F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Friend; a beautiful word, has a much more beautiful meaning and even better is the relationship. We often get confused with acquaintances and a friend and often use the word friend instead of acquaintances in most of the cases, which is actually harsh and demeaning for the great word. I’m also a victim of this habit and moreover I get confused and think someone is my friend but actually that person is an acquaintance. The dilemma continues for a long time before I come to know, okay, this person was never my friend, it was the circumstances which brought us together and we spent some time roaming together, talking during breaks, having conversations etc, but were missing the passion of friendship.

Sometimes it happens reversely, you think someone is not your friend but lately you come to know that the person you were ignoring is actually your friend. Like love friendship can also be one sided. Love and friendship have a very thin line drawn between but if you go by the mathematics, Friend list is the SUPERSET of your love list. But Love is the superset of the friends. Oh, I’m sorry for all those who don’t understand basic mathematics. Without love there are no relationships that can succeed and so is the friendship.

For me a friend is not one who talks too regularly or spends time with you. For me the friends are those who accept you with all your shortcomings, love you the way you are, no matter how many days you didn’t talk to each other, you feel them with you always and you know that person is just a phone call away when you need them, who is you critic but also an admirer, who may slap you hard but will own the pain, who will get happy in your happier times and gloomy when you are suffering. I’ve a few of them, thou they are lesser in number but they mean the world to me.

Friends are precious, value them, they are the treasure of your life………

“Akhil”

Patriotic, are we?

The reality shows have been using the human emotions over the years to attract the mass audience and to a great extent they have been successful too. Not only reality shows, but every event in our melodramatic society has been playing with human emotions these days. It’s getting cheaper day by day. Over the years the usage of patriotism in such events or shows has increased drastically.

Singing a patriotic song or using the tri-color in our dress code or dancing over a patriotic theme is good but only when it is not intended to publicize. If you start selling the patriotism, you are hurting the sentiments of the real patriots; we are disgracing the sacrifice of the unknown soldiers fighting for us on the borders who by no means are going to appeal you for votes or SMS. May be we are least bothered about them as we consider they are doing their duty and are paid for it.

Not everyone can be a Soldier. To be a patriot you don’t need to be a soldier either. If you are a real patriot contribute in the development of your nation. Save energy, pay tax, be a part of building your nation, that’s it you need to do. Instead of standing or clapping on a performance in a reality show or event, Stand up when you national anthem is played. Respect your country; respect your culture, respect your identity, no matter from which ever country you are. I’m trying my bit, but not always with success. I would like to be perfect in this regard. Let’s be a real patriot.

Using patriotism for publicity is contemptible, it’s despicable; it’s a sin. Patriotism is the ultimate feeling; it’s an honor and should be respected.

“Akhil”

Serene Lansdowne: Discover the Traquility and Quietude

Lansdowne, I’ve heard about this low profile holiday destination of Uttaranchal from one of my relatives, who is a great traveler and has visited a major part of Himalaya and for that matter Indian holiday destinations. As he says, the more you visit Himalayas, the more you love it and the more you want to visit it. Now I too feel the same. Rudyard Kipling and Ruskin Bond, both had portrayed Himalaya in the same way.

It was the year 2007 when I first decided to visit this place but somehow missed it. So when some of my close friends decided to spend a weekend, 13th and 14th March 2010, 1st destination that came to my mind was Lansdowne. The trip was initiated by two of the cute girls actually, Preeti and Tulsi. After few back-outs which was compensated by inclusion of one of the best human beings, the silent wind what we call him, Prashant, who joined us on a very short notice. The final troop consisted of Preeti, Tulsi, Jayasree, Amit, Manas, Sourabh, Deepak, Prashant and I.


The initial drift was over having two Innovas as Mr. Pahadi baba was reluctant to be on liquid diet throughout the journey, but the intervention of ladies forced us to go for one vehicle and we decided to have bigger vehicle, “Force Traveler”. How can the name of the vehicle suits to the situation we were in, especially Mr. Pahadi baba? It actually turned on to be a wise decision. Also the presence of ladies made it sure that the boys remain decent throughout. We’ve decided to stay in one of the best facilities available in Lansdowne and we went for “Fairydale Resorts”. This resort was built up in 1912 and is one of the finest staying places available in Lansdowne.

It was decided, we’ll be leaving Noida by 4 AM on Saturday morning. But due to some mechanical issue, we were able to hit the road around 5:30 AM. Not bad it was as it was still dark and the roads were clear. By 8:30 we crossed all the busy routes of UP and were heading towards the foothills of Himalaya. Around 11:30 we were in the arm of nature moving at around 50 KMPH in the zigzag and loopy roads of Uttaranchal. Around 1 PM we reached our destination, The “Fairydale Resort”, the reception was as hospitable as it should be and I was more pleased with the staff working over there. At the end we all were satisfied by their services and quality of food and comfort they provided. We all felt it was worth for the money they charged.

I must mention that the company of the people we were travelling was amazing. Be it cutie-pie Jayashree, Sweet and Salty Preeti, Caring and Commanding Tulsi, or the Boys Brigade consisting of silent yet witty Prashant, the local boy Sourabh, the brilliant canonist Deepak, the lovable Manas and non-the-less the man with a big smile on his face Sinu (Amit). The trip was more enjoyable because of these guys only. Thanks a lot to all you lovely people.

The good thing about Lansdowne is that it has nothing much to offer and here lies the beauty. You don’t have to search for tickets for any tourist place or site seeing, nor need you to get a nod from government authorities. All it offers is calm and serene environment and a place where nature is close to you. It offers a beautiful dawn and equally pleasant dusk. It offers the golden silence, a peaceful place away from the clamor of polluting vehicles, it offers the sweet rhythm that winds plays over the chords of the nature and the chilly breeze playing tunes over pine trees, it offers the small little world that we have forget over the years of technical revolution, It offers the means to discover tranquility, it offers the means to discover yourself.


Two days we were cut-off from the rest of the world as none of the mobile networks were consistently available other than the old BSNL network. It was a blessing in disguise actually as none of us were busy over mobile phones and were very much involved with each other. Spending some quality time with friends is itself enough to revivify, rejuvenate your mind and soul, and if it is spent in the palm of nature which provide such a tranquil and serene environment it even gets better. Spending two days there in Lansdowne invigorated a fresh life within us, we came back rejuvenated filled with extra energy and fond memoirs and also with a promise to ourselves that we’ll come back once again.

"Akhil"