Shackles of Terrorism

"You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours"

-Hilary Clinton

Just last week Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai became the world's youngest Nobel laureate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.She was felicitated in front of a world audience and was lauded for her courage against the Taliban for promoting education which is being touted as the biggest tool in a terror ridden country.

Finally Pakistan had some hope in the midst of being a country which often shelters terrorism and the likes. But not for long...

The Army Public School was at the receiving end of the wrath of the Taliban on the 16th day of December,2014.More than 155 children were brutally murdered by militants in the guise of the Pakistani Army officers...

One of the reasons cited behind the attack was Malala. After being shot with a bullet in her head,she has gone on to become the most recognized face of Pakistan , penning a book "I am Malala" and has started working towards the promotion of education of children. Though she has not returned to her homeland due to security issues.And who can blame her? Even children are not spared the horror of being targets.

These children were being targetted as the Pakistani Army officials had thwarted their operations by killing a few of their militants. And this was their best bet for revenge.By shooting innocent,helpless children they have proved their bravery yet once again.They have showed that they should be feared because they can kill "ones who are weaker than them". They have once again proved that they are nothing but soul sucking creatures which feast on happy and innocent souls. These infiltrators claim to be fighting for their religion. I wonder which religion exists on the face of the earth which calls for the ruthless murder of Children who are yet to understand what the hatred is all about. If there is anything which needs to be murdered it is the radicalized thoughts which lead to such barbaric actions. Terrorism belongs to the religion of "hatred".It has to be eradicated before it leads to trails of blood in all nations.
  

The entire incident has left everyone shaken about the future of Pakistan.All nations especially its neighbour,India who has always been at the receiving end of terror attacks has strongly condemned the attacks. 

 For humanity, It was a BLACK DAY... 

  

My heart is filled with so much grief,with the pictures that are all over the news, that I don't wish to post anymore pictures on the incident.

Wish the little ones rest in peace and may the families be granted with all the strength in the world to bear with the huge void that their demise has brought in their homes...

Oppose Terrorism and Spread Love!!

Horror in Horror movies

Picture this : blood thirsty zombies bleeding in their faces,walking in a haphazardly,ghastly fashion making it pretty obvious that they are the GHOSTS in the movie and that you need to run away from them.Stealing the very element of "surprise and fear" that a Horror movie should be the depiction of ; it turns out to be a gore fest of a comic nature. Why should I fear pancaked persons with dark,large eyes? I already know that they are "ghosts". And they don't scare me. They make me laugh out.
Aloud....

No offence to the makers of such stories and characters. It is the repetition of these faces in movies over and over again without the backing of a script that makes me cringe.Lack of originality and the yearning for new cult characters that leaves me disappointed every single time I have walked out of the movie theater.

I have always loved Horror movies for their ability to convey fear over miles in distant places.The "world of supernatural" has always fascinated and amazed me in more than a way. And because of this passion for watching good horror movies I insist on watching them in movie halls for all the effects and then dissect them bit by bit.

The last movie which did spook me out was "The Conjuring". It's the benchmark for recently made movies with the supernatural element.Since then I've watched "Insidious: ChapterII","Occulus","Deliver Us From Evil",Annabelle,"Ouija" etc. only to be disappointed. "Annabelle" put me off beyond measure.(Sadly,no movie yet has come close to the ripples of horror it created a year back). "Occulus" was not that bad,but it was a psychological thriller,not actually anything to do with horror.(though the concept was beautiful the movie left you in want for more)

 One of the most underrated movies,it garnered a lot of praise for the lead roles. A far cry from bloodsucking zombies and gory scenes ,It made perfect use of the "element of surprise and fear" at the right time. I usually don't buy or download movies (especially horror) unless they are worth it. I tried to get a copy of this movie at a price suitable for me as I am not in a hurry of investing in a DVD of the aforementioned movie. Finally, thanks to the the "Thanksgiving shopping" and "Black Friday Fever" , I managed to grab a copy at a ridiculously low price.(My last one was a road trip and self discovery Bollywood movie in India)

The above picture is taken from one of my favorite scenes in the movie and believe me while writing this piece it did give me the chills! The clap and hide game !!

In conclusion I just wish that more directors make sensible and scary movies which may surpass this recent year's classic (or atleast come close to it)  and give me guaranteed goosebumps in the future.... ;)

Signing off as an ardent fan....

Struggles of a Vertically Challenged Girl

Standing at a height of 5'4" definitely doesn't mean that I am towering over the rest of the world but when you land in a country like the USA (read Western world) it does make you feel like a Lilliputian among Brobdingnagian population. Being a short girl I have my own set of quotes to make me feel good about myself.

Even though the above quotes ooze a lot of positivity and put me in the right frame of mind there is still a list of struggles that short girls have to face when out in the BIG BAD WORLD :

1. Cooking becomes a workout because you cannot reach for most of the items in your kitchen cabinet shelves and end up being on the counter tops rather than working on it. And it strangely reminds you of your childhood and then jolts you back to reality when you realize that you haven't grown since at all.                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2. You are mistaken to be much younger than your actual age. There are many times that you are thought to still be in high school or college and people can't help thinking that way because most of the present day kids can easily stand taller to you.
   
3. You seldom find any sizes as tiny as you have especially in shoes and jeans. The pair of jeans fit you snugly at the waist but they make you float in them. You like a pair of shoes but the tiniest size will be slightly loose for you. At this point your only hope would be the children's corner.
   
   
4. The items on the shelves of a supermarket store are never within your reach.
   
5. You are tired of being continually kissed on the forehead.
   

Well........

It isn't that bad at all if you see the last one .. ;)

After all "Dynamite always comes in small packages"

So,embrace all yourself and always remember :

Keeping CHRIST in CHRISTMAS

.....And there finally my tree is up...

Its been a long while after Thanksgiving and I have been lazy to put up my decorations.Christmas is almost around the corner. I have been fretting over my shopping and baking my first cake for the festive season.(though I am a veteran at baking "brownies" and "muffins") I have not given a lot of thought to baking cakes earlier but this year I thought of giving it a personal touch. Armed with a foolproof recipe in hand, I tried my hand at "a sponge cake" .

It turned out to be "a black cake" , in the literal sense of the term. So I need to give it another shot or stick to making brownies as I do every year. There my sweets are almost ready!

My wall decorations will be up in no time. My "secret Santa" will be decided soon.(For those who don't know Secret Santa is picking up a name by lots and gifting the person at the end of Advent season before Christmas, as well as praying for that person.).

... And there lies the essence of the Christmas Season.. Which we all forget at one point or the other as we are immersed in shopping, decorating and purchasing all the trivial aspects of the merry season. Santa, Snowman and the Christmas Tree are not the persons because of whom we celebrate this season worldwide. Its the celebration of "the coming of Love and Hope into the world", brought by the "Son of God" also known as the Messiah.

Here's a list of things you can do to keep the purpose of Christmas alive :

• Donate something you don't use anymore (books,toys,clothes)
• Save a dollar per day and pool in the amount on the last day of Christmas to someone in need(It can be anyone including a colleague or a fellow student) After all a dollar saved is a dollar earned.
• Make Jesus the centre of your Christmas celebration by placing the scene of the nativity in your homes.
• Attend mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with your family.(if possible)
• Speak to someone you haven't spoken in a long time
• Last but not the least - Wish everyone a "Merry Christmas" instead of "xmas". 

Don't X out the Christ from your Christmas.

Wishing All Readers A Merry Christmas!!

The window shopper

window shopper  (n.) - a person who visits a store or a mall to admire the goods rather than to purchase them

When we find ourselves in college with zero income and lots of free time the only thing that you end up doing is going window shopping. Of course its also the best way to escape hot summer days by taking refuge in the air conditioned showrooms of any huge multiplex or a shopping center. Buying a few cheap snacks to gallivant around the whole place was the perfect excuse to bunk a few hours of boring college lectures and gaze through the display windows of big department stores.

I vividly remember looking at the price tags of the clothes hung up in the store and putting them down solely for the reason that they were overpriced or maybe they did not fit into the monthly budget. Giving tuitions always did not bring in a whole lot of money to indulge in all pleasures. And even if there was enough cash to buy something, it was always offset by the desire to hoard all the amount and increase the cash balance.

Its been many years since the window shopping symptoms took root within me but it wasn't yesterday that I realised that it still hasn't left me. It still makes me happy to not have spent on something which may not have been very important to me. And saving up the amount so that I can get something sensible and useful at the end of the day. Prioritizing my needs still makes me put down a dress and invest the same amount in exchange for something much more useful to me in due course of time. I haven't been a very keen shopper (yes that is very rare for a girl) though I do have sporadic bouts of "shoe shopping" and the likes.

Though shopping is claimed as being a great form of therapy, the feeling of hanging out with friends and cracking the silliest of jokes beats that hands down any day. Where you continue trying out a huge slew of outfits which look horrendous on you,(according to you) but manage to attract a lot of laughter from your shopping buddies.And you actually do not need to buy anything to feel better again.

And I think I might as well want it to continue being this way....Because.....

How my niece changed me

Flashback :

Its 2012. I don't like little children. Don't get me wrong. Its not that I hate them,but I dislike the thought of having a small child cry in your arm till your ears ache and your head throbs with pain.It's almost like having your head hit by a wall and then getting hammered in. Its not that I don't find them cute; in fact I love watching AFV's edition of kids giggling and laughing in hilarious ways and it immediately cracks me up into peals of never ending laughter. Maybe it has had something to do with the profession of me being a teacher till a few years ago. Or maybe I dislike teaching because of the part that involved children. No No! I like children at a certain age , but just not at that age where they are pooping and pissing uncontrollably without any realization of ever having done that( not that I have never done it as a child) but still some how it gives me the creeps. Holding an infant the correct way,making goofy faces to make the kid laugh or simply putting up with the shenanigans just doesn't sit down well with me.

Fast forward to 2013 :

Its mid-September, and I receive the news that my sister has delivered a healthy baby girl. Reality sinks in that I am an aunt officially!(and even the part that I am getting older). Having lost the title of being the "youngest in the family", one look at my niece and I know that I have lost my heart to her. Being away from the family my conversations with her were limited to Skype and other social media. Though I did see her grow up, I wasn't there with her to witness it first hand. My first conversation which must have lasted about an hour with her was the most interesting one.My aunt had told me that the day old baby wiped her face by a slight tilt of her neck rubbing her mouth against the bib. Exaggeration!!! Was the first word that came to my mind. There is no chance that this could ever happen!! I waited for this moment to happen as I saw her and spoke to her.She had to be fed milk with a spoon and as is the case with most babies some of it spilled down her mouth onto her bib.I was waiting for the moment where my aunt could be proved wrong. And there it happened! But I was the one who was proved wrong and was in immediate awe of the little one.

Since then there have been many such moments where she has simply stumped me. In many ways she has taken after me and that is endearing. She is a bundle of high voltage energy which is infectious right from the moment you spend time with her.She is a natural at facing the camera with a charm that's only unique to her.

2014 : The general dislike that I have for children is surely vanished but I still am skeptical about holding a newborn baby or a baby who is yet to complete a couple of months for fear of holding it the wrong way. Watching a baby discover sounds and movements is magical but at the same time it makes me value human life in better ways than one. It suddenly transforms you into a responsible person with bursts of childlike innocence. Rings in the thought which we always need to maintain in order to grow as a person. "Be childlike and not childish".

"Because the creative person is the one who did not let the CHILD in him die."