohh!! I am getting too technical and ideological on you I guess.. Well.. there is one simple issue I wanted to really talk about. This post is strictly urban centric.Not at all in intention to hurt any feminists out there. You ll know!


Here goes,

I accompanied my friend to a mall(Ugh!) the other day, and came across a really regular, everyday incident that made me ponder over a little longer than I usually take notice of.. A father with his two children, a boy and a girl,came across one of his colleagues, introduced his kids..
"Hello Sir, this is my son!" <With a pat on the back>
"and this is my little princess" <with both his arms on her shoulder, protectively>
I felt that something different happened there, you may not agree with me! But then, yeah! When their dads introduce the daughters as princesses and the people compliment on her fragile delicacy, the pride a father gets! Yeah.. that is what that made me think..
Here, when a father does that, it subtly implants in the kid's mind..
She either wants to be someone's queen someday, or
She is accepting the fact that she is never going to be treated like a princess ever again. Yeah, and what is with all the sharing on Facebook, saying 'I am my dad's little princess' ?? People are really driving me crazy(Don't even get me started on the cute baby pictures..and sweet comments on them,that is a whole other story!!)I know it is not in the literal sense that they share all those, but really.. Really, what is this craze for the fantasy of being a princess?? They don't have a lot of fun, they don't have to 'earn' anything, all the things are destined to come to them. Fabricated socialization with ornate surroundings where there is never a hint of 'pain'(except for a rare few).. All that is there, is just the glory and grandeur.. Sounds utterly boring!! I did not even say anything of prima donna yet! Uff!! Being treated a princess, fine, I can understand.. Again,on Facebook, what is with this Twilight obsession! Rush of being soooo like Bella?!! No no.. It doesn't end there, you want him to be like Edward! Vampire craze! Seriously! Are you freaking kidding me?!!! First of, that is love at sight(doesn't matter first or whatever) anyways, hands down,that is like the worst love story I ever set my eyes on!


Yeah,yeah.. Getting carried away! Let me come back to the point.. that is where the whole problem starts..in her childhood. She wants her husband or her boyfriend to be more like her father, but it can never match to her expectations on par with the unconditional parental love. She wants him to change a lot in the process where after a while,he feels like he lost himself, may be that is why there is a tremendous lift in the breakups and divorce rates these days. So I think,The more you 'expect' to be treated like a princess, the less you have the chance of earning a sense of 'satisfaction, fun, accomplishment' ,right?


So it would not have been a problem if there was no protective patronage.. if the dad would have introduced her as "This is my daughter" <with a pat on the shoulder>. Like a Son, Not a Princess. After all.. everything that happens in childhood comes around in every phase.. It will always be an inevitable part of who you are, what you do, what you expect and how you perceive things everyday... Most importantly, how you sustain them!
That must have sounded like a really long and boring lecture on a petty issue, but this piece of writing here, is a product of the many frustrated moments I spent listening to my really close friends' so called 'relationship crisis' and patch ups.


We all know Karl Marx,but no one speaks about his aristocratic spouse,truly,I have immense respect for her,her passions and desire to keep them alive all through made her go a long way! #Passion #Admiration! I must say! Well,there is one good friend of mine who had a different story to share, as is to be noted, her father never introduced her to be princess, he loved her like he did his son, making her capable enough to deal with knowing what she wants, seriously, the lady has some clarity in what she wants. 
Well,clarity in 
Life,she makes it a point that her dreams are worth living and will gain her,someday, her own identity..
Love, that is not taken for granted,not defining 'status', while letting each other not lose their identity. It is nice that she knows the value of belonging during hardships, and that a person who is by your side when in pain is going to be with you,come what may, because.. you know, only love and suffering can reveal the most important secrets of life,rather than confining a relationship to gifts, fun and really long,mostly meaningless phone conversations! 
Marriage, trust me, she can make it work,always!! She has that self-chiseled charm in her that makes me look up on her dad as her real 'hero'.. Now I realize,may be it is not too bad growing up never being referred to as 'princess'.. I met nice people! Knock-on-the-wood! Don't want to jinx it..
If you did not get any of that, you need to get only this: Don't make your friends regret their long phone conversations with you, especially when they hate mobiles like me! Its time for some reality and toughness,and that means, the exact opposite of 'cute', 'sweet' and 'Bella-ey'!


PS: This was a result of a really bedevilling and persistently annoying phone call from a friend who has a 'relationship crisis'. I am irritated, and that is really rare.. So I thought I ll take full advantage of this frustration (Thanks to Emile Durkheim!!) and change my template too.. something dark you know.. looks like my taste always goes with minimalistic grunge and my love for blue :D Now now,I don't want to quetch more here.. So..


#Ravali Prasad Signing off! Adios!