The Most Precious Advice

I first wrote this as an answer on Quora (Links: this and this), then thought of sharing it here as well. Since I am absolutely free these days and doing Quora overtime, you can be prepared to see more of my Quora posts turning into blogposts (if at all you check this blog, that is) in the next some days. By the way, this is my Quora profile, in case you are interested to see: http://www.quora.com/Sugandha-Banga

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Top Ten Annoying Mistakes Delhi Drivers Need To Stop Making

I have an experience of around 2 years now of driving on Delhi roads. Okay, that's probably not the perfect way of putting it. I'm obviously no professional driver but being the eldest child in the family comes with its own downsides, doesn't it?
Although I am yet to get to see what driving in other cities is like, Delhi drivers sure need to revive their roadsense and revise their driving lessons before all of us end up bumping into each other. The 10 pointers given below come from some of my commonest observations of road bloopers I desperately wish people (read: Delhiites) do away with soon.

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Chai, Chatter and Camp Dhanaulti — Part 2

continued from Part 1
About the name of this series: Nothing beats a cup of chai when you're at a hill station. Chilly winds, snow-laden mountains always in front of your eyes, incessant chattering of everybody (including the teeth, with all the cold you have stepped into), and the only beverage that is both cheap and readily available... what could be a better way to become a chai lover? Only in India. 

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5 Ways To Celebrate A Happy Diwali Without Crackers

Don't worry, I am not going to ask you to stay away from crackers. I am sure that if you do burst them, you'll be already knowing how harmful they are. It's common sense. When lighting one matchstick produces enough smoke to make us feel slightly choked, it's evident what so many fireworks can do the environment. So I am not going to get preachy here. For one, this isn't the biggest harm man is doing to the environment. Two, I don't think I am wrong in believing that we've all enjoyed bursting crackers during Diwali up to some or the other point of time, some of us still do, some have given up for different reasons. And it's easy to preach the doers when you aren't one of them. I believe in letting everybody have their own space. Who am I to ask people to stop using crackers just because I don't prefer them? Inform them, but then let them decide what gives them more happiness. It's a personal choice after all.

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Chai, Chatter and Camp Dhanaulti (A Travel Memoir) — Part 1

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken” – Frank Herbert
After awakening the 'sleeper' within me for two memorable days, I am back to living the same old mundane life that is making the awakened sleeper drowsy again. Needless to say, the feeling isn't exactly comforting.
On the Facebook group of our class, when I first suggested going for an immediate trip, many people thought it was impossible. To some extent, one of them was yours truly. Firstly, because ours isn't really a class where everyone has talked to everybody, not even where everybody knows everybody. Secondly, amid the soaring pressure of projects, upcoming exams, classes, CAT etc, it was difficult to convince people to think about utilizing the week that was going to be full of holidays, for something hopefully more worthwhile and refreshing. Thirdly, since it had to be a quick trip, and spontaneous to a great extent, we had to keep it short, yet exciting. That meant considering options closest to Delhi, yet different. Budget was going to be another factor, apart from the usual convincing sessions, distrust, lack of communication, consensus regarding the destination, and so on. Ten days after I first proposed a random 'Hey let's go on a vacation!' idea, I am happy to write, we had a great time camping at 2300 metres above sea level, experiencing bone chilling cold while we were hardly prepared for it, doing fun activities, spending quality time with friends, and above all, living in the lap of nature—literally.

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How I Learned That Plagiarism Is Bad

I can usually be found speaking strongly against plagiarism. My friends often pull my leg on this topic. Funnily though, it was plagiarism that helped me learn why plagiarism is bad. Here's how:
The first time our school magazine's content management team invited entries from us, I was keen to see my name below one of the contributions. Without bothering much, I simply lifted a poem from somewhere and submitted it. The teacher who was selecting entries then called me to her room and asked, "Have you really written this?" "Yes," I said confidently. "Well, if so, I must say your vocabulary is pretty good for your age," she said, obviously sarcastically. It pricked.

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Umar, Sana, and a Broken Tale of Love

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"If there ever comes a day when I have to choose between you and someone else, I will rather choose death. This is my promise to you, Umar," her words still echoed in his mind like yesterday. Four years of friendship in college followed by four years of intense courtship had brought them as close as two souls can ever be, he had assumed. All his dreams of living his entire life with his life, Sana, came crashing down like a pile of cards. The devotedly knit relationship of trust, faith, love, understanding and care, was now no more. He was torn apart between the past and the present, with no courage to foresee the future. All this, and more, had happened in a matter of hours, and minutes, and seconds, and milliseconds... and an eternity.

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"Dard" : A Short Scene

{First-level auditions of a famous reality T.V show are on in full swing. The stage is set for the next contestant to take over. A large studio audience is present. The orchestra is ready to play along. The jury—a panel of two eminent musicians of the Hindi Music Industry (one male, one female)—too is ready. The jury is sitting right in front, with the audience at the back, both facing the stage. The contestant enters from the left entry point on the stage with a harmonium hung around his neck. He is dressed in old but traditional Rajasthani attire—pagri, angrakha, dhoti and kamarbandh. He is barefoot, and in a respectful gesture, bends to touch the stage before stepping on it.}

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