Showing posts with label 5 Senses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5 Senses. Show all posts

Monday, October 18, 2010

"Different Smells of My Life"




In one of the Sunday issue of Brunch, Editor in Chief of HT Media------Vir Sanghavi wrote extensively on the aroma and fragrance of different scents and cologne being invented in the world. But I democratically feel that his article was incomplete because he only mouthed about the one side of the coin i.e. the positive and the manufactured smell which everybody loves to inhale. But the missing part was the negative and the natural smell which is also present in this world and which we all hate.

So THINKING CAP has bore the responsibility to talk ostentatiously of such arrogant and criminal type of smells which have the balls to even kill you leaving no option but to inhale it and die painfully.

1.      As I have travelled enormously through public transport system so I can accept that I am not a stranger to its characteristics like too many people, tiny spaces, low price, jerks etc. But one of the most peculiar features of it is the smell of the sweat. When passengers ranging from tiny teens to pension earners, from a boring housewife to a virgin blonde to breadwinners all lift their hand or hands in unity to take support and guard against the jerks. Raising hands release the aroma of sweat in the atmosphere, sweat which they have earned throughout the day by completing different files, selling unsalable products, standing in queues and performing daily chores. I call it the “mix vegetable” of sweat as everyone contributes towards it. Slowly and gradually the vegetable gains pace & mass and turns in a hurricane. It reaches every corner of the vehicle. The irony is such that you are standing in front of a middle aged male inhaling his sweat into your lungs and still smiling at the rascal and vice-versa. 
2.      I personally feel that the insane smell of “Gutka” can turn the furniture inside your body upside-down. The business houses create addictive brands like “Rajdarbaar”, “Kuber” and “RajniGandha” to create an illusion of luxury to the consumer and make him tour heaven for some minutes. At the time of consuming unexpectedly one of these knuckleheads approaches you, takes his face very close to yours infact to your nostrils, wide open his “Gutka” filled mouth and proudly inquires “Bhai time kya hua hai” or sometimes “ye bus khaa jaayegi”. And you lose your wicket. You are in a situation where somebody has released poison inside your blood and has left you for a slow painful death.
3.      This one is my personal favorite. Every day you inhale it and that too happily, like you’re worshipping. The non-violent, non dangerous smell of the food you could not digest i.e. the perfume of defecation.  Every morning, sitting in the most comfortable position, relaxed as never, you inhale it dedicatedly. You are choice less because this activity makes you blissful and full of joy. Sometimes I wonder that how come the Fried Rice which I was dying to eat a night before can betray me and behind that rich and healthy smell there was hidden a non thinkable smell like this one. But this smell had always gifted me some wildest ideas.
4.      If the previous one was my personal favorite then this is my personal non-favorite. The problem with this smell is that it attacks you like an earthquake and you are not even prepared for it. As an earthquake creates a lot of havoc and destruction this smell too destroys your mood completely and makes life a hell. The perfume of a dead rat. First you hate these jackass monsters roaming in your home or office and breaking your privacy. And then these fuckers hid in one of the damn corners of the home and breathe their last breath. The trouble is that his body is lying and decaying in some part of your home, smells like thousands drains flowing next to you and you don’t even have the slightest idea where the asshole is. You actually want to butcher him on his this sinful act.
5.      I guess this particular smell flows only in the air of developing nations especially India. And this is not a smell but a shame for our country. All other smells above are like a free bird. Nobody can control them. But this shameless smell we can definitely stop. This is the perfume of pee on Indian roads. To attend nature’s call some people look for isolated corners and pee on them. As we are Indians so we all follow. As a result the place officially becomes a pee point and gives a distinct character to the place because of its smell.
In this list of developing nations smell, there is another chap which I guess is multiplying and is in race with our “never say die” population growth. The perfume of the swollen, perished, abandoned and decaying garbage. The implied rule in India is that every single piece of the garbage should be outside the garbage warehouse thus converting the whole place in a bin, making a choice for people to throw anywhere or everywhere. As we ourselves create such smell so we anticipate it when crossing a garbage warehouse and clamp our nostrils till the smell stop chasing us.  
6.      The last in the series is a sinful, dead, negative and dreadful smell which is a question in itself. If you want to inhale it, then go and open the drawer or closet where you have stocked medicines for emergency. Or pay a visit to a dispensary, hospital or a chemist. The smell of medicines. Why the smell of medicines which are actually developed to cure human beings makes me even sicker is still mysterious to me.
So these are the dirty, naughty, notorious and infamous brand of smell whose tyranny we have to suffer almost every day. And they are unbearable is no doubt but they have given an opportunity to crazy thinkers of the world to find out their antidotes. There would have been no perfume if there is no sweat and no room freshener if no smell of the dead rat.
Please don’t perceive that as I have given a lot of space to these smells, I like or love them. Like normal people I too wanna inhale and live in scented and healthy air.


 999




The Article was written after being inspired by Brunch (HT magazine).

Feel free To Comment!!!

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Monday, September 13, 2010

"My Dear Eyes"








Just imagine that you are driving a car on a road which is covered with deep forest on both the sides. It doesn’t even have any street light and there is no vehicle except for yours and the night is very dark. Suddenly your head light goes off!!! Mammaaa Miaaaaaaaaaa!!!
If I am not wrong then no one would dare to carry on driving on that scary and black road because of the low visibility. It means you are struck. This wouldn’t have happened if the tyre would have punctured. Because in most of the cases a tyre would have been repaired or replaced immediately but lights couldn’t (at that moment).
Inserting the metaphor into our real life, I believe that eyes play a very crucial role in a person’s life. I am not trying to downright any part of a human body but I am saying that eyes have an edge as far as importance is concerned. Eyes consume most of our energy because it is employed in the tinniest to the greatest work we do. In fact we consume this world because of our eyes. Even if you are thinking or in a brown study or just sitting idle then also your eyelids are open and if they are open then they are at work. Not only this but a person’s character and expressions are reflected in his eyes. Eyes are like a brand ambassador to a human body.
And when your energy is emptied by them you have to take rest to relax them. When you sleep the brain keep sending signals, the heart keep on beating, in fact every cell, every blood vessel is on duty. But it is the princess eyes which are busy taking rest. Even we blink after every second or two to give a break to them because of their sensitive nature and their high involvement.
The theme of this article is not to weigh the importance of eyes but to stress and point out its significance and role in today’s context. Dude, “The world is going online”. One of my friend once said that “life is on the web”. The recent example which will supplement my theory is that CAT (Common admission test) ---India’s most competitive and also the most sought after entrance exam now requires a mouse. I mean it has gone digital. An era started. The future might witness other competitive exams also going online. And in preparation a student might also be practicing in galore on a computer to be perfect on the D-Day, thus hectic working hours for eyes. Welcome to the digital world.
Remember some time back we stood in queues to deposit electricity and water bills, to withdraw money from banks, or to file tax. Often we wrote complaint letters to heads of different government organization. Today almost every transaction is a click away. You don’t need to stand in queues. Whether it is a complaint letter or a compliment one the professional mode of communication is an e-mail. 21st century is getting accustomed to reading newspapers & magazines online, even you know where you are reading this article. In the future we’ll read books on Google’s online library. For every question we go to search engines, to learn things we watch videos and even listen to music on computers and laptops. The projects made by school children or other students are given birth online. Every Friday two to three films are released in India attracting our eyes in the name of entertainment. When a person is employed in an MNC he is given a laptop because without it he is a handicap. Welcome to the digital world.
The rich history is reminisced for talking and meeting to people personally, for the personalized and face to face social gathering and civic mixing and if not face to face then telegram to telegram. Today there is no face to face but Facebook to Facebook. Welcome to the digital world.
When everybody is extracting labor from eyes then why television should remain behind? The occupancy rate of shows on different channels have increased, news has gone 24*7, reality shows are never-ending and churning seasons after seasons, daily soaps are immortal with every 20 year leap, spirituality and yoga classes are more on TV than in actual, even the advertisement these days are so innovative that we can’t afford to miss them. More than 300 channels have something to offer to all of us so that we can’t ignore them. And there is a TV in every living room, so no rest for eyes. Welcome to the digital world.
Even free time is not free for the eyes. The different gadgets being introduced in life like Playstation, 3G, I-phone etc keep them occupied. Even if you are playing and relaxing, your eyes are handling the technicals of the game. Even if you drive a sports car, beat a sumo to death or type a text message your every complicated and thought out move is directed by the brain and executed by our dear eyes. Welcome to the digital world.
Well apart from these, there are other n numbers of digital ways to disturb the perfection of eyes but I don’t want to detail them. But from this I can conclude that eyes are the busiest organ in the human body like the Prime minister of India who is the busiest executive in the Indian Parliament and eyes like him are involved in every important step taken and decision made. You might argument that we do every work with hands, we walk with legs or stomach digest the most complicated food material or brain thinks a lot. But there are certain occasions when one of these organs is relaxing. Eyes never takes an off. Eyes are like the guiding force to this huge body mass. It directs all other organs to function in coordination.
I am only concerned for the people of this country. I am afraid that this digital world doesn’t plant eyeglasses on the innocent faces of our children or the people of our country are not typecast as “week eyes” candidates. Infact the crisis has started. Small and innocent eyes of so many children of our country under the tremendous pressure have taken the shelter of spectacles or lenses. The problem will perpetuate as the next decade will witness the mushrooming of internet and its penetration in every corner of India. There might be a computer or a laptop in every home. And this machinery creates addiction to children. So instead of playing outdoor games they prefer sitting in a chair and riding a sports bike.
Though I am not a communist and very much proud of our development but somebody very correctly said “development always cost you something”. Hope this is not the eyes of our countrymen.
Our Hindu Mythology has made our country proud of our ancient warrior Arjun who because of his perfect eyesight infact somewhat better than that could claim the eye of the fish without even seeing it directly. Let’s wish we have many Arjuns’ in this country.
Digitising is the need of the hour and even I don’t want to roadblock it. So there are some ways to take care of your eyes:-

1.      Have your eyes checked every 12 month
2.      Go for the best quality contact lenses
3.      In summer, always wear sunglasses
4.      Eat what is good for you and your eyes
Vitamins C, A and E, folic acid, selenium and zinc are definitely beneficial for the health of your eyes. It is known that whatever is good for your body is good for your eyes, too. So put a carrot and a bunch of grapes into your lunch box.

5.      When you read or work on the computer make sure that the light is right
6.      10-10-10--every 10 minutes, look at an object 10 feet away for 10 seconds to get them adjusted to long-distance too, so you are ready when you get off the computer
7.      If you wear contact lenses, take proper care of them
8.      Don’t ever rub your eyes when you have something in your eye.
9.      Exercise your eyes, and also be sure to relax them.
10. Adjust the screen settings. You will find that if you make your screen a bit more dull, it is actually easier to read. The screen should be just as bright as your surroundings, and should not appear to be a glowing box nor pitch black object.
Exercise                         
·        Hold a pencil in front of you at arm's length. Move your arm slowly to your nose, and follow the pencil with your eyes until you can keep it in focus. Repeat 10 times
·        Make up and down eye movements, starting from up to down. Do this 8 times. Then do the side to side eye movement, starting from left to right. Repeat this 8 times. Make sure not to add pressure to your eyes! It only worsens your vision!
·        Close your eyes tightly for 3-5 seconds, then open them for 3-5 seconds. Repeat this 7 or 8 times

    Eyes are under a huge pressure. You have to see the world, you have to see a lot of movies and tele series, everyday you have to read newspaper, you have to see yourself age, your children to grow, you have to meet new people, you have to drive, you have to play sports, you have to cook, you have to write, you also have to see your dreams and see them come true and many more. So there is a war ahead and you should be ready with your ammunition i.e. your eyes.

999
"The article is written because of authors constant use of a computer"
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