Sitagita contest
These were my entries for the sitagita blog contest:
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=906
Blogging is Therapeutic
While on this topic, I would like to give a brief introduction about blogs in general. A blog or "web log" is like a personal diary. An online journal where you can write whatever you feel like. It doesn't have an intended audience in most cases. It can include even photos, videos, links to other articles etc. You can set preferences as to whether your blog can be read by the public or only select friends. Blogs are normally listed in the reverse chronological order with the latest entry on top. You can categorize them according to different subjects as well. There are blogs on how to write, how to cook, techie blogs, health subjects. Anything, you name it you got it. Now, back to the topic: Is a blog therapeutic? Yes, I agree with that. Why? I can say from my own experience , that on the days when I used to feel bad, or tired from a hectic work day where nothing really went right , writing about something relieved a lot of tension from my mind, as I was focusing my mind on something else for a change. I must have started writing from a pretty young age. Earlier I used to scribble on bits and pieces of paper or old school notebooks, because nobody really presented a diary to me back then. Although I participated in quite a few creative writing competitions in school and college, I never really won anything. Well the fact is, I am no poet. I just try to write good English. A blog was a change for me. I wasn't competing with anyone for once, but at =he same time I became happy after I wrote something. I was expressing my opinion without having to really shout or make gestures to get noticed. And even if somebody disagreed, I didn't really care, because a blog =s not a debate. I always wanted to be a journalist or a writer. Somehow I got stuck with the software engineering profession instead. But one thing that amazes me is that many of the good blogs I have ever come across are the ones written by software engineers! Of course no offense meant to the people from other professions, maybe the reason is that the software engineers are technologically savvy and hence tend to embrace blogs more quickly than others. Basically anybody who has got a computer with internet connection, a good grasp of the language (could be any language) and ideas can be a blogger. It relieves the stress of daily life. And for a while you are transported to a different world altogether. Sometimes even when your personal life is in disarray and you constantly feel like you are down in the dumps, writing about it takes some weight off your shoulders. I guess that's why personal diaries came about. In this case, getting advice or sympathy from people who care about you helps avoiding a state of depression. Help might come from unlikely quarters. Writing can help you to get back on track in life. To conclude, writing has had a therapeutic effect on me. And blogging which I discovered about 4 years ago has helped improve both my language and writing skills, apart form the fact that I learnt a lot from reading other blogs by people both ordinary and famous.
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=954
Friendships - Do We Have Time for Them Today?
The answer to the above question for me would be yes and no. As I write this blog, I am reminded of something that happened to me very recently. A couple of days back when I opened my gmail inbox I saw a message stating that one of my friends had tagged me in a photo on facebook. I immediately logged into my facebook account and sure enough there was an old Class-2 photograph of mine comprising of a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds (quite a number were toothless) looking back at me from this friend's album. And there I was sitting in the front row smiling very eagerly and happy just to be seated right next to my then "best friend". The picture which was both comical and cute reminded of a bygone era of my school days when life was less complicated. What happened to all those kids in the photograph? If I had been from my mother's generation then I would have probably said "I don't know". But living in the technology era, I can safely say what happened to most of them in the photograph, where they are and what they do. Most of them are there either in my orkut or my facebook network. But I haven't met most of them in ages! So can I really refer to them as friends? Can I just pick up the phone and call them up like as if we had just met each other the other day! The answer is no. Most of them either live in different parts of the country or in other countries. My situation is not entirely different from my mother's. The only difference being that she probably does not know where all the Sita's and Gita's of her class landed up, whereas I do! But I am not really better off than her in any sense. While I am always glad I met those people in my past life. Friends in my current situation are the people at my workplace, people who travel with me daily to the office and the people who stay nearby my place whom we go out with occasionally. During my brief stint in Dubai I have come across people who have helped me in different levels without really expecting anything back in return. They are not necessarily well off or people who have all the time in the world for me. But they are folks who have kept some of their invaluable time aside especially for me. Like the colleague at my workplace who makes it a point to share all the sweetmeats he gets from others. The ex-colleague who went out of his way to drop me off at the Dubai International Airport in an emergency situation when my husband was out of town. Trivial though these may seem to some people, these kind gestures from time to time have rekindled my faith in mankind as a whole and have helped me to maintain friendships. We have to make time for long lasting friendships. Cause without it people will just remain as mere acquaintances and not friends. We all lead a hectic lifestyle juggling home and work. But one day we will retire and all this will come to an end. By then our children will be caught up in the proverbial rat race like we used to in our younger days. If we take time out to treat some of these people we see everyday kindly, then maybe there will be many more people on our Orkut or Facebook networks who will be more than just mere acquaintances and whom we can turn to in our darkest times. Or atleast some people with whom we could play an occasional game of cards... What say!!!
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=811
Chennai Then And Now
The history of Madras dates back to the year 1639 when a piece of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company. Near the fort other settlements came up and over the centuries the city has evolved into the Chennai of today. The effect of the British settlement is evident in many monumental structures in this beautiful city. Also this city boasts of some of the oldest and amongst the best educational institutions in the country today. The most noted among them being MCC, The Presidency College, and Loyola College among a host of others. Many prominent personalities have studied in these colleges. Today, probably the engineering colleges in this city may outnumber the Arts and Science Institutions. It also would not be fair if we do not mention the 2 most famous engineering institutions IIT Madras and the Anna University. These institutions are the dream destinations of many an aspiring engineering student. These colleges played an important factor in making Chennai a viable IT destination. The software industry which has now become the pride of Chennai has evolved at a very rapid pace over the last 10 years. At the end of the 80's and early 90's most people were aware of only the big 3 of TCS, Infosys and Wipro. But today hundreds of software companies' large, medium and small have mushroomed in nooks and corners of this city. It is hard to keep count of them, much less remember all their names. The IT revolution changed the look of the city. It introduced 6 lane highways of world class standards. Tall glass buildings, well-manicured lawns, landscaped gardens and lighted fountains have taken over the old look of the city. A booming real estate sector has brought out skyscrapers in all shapes boasting of superb amenities found in the west. Not to mention the ever-changing shopping scenario which previously boasted of all Saravana's and Nalli's. Now they have Giordano and Bossini among several other foreign brands. No description of Chennai would be complete without a description of its rich heritage and culture. It has been a home to many famous carnatic music maestros and classical dancers. It has a season in the month of December dedicated only to music and dance. Today even the theatre has gained momentum as the people are more and more open to new ideas. It is by and large a peaceful city with many famous religious places to visit, be it the Kapaleeswarar temple or the Santhome Cathedral or the Thousand Lights mosque. Chennai is a place where the old world charm meets the new world. I started living here when it was still called Madras. From then till now after having visited many other cities, I still feel is the best place I have ever lived in.
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=906
Blogging is Therapeutic
While on this topic, I would like to give a brief introduction about blogs in general. A blog or "web log" is like a personal diary. An online journal where you can write whatever you feel like. It doesn't have an intended audience in most cases. It can include even photos, videos, links to other articles etc. You can set preferences as to whether your blog can be read by the public or only select friends. Blogs are normally listed in the reverse chronological order with the latest entry on top. You can categorize them according to different subjects as well. There are blogs on how to write, how to cook, techie blogs, health subjects. Anything, you name it you got it. Now, back to the topic: Is a blog therapeutic? Yes, I agree with that. Why? I can say from my own experience , that on the days when I used to feel bad, or tired from a hectic work day where nothing really went right , writing about something relieved a lot of tension from my mind, as I was focusing my mind on something else for a change. I must have started writing from a pretty young age. Earlier I used to scribble on bits and pieces of paper or old school notebooks, because nobody really presented a diary to me back then. Although I participated in quite a few creative writing competitions in school and college, I never really won anything. Well the fact is, I am no poet. I just try to write good English. A blog was a change for me. I wasn't competing with anyone for once, but at =he same time I became happy after I wrote something. I was expressing my opinion without having to really shout or make gestures to get noticed. And even if somebody disagreed, I didn't really care, because a blog =s not a debate. I always wanted to be a journalist or a writer. Somehow I got stuck with the software engineering profession instead. But one thing that amazes me is that many of the good blogs I have ever come across are the ones written by software engineers! Of course no offense meant to the people from other professions, maybe the reason is that the software engineers are technologically savvy and hence tend to embrace blogs more quickly than others. Basically anybody who has got a computer with internet connection, a good grasp of the language (could be any language) and ideas can be a blogger. It relieves the stress of daily life. And for a while you are transported to a different world altogether. Sometimes even when your personal life is in disarray and you constantly feel like you are down in the dumps, writing about it takes some weight off your shoulders. I guess that's why personal diaries came about. In this case, getting advice or sympathy from people who care about you helps avoiding a state of depression. Help might come from unlikely quarters. Writing can help you to get back on track in life. To conclude, writing has had a therapeutic effect on me. And blogging which I discovered about 4 years ago has helped improve both my language and writing skills, apart form the fact that I learnt a lot from reading other blogs by people both ordinary and famous.
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=954
Friendships - Do We Have Time for Them Today?
The answer to the above question for me would be yes and no. As I write this blog, I am reminded of something that happened to me very recently. A couple of days back when I opened my gmail inbox I saw a message stating that one of my friends had tagged me in a photo on facebook. I immediately logged into my facebook account and sure enough there was an old Class-2 photograph of mine comprising of a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds (quite a number were toothless) looking back at me from this friend's album. And there I was sitting in the front row smiling very eagerly and happy just to be seated right next to my then "best friend". The picture which was both comical and cute reminded of a bygone era of my school days when life was less complicated. What happened to all those kids in the photograph? If I had been from my mother's generation then I would have probably said "I don't know". But living in the technology era, I can safely say what happened to most of them in the photograph, where they are and what they do. Most of them are there either in my orkut or my facebook network. But I haven't met most of them in ages! So can I really refer to them as friends? Can I just pick up the phone and call them up like as if we had just met each other the other day! The answer is no. Most of them either live in different parts of the country or in other countries. My situation is not entirely different from my mother's. The only difference being that she probably does not know where all the Sita's and Gita's of her class landed up, whereas I do! But I am not really better off than her in any sense. While I am always glad I met those people in my past life. Friends in my current situation are the people at my workplace, people who travel with me daily to the office and the people who stay nearby my place whom we go out with occasionally. During my brief stint in Dubai I have come across people who have helped me in different levels without really expecting anything back in return. They are not necessarily well off or people who have all the time in the world for me. But they are folks who have kept some of their invaluable time aside especially for me. Like the colleague at my workplace who makes it a point to share all the sweetmeats he gets from others. The ex-colleague who went out of his way to drop me off at the Dubai International Airport in an emergency situation when my husband was out of town. Trivial though these may seem to some people, these kind gestures from time to time have rekindled my faith in mankind as a whole and have helped me to maintain friendships. We have to make time for long lasting friendships. Cause without it people will just remain as mere acquaintances and not friends. We all lead a hectic lifestyle juggling home and work. But one day we will retire and all this will come to an end. By then our children will be caught up in the proverbial rat race like we used to in our younger days. If we take time out to treat some of these people we see everyday kindly, then maybe there will be many more people on our Orkut or Facebook networks who will be more than just mere acquaintances and whom we can turn to in our darkest times. Or atleast some people with whom we could play an occasional game of cards... What say!!!
http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=811
Chennai Then And Now
The history of Madras dates back to the year 1639 when a piece of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company. Near the fort other settlements came up and over the centuries the city has evolved into the Chennai of today. The effect of the British settlement is evident in many monumental structures in this beautiful city. Also this city boasts of some of the oldest and amongst the best educational institutions in the country today. The most noted among them being MCC, The Presidency College, and Loyola College among a host of others. Many prominent personalities have studied in these colleges. Today, probably the engineering colleges in this city may outnumber the Arts and Science Institutions. It also would not be fair if we do not mention the 2 most famous engineering institutions IIT Madras and the Anna University. These institutions are the dream destinations of many an aspiring engineering student. These colleges played an important factor in making Chennai a viable IT destination. The software industry which has now become the pride of Chennai has evolved at a very rapid pace over the last 10 years. At the end of the 80's and early 90's most people were aware of only the big 3 of TCS, Infosys and Wipro. But today hundreds of software companies' large, medium and small have mushroomed in nooks and corners of this city. It is hard to keep count of them, much less remember all their names. The IT revolution changed the look of the city. It introduced 6 lane highways of world class standards. Tall glass buildings, well-manicured lawns, landscaped gardens and lighted fountains have taken over the old look of the city. A booming real estate sector has brought out skyscrapers in all shapes boasting of superb amenities found in the west. Not to mention the ever-changing shopping scenario which previously boasted of all Saravana's and Nalli's. Now they have Giordano and Bossini among several other foreign brands. No description of Chennai would be complete without a description of its rich heritage and culture. It has been a home to many famous carnatic music maestros and classical dancers. It has a season in the month of December dedicated only to music and dance. Today even the theatre has gained momentum as the people are more and more open to new ideas. It is by and large a peaceful city with many famous religious places to visit, be it the Kapaleeswarar temple or the Santhome Cathedral or the Thousand Lights mosque. Chennai is a place where the old world charm meets the new world. I started living here when it was still called Madras. From then till now after having visited many other cities, I still feel is the best place I have ever lived in.
Comments