The last three days have been a whirlwind ride! Totally jampacked with activity and the ‘cruel cruel summer’. I look like I am from south Africa ( I don’t have to explain what I mean, do I? :P ) *No offence to South Africans*

I actually recited a poem in a recitation competition without forgetting a word! I did a lot of things, but I don’t want to harp about it and sound like I am a narcissist or something (well I am sometimes, and sometimes I even suffer from the opposite syndrome of feeling like I am a total klutz who just cannot get anything right, but thankfully quixotic at rare occasions)

I enjoyed taking part in the litrerary competitions that were held exclusively for literature students and it was great! Since it is really very rare that we get to take part in competitions that are solely based on literary themes. A break from the usual monotonous competitons that always take place. Anyway I could write two three pages on what happened the past two days of the competitons but lets talk about today.

We went to a printing press and I must say it was great to watch all the papers being rolled at lightening speed through indigenous machines ( I am a journalism student too :P ) the only bad bit was that my ears had to suffer excruciating pain because of the loud noise that the machines were making. And some of us were quite happy when the editor of a paper said that one should be able to speak good English, write English without mistakes, and have good grasping skills and that’s all it takes to be a journalist. He even said “Journalists are not intellectuals” that made a lot of us smile... ha ha! He was making it sound so easy! (For reasons unknown..or is it really that easy?? Maybe he was just talking about print media)

Period

Title... er no title...

I just want to type about today.. we had the farewell function for our seniors.

It was so much fun..All of us bungled up!!

Starting with me giving a blank break for 5 seconds while I was anchoring..and well after that the dance performances..all by friends but all of them bungled up too!! It was totally hilarious... I mean there was some or the other confusion or problem going on.. Someone forgetting a step, the music not working, sudden changes in program, the other anchors blundering blah blah... and it was not just during the program...but also before the program.

Last minute changes and stuff I mean. But well I had laughed so much today after a real long time..totally like crazy!!

Though thankfully there was no mistake in the group song that me and my friends sang :)

The sad part was that we could not even have all of the programs because of some problem. My seniors are real sweet hearts. I will miss them.

I cant believe we are going to be final years so soon. Its so stupid...when time is going by it seems so slow and when its gone it seems so fast!

Dracula

Okay half the world seems to be gripped with the Twilight mania...

First it was wizards(Harry Potter) then Vampires and then werewolves.

Now Edward Cullen has become every girls dream guy and they want to be bitten and I suppose the guys wish they were pale blood suckers and could entice Bella Swan.

I mean whatever! Robert Pattinson looked better as Cedric Diggory. But than again who cares.(Um I know a lot of girls do, I dont)

But well good for him that twilight happened, Daniel Radcliffe must be flushed with jealousy, if he is of that sort, to know that Pattinson has become way more famous than him.

Twilight movie is not as good as people seem to rave about it, on the other hand it is quite silly, maybe the book is great, but I am not reading Stephanie Meyer anytime soon in the near future(who knows maybe never).

One book that you must read to get the dark creepy feel is Bram Stokers DRACULA.

I dont know how some writers do it but if you read this book alone in the night, all by yourself you can feel the eerie dark atmosphere the writer has created and that is what makes it a real good read. So much of vivid description, it might actually make your head reel.

A lot of imagery that transports you to what the writer must have imagined, a little tedious for modern readers who just want to flip through the pages and get to the end of it.

Totally not for girls who want to gush over some hot guy in the novel and start weaving dreams.

The last communist

We had a host of competitions conducted by our college and though I gave my name for almost 5 events I took part in just one.

I did not even take part in elocution, though the topic was very easy: 'United or divided Andhra'

But well it was changed later and the new topic was 'Prospects of a unified Asia'. The topic made me laugh actually, I was thinking that out here in India people want a Telangana in Andhra, a Gorkhaland in West Bengal, Bundelkhand in UP, etc etc and we are being asked about the prospects of a whole damn unified continent!(yeah I dont know the other names.. I am not a wiz kid n I know I can google it but hey I am lazy n then again it should be me talking, I can google stuff and pretend to be a doctor for all u will ever know :P)

But well then again about the topic, its only prospects right, of course hopefully there will be a unified Asia one day, though maybe very few of my generation live to see it, or if by a miracle there is a rapid acceleration in the development and friendly ties of the Asian countries, we will get to see this dream come true too.

I mean when Europe can have an European Union(of-course not all European countries are a part of it) than why not Asia. Talks are on for a united South East Asia the other countries can come in later too to make the whole continent one big family.

But going by Indo-pak ties its a blasted whim.

United Andhra reminds me of this really nice cahrcoal painting by a Bengali Painter(cant recall the name) from his collection called the 'The last communist'. I had taken its snap from the magazine I saw it in will put it up in the right side above. It depicts how people are rallying or maybe protesting and there are a lot of crows in the background, the metamorphical meaning being that those people are just like the crows, as nothing is going to change through their demonstration. And seriously what do protests help in?? Agitated protesters here in AP have hit the public buses and what is the outcome? The price of the bus tickets has been increased pinching the common mans pocket. I mean the public is so stupid, they destroy public property and then they are the ones who have to pay for it..Ironic huh.

DIsgrace

All right, so in todays French class our teacher started talking about

the booker prize winning novel 'Disgrace' by Coetzee when he was

explaining something I have no idea of (my antennae tunes into the

class only when something irrevelant is being told).

He was talking about how the title of a book plays a major role for the book.

So he asks what name is more appealing "Disgrace" or "The grace" and everyone was in support of the disgrace (um.. I was only a mute spectator =p).

Though the book might be a good read the title means a lot too.

Its the first thing that makes you go towards the book, though when it comes to me, no matter how silly the title is, I grab the book to go through the blurb.

I read this horrible book because it had an amazing title,

after that titles are deceptive traps to me,

a wise person does not repeat the same mistakes, he makes new ones. *smirks*

Anyway Sir went on to another example and said that the journalism students

were given a story and asked to give a name.

The story was about how a man has a unlucky day but later it becomes lucky.

And that students who called the story 'The unlucky day' were given more marks

than those who called it 'The lucky day'.

We were explained that people dont want to read about good things,

they like to read about the pain others have to go through, and that we are still primitive.

Well no matter how many people would object to it, at least I know that yes sometimes I do take a little joy in other peoples misery, call it sadism if you want. But maybe its just that we are glad that its not us. You smile and make a silent prayer *thank god its not me*