The Indian Passport

Recently, A friend and I were talking about the future. Our plans for college and what we plan to do once we go wherever it is that we're going. I intend on doing my undergraduate studies from US, while he plans on completing his undergraduate studies from Canada. And while we were talking about the future, we somehow reached a point in our conversation where he mentioned that he'll take up the Canadian Passport for its various benefits. And that set of a thought reaction in my mind...

I'd never give up my Indian Passport for a passport of any country, anywhere in the world. No matter what. I know that you don't need the passport to prove that you're a true indian, and make no mistake. He's a complete and hardcore indian, in every aspect of the word. But nonetheless, it is the only tangible and physical proof that we are indian. And with the economy that we have, I don't see any reason to give it up. Benefits or no benefits. 

The logic behind my opinion is not something I imagine everyone will understand. Its a highly subjective matter. People may refute that sometimes those who don't hold an Indian passport and more indian at heart than those who do. And I agree with that statement, but personally - if you're an indian, you shouldn't be tempted by the benefits of another country's passport. You should be proud of the country who's passport you hold. No matter what. 

I feel that its nothing special, especially living in dubai. Our parents have done it, lived an entire life in dubai with the Indian Passport, and they're all so successful in life. 

So I end this post, concluding my opinion on the indian passport and the trend of taking up citizenship of another country for its several benefits. 

Until next post,

Parichay (:

Here's to - Yo Yo Honey Singh

The Class he Has. Mashallah.

So, this man is the highest paid indian artist. Most people listen to his songs are their first impression is, "What the hell is he mumbling?". But I for one am in love with his songs. For more than one reason.

Firstly, he's doing something that you don't see everyday amongst indian artists. Most indian artists follow the fail-proof method of singing melodious songs as background singers in movies and that gives them their ticket to popularity and freedom. This guy did something different. He raps. And not in a "wannabe english rapper" method, but in a traditional Punjabi and Hindi way. And that's something different. That's why I feel he's so much in demand. 

Second, he's not the most good looking artist we've seen. Even amongst the Indian artists. Still he's as popular as he is. Its because of the confidence, style and attitude he has. When one looks at him, its the first impression that one gets. That he's that carefree to-hell-with-what-the-world-things, kind of person. And I admire that about him.

So here's to Yo Yo Honey Singh. I hope you have an even more successful career ahead of you. Don't stop doing what you do! 

Something About Me - 1

Damn, it's been a while since I last blogged. But there's really been no time. School's been on, along with SAT which ended in October, and then college applications came into the picture. And now examinations once again. School life is such a routine. 

Today's post is on me. An aspect of me and my life which not many people know/understand. For a very long time, I've found it much easier to express my opinions, thoughts, ideas through writing rather than through verbal communication. And no, that does not mean the use of high-fly words and phrases in Every sentence that wrote.

Recently my teacher asked me why I don't share my opinion in class too much, and I told him/her (for the sake of ambiguity) that I might not share my opinion or answer in class but I will have my point of view set out in the examination. And that's something which he/she did not understand. I don't blame the teacher, but its a fact. I'm not too outspoken. If I want to make you believe something or persuade you, I believe that I would do a much better job if I was allowed to communicate via my writing. 

For instance, look at this blog, it serves as the perfect example of my statement. The way I convey my views and opinions here, I don't think I could covet them as effectively verbally. 

So today you know a little more about me and every now and then i'll post another one about me,

Hope you liked the post. 

Until next post [Which shall be soon, hopefully], 

Parichay  

A Not So Grey Workplace.

For the past month, I have been working at an advertising company in Gurgaon, India. Grey Worldwide India is part of the Grey Group which is one of the oldest advertising companies in the world and it has managed to leave a huge impact on me. A positive impact, may I add.

Until I began my venture as an intern at Grey, I never understood how naïve and clueless I was when it came to business negotiations and the way an advertising company works, even though I can claim that my father runs his very own advertising company back in Dubai.

The Frosted Door

Over the past month, I’ve had a ball of a time at work. Coming in by 10:30 and leaving by 7; Eight and a half hours of work, 5 days a week for the past 4 weeks has made me an insider in this firm. The people here are truly amazing (and a little insane, but hey, who am I to comment? I’m insane too). They’re the perfect mix of hardworking and eased out. And being here for a month has enforced my prior feelings that this is where I belong. Taking a tour and working with every division of the firm, it gives me the vibe that this is the kind of atmosphere in which I would like to work when I do work in the coming future. From writing briefs for the creative department to sitting and brainstorming with others, I’d never have believed that work could be so much fun had I not experienced it for myself.

This office, its people, have given me the comfort that really helped me kick-off at this place and though I have another 4 days to go before I leave it behind, I can’t even begin to imagine how much I’m going to miss it and wish I could never leave. The thought that most probably I shall never meet any of them again is not a very pleasant one. So here’s a shout-out to the entire Grey Gurgaon team, especially – Tanmay, Jeevika, Shong, Kriti, Aparna, Arjun and Bodhi for giving me the best first internship experience anyone could ever have, some of you are leaving over the next few months, some might not. Hopefully next year when I’m back and if I get the internship again at Grey, you’d be there to make it another amazing experience.  

Until Next Time,

A To-Be Nostalgic Intern,

Parichay

India Turns 65

India turns 65.

Today’s the day. The Day Indians from all over the world update their status or tune into the news for the same reason; to commemorate the birth of their nation - India. The Day India turns 65.

India might be seen by the world for all its flaws and as a ‘developing and corrupt economy’, but to me its home. Though I haven’t had the opportunity of ever living in India and I’ve been branded as an NRI [Non Residential Indian] by the world, I still feel that sense of belonging and pride when I visit my country. I feel honored to be recognized as a citizen of one of the greatest countries in the world. I have always felt that the forte of India has always been its people. Excluding a few who have made a name for themselves otherwise, I believe majority of the Indian population are loving in nature; and it is that attitude which sets us apart from the rest of the world.

The culture one finds at India is unlike anything anyone will ever see anywhere else. With over 4500 years of culture to share with the world, India’s heritage is a prime factor which gives it the edge in my books.

It is with this attitude in mind, that I celebrate India’s 65^th Birthday/Independence day and I celebrate it with grate honor and pride.

Until Next Time,

Parichay

Prefectship

Prefect. Wow.

Honestly, even though I didn't really try too hard to attain that position, I'm still happy that I did get it. I'm not boasting, but I really feel that I deserved it and I can really bring about changes within the school. 

I remember throughout the 11th Grade, folks from my class and from the next class persevered to attain that badge. Initiating project after project and doing work after work, they tried extremely hard to get the rank of 'Prefect' or 'House Captain' and that's where I feel that all the difference was made. Being prefect isn't all about what you do within the 11th Grade, it's what you show the school that you're capable of doing. Its more than just taking part in every project that you lay eyes on, its about your overall personality as a student. Its about the way you behave in the classroom, the way you behave with the teachers, the respect you show to the teaching faculty. Its encompasses all the aspects of a students life and the students with the top overall rank in these fields earn the post. 

But that's not where it stops. It goes beyond just getting the badge. And we realized this a little late for the Prefectorial Body. Even though most of our task involves ensuring the smooth running of the school on the part of the student community, it goes beyond that. We need to leave behind something to be remembered. A Legacy of Sorts. And now that as a body we've realized that, we're going to make sure come September, that the Prefectorial Body 2012-2013 has left behind something which people will think about and remember us.

Spirit Crushed. Confidence Broken

A recent event (I won't get into what even it is, just that its recurring in nature) has finally accomplished what I believe it set out to accomplish. It's left my spirits crushed, my confidence broken and left me completely demotivated.  Every time, I prepare. I honestly do. And this time, I prepared more than I ever did. And yet, it got the better of me.  I never thought I'd really give up hope, but I guess life's full of surprises. I don't see the need In going on, it's absolutely pointless.  And so, I've almost given up. there's enough drive in me to face it once more time, one last time, and I'm hoping I'll get the better of it, but that'll be the last time.

2012's Looking Good

Life suddenly seems to have taken a nice big jump. My Final Term Examinations showed a 5 percent increase from my first 2 terms, which according to teachers is a great deal in 11th Grade. The Young Entrepreneurs Competition [YEC] was a huge success. Though the first day we were kind of struggling, we really pulled through quite beyond our expectations. As YEC reached its end, the Prefectorial Body for Modern High was announced. And god knows how, I got selected. People always say that i undermine my own abilities a lot, because I never really thought i'd become a prefect. Don't Get me wrong, I know I can carry out the duties, Its just that I never thought my teachers and my seniors took me to be the prefect type. And possibly the best news of the lot? I'm getting my MacPro. My parents were so pleased with me becoming a prefect, they have decided to give me the wonder machine.

So I'm down with the chicken pox. I missed my first week at school, and my investiture at school, but it doesn't bother me so much. For the first time in a while my life feels good. It feels like it's heading in the right direction. And i'm going to take full advantage of the situation.

Hope You've all been having a time as great as mine.

Until Next Post,

Parichay

What Makes My Day?

It doesn't take a lot to make someone's day. The misconceptions keep changing, and everyone, in the realms of their mind believe that there is a fixed way to make someone's day. Some believe the special ingredient to be a gift. Other's believe that it's giving someone attention and making them feel important. 


If you ask me what makes my day? Its a Smile. It seems easy, but think about it. When was the last time you smiled at someone? The perfect smile. Balanced. Not the weird smile, and not the fake smile. Just a warm-radiant-full of life smile. It's quite hard. But I think its worth it. 
Just yesterday, I was at my community mart and I saw an old couple sitting on the bench outside [I know, it sounds like a scene from a typical movie. But it happened, so deal with it :D] . While I looked through the Notice board to see what people had put up over the past month, I couldn't help but notice that they were staring at me. I turned towards them, and instead of saying something, smiled. As I was leaving, the man called me. He said I reminded them of their grandson, who was probably a little older than me. They said that the way I smiled reminded them of their Grandson even more.


It's that incident that got me thinking, it doesn't take much to make someone happy. I think a Smile does just fine.


Parichay Swarup

The Young Entrepreneurs Competition

At the end of Grade 11, there is a competition held at the Dubai Mall for budding entrepreneurs called the Young Entrepreneurs Competition. Though to some of us, its also just a means of earning money. it is also a very valuable event to us 'commerce' students. It brings experience to us and also, if one does extremely well, its a great asset on the college application!


I've been waiting 3 years for YEC [ Young Entrepreneurs Competition]. Ever since I entered senior school, and heard about this competition, I've been waiting to take part in it. And that dream is finally about to come true. The competition starts on the 28th of December and lasts till the 31st of December. Thats 42 hours of selling!


You can't even imagine how excited I am for YEC. I've got plans in mind, what to sell, where to buy from. Contacts, Sources etc etc. I'm not going in with the thought "I'm in it to win it". I'm doing it for the experience. And needless to say for the $$ which i'm working really hard to make sure comes in ample amounts.
The bad part? is that since the exams are going on, the time to plan and carry out various field trips/ execute the thoughout plans is reduced to approximately 2 weeks which I feel isn't really enough to compete in a competition of such a scale where participants go into thousands in numbers.


We've decided to call our Stall "Azienda". Its an italian word and I think it suits the Stall. I'm doing it with my fellow commerce-from-the-beginning-mates Sohail Hafesjee and Mohit Gurnani. Both of which are excellent sellers and thinkers when it comes to entrepreneurship!


I wish all the teams a best of luck in their endeavors and may the best team win!
Parichay Swarup (: 

End of the Month/Year Post.

So yesterday was the last day of Grade 11. In 16 days I’ll be done with the examinations and be in the process of moving to Grade 12. Boy doesn't that sound impossible. It seems like only yesterday that we were finally done with a year of 'Board' pressure and finally into a slightly laid back year [which by the way it wasn't!], and now we're entering a Board year AGAIN? A whole year of NAG NAG and the sometimes-wishing-to-tear-my-hair-out various set of Exams. 

I won't say that I enjoyed my year in Grade 11, But I've made new friends, which I’m immensely grateful for. I've learnt a lot. But when it came to my class, Grade 11A, it’s not something I take pride in. I've actually made a conscious effort to stay out of any trouble that involves my class. And I've been quite successful. Except that when my class decides that it's better to take the blame as a class instead of that one stupid individual taking responsibility for his actions. 

Keeping all the Class issues aside [because they'd take too much time to narrate]; let’s focus on another reason why a lot of us can't seem to grip the fact that we're going to Grade 12. And that is,

We're going to be the senior most batches in school. Now that's two different reason grouped in one. 

The First being, we’re going to be the most looked up to batch of the school. We're supposed to be setting new standards and maintaining the bar [which I Must say, the current 12th grade batch has set pretty high!]. And as a batch, I don't think we're up to it. Sure, we're academically strong, and we've initiated a whole lot of new projects in the school. But when you actually look at it, half those projects are failing or have already failed. We start stuff but don't carry it out. And in this race to become prefects/Head Boy/ House Captains, every one's just trying to start new stuff and no one's really trying to uphold those projects. As a batch, we're not united. 

Sometimes I wish that we have just one head boy and no prefects. A head boy who has the capability to actually bridge the gap between the two sections of Grade 11 and finally bring the missing unity back to our Grade. It sucks. Being regarded as an 11A-er is like a caste system. In my class' eyes, 11B are lower than them, and in their eyes 11A is lower than them. 11B initiates a project, 11A isn't involved. 11A initiates a project, 11B isn't involved. And so continues the endless cycle. 

The second being that we're going to be alone up there. Till now we've always had some senior to help us out whenever we're stuck with ANY problem. But now, we're going to have that responsibility and we're not going to have anyone to guide us. I know it's all a big part of the eventful journey called life, but still. There are something’s we just don’t want to change. 

I've decided not to go on and on and bring yet another post to an abrupt halt. 

Until Next time, 

Parichay Swarup - An 11th Grader.

Life and its bumps.

Recently, an extremely good friend of mine went through quite a rough bump in his life. His parents decided to go their separate ways, and so they got divorced. I know that term (Divorced) isn’t a good one, but I prefer using that because I believe in being straightforward and since it was a divorce, I’m going to call it a divorce.

So, my friend (Who shall remain an anonymous Mr.X) went through that phase where X’s parents got divorced and he didn’t have much of a say in the matter. He lives with his sister and his two elder brothers are currently attending college in India. Now X isn’t one who shares his feelings too easily, and I’ve never pressurized him into doing so either. But there was that hint on sadness in his eyes, whenever I’d meet him or talk to him.

When X first called me after school and told me, I was devastated. I thought of how his remainder of high school might turn out to be a slightly uncomfortable one and I didn’t want that for him so I spent the following day with him at his place just talking about everything that had happened regarding his parents. X seemed reluctant to talk about it and I respected that, but finally he gave in and let it all out.

After a lot of advice and bad times, at last I can say that X’s life has returned to what it used to be sometime back. His parents aren’t the bickering types and they respect each other’s space. They meet often and there are no awkward moments between them. They still live in the same vicinity so they can choose to visit their mum at any given point in the day.

I’m just happy that things turned out quite all right given the prior circumstances and that his life isn’t as filled-with-sadness as it was when this incident first took place. Also, this incident really shocked me to a great extent, and now when I think about it and I think about my life, I feel a sense of relief that my life isn’t as rough as his was.

This Ones For You X,

Until Next Time,

Parichay

Wishful Thinking

Have You Ever Wanted Something So Badly But Haven't Really Had The Means To Get It? I'm Sure Everyone Would Have Had One Such Situation Or Will Have A Similar Situation Sometime In Their Lives. I Believe That For Me, That Time Is Now.

We All Know How Apple's Products Have Changed The World And The Way The Society Functions. From Its iPod to its iPhone to its iPad. to its Macbook, It Has Revolutionized The Field Of Technology. I Like The Countless Millions And Perhaps Billions Across The Globe Am An Apple Fan. To Me Their Products Come At The Top, No Matter What The Reviews Or The Glitches.

You Must Be Thinking, How Is Any Of This Related To His Topic On Wanting Something So Badly And Not Having A Means To Obtain It? It Is Related.

For Years Now, I've Always Loved Apple Products But There's That One Product Which I Set Eyes On And Then Just Wanted It. The Apple Macbook Pro. The New 13 Inch Macbook Pro I5 Core Processor Seems To Be The Perfect Piece Of Tech. But Sadly, And No Matter How Much I Try To Persuade Myself, I Know That When It Comes To The Ultimate Question, "Do I Really Need It?" The Answer Is A No. But That Doesn't Seem To Stop Me From Wanting It.

I Know, That If I Genuinely Ask My Parents, With All My Heart And Push For It, They Might Buy Me The Macbook Pro. But For Some Godknowswhat Reason, I Don't Think It's Right To Ask My Parents To Buy Me Such An Expensive Laptop. They've Just Recently Spent A Lot On Me. I've Bought A Nikon DSLR, a new Blackberry And Also They Paid A Hefty Amount For Sending Me To Boston To Take Part In The Harvard Model United Nations Conference. After All This, Spending Another 5000/- On A Laptop Doesn't Seem Right. So I've Come To Conclusion That:

No, I Will Not Allow Or Even Ask My Parents To Buy Me A Macbook Pro "13 But That Does Not Mean I Will Give Up On My Wish. I Will Spend The Next Year, Before I Go To College Collecting And Saving Up Money Through The Young Entrepreneurs Competition, An Internship And In Any Other Way Possible And Buy The Macbook Pro.

Do Check Out The Apple Site And The Macbook Page In Particular: Http://Www.Apple.Com/Mac/

Until Next Time,
Parichay

Photography

Photography is such a vast interest. To some it means taking pictures of their children or family from time to time and putting it together in terms of a scrapbook and to some its a form of retaining memories for a long time. 
People often ask me, what is photography to you? And well, I've never had a complete answer, until now. I feel that photography is more than just a simple 'hobby' or 'passion'. Its a drive. When I look at the world, I look at it from the lens of a camera. Photography helps me show the world what I see, be it in a landscape shot, or in a shot of the sun. It gives me a medium to express myself to anyone and everyone who sees my pictures, quite like this blog. But it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "A Picture is worth a thousand words"
I'm not saying I'm some professional photographer who's going for photo shoots, but I feel that i'm more than a teenager with a DSLR camera. 


My Camera: Nikon D5100
Do check out my 500px Photography Page Here.
AND
My facebook page [Click on it. Don't worry, It'll Open in a New Tab] 
and if you like any of my pictures, please like them. If any of you feel that there's any way in which I can better my style of taking certain photographs, do not hesitate in letting me know!


Thanks,
Parichay Swarup.

Random Photographs.

Flames.
.

                                                        Support.

Candles In The Dark.

Sun In My           Drawer.

Avisha Goel.  

               Adorable.

The Bond Between Father and Daughter.