Quake: We Will Rise again.

During my high school senior, I lived with an old couple whose children were settled abroad. I got to Skype calls for them on several occasions. They were delighted to watch their kids on the computer screen. I felt the connectedness and bliss in their eyes. Never at the front, had I felt the power of technology to unite people with their sentiments. And for my efforts, I was treated with mouthwatering delicacies.

I am pursuing my engineering study in India. It has been said, you miss your loved ones more when you are away from them. Believe me, it's certainly true. While having food in hostel mess, when I am sick and on the festivities when I see #family on social networks, I realize the same.

Distance has made us apart, but technology has changed the scale. Nowadays, one can chat with loved ones through messages, voicemail and video chat. On 24^th of April, I did my first Skype call with family. They were in Kathmandu. When you see your loved ones talking to you even on virtual platforms, it appears existent. Your emotions develop a genuine touch. The feeling is ineffable. My mom could easily infer whether I am eating well or not or whether I am in good health or not. I could feel the love and concern. The other day were my practical exams and I was superfluous with motivation.

25th of April was a bright cheery daylight. I was raised with confidence for my practical exam of Engineering Drawing. I loved drawing and thus I did afford it an extra concern. At about 11:30am, I was in my room, which is on the fourth level of the hostel building. I was exercising with some problems which had the highest probability of coming out on the paper. My hands resolutely drawing on the sheet started agitating, the management of my pencil changed abruptly and thus the firm line which I was drawing turned zigzag. It was 11:41am in Allahabad. And in a matter of seconds, everyone realized that it was an earthquake. We hurried to the ground immediately. The sensation of danger was felt by each one of us.

It wasn’t my first experience with an earthquake. I had few minor experiences in Kathmandu, which is an earthquake prone area and ranks among top in the world list. It was a petty shake in Allahabad. Besides, there was no mark of destruction nearby. Life and property were secure.

We resumed our activities, merely in a span of minutes, it came again. The routine of running to the ground, followed a number of times. Many of my friends had already updated their social networking accounts. So, I got to know that the earthquake had also hit Kathmandu. And with some more research, it was affirmed that the epicenter was in Lamgunj, which is at a distance of 180km form Kathmandu.

Facebook and Twitter acted as the quickest way of communication with the mass. Nepal Earthquake reached the world with a lightning speed through these platforms. There were pictures of Dharahara Tower, temples and homes turned into debris, roads cracked and corpses lying all over. The beautiful city, Kathmandu, known for its history of over 2000 years turned into rubble. The 7.5 magnitude of earthquake thrashed the city.
 

Those pictures make me shiver. My hands were trembling while I was making calls to my family. All I wanted to know was about their wellbeing. Since, social media had spread the word of Nepal earthquake in the world, everyone was making calls to their near and dear ones. The phone network was overloaded. Some of my friends made internet calls through viber, watsapp and wechat. But for me, none could connect.

I was in utmost dejection. My heartbeats accelerated and my thoughts made assumptions. My fears expressed grief and my body turned feeble. I couldn’t stay at a place. I was moving and straining to make calls. A friend of mine stopped me to inquire whether his Facebook status will get people’s attention. The status was a nasty joke on the quake. We had shared tons of jokes and laughed like a drain in the yesteryear. At that moment, my expression was stern, not even a single facial muscle exhibited movement.

It was time for the test. My batch mates were rushing to the exam hall. I wasn’t in a state to appear for the examination, but I didn’t have a choice. I reached the examination hall and all I saw was fearful faces. Question paper reached my seat, I wasn’t able to decode any of the questions correctly. My concentration was divergent and my focus dispersed. However, I scribbled what possible. I came out of the examination hall and tried calling home. I heard my brother saying we are all right here. Tears rolled down from my eyes. Tears of pure delight.

My family was safe, but I possessed no thought about my acquaintances and relatives. Social media platforms took initiative to help the victims of the cataclysm in their own ways. Facebook updated safety status while Google helped find missing people. During such a tough time, it’s not practical to contact everyone we know. These initiatives from the social media was the demand of time. A bunch of my acquaintances and dear ones had already marked themselves safe thus I was eased of their wellbeing. Also, smartphone apps were launched to notify aftershocks. Technology played its role very efficiently.
  

Aftershocks followed from time to time. Residents of Kathmandu were in fear and none risked life by abiding in the home. The only option they had was to build tents on open grounds. Tudikhel, which is the largest open ground in the valley served the role very well. Many government offices like Singha Durbar which had open areas were open for public. Residents were outflowing from the valley to safer parts of Nepal. Transportation was again a major problem in such a hard time and terrain for the large volume of people.

Kathmandu imports most of its basic necessities for everyday support. Due to transportation issues, shortage of food and drinking water too prevailed. Even buying food became a difficult job as most of the stores were shut. Finally, beaten rice, biscuits and instant snacks such as Wai-Wai (a popular noodle in Nepal) became the food of people for days.
 

When the land seemed settled, a major earthquake hit Kathmandu again in a couplet of a month. People were more aware this time, just the fear instilled in them once more. The tents came into existence for one more time.

People from all roughly the world sent donations and necessary goods. Neighboring countries, India and Chine also helped by transporting troops to shed light on the debris and health assistants for medical aid. Besides, masses from all around the world came to Nepal for volunteering.  Moreover, every human who came to know about Nepal Earthquake was willing to assist the victims.

Nepal lost its human resource, capital, infrastructure and heritage in the quake. It’s in a state of upheaval till now. People feel quakes even when it is not. The process of rebuilding with the motto “We will rise again” is on the go.

the BETTER WORLD

“Change is the law of nature”. Every strike on the clock is a symbol of transformation.  From the microscopic change in the movement of tectonic plates to the massive movement of celestial bodies: everything is under the equation of change.

It is an integral part of our life. We see it in varied forms like Sunday turns to Monday. Not to forget the change which has been with us since the earliest of our development: we were kids, not even able to walk in yesteryears while now physically strong and mentally built. To perceive it we need to consider certain parameters like dimension, color, texture, temperature, movement etc. but these are only indicators. The true observant of change is one and only TIME.

Our existence can be traced back to the Stone Age, when man had only hairs to protect himself from the extremism of weather. He was helpless to the occurrences of nature. Only thing he could do was to watch. Thus, he started observing things in nature, formulated his observations into equations, experimented to crack the mysteries, and after ample of endeavors he succeeded and modified it according to his needs.

It takes a blink to change a paragraph and so does a paragraph for a period. Today, we have resources that fulfill our every need. We can cultivate in deserts, shelter our body from harsh environment, enjoy the warmth of heaters in winter and cold drinks in summer, communicate and travel in air, and use antidotes for illness. We have ample of means to satisfy our necessities; even if we don’t have one for now we will devise it the very next moment. We are discovering our needs and so are the resources.

A lot has changed with these innovations. Not only our living but our thoughts have changed. Nowadays, trust has a different name i.e. signature and help is often cited as donation. Friends have turned into competitors and gatherings have become hangouts. Qualification is determined on the number of degrees one holds and success on the number of medals one possesses. Thus, our qualities are measured on the basis of the materialism we have created.

Moreover, our existence has become a function of these inventions. Some time ago, we were shaping them and now they are shaping us. Is this the better world that mankind had dreamt of?

The Reserved Territory

          The Reserved Territory

At the struck of the last bell at school we use to sprint like Usain bolt just to reserve a seat in the school bus. It was one of the fierce competitions held every day at school. Windows of the bus were like the gates of a kingdom inviting us to capture the territory. The weapons used to conquer were our academic materials mostly notebooks which had our name printed and sometimes muscles too worked.

The most preferred were the last lane window seats which were mostly occupied by seniors of the school. The quality of the seats in terms of preference decreased as one moved to the front seats. The most disliked ones were the first few seats which were already reserved for teachers. And having a seat near the teacher was no fun and I believe not even today. The middle and last lane seats were the targets of many. These seats offered joyful ride as the students participated actively in various games like antakshri, quiz and many others.

To reserve a seat, we had to outrun others. Many a time’s more than one student reserved the same seat. This led to clashes and sometimes severe consequences. Moreover, it was a form of rivalry.

Now, I am no more in school and I travel mostly by public transport. Not more has changed when I compare the old day’s rivalry with travelling by public transport. The rivalry is still in action especially during office hours. What has changed is then I had to compete with school mates but now it’s an open competition.

These days there are reserved seats for women and physically challenged people. What I learned at my school was “Reservation is for people who are in minority or underprivileged”. While taking up the gender statistics of Nepal, females are in majority! And I wondered why reservation for a class who is in majority. Now, I understand that these reservations are not based entirely on statistics and I salute the lawmakers for this achievement. But of what good is a law if not followed honestly?

Many a times the seats reserved for women are taken my men and women are found being crushed like protons and neutrons in an atom. I have also seen people trying to misbehave physically taking advantage of the overly packed transportation.  Fault is from both sides. Men don’t have the courtesy to give the seat and women don’t dare to ask for their right. 

We all want to be in the comfort zone either by hook or by crook. We enjoy underestimating and poking others. We develop this attitude since our childhood and it keeps growing. If we were taught lessons on peace, harmony and mutual understanding beside math and sciences at school and at home, we would have developed sympathy and brotherhood towards each other. The ultimate lesson for all of us is to develop conscience and spread harmony. Developing the feeling of mutual understanding will help all of us.

My only request, 

Dear men, 

Next time if you see women, senior citizen or a differently abled standing in the public vehicle please show some respect.

Thank you.    

Avishkar 2k14, Annual Techno-management fest of NIT Allahbad 16-19 October, had a "zillion" of events among which Gnosiomania had its own niche. I am elated to present this video among you all, prepared by PIXELS, MNNIT ALLAHBAD, which features my voice. This video was screened at MP Hall, MNNIT Allahbad on 16th October 2014.

Special thanks: Apoorv Arora, MNNIT Allahbad.

Life is Coke

You may be familiar with quotes such as, “life is beautiful” or “life is a race” but  very few or perhaps no one would have heard of something like “life is a coke”. It really sounds strange and weird.

Today, I am going to present my views on “life is a coke”.First let me tell you about coke. Oh, sorry it would be vague to explain about the most advertised commodity in the world: coke. Many parts of the world does not have access to fundamental medicinal facilities but I am sure such places already have coke dealers or at least coke ad banners.

Coke is the life of any party, event or excursion. The presence of coke as a refreshment in any event is like gold with fragrance of rose.Similarly, life is like a coke to “living”. For instance, if we see a person who is always seen with computers or books, one thing that comes to us is he doesn't have a life. Basically, what we try to convey is something is missing in his existence. In simple terms, life is the fun or adrenaline factor of living.Let me explain my views with the help of its ingredients. Everyone knows, Coke is a mixture of water and carbon dioxide. Water, the universal solvent or the elixir of life, one cannot exist without it and carbon dioxide, something discarded by our body while breathing. Similarly,  Life an amalgamation of happiness and sorrow, plays the same role, we are fond of happiness but detest sorrows.
In a nutshell, life adds thrill to living and coke adds stimulation to events. In a way, both has the adrenaline factor in common.My final words,Get a coke.

Enjoy life!

Article published in "The Republica"

This article is specially dedicated to the SLC appearing students. I hope it helps you all. All the best!

Follow the link below to read the article:

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=70311

                                     

Sometimes the fourth dimension, sometimes a period, and sometimes an experiences, like they say I had a good time.

A part of it is called past, a part present and a part is called future,

 like a body dissected into pieces.

              Has various definitions yet all phrases, searching                  the real one, the complete one.

We long for past and worry about future,

 recall the past and predict the future.

It comes and goes: good ones and bad ones,

 sweet ones and sour ones, like a blink,

like a smell, like a season.

Master of all, slave of none

No one but

TIME.