Brainify Your Knowledge

You must study instead of reading this but you are not feeling to study. Actually you want to but not in a mood, right?

Lazy Monday morning and all the legs are busy, running from one place to another.

One such guy in town, Sushant, the person who used to fail in his school life, now tops the college. He now represents his college at a national level and conducts seminars on the subject he gained expertise in. What made this coin flip all of a sudden?

Sushant while in school was more passionate for bikes and cars and less in studies. He used to peep inside the bonnet of cars with the curiosity to see what make that beast work. The moment he sat to study, he used to drop his head in his head. Once in a blue moon, he used to study.

Time gushed by like a river and he gradually gained interest in his subjects and studied more.

It was no longer when he faced a severe irritation from studying, as if he is allergic to studies. He went out and spent some time looking at the engine of the car, like he always used to do when he is annoyed. His father stood beside him. “For so many years, you’ve been just looking to his engine. Don’t you want to know more about it? Don’t you wanna know how it works?”

He nodded his head in approval, twisting his lips in confusion. “I really have no idea what is inside this piece of metal.” Sushant expressed his confusion to his father, fearing that he will end up getting annoyed with the thing he loves the most.

His father took him home and asked for his Physics book. He opened up a page that explained ‘force’. His father explained how ‘force’ played a vital role in engine. Sushant’s faced twitched at first but he slowly understood. He asked his father, “Okay. I got that. But how do I know how much force I have to apply to a body? What are the parameters that affect it?”

His father gave him a witty smile and turned a page where solved numericals were present. He just pointed towards them and Sushant smiled in satisfaction. He fetched the book from his father’s hand to quench the thirst of his curiosity. He went to his sister who was studying physiotherapy in a university. “Hey sis, what’s up!” he shouted in joy. His sister had a mask of disappointment worn on her face. On being asked, she answered that she was facing the problem Sushant was facing earlier- frustration due to lack of concentration. He immediately took her towards the ray of hope and explained the trick of studying but utmost concentration. He explained her that he plays football and many times, he suffers from muscle pain. He asked her the solution to have a relief from that pain. Her sister understood what he meant to say.

Knowledge we gain is misunderstood to be worthless until we find a practical application of it. Take any subject that you hate. Find a practical application of it and you will find it interesting the very next moment. You can easily climb the ladder if you carry curiosity with you. It is not your mood that is preventing you from studying but the unwillingness in you to understand it practically that is annoying you. Try it now, and see the interest you will gain!

The Leap Over Hills

The mountains and the hills
The terrain all around
Brought thrill in her eyes
Ears lost in mountain sound

Down she saw was the deep
Deep like her eyes of emotion
She smiled seeing the breathtaking nature
As if in this woods she found her destination

Her dream was beneath her feet
Her dream of conquering mountains
The zeal in her was higher than them
Made even the hills bend before her stand

The passion in air
In abundance she breathes
The tiredness was tired
By the energy she feels

Its not about the fun
But the madness she has
No wonder its the fire in her
Even the snow on the mountain can subside

Communication that made me SMART

“Lost in all of his endeavors

He wanted to memorize what he had learnt!

Of course cramming was not in his list of efforts

Communication was where he saw the ray of light! ”

                               

Keep all your thoughts aside, you fellows, just for 2 minutes and just give me all your attention. You see the screen right in front of your eyes.

Imagine you are a technical person. What is the screen made up of? Gorilla glass 3? What do you mean by that? Is it a TFT screen? What does TFT stand for?

You are a mechanical engineer. You are going on a highway and see a humongous trailer passing by and drop your jaw down the floor seeing its size. Did you notice the spring used by it? Or ever estimated the wheel diameter? Or the wheel base?

What you’ve studied in your dusty, bulky, heavy-weighted text books is nothing but the real life things (except for those long mathematical derivations. Even I am searching for the practical application of those! LOL! Just kidding). You may think that you try your best to remember what you have studied, don’t you? Give it a second thought just like that timid, hard-working yet average scoring, short haired, college boy, Raina about whom you’ll be reading. Hope it leaves you with something you need to inculcate in yourself. Very much beneficial to you, it will take hardly a few minutes to gain what you need!

(As narrated by Raina himself)

It’s my day 1 at college and I see that grandiose campus in front of my eyes where all the legs are busy with the shoulders heavy with different responsibilities. I see different inventions outside the main building of the college. I approach towards it. Bending down to that innovation, I read, “Invented by: Parthiv Shah & Malik Khan.” My medulla imagines another great innovation with the name on it, “Raina Malhotra”. No longer did this thought vanish off my brain than my face flush in a huge grin.

I spent a few months in the university studying and today is the day if my results. As normal, those are heartbeats that are banging on my eardrums. My eyes on the notice board and my eyes sparkle of the tears when I see an ‘F’ across my name.

“I studied hard. Worked so hard. Skipped meals and sleep and all I get is an ‘F’?” I curse my fate. Failing in my academics is one thing and moreover, I have to tell this news to my parents. Great! A great hurdle in front of me I have to face.

Coaching class, extra class, expert lectures- all these stuffs couldn’t yield the beneficial results in me. All they taught was the same as that mentioned in textbooks. And also a few SMTs (Short Method Tricks).

All my brain can think is to quit my studies now. No doubt I have tremendous interest in my studies but I become just so clueless when it comes to remembering what I’ve studied. I put my head in my hands in accepting my disability.

Light strikes my mind from nowhere when a thought just enters in skull. “Why do we study? What is the fruit of the hard work we are doing? Why we brush our gray cells so much again and again? Where do I lack?” I scrutinize my thoughts, over and over again. It’s obvious that what I study has real life applications.

I see a car standing right there in the parking. Its engine I suppose is of 1400 cc. Its engine chamber must have been made from casting process, piston from mild steel. If its light-weight, maybe the body of the car must have been of aluminum on which, rolling process has been done. Whoa! Studying is fun. I explore the root to good knowledge. I feel good. I feel as if I have discovered myself. The more I start talking about such technical stuffs, the more curiosity arises in me. My friend James comes as I am trying to know more about the car. He adds, “The suspension varies in that of this car and those heavy-weight vehicles. They use leaf spring to carry the heavy loads.” I reply to his info by nodding my head in acceptance, “I see”.

Heaven bestowed blessings on me when I realized the simplest secret to efficient reading i.e. involving the stuff I study in my communication. The more I will talk about it, the more curious I will be and thus, I will learn more.

Raina achieved nirvana in education when he realized that the secret lied in communication itself. We see number of things daily but if we question something, if we talk about the things we visualize, only then we can learn more, not by just seeing it and letting it pass by. Communicate technically. Communicate efficiently. Do not let the power of your tongue go in vain. God Gracious! Ever thought that a tongue can help you exercise your brain!

In the Riots

[This is completely a fictional story]

The era of the fuming rivalry had emerged out of nowhere. It was that time when the entire nation was drenched in the blood of the mankind due to the riots that took place between the Hindus and the Muslims in December, 1992.

20th December, 1992

Even the sky was falling low in the dusk but the rage in the people refused to get low. All that could be seen around was the red colour spilling out from bodies. All that could be heard was the dreadful screams of the people, regardless whether they were women or children. Red rivers everywhere.

I, Ali Ahmed sought refuge on the borders of Maharashtra along with my friend, Ajit. The only place, I didn‘t find any donnybrook between any Hindu and a Muslim was between us. Never did he leave my hand nor did I ever isolate him. Since childhood, we were divided by our mazhab but united by brotherhood. People tried to attack us too, who were just 15. Somehow, we tried to escape.

People were seeking those of the opposite caste to kill, as if a hungry beast looks for a prey. We were hidden behind a burnt up car where we saw 2 people running with swords, the rim edge of which was thin sharp.

The screams of the people faded off, at least for the moment and we took a sigh of relief. The night spent was full of fear.

21st December, 1992

The rising Sun gave a clear view of the aftermath of the armageddon the next day. Our eyes were so weary, felt as if tons of rocks were put on the little eyelashes. The silence in our ears was suddenly broken when we heard a mob making an appearance in the region. We saw them with their hands loaded with all possible hand-tools one can think of. From a dagger to an iron rod, from a hockey to a sword.

“Bhhaag Ajit!” I screamed with my voice fused with fear. We ran till our breath was heard till our ears. Grace of God it was in the moment when we found a bike nearby.

Midday heat it was, when we were riding on the machine, trying the goodness out of us to escape from the filthy cases of being killed in the riots. We drove almost from an hour and we were in the suburbs and we saw the indicator pointing towards ‘E’. The fuel was to get over at anytime. I rode the bike with great speed.

We were enjoying the safe ride until a turn came where I lost balance and we both tumbled in the farm on the sideways of the road. I and Ajit laid there like half-dead. I rose up, dusted myself and lifted up Ajit and to my surprise, what I see near me is a loaded AK-56 just nearby us. Ajit gave me that let-us-have-it look to me. I grabbed that AK-56 hoping it to provide us some sort of safety.
We trod along the way.

24th December, 1992

It was after that discovery of AK-56 that we were feeling much safe. Somehow, we passed a day bit normally, without witnessing any dispute and we hoped the same for the day. But fate had some other plans.

We saw a group of people, still had their blood hot due to the riots and were approaching towards us with rage in their eyes. We had no route to escape. One of them asked us furiously, “Hey, what are your names?” I looked at Ajit in hesitation. I pretended to be dumb and gestured that Ajit was deaf. Ajit was able to recognize my trick. But who knew that those people didn’t give a damn. I saw one of them raising their weapons, giving that I-don’t-care look to us. I, within no time pulled out an AK-56 and shot him right in his trunk. The others tried to stamp us but I turned the weapon towards them and shot several rounds in the entire group. All of them were slept to death.

Ajit looked at me in shock. “What have you done, Ahmed?” he said, accusing me of the murders.

“I was protecting both of us. I don’t want to die by the hands of such narrow-minded creatures”, I replied.

We moved on. We faced days of severe inhumanity that was spread all through the nation.

28th December, 1992

Days passed since the ignition of the wrath of the two divisions of religion. We were sitting under the shade of tree where I saw a fruit falling from the tree. It was too hard, having a green colour. Ajit saw it in my hand and without a word; he held my hand and started running.

Suddenly that fruit exploded and BOOM! I and Ajit were thrown off because of the immense heat and our clothes were into pieces with our back black. We laid there unconscious for hours and when my eyes opened. I saw a man staring at us.

He introduced himself as Dhiraj Shah and was the owner of the house. As soon as my eyes opened, my eyes burst into tears when I saw Ajit in deep sleep, not willing to wake up. “Ajit, wake up!” I cried out. But he did not want to suffer any more. Tears in my eyes and anger in my mind.

“What a filthy mentality these people have who fight in the name of religion! Why do they do so? Why don’t they understand that we have divided God in the name of religion?” All my frustration was out in a moment.

Dhiraj watched me in despair and offered me some water. He consoled me, “Son, not all understand like we do. Not all have the heart like we do. Peaceful will be the day when these people realize that God is one and we all are a family. Until then, we will be living life on a thin line between the two religions. And vengeance will be called again if the line breaks.”

I saw Ajit lying, free from all his problems and despairs. It was me and Dhiraj who had to face the bitter reality of living in that fiery hell.

I took shelter I Dhiraj’s house. He was shocked to see an AK-56 in my hands. I explained to him everything- how we escaped from the hands which had killed numerous innocent people.

31st December, 1992

The night seemed quite and the sky was studded with the jewels of the stars with a big, white bead- the moon.

Hardly had I recovered from the grief of Ajit’s loss when I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door and there, I saw what I wished I never would see! Those radicals were at the doorsteps.

Dhiraj was standing right beside me. I could not recognize if they were the Hindus or the Muslims. When Dhiraj explained to me how we were in need and introduced us to them, the man with anger in his eyes hit a hard stroke with his sword across my body. I collapsed! Death was just a few seconds away. I could not utter even a word due to immense pain. Blood on my body and I fell down on the ground. All I could do was watch Dhiraj helplessly with my eyes flickering. Dhiraj fought with them but those radicals, blind in the wrong beliefs of religion stabbed Dhiraj’s back with a dagger. Five strokes in his body gave him a very dreadful death. I smiled at those radicals and spoke my last words in broken voice, “You all do not have to correct knowledge of God. We all kill each other in the name of religion. Imagine your kids divide themselves in categories and then later fight, and kill each other. How will you feel when your own kids kill each other on your name?  Now imagine how God might feel. I am a Muslim. See, my blood is red. Dhiraj was a Hindu. See, his blood is red. He had a heart. I have a heart. Can you tell me one major difference between the religions? When you were born, did you know you will be born in this particular religion?

If God really wanted us to belong to a particular religion, He would have given a distinct identity to every person of every religion when he was born. But all are born the same. God doesn’t want any discrimination. God has no religion except one- religion of love.

But I feel sorry for you guys. You won’t ever understand how beautiful God and His creations are. You won’t ever be able to see his beauty. Because you have your eyes covered with the blind faith and superstition. Get well soon guys. Get well soon!”

The world was celebrating the New Year. We celebrated the beginning of a peaceful era, free from all the discrimination and pain of the world!

Vision generates Ideas

Looking for a project to start, he mulled for ages.

Scratched his head, contemplated till he was enervated.

Soon he realized he needed to work on something he needed in his life,

This is how necessity turns into an invention!

“I want to take a start-up! I want to work on my own! I want to be an entrepreneur! I want to have something of my own…”

These are the thoughts that run in the raging blood of the youngsters these days, aren’t they? Always enthusiastic, they have the energy to overcome the risk factor of entrepreneurship just to prove their mettle. That’s quite a good thing, great actually! But, how many of us, honestly, actually try to contemplate it? The very first step they fail at is the idea generation. They shed their hairs off while scratching their head to think of an idea. It is nothing but a waste of time.

You may get to know how it is a waste of time just below. You will even get to know how ideas can approach your mind from Rutvik. You may not know him but you can Google him….. Goggled? Found anything? He is such a mind blowing personality that even Google can’t find him! LOL, just kidding!

You are fortunate enough to at least scratch your head and feel your hairs while contemplating about ideas. Rutvik, the poor fellow have to scratch his head without have the ‘special effects’ of his hairs as he is bald. However, it doesn’t matter to people who exist just fictionally. But their thoughts can be useful in real life.

The way he viewed the world was same as the other people. Of course, after all he also had just 2 eyes, just as others. He would see just what others see. But I must say, his mind was different. A man with zeal, he wished for a unique idea to work on. But on what idea should he work was the main question mark. Yes, of course he did consult his seniors but the ideas he received were not of his field of interest.

Thought, thought, he thought and after thinking, he again thought. Days passed, time flew but his head was still full of non-ideas. This built up, not ideas but frustration in his mind. Frustration leads to destruction, as we know, so to support this fact, he threw a glass besides him and CRASHHHH!!! Into pieces! After the realization of this glass breaking, I mean ‘heart-breaking’ sorrow, he had regret. He wished he controlled his anger at the right moment. He thought how people destruct things around them in anger.

And suddenly, EUREKA! A bulb glowed in his head. He thought people in this world need so much of anger management but no one has the time for the classes. Why not develop something that can fill in all the holes. That’s it! He took his laptop, charged up his mind, took his fingers at the task and articles on anger management. He worked, fell, faced failure, was even termed as ‘Tommyrot’ but he kept going. You can guess the ultimate part….. Yep, he was successful hitting the world with an innovative stuff!

See! Idea generation is not a big deal. In fact, ideas are just around you. You need the right vision to visualize them. Focus on the problems faced, see if it fits in your field your interest. If both the factors fill in your criteria, grab on! Go for it, show your skill, learn something along way and hit the target with eminence. The world is the treasure trove of ideas. Work on it and if you need help, data on the internet may not be less for you, I suppose!

Innovative Problems

“His mind too innovative, he came up with ideas
Strong enough to create a revolution in the world.
In the dilemma of questions about implementing his ideas
He found out the stepping stone to his aim!”

I can bet that you all may have come up with some or another innovative ideas you thought you would work. No matter how ideal it may be, you for once thought to work on it but later gave up because of a few small reasons.
Sohail was the one just like you who had ideas but was scared to work on them. Among his ideas, there was one idea or an innovation, I must say in which he was willing to put his heart and soul.

He initially doubted the success of the project, the initiative. He doubted that his endeavour will not yield expected results. He feared all the hindrances he had to face in that initiative. He didn’t want all his time spent on the project to go in vain. What happened next? Was his doubt a reality?

The answer to this will actually be an answer to your doubts about initiatives. This is the point that defines you. What many of us do is take a step back from here and continue with our daily routine. At this point, Sohail thought of taking a leap in that storm of risk. He just wanted to work on it.

To discuss about his project, he consulted many of the people, sirs, seniors but he never found a response strong enough to satisfy him. He took a step, too courageous for any person to take; he decided to start all by himself.

What he did may sound too simple but it actually takes guts to do so. He did all the research required, all the analysis and he prepared a report. I can say that half of his battle was already won. He now had to do a bit more research and finally construct a prototype.

It seems to be a smooth flow from the road to idea till success but it is the actual climax when you face a hindrance when you are about to reach the top. What Sohail found was a problem with his analysis in which there was some miscalculation done. To overcome this, he had to brush up his brain too hard. He faced a point where he decided to give up. That’s it. His bravery just fell on the knees.

It was the next day, the day which was to be proved quite different from the other days. Sohail attended a seminar in which he got aware about the E-Cell (Entrepreneurship Cell). He visualized E-Cell as the Sea of Start-Ups. He searched about it; he collected information on E-Cell and wasted no time to be an E-Cell member.

This was the take-off platform, perfect for him to give him the lift to attain new height. He took assist from the E-Cell in his project and discussed the problem he faced in his project. E-Cell is basically a sum of innovative problems whose solutions are found in more innovative way.

Sohail, considering this very beneficial worked further and with the E-Cell, being his cicerone, he finally came up with a perfect solution. But moreover, in searching for that solution, he even got to learn a lot more which helped him to improvise his initiative.

He got aware that E-Cell is that one platform where we can have not one but too many solutions to a hindrance and that too in an innovative way. No matter how much fear you have regarding your start-up, E-Cell just pulls that fear out of you so smoothly and flawlessly, you will find yourself working enthusiastically on your idea. And once you start working, you won’t even feel to give up. You will feel that you have worked this hard, so giving up should not be an option. And E-Cell is that fuel that will make you rise off the launching pad towards the pinnacle.

The idea of innovation lies in the problem themselves, not in a person, and the person who dares to work on it, is a true entrepreneur.

Idiots of Cleanliness

Lonely was his walk from the canteen till the class,
Searching for a dustbin to throw that wrapper.
"No one's watching, let me throw it here."
He cursed the others when he saw a dump at other place!

Smallest things are those that can create a huge impact if neglected and cleanliness is one of them. Talking about cleanliness, it is a topic that people turn their deaf ears at. They litter here and there, of course they have that ‘chalta hai' attitude. And the moment they come across another dump of dirt near them, they curse others from that litter. Hypocrites!
You wake up every day, you freshen up, you take bath, get dressed up nicely and look at yourself in the mirror. You shine! You repeat that for several days. Cool! You gradually find that your personality is getting dull day by day. Why so? You are getting dressed the same way, you look absolutely perfect, and then what's that dullness-causing source? It is the mirror. You do not remember the last time you cleaned it. And the dust on it caused the dullness. Such a small thing, isn't it? Yet created an impact on you.

Cleanliness is that mirror. You can see it every day but you won't see it getting changed gradually. The day you realize that cleanliness is reduced a lot, maybe by that time it may have entered an irreversible period, tough to bring back its original purity. Give your contribution, no matter how small. Keep ‘cleaning the mirror' a bit everyday and see the effect. Clean your area a bit  everyday. You know what, good things are really contagious, and they work. But some consider it as an idiotic thing. There were many idiots that try to maintain cleanliness. Dhanraj was a member of group of idiots. Such a stupid fellow I tell you, he used to carry a small piece of wrapper till home, just to throw it in dustbin. What change it would make if he threw on road or anywhere else? By seeing him others will be inspired in maintain cleanliness, that's it! But no, it will carry that small, little piece of plastic miles but won't just throw it. What a silly person.

Sharing one of his incidents, he had a plastic bag to throw and there, he saw a good garbage exhibition on road, different types of wastes kept open for public to see. How fascinating, isn't it? Now anyone would add their own waste in that open garbage exhibition to get rid of that. He saw that ‘exhibition' but didn't throw that plastic bag, thinking even his little contribution can bring a difference. So stupid.

If we were in his place, we would have definitely thrown, won't we? And then the outcome of that exhibition will be fatal diseases like dengue, malaria, jaundice and so on but it's ok, for who are docs available? If there are no patients, what will those docs do? Do we maintain that uncleanliness and make ourselves the patients of those docs. At least we do not have a carry that small garbage till the dustbin. What an idea!

It is upto you to decide, whether to be an idiot to carry our wastes till that dustbin, maintain cleanliness and spread goodness and remain hygienic, or just simply throw, create an exhibition of garbage, and be helpful to doctors and help them make money! Choice is yours.