Old is Gold (5 things - Week 61)

I was at my cousin's home yesterday evening. playing hide and seek with my three year old nephew. That was when my cousin's cousin (my second cousin) came there to meet her with her two year old daughter. Now, I was playing negotiator between the two 'chottas', as they gauged each other up, and decided to share the toy resources.

Seeing as they both wanted the same things, while not being generous enough to share or divide the toys, we decided to keep them busy with cartoons, and my cousin put on the "Tom & Jerry" DVD. As the cartoon began, I was baffled by how fast the fighting siblings put their differences aside and started to enjoy the show.

This little episode reminded me of the time when my brother and myself would settle all our differences when it was time to watch cartoon shows in our childhood. And for this week's post, we'll be going through a few of those good, old shows.

P.S. This list is not the order of my preference among these shows. I'm just jotting down as I recollect them.

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1. Spongebob Squarepants

How naive can you be? Not as naive as Spongebob for sure. The hours spent watching this series reminds me of the good old times like anything. And even though I was not sure of how Patrick could be like, well, Patrick, growing up has opened up to me to the effects of pot and now I know how.

2. The Flintstones

A dinosaur to cut your lawn, another to trim your beard. One to take your picture, another to fly you across land and sea. One thing you can never level against Flintstones is the lack of imagination. They used the dinosaurs to do everything, and created a wonderful stone age for us to enjoy.

3. Rugrats

I wonder if we ever were like these "Rugrats" when we were little. I wonder if my nephew thinks like Tommy. But I can assure you that if we were to be anything approaching such hyperactive kids, we would behave exactly like them.

4. Dexter's Laboratory

Before the other Dexter series came into being, the word Dexter brought to our mind a nerdy, little boy in a labcoat, trying his level best to outwit his enemies, and keep his sister out of his lab. A jolly good way to spend your time. And the first show to teach me a little bit of French, "omelette du fromage", even though I'm being told that it's wrong now. The correct way to say “Cheese Omelette” in french is “Omelette Au Fromage”.

5. Tom & Jerry

Now, if there is a cartoon series which can rival Charlie Chaplin movies for their universality, it is Tom and Jerry. Going beyond age, race, language and location, this is one show that appeals to everyone. To give you an example, I've watched this with my grandfather, my parents, my brother, my friends, and recently with my nephew. It's something else, isn't it?

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Only five shows have been mentioned here. Scooby Doo; The Jetsons; Courage the cowardly dog; Ed, Edd and Eddy; Powerpuff Girls; Looney Toons; Fairy OddParents, etc etc .. This is excluding all the story based series like Swat Kats, Centurions, Samurai Jack, etc. In between all these shows, we have grown up to be what we are, with these cartoons modulating our viewpoints and expectations. Looking at the current crop of cartoons that are being shown, I wonder how my nephew's generation will grow up.

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Last month has been monumental for us over here at "Excuse Me Please". The number of contributor's here has DOUBLED!! From one to two, that is. My brother has generously supplied us with a poem that he has written, Number 9. And if all things go well, we'll have another guest writer over here this coming week. And for all this, we've to thank you all for being here. In the past month, we've had nearly 1000 visitors and that is something. We hope to see you here again and again and again. ;)

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend. Meet you in the comment sections, if you are interested.

'til next week.

Number 9 (Guest Post)

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It gives me immense pleasure to welcome the first real guest writer onto this platform. Inspired by a divine sight he had the fortune to have within his ken, the budding poet has let his emotion and imagination flow freely. Here are the verses of 'Number 9', which is published here with the consent of its creator, Saiprasad S A, my brother.

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It was long ago in summer when,

I saw her standing beneath the lights,

Like an angel from a gospel hymn,

She glowed through the dark night.

Before her beauty I stood thunderstruck,

I knew I couldn't look away,

And the blush on her face reminded me,

That it was gold that glittered that day.

She said, You're sweet my darling,

But the winter is just days away.

And soon I shall be departing,

When the winter winds come this way.

I had known it was bound to happen,

But I wished it wasn't true.

Our days were filled with passion,

But time had flown by so soon.

- Saiprasad

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You can leave the comments for the author here, or contact him directly at his Facebook Id, Sai Sreekumar

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The Latest Pirates (5 things - Week 60)

Indulge me for a moment, will you?

Well, not for just a moment actually. I would prefer if you would sit right through this whole post, as I try to capture in words, the double life that was lived out in the past. Events that happened more than six years ago are always had to recollect, but not so hard if they were special.

And "THE LATEST PIRATES" is always special to us. We have been described on the Facebook page as "The Latest Pirates are passionate filmmakers devoted to creating short films/videos/remixes for viewing pleasure.".

In short, when we thought we had a perfect combination of a song, a story and a character, we went ahead and made a video out of it. Amateur-ish is the best way to describe it. All we had was a drive to do something. There were no guidelines, no rules, no signboards, but most importantly no precedents. There was nothing for people to compare this work with.

The one thing which made those videos unique was also sadly its biggest drawback. There was no audible dialogues, no commentary, no background score - just a song from a movie/album, which was played almost always in its entirety. This was mainly because we didn't have the resources, or the knowledge to work with sounds. So, we felt it will be easier to just let go of it completely.

But this factor of no original audio has ensured that such a brand of videos remain unique to us. The short film boom in this part of the world came as soon as we decided to hang up our metaphorical director hats. And it has been properly utilized by many a capable soul.

These days, the number of short films being released has reached a huge number. It bodes well for the overall film industry, as more people are given a chance to showcase their talents. But, talking to people who are active in this mini industry, I get the feeling that it has gone beyond the realms of mostly having fun. The same tensions that we find in the main industry like deadlines, clients, sponsorship etc have begun affecting this field also. Luckily, that was not the case when we were doing what we did.

Just take deadlines for example. The first video to come out under the banner of The Latest Pirates took almost two years to make. That is for an effectively four minute video, we took 24 full months. That is about 10 seconds of the video was done every month. That was not actual rate though. The story behind has already been recollected under the title, "The Pirates are coming".

When it was mentioned to someone recently that we took these videos more than five years back, that too with the video being captured in its glory by a 2 megapixel camera, the editing being done with home-use editing softwares, with the actors and the technicians coming from a fixed pool of unpolished enthusiasts, I was proud to see their eyes widen in wonder. With next to nil marketing through social networking in that era, we managed to gather a humble following through our sheer determination to "make something for the viewer's pleasure."

That is my request/advice to anyone who is thinking of making anything for the public to devour. Always make sure that you don't drive the customer away. And that advice applies none the better at this moment, as I should probably stop singing praises about our group. What this post was actually intended for was to capture the flow of events from that era and the epilogue. Let's get down to it now.

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1. Neela Bucket

Officially, not a video under the The Latest Pirates banner.
Officially, only the second video to be conceptualized.
But officially, this was the first video to be released, and it still remains the most watched among our videos at over 32000+ views.

"Neela bucket" was actually a parody of a rap song by some of our seniors at college about a missing blue bucket. And that song forms the background score for this video, making this the only original video from us.

Cast : Dileep, Jineesh, Nidhin
Camera : Nidhin, Dileep
Direction : Dileep

2. Pinneyum Palavattom

"You would be good replica for Salim Kumar in this video". When a friend of ours made this casual remark about the original video, he had no idea we would take it seriously. That provided the spark to get us going, and it kept us going until we hit the first bump in the process. We took our sweet time in finishing this video, which has yours truly playing the lead role as a heart broken lover. I still don't know how I was convinced to do the role.

Actors :- cAk, deepz, harisa, sid, shiv
Choreo :- cAk
Editing :- harisa, dileep
Camera, Direction :- dileep

3. In Engg Clg

Unarguably, the best thing we made, especially considering the fact that it had no story, but only a script. What makes it more special to us is that the script was made by our in house genius, Dileep in under two days.  Set to the tune of a popular 90s song, we played out on screen most of the stuff that we did at college. It was great fun filming it, and we have heard wonderful reviews saying it was a joy to watch too.

Actors :- cAk, deepz, harisa, sid, shiv, ponni
Editing :- harisa, dileep
Script, Camera, Direction :- dileep

4. Sagar Aliyan's Suppli

When Shivan lost his only paper in his entire Btech degree, I made a promise to him that we would make a video about it if he got through it. With our main director, Dileep waiting to get in front of the camera, I was provided with a chance to wield the director's sword for this short video. Set to a tune from a movie, which was chosen just cos it had awesome beats, this video reveals how a guy goes through a failed university exam and comes back stronger in the end.

Concept :- hArisa, shiv
Actors :- shiv, dileep, cAk, deepz, ponni, sid
Script, Camera, Editing, Direction :- hArisa

5. His days

They say you should go out with a bang. Even though we knew as much that this was our last video, we decided to do things differently and went our without even a whimper. And it baffles me as to what that happened. This was our more technically brilliant, well thought out work. And it was about football. We made it to release in tandem with the FIFA World Cup 2010. Still under 1k views though.

Actors :- cAk, deepz, harisa, sid, shiv, ponni, dileep
Editing :- dileep
Story :- cAk
Script, Camera, Direction :- dileep




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EPILOGUE

After an year from "His Days" we thought of doing a reunion special. A video with original audio and a solid script. But we fell at the first hurdle. The seven of us were spread across the length and breadth of the country, we still are (with one in Malaysia). We have realized that what we did was supposed to be done in that specific time period - in college, with close friends, as a pass time. It's all out of reach now. But the fact that we did it then will make us feel proud till the end of time.

PIRATES FOR EVER

(From L-R) Chaithin aka cAk, Deepak aka deepz, Shivan aka shiv, Harisankar aka hArisa, Siddharth aka sidd, Dileep aka dileep, Arun aka Ponni

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend. Meet you in the comment sections, if you are interested.

'til next week.

Opinions (5 things - Week 59)

I guess the whole process of buying a computer (or any other luxurious electronic device for that matter) represents all that is wrong with us humans.

We don't like configuration of one, the price of another, the service provided by a third. And when finally something compels you to fixate on one finally, you start having all these thoughts about whether this is going to be the right one for you. Then you go ahead and buy something, making many a sacrifice in demands. And then you start having regrets about your decision. That's when the company you brought from, decides to bring out a laptop, with your desired configuration at a reasonable price. But inspite of all this, it is only after a few years into its usage, that you would finally realize whether you made the right choice.

I believe that applies to the current situation we are in, in terms of the political scenario in India. A single party has won the minimum required majority in the Lok Sabha. It was something I always wanted to happen, as one of the main excuses laid out to explain the stuttering development in this nation has been the influence of regional parties.

Now, a single party can take the decision and lead us on. "To where?" is a very valid question. And "By whom?" is another.

My friends, who have done their MBA, usually talk about the need for all of us to market ourselves. And that is what I personally feel has happened in India right now. What Obama did in the first US Presidential elections has been made as a blueprint for the success of Mr.Narendra Modi in this round of general elections in India.

The reach of social media has been effectively used to alter the image of a man, who many held (still holds) in contempt about the 2002 riots. The crowd's opinion has been turned right around, so much so that to have doubts about him is considered to be criminal. All such doubts will result in the supporters giving out a long list of court and national level investigations finding him to be innocent.

Anyways, a debate on him is not the purpose of this blog. It is just to let the general public know that everyone is entitled to an opinion, some of which aren't mainstream. The past few months have seen torrential attacks on such non-mainstream opinions. And it is those non-mainstream opinions of yours truly that are going to get listed as the "5 things" for this week.

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1. There is a need for a single party to assume power at the central, and for them to have capable opposition players. The logic behind this is that this would lead to better governance and development.

The first part of this logic has come true, but I'm not yet convinced about the latter. The rest of the seats have been split up into little, tiny pieces, and the squabbling among them might result in the loss of the whole purpose of an opposition.

2. A capable man should lead from the front.

Now, this is where the main problem begins. There are always detractors to anything good that you do, people who claim that it was all luck, a fraud, or something in kind. In the midst of all this, I'm yet to be convinced of him. I would like to stop you before you start reeling out the numbers about development in Gujarat. I'll believe the numbers once it starts working on a national basis.

3. No, all this alleged 'bias' is not because I'm supporting another party.

I've my reservations about each and every party. Like I've mentioned before, AAP was the only party I thought I could support in its morals, but the second they took the support of one main stream parties, they became just that for me. And from the results from Delhi, I guess that is the view the people of Delhi took too.

Again, I come from a state which lets the reins of governance switch between the two political fronts of Communism and Congress. When we get fed up with one, we give the other a chance. Sadly, this is a continuous cycle. So, it's not like I have a history of supporting a single party.

4. Issues.

There are a lot of issues that I would like the Government to tackle successfully. Concentrated economic development, lack of employment opportunities, Biased reservation quotas, Corruption, etc are, but a few of those. I hope that at least some of them gets a look at by this Government.

5. It is the most eligible individual you should vote for, and that should not be based on party, caste or anything not related to his performance in the public domain.

A battle was won though the war was lost. Just what happened with the election results in my city.

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So, what is the final verdict? This is not a scenario that I'm comfortable with. But it is something all of us are stuck with for now. So, let's hope for the best. And I would just love to be proved wrong in my doubts and apprehensions about this government.

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On a lighter note, most of the Keralites would be waiting with bated breath, hoping that they wouldn't have to ask the following question.

It reads "What?!? There won't be any more beef fry from now on?"

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend. Meet you in the comment sections, if you are interested.

'til next week.

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UPDATE
(BECAUSE MY PARENTS THINK PEOPLE WOULD COME FOR ME, BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T INTERPRET IT THE WAY I WANTED IT TO BE)

I"m NOT, in any sense alleging, that he is not what he claims to be. I'm NOT claiming that he is responsible for the riots. I'm just saying that he has his own share of troubled past, and people should keep their hopes in check. If the scams and the corruptions are the allegations against the erstwhile leaders, his past is the albatross that he is wearing. And hopefully, for the good of the nation, it'll be something he'll be able to get rid of in the coming years.

Engotta??

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ALL CHARACTERS IN THIS EPISODE ARE FICTIONAL.

BUT IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAD AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS, PLEASE DON'T TELL THEM THAT I WROTE ABOUT IT ON THE INTERNET.

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STORY 1

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He was known in his gang for being notoriously straight forward in his questions and actions. But the level of embarrassment he would have to face when he asked a simple question was beyond the ken of most of us.

He tried to spark a conversation with a comment, when he saw her coming his way. And he started with a pretty innocent question, "Engotta?" [where are you going].

She must still be ruing the fact that she humored his antics with an answer that day. She replied, "To the restroom."

Last week, we talked about questions that we should never ask. But we've had enough situations where we only realize the awkwardness of the question, only after we've asked it. And this was one such moment for him.

It was only after asking "Why are you taking your bag into there?", did he realize what the answer was going to be. Unfortunately, everyone near were tuned into the conversation, and there was no way that they could pretend like it never happened.

But of course, she pretended like no awkward question was asked and just moved along. And he?? Well, he turned around smiling, like he figured out the timetable for when the full moon was going to rise in the coming months.

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STORY 2

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He was waiting for her to come online. She was never this late to come online on any given working day. So, when she finally came online that day, two hours later than the usual timing, he couldn't stop himself from pinging her and asking about it.

HIM : "Why are you late today?"

HER : "DATE"

HIM : "Oh. With whom did you go for a date this early in the morning?"

HER : "No. not that date. The other date."

HIM : "................."

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The idea for this blog came from the following article that I read.

Ladies Keeping Periods A Secret From Men Is Unnecessary

I recommend you all to read it. For the lazy ones among you, the gist of it is captured in the following words of the author,

"How about a world where every woman can freely tell their men counterparts about their totally natural and biological processes? How about a biology class where the topic of menstruation is not rushed through with giggles across the class? How about a brother going to the pharmacist and asking for a tampon, confidently? How about the pharmacist giving it without wrapping it up? How about my “modern day classmates” telling me the actual reason for missing that trip?’ "

Even though the instances I described were humourous, it would be wrong to just leave it at that. The near taboo level secrecy and shunning of women in their periods need to stop.

Well, that's all for now.

'til later.

You should have never asked that... (5 things - Week 58)

There are some questions, for which you would never like the answer of. There are some questions that you should never ask. There are some questions that are left unanswered in your mind. For this week, we shall go on and look at some questions like this, shall we?? But before that, the reason why this topic was chosen, and to know why we have to go back to the past Sunday.

Past week's blog had requested you to spend more time with your grandparents, and accordingly I made my way to my grandma's to make sure that I do my bit too. So I made the 10m foray next door, sat down with her, and was in a pleasant conversation with her about her past - her childhood, her early school days, what children used to do in those days and all.

At the end of that part of the conversation, I, being obsessive about the minimal details, was curious to know exactly which years these "those childhood days" were. And again, I, being the complete moron that I'm, instead of asking her "Which year was that?" asked her "When were you born?"

Well, if I had a wish to see my grandma angry, I had got my wish. Unfortunately, I didn't have such a wish. So I had to sit through a complete tiding down from her, the kind I hadn't got in the past decade. But in between all this she mentioned something which got me thinking, and that was how this post was born.

She said, "... there are some things you should never ask  a woman - her age and her weight. And there are something things you should never speak about, even if you are asked - how much you earn and what your future plans are."

And that's how we have reached here, on the 399th day of this conversation. So, let's get on with the "5 things", shall we?

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1. "Isn't that baby ugly??"

Never ever EVER ask this out loud. No matter how ugly the baby is, no matter how close you are to the person you are asking it to - this is a question that will never yield a answer other than "How could you even think like that about a little baby?". For that one reason, this question should be archived in the deepest corner of your mind (along with other unasked, unanswered questions like "What is the eyebrow good for?" and "Is there another word for synonym?".

2. "When's yours??"

This is a question most of my friends have started getting at the various weddings they attend these days. "When's yours?" will remain a perennial question of your marital status, until you find someone as fed up of the question as yourself. And it is a question you should never ask; if you can avoid it. After all, why should you pressurize them into marriage?? Like a friend of mine said, "Don't drive them into marriage like cattle into a pen. Let them choose when and why and whom by themselves."

3. "When's yours??"

No, this is not a mistake. If in the previous scenario, the question was asked by the older generation to the young ones at a wedding; in this scenario, this is the question that the young generation tries hard NOT to ask the older generation at funerals. As long as the older generation refrains asking the question in the first scenario, they are safe from facing this scenario. There's an incentive that'll entice the old ones.

4. "What's that written on your t-shirt?"

It might be just the curiosity in you that is making you ask such a stupid question, but that is no excuse for asking this question of a t-shirt that is worn by a gal. And it makes the situation a lot more worse, when you go on repeating the question, instead of understanding why she's ignoring the question in the first place. AND NO!! This is not from a first hand experience.

5. Do you watch porn?

Let it be known, to all of mankind, that this is a stupid question to be asked to anyone. It's pretty useless when it's asked between members of the same sex. Men know the answer to it, and I don't think women would ever ask such a question among themselves. And when this question is asked from one gender to another, well,  the men - they won't accept they have seen it; and the women won't admit that they've even heard of the word. So, it's better left unsaid.

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend. I would have preferred to meet you in the comment sections, but I know you are busy.. :p ;)

'til next week.

Something deep (5 things - Week 57)

After two consecutive weeks of talking about weddings, we are going to keep going on the same subject. This week we'll go on a little journey through the wonderful institution of marriage...

Hope you didn't believe all that. Even if you are interested in another article on the topic of weddings, you will most probably have to wait for some time. Today, we are going for something different. This week, there was an allegation against the posts here, although it might have easily been a suggestion. It was argued that there hasn't been a philosophical post, or, as it was put to me, something 'which stroked the embers of the mind'. Well, here it is. Something deep for you to ponder.

Last week, I mentioned [again] that 'The Last Post' is something which is very dear to me, as it recounts my last significant interaction with my grandfather. But there is an epilogue to that story too. And she's continuing her life.

I don't think anyone would have ever classified my grandmother to be physically fit in the entirety of her life. I've seen their wedding photo and she looked as thin then, as the day I first remember her from. But she was a strong willed woman, and no one would even argue about that. Even though she looked frail, she was adamant about doing the household chores, and about taking care of her husband's needs. But the day my grandfather chose to leave us, the air was knocked out of her sails.

She has never been the same after that. In one day, she was drained of the drive which kept her going. Nowadays, she complains that she can't even walk about properly. Even though old age might have something to do with that, I believe his presence would have mitigated the effects to a large extent.

Yesterday, when I went to meet her, I started to complain to her about the fact that I've been kept very busy of late by my commitments, and how I wish there were more than just 24 hours in a day. To this, she replied she rather would cut it down by a few hours. And it was then that I thought of how she's living her life these days.

Without a specific aim or endpoint in sight, she's just going through the motions. Waking up, sitting around, having food, taking a nap and watching some TV serials are the main events of her average day. There will be some deviances provided by the irregular flow of her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchild.

All other moments are spent by her thinking of when the next event will start, and about how she'll continue doing this the next day. I guess one of the reasons she keeps doing this is the said great-grandchild and me. Him because he is continuously buzzing around the house, keeping her spirits high with his antics. Me, because she missed seeing her grandchild getting married the last time. Since my grandfather passed away ten days before the wedding, she had to miss the actual ceremony. I hope she is in the best of health for mine.

I've described this whole situation just because of one thing. Your grandparents might also be in the same situation. Even though they understand that we live a busy life, it doesn't mean that they wouldn't welcome a chat with us. So, if you can, understand their situation too, and share a moment with them everyday. It's the least you can do for them.

And, if there is a thing called KARMA, then at least, this token of kindness would hold good for you in your old age.

Anyways, that's all the deep stuff in this post. For the '5 things' for this week, we'll go through some of the things they have taught me in life.

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1. A story she told me recently.

My grandfather was dark skinned. When it was time for him to marry, he kept only one condition - that the bride should be fair skinned. After marriage, my grandmother asked him, what he would have done if she had said no to him. He replied, and I quote, 'I knew you wouldn't.'

2. Patience is a virtue.

My grandfather was the epitome of patience. And he was a well liked personality because of that. Nothing could faze him. Even if one of us went against what he said, he would not try to compel us to do it his way. He'll advice us once, maybe twice, then leave it for us to figure it ourself.

3. Mahabharata and Ramayana

In the early 2000s, we had consistent power cuts, so much so that they scheduled it for half an hour everyday. And before my cousin decided to break the eerie silence with the wailings of her violin, my grandfather used to recount to us the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. And it was a jolly good time for a story loving young boy.

4. Reserves of strength

My grandmother's physical health was always the same. But the way she took care of him speaks about the reserves of strength she was able to find. And right now, when everything around me is a bit of a blur, that is something which I lean back on.

5. Value of time

Again, I've already talked about this. It's true that you should live like you are going to die today. But make sure you plan for your future, for your retired life. Because when all this is done and dusted, you'll end up watching the second hand of the clock move along.

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Just because I said that we will talk about something else doesn't mean that there won't be anything on marriage in here. Here's a well taken short video on the concept of "Arranged Marriages" in India. Have a laugh, and then start contemplating on the situation we all are in..

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend. I would have preferred to meet you in the comment sections, but I know you are busy.. :p ;)

'til next week.