"Honesty was, is and will be the best policy!"

They always say honesty is the best policy. These words somehow got imbibed in me from the moment I started making sense and walking on my own. I am excluding the numerous times I speak nonsense for now :P . My honesty sometimes doesn't help me but I don't bother. They say straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first which holds true to some extent as I faced the music for being too honest at many junctures in my life. My honest words , opinions and acts have hurt many folks since my childhood but I always stick to honesty like an iron sticks to magnet due to its benefits in the long run. The fruits of honesty will ripe late but are definitely tasty :) I will rather shut my mouth than being dishonest if the situation doesn't demand being honest. 

Image source:"here"

Given below is an anecdote from my child hood where honesty definitely paid off.

I used to write the yearly UNO (United Nations Organisation) and UNICEF tests every year which were conducted at the school. It was a national level exam and frankly I don’t remember why we wrote them or what good the percentile or grades did but it was definitely a feel good factor if we top in the test and toppers were even given gold medals. It was tempting to come in to the notice of teachers. That particular year when I was in fifth standard our exam got postponed due to some other unit test on the same day. No one in the class prepared for the UNO exam that year due to the unit tests and some other district level competition. Naturally I had a flare to participate in the elocution and essay writing contests. We were clueless as to how to prepare for the UNO exam which will be just a day after the last unit test. When we were having an ice candy just after the long bell, a brilliant idea flashed in my friend Meera's brain.

Meera suddenly shouted, "Afshan. The exam got over in Sunshine public school. You know that right?”

Me: "Yep. So what?"

Meera : " So what what ? Tube-light, let’s go and collect the question paper. I don't think they would have sent two different papers to different schools. The paper is same for all schools. Am I right Shilpa?" she inquired with one more class mate.

Shilpa: "Oh wow! You are a genius Meera. Why didn't I get this idea? Let’s go to Sruthi's place and collect the paper." She shouted enthusiastically.

Sruthi was our old friend who studied in Sunshine school. I was in dilemma. Other than the fact that Kofi Annan was the seventh secretary General of UNO I knew nothing. I was tempted to go too but was scared by the mere thought as it would be cheating. Every one voted for collecting the paper. I weakly mumbled, "O.K." and felt shameful even before I did the act.

Me: “But what if we get caught? What if someone sees us?"

Meera: "You get scared a lot Afshan. Why will we inform anyone about this. Its our top secret. Don't miss this chance. Even last year our scores were not great. Just imagine sister Philomena appreciating us in front of all." She said in a singsong way. Philomena sister was every one's favourite and every one tried every minute to get in to her good books.

I remained mute. I wanted to be a silent spectator and reap the benefits of the act.  In no time we all went to Shruti's house and she happily handed over the question paper to us. We all rushed back home and I was huffing and panting and continuously checking the surroundings as I felt some cop might appear and arrest us.

"Arey . Relax Afshan. Don't be a spoil sport. Chill. Just prepare by using the paper and happily write the exam. These are not academic exams for God's sake," chimed everyone.

Me:  "It’s not about the kind of exam. I am just scared as what we are doing is not right." I again muttered with half confidence.

Everybody yawned and said my fears will land even them in trouble so they requested me to cool down. The next two hours went in marking the answers for the subjective, objective questions, essays, and so on so forth.

As we started preparing for the exam just after having Bournvita and snacks offered by mom who was oblivious to this my brother entered my room. He realized that something fishy is going on and cornered me to ask the details.

To avoid the tension which is to the brim I said everything to him. He was angry as I was also a part of the culprit gang. I hastily tried to bribe him.

Me: "Please take the paper and prepare for the exam. It’s the same paper for all."

He: "Never. Whatever I write, I will write using my knowledge."

That reply came as a tight slap across my face. I fell silent. He left the room and prepared for the exam in the traditional way, going through the chapters one by one and skipping few things just by a hunch and sometimes writing down the things which he had to revise.

I was always a good student. I was a topper in my class but why did I do this act? Is it due to friends or the urge to top in a safe and smooth way? I didn't have answers to this but the damage was already done. I already knew the paper hence I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the book. I just by-hearted what all I had to and went to the exam hall the next day. I couldn't meet my brother's eyes before leaving for the exam. Thankfully he did not disclose it to mum, dad.

Exam got over and I finally let out a sigh of relief. Strangely I was not feeling good about my performance. In fact I felt it was below average. There was no feeling of accomplishment. My friends were happy though and my brother was beaming. I heard him telling his friends that he felt paper was easy. I was jealous and irritated by this. He didn't give a single glance at the stolen question paper. Weird! That was the single word I could mouth at that time.

After a week or so we got the results and you all would be puzzled to know that I scored 80% and my brother scored 91%. He got national level 4th rank and was given a medal. All my friends got around 75-80%. I became stern. I did not understand how that was possible. I finally realized that my brother gave elaborate answers to each question with the knowledge he had and we just vomited what all we by-hearted and came out of the exam hall faster than everyone else. My brother's victory added more fire to my agony. I told him what I was feeling. He suggested me to narrate everything to mom, dad to feel better. I did it without delay. They were calm and appreciated me for being honest and suggested that next time if I feel like doing something of that sort I should remember my brother's 91%.

The next day I was feeling too guilty when I saw sister Philomena. I requested her to talk to me after recess and told her everything. I didn't give each and every detail to her but just said that we were playing with Sunshine school pupils and accidentally got hold of the paper. Yes I had to lie so that my friends escaped the punishment. She was a kind soul. She smiled and appreciated me for my honesty and said that it would remain our little secret. She said that as we purposely didn't do it its fine. I was dying inside as I had to lie.

That day I learnt a big thing that honesty will definitely pay off in the long run and the fruits of honesty are sweeter than the fruits of lies, guilt and dishonesty. I for sure felt better after narrating it to the concerned people. A burden got lifted off my heart. My brother appreciated me too and from that day he was and still is my biggest inspiration. Being honest to yourself and having a clean and clear conscience will surely help you any day :)

I end this article with beautiful quotes I read!

No legacy is so rich as honesty.
William Shakespeare 

Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully.
Richard Bach 

Image source :"here"

I used to have the below lines pasted on my cup-board during my school days. These are my most favorite lines till date.

“The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

― Kent M. Keith, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council

I am sharing my Do RIght Stories at BlogAdda.com in association with Tata Capital.

Ready Steady Po - Chennai Express review

At first was not very eager to pen down a review but later too many hatred updates on FB and too much dirt dumped on the movie and few who decided to rant till their last breath on their walls , few who even said that people are getting entertained by this movie and hence our country has gone to dogs made me write this. This mediocre movie gained more and more publicity only due to the haters and increased my fire of desire to write some thing ! so here it is.

Originally published at - http://theviewspaper.net/chennai-express-a-review/

Too many hatred reviews finally pushed me to write this. With the tag ready steady po Chennai express did justice to the title as it is about a 40 year old man who boards the wrong train bluffing his grandma but story takes a sudden twist and makes him travel to the pretty damsel Meenamma's village where her dad is a renowned Don. Now everyone knows the story line. Thanks to the never ending trailers. The story is like a mix mash of many hit south Indian movies with a dash of humour and pinch of spice. It is a typical Rohit Shetty movie where if you put your best efforts to find logic you will stay disheartened. Yep this is definitely slap stick humour which will not suit you if you want to watch Cinema which has brains, logic and sense.  The director makes the viewers taste the southern flavour with the sufficient knowledge he has and shows it in vibrant colours. The scenic southern locations are fresh and relieving to watch. 

It truly is come fall in love Rohit shetty style. You realise this when Deepika runs to catch the train and after that Shahrukh lends a helping hand even to all the goons who are running to catch the train. The back ground score of Chennai Express and the train episode and parody songs will definitely bring smiles. Deepika's broken Tamil accent is bad which sounds like a comic character is speaking all the while. Nevertheless she compensated it with her acting. Yep, she has come a long way from being the expressionless dimpled beauty to someone who can flash the dimple only when needed.

Deepika plays the role of a rebellious, charming South Indian damsel who can show more valour than Rahul aka Shahrukh who is fun at 40 but behaves like scared cat. SRK trolls himself by throwing satires on his cinematic Rahul moments which is definitely funny unless until you passionately hate him. Deepika's dialogues add to the humour quotient once in a while. The song Titli by Chinmayee and South Indian traditions showed post intermission do add more colour to the movie. Audiences whistled at 1,2,3,4 where Priyamani spiced it up. After many item songs which are exactly copied from south this song feels new and fresh! The ending song which is a tribute to Rajani Kanth created controversies that it is cheap and insulting but I saw that many South Indians actually enjoyed the song and smiled their way back to home. I still don't get why a lungi is being considered as cheap and insulting. Are there no item songs in Bollywood with more cheap lyrics where many other things are highlighted? The critics have to answer this!

Chennai Express is definitely a masala movie for masses. SRK pulls the crowds to theatres and fans will enjoy seeing him in a different shade this time. This is an in and out Rohit Shetty's genre experimented with SRK this time which worked for me.  SathyaRaj was a natural as Deepika’s dad. The villain role Thangaballi played by Nikitin Dheer who reminds you of the gigantic Khali best suited the role and leaves you in splits when he sings Chammak Challo. Yes the comedy is mindless but it won’t hurt to laugh when you feel like laughing. Laughter is the best therapy. I am not sure why many are criticising the comedy in the movie. It for sure is more laughable than few films like Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani or some other superstars’ sequels and prequels and poorly imitated Rowdy Rathore.

Now coming to few loopholes in the movie, there was too much Tamil to crack for. People who don’t understand the language will feel out of place even if Meenamma translates to some extent. A South Indian doesn’t necessarily speak in Meenamma’s accent. The aati , jaati usage was too repetitive. The chase scenes and blowing up of jeeps seemed force fitted. The climax fight scene with ThangaBalli was too long and unnecessary for the storyline.  The pace of the movie could have been better. It is not needed to run every movie for 2 hours 15min.

Lastly Rohit Shetty knows how to tickle the funny bone and if you enjoyed Golmaal you will enjoy this too. It’s good to watch the movie with friends and share the guffaws. Even if you want to grade him unworthy of his success he surely has the Midas touch and may earn 100 Crores. Compared to Bol bachan and other recent flicks by him Chennai Express is far better. Boarding the train for a fun ride will definitely not harm. If your humour quotient is above all this then you can’t laugh even if you tickle yourself. So if you can’t have fun sit at home and ignore rather than triggering the gun and taking pleasure in pointing at temples of the movie makers and viewers who can enjoy it.

By

Afshan Shaik

"Opposites attract and act together"- A poem :)

The hot sun cooled down by the breeze and the rain.

The pleasant time with loved ones lessens the pain.

The still leaves swayed to and fro due to the wind.

My silent thoughts started speaking with my mind.

To do the right you have to do wrong some times.

To be rich and not to die poor you do the boring job and earn dimes.

If one reason makes you cry life gives you 1000 reasons to smile.

To know the happiness you have to face the gloom once in a while.

To listen and not ignore a person when he talks, you have to be silent.

One cannot be gentle and achieve peace by being violent.

When a person is far, to bring him near one has to be patient.

To release the thoughts held from long, one needs an emotional vent.

Image source:"here"

To enjoy the brightness you need to face the dark.

At times you need to stop the swift ride, get down and walk.

One needs to put effort to maintain harmony and avoid strife.

One needs to stop by for small joys and start living a life.

There is full bloom at one place and another has to wither.

There is bliss on one side and suffering on the other.

Good is meager and for bad there is never a dearth.

Heaven and hell are present just here on the Earth.

There will always be an eerie calmness just before the storm.

If you want to serve the cold revenge sit for a while and it will get warm.

A simple word of comfort can lessen the pain, bring joy and act like a balm.

Defeat the defeat before it defeats you and your win will be a grand slam!!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

PS: The opposite words are in bold in the above poem!

Face"Book of life" - A new poem

Facebook has to do multiple tasks.
In the glory of his success someone basks.
His failure is tackled in its nook and corner.
His friends may have to be put on the back burner!

Life’s matters are seriously discussed here.
You are free to give badges of honour and smear.
From disheartening politicians to peers.
Even others status messages and their fears.

There is no such thing which is not important.
You are free to express your opinion in the form of rant.
You are free to reply to others on your wall.
You smile at the pleasure of the graffiti hurting your pal!

Facebook makes everyone go in to your friends list.
You feel it is the clear vision you have when there is no mist.
Once, love was expressed face to face and from eyes to eyes.
Hatred was under the wraps as it was thought to be wise!

Image source:"here"

Everything is the topic of the day.
Updating the status on face book is a child's play.
Topics vary from a persons accent to his dressing sense.
Facebook is the hangout for every nonsense!

Facebook is the crystal ball to see your future.
Facebook is the hobby which you want to nurture.
Facebook is an outlet for good deeds which is a paradox.
Facebook is an everyday Pandora’s Box!

Life is so easy now; the world is in your fist.
Everything is told here if not in detail at least in gist.
Ultimately every one decides who and what is worthy.
And I am still contemplating if this is blog worthy? 

Image source :"here"

P.S. : A series of irritating status messages as and when I woke up lead to this. I am not sorry if this irritates any but I am happy FB always keeps my creative juices flowing  

I am the "Mia" Woman

I make my work beautiful by the simple principle which is quoted by Frank Clark and followed by me - "The next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humour in it."  Once a colleague told me that I inspire him as I laugh at my own problems at work. I try to ease the toughest situation by finding humour in it. Humour is the best therapy.  Not very long ago, we had an issue at office which had to be solved late in the night to send to the client. It was raining cats and dogs and we any way couldn't go home. I got the brilliant idea of ordering pizza and Choco lava from nearby Dominos and make the atmosphere light. It feels good to work with satisfied appetite. When it is rumbling the ranting gets more acidic. Everyone was surprised when I was actually ordering but I continuously said that we needed a break. After an endless pursuit everyone agreed and we relished the pizza, coke and Choco lava and guess what after good food, good conversations and smiles shared with in the group we could confidently resolve the issue and send a mail to the client. The next day we got an appreciation mail which surely brightened the morning. The joys at work place whether big or small feel good. More than work it’s all about the team spirit and the healthy bonding. If you feel good with your team mates then I believe work is a child’s play. It’s essential to have good vibes and a positive atmosphere at work place and one must not forget to have fun. Even if your team mates suck it is essential for you to try and be happy all the time. The positive aura you generate will surely be infectious and may even change the grumpy people around you.

I am no super woman. I lose my cool and behave like one frustrated soul many a times. When I am in a horrible situation I wriggle out only by remembering the good old words and days.  No one is going to pump confidence in me. I need to fight my demons all by myself. There are good days and bad days in any one’s professional as well as personal lives. No one promised every day to be rosy but just finding something good at work or at home every day will surely make one feel better. It can be anything ranging from a coffee shared with a good friend, listening to music when you are tired, reading a good book or article and sharing it with someone who would be interested. When I feel I cannot solve a problem my mom always comes to my rescue. When I feel my life is rough or tough I just remember all those inspiring people whose life is just like mine or may be tougher. So I am the Mia woman and I would always try to be one!

The Happy Team on Diwali-Ethnic day

This post is for a contest "As beautiful as you by Mia-Tanishq".
Do check out Mia by Tanishq at the site - http://mia.tanishq.co.in/

                   Check out their latest TVC at "Tanishq-Mia film"

Love you Sandy...

It was love at first sight. He was so handsome and playful, running always behind his mother. We thought of naming him Sandy. A catastrophe fell on us when he met an untimely death during his playtime due to some rogue on the road. Those glistening eyes got closed and we remained mute. R.I.P.  Sandy!

This is Sandy. The cutest kitten I ever saw

This is written for  Write Tribe's prompt of 55 Fiction for the genre LOVE. Thanks to Vidya Sury  for all the guidance This is my very first 55 Fiction and I felt I can never write it till I rounded on love and remembered Sandy. May he rest in peace:-(

PS: Sandy is my in-laws' pet. It was just few months old. We had great fun playing with him in our last trip. It was saddening to hear about his untimely death which was very painful. Sandy stayed close by Missy in his last moments. Missy is his mother:(

Missy and Sandy

Reminscing few sweet nothings- A letter to my soul sister

I thought a lot to write about that one woman who means a lot to me. In today's fast paced life it has become very tough to allot time for friends, have fun or share good old times. With the intervention of facebook and whatsapp in our lives even the phone calls have reduced. I really don't have many soul sisters in my life other than mom and one or two girls from school who were are and will always be special but now they are staying far from me and I even lost touch with a good friend Deepthi with time. I know one day I will again reconnect with them but at this juncture I have no soul sister whom I meet frequently or talk a lot. Even If I feel free with some one or the other, everyone seems to be too occupied, fighting their own demons. Hence I ruled out the concept of soul sisters or besties in real life. Yes I do have people with whom I had and will have my best times but I can't tag them as my best friends.
 
But when I am writing this only one name is dancing in front of my eyes. Gulhina Nafis - A friend with whom I got connected via Orkut which shattered to pieces and is resting in peace now. I feel good about orkut only as it gave her to me :) It was the summer of 2006 when I added her mechanically the way I add many other friends' friends or people with common interests. I was new to orkut. Other than uploading Kajol's wall paper as my profile picture I had nothing interesting to do. I was wasting my time in a cyber cafe when I got a request from her saying she too likes poems, Jagjit Singh and she is studying bio technology too. Now who is not used to these stereotypical requests? But I was new to the virtual world then. I added and we exchanged few scraps and quotes, spoke about books and the conversations went on and on. It took time to speak about personal stuff like our ambitions, interests, dreams, fantasies, boyfriends if any, crushes so on so forth. We used to exchange long e-mails when we couldn't chat. Thanks to the internet connection I got at home. We both got used to each other. If a week passes by without talking either she or me will poke the other to make sure everything is fine. I joined the software job early in 2007 and the hectic schedule kept me busy but still if I didn’t talk to her at least once in a month or so I used to feel vacant. Once my training got over there was no looking back. She was like my agony aunt. She still is. Sometimes I feel surprised that I am opening up to a stranger but when I talk to her a cloud of warmth engulfs me. She says the feeling is mutual. When I called her for the first time we both were jumping in joy. I had a feeling that day that it was the beginning of endless phone calls. Thanks to technology, we never lost touch and three cheers to our pursuit to stay in touch because if you just don’t have the desire to talk or spend time then any advanced technology is just rubble.  When I was in Delhi I tried a lot to meet her. Alas I couldn’t! We hope that someday we will meet for sure. She sure is like a god sent sister to me! Loads of love to her till ants wears pants ;). Today on occasion of friendship day the below lines are for her.

Image source : "here"

We met by chance.

At first I was in a trance.

Days passed and the months.

Was not aware when we were friends!

We spoke, we were silent.

We laughed loud. We were violent!

We were concerned. We were serious.

We made fun of. It was hilarious!

We stood for each other. We fell apart.

We fight. We cry. We fail. We try!

We turn off. We are selfish and bold.

We get a sudden thought of the times good old.

We will be friends whatsoever may be the day to day trends!!

Happy Friend ship day one and all :) Image source: "pooh"

 

This post is for Soul Sisters: A Friendship Day Contest 
Also Written for the prompt "Letters Unsent" at Write Tribe