Entertainment blog My Onion Soul

Thursday, 16 July 2015

How our childhood dreams got lost while growing up!

There was a deep silence across the room like a storm was about to come. No sound could be heard except that coming from my over-sized shoes while walking to and fro. I could barely walk wearing an over-sized lab coat and big black formal shoes. With a wooden ruler in my one hand tapping on my other hand repeatedly and a stern look on my face I looked over to my class. They were terrified; unable to move or speak they stared me with anticipation. Suddenly I stopped, turned towards the black roller board hung on the wall and struck the ruler where “A=” was written in chalk in barely legible handwriting. I yelled with authority in my voice “A for?”. The topper of my class, my mom replied in a poetic tone as I had taught her to speak, “A for Apple”. I shouted in appreciation, “very good!”



We all had huge ambitions when we were kids. Not that I am too old but yeah! I don’t dream of becoming a doctor, teacher and pilot together. (Yes, I wanted to become all three.) 
Ah! Sweet were those days when we weren’t aware of career jargons like degree, placement, job, entrance exams, eligibility etc. We just wore our dad’s lab coat and hung mom’s purse on the shoulder and became whatever we wanted. (That would be 5 year old me)

Daydreaming Gif

I was extremely ambitious when I was small, wanted to become a doctor because living things fascinated me. My mother is a teacher so that was also in the ‘list’. Besides that, looking up to the tiny planes leaving behind fading white smoke in the blue sky made me think if someone could fly that thing, he would be invincible. So that’s what I dreamt of. But then ‘cruel’ realities came out of nowhere. Growing up in a cut-throat competitive world, I learn what the world taught me and I chose paths which were tried, tested and conventional. I turned out fine but when I look back, I see a fearless little girl with big dreams in her sparkling dreamy eyes asking me a question “Hey, how come you forgot me?”

Freedom of dreaming leaves us somewhere and practical realities of life grab our hand and dragged us towards survival. (I came up with that line myself!) That’s what everyone is pitching for. Trying to get a job or a degree for a job so that they can pile up enough money to survive. Well “survival” is a bit of an exaggerated term; actually we all just want a lavish house with AC in every room and a big car. Anything less than that would cause embarrassing taunts and looks by worthless neighbors and distant relatives. In the struggle of understanding the worldly code of conduct, we don’t realize when our dreams lose our sight.



Well moving on, what’s done is done, until unless we have a time machine to go back and change our past decisions. As we drift through the crowd, we can still bring back the dreamy kid who got lost in the way by doing what we love to do. Our work should be interesting and engaging enough that we do not realize an hour pass while working. As the macho-man Salman Khan says “Wo jeena bhi koi jeena hai jisme koi KICK na ho”. The nature of the “kick” might be different for different people. We need to find our unique “kick” source (which should be legal at least, unlike what Salman does in the movie ‘Kick’). 

If your work makes you look at the clock frequently, it’s time for a change. Going against the flow for a while will require tremendous courage but it’s the prize one has to pay for actual happiness. Because according to a popular belief “Haar kar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain!!" 

So, what did you dream to become and how did things turn out for you? 
C'mon! tell me. Then we can cry together :D

Monday, 22 June 2015

Having an elder brother can be Awesome!!



The relationship between siblings is by far the coolest relationship ever. Besides being more flexible, there is less drama and hell lot of fun. Fights, patch ups, support, care and a lifelong unconditional bond of trust- it has all the best things. Having an elder brother feels great I must say. It's like having a 24x7 customer support guy at your service, always available for your absurd queries, career advice, emergency money lending or any other big or small issue.

The peculiar species called "big brother" or "bade bhaiya" is actually a hybrid between your father and own self. They are protective and corrective like your dad but crazy and prone to errors like you. So, they will always guide you through tough times, prepare you for what is coming but will also be the best hangout buddies too. Your relationship with your elder brother changes gradually with age. During the first 10-15 years of life with them is full of fighting, running around, biting, scratching, complaining and stealing chocolates. But as you grow up it all becomes casual and brothers become the most important support that can ever be. Not that fighting, running around, biting, scratching, complaining and stealing chocolates stops, but yes, it all becomes less personal and more fun.  

game of thrones cast brother and sister gif

They teach you the secret tricks for survival in the world; having been faced their own set of challenges without much support from anyone they are full of strength and experience. They will help you to choose the right path, warn you about the pitfalls and appreciate your small achievements. You become stronger growing up with them and the bloody sibling fights prepare you to easily beat up anyone. They are awesome secret keepers, only if you hold on to your end of bargain which can be anything they want or any of their own secrets. If you try to double cross them they will surely take revenge in some way or the other coz they are smarter. 


Anyone reading this, having an elder brother might be recalling those vivid childhood memories like old vines playing in the head. I have some vines too. I remember the time when my brother used to come to my school to pick me up when it was raining heavily and all the roads were flooded. I remember him making maggi for me, giving me extra in the beginning knowing I wouldn't be able to finish it and and would give him more than half from my plate at the end. I remember the fights, exaggerated complains to mom to get me in trouble, those endless carrier discussions with him acting as "Arnab Goswami" and me as "Meenakshi Lekhi". ("What did you say?", "Please answer the question, you are not answering my question.") :D    

So, love him, fight with him, abuse him, but you surely can't ignore him. He has many names- your guiding light, protective shield or emergency fixed deposit. 

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"He is the hero a sister deserves, but not the one she needs right now. So, she will fight with him. Because he is not her hero. He is a silent guardian, a watchful protector. Bhaiya!" 
(Batman lovers will kill me after reading this :D )

batman cartoon batman gif


Monday, 8 June 2015

10 Reasons Bookworms should be Shot !!


These creatures are fearless, deadly and stubborn. They are always around you, aware of your every step but hypnotized and captured by books. They won't let it go, even if there is a situation of higher importance. They can be found lying around in bizarre body postures reading endlessly. Book to bookworms is like alcohol to a drunkard. Such creatures can make your life miserable by doing nothing but reading. 

These are some reasons why such maniacs can be shot:



1) They are lazy and obstinate. Let alone working, they won't even move their leg from above the table for you to pass. Do not expect them to get groceries, get the air conditioner repaired or even answer a phone call.  

2) All their senses except eyes are cut off from the real world. Their eyes fixed on the book and mind floating in the fictional world created by picturizing the text, they will never   hear you call or scream. If you are in grave danger never call them, they might not even look up from their book. You keep jabbing about all you miseries and they will reflect it like mirror.
Adventure-time-book

3) Being lazy makes it impossible for them to get up and take a bath. They are unaware of their smelly clothes and messed surroundings in the course of completing their read.
Reading-over-everything

4) Having read a lot, they turn into one of the most dangerous species or breed that existed on the earth, Grammar Nazis. They nag you constantly on small grammatical mistakes and never let anything slide by without correcting.

5) Obsessive readers always leave nothing for others. You might be searching for a book to     start for ages, but alas! that bookworm would issue or borrow that book first.
Rapunzel-books


6) They are over-protective about their books; beware if you dare to borrow their books. They will lecture you with the strict do's and don’ts, and will know even if a single page           has an extra crease.

7) During your conversations with a third person they just can't control their urge to share relevant bookish examples from literature or history and make you look like an illiterate       jerk.

8) They are horrible weekend partners. Buried in their books, they don't wish to go out for a movie or shopping. Weekend is the best time for them to read uninterrupted, forget food they just get up when the nature calls them.

9) They carry their book around, living room, bathroom, bus, train and office everywhere. It is annoying for people around them to see them always reading.

10) They are social loners by choice, they like to be alone and if you try to give them company you end up outraging them.


Wednesday, 3 June 2015

The Inherent Irony of Everything



“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”

"What an irony!", we often say when the apparent happening is somewhat opposite to the expected situation. There is a complexity of emotions, a contradiction of expected results when this thought strikes our mind. Sometimes hilarious but often heart breaking; ironies surround us everywhere, what is required - an observant eye to perceive it. 



People who are extremely cautious and re-check their steps frequently are always bed-ridden, usually end up forgetting something. While there are those who take the leap of faith, decide once, look around and jump off the cliff, bothering least about the consequences. Such kind of people often achieve what they desire without a scratch, while the onlookers stare with their jaws dropped, amazed on the irony of the situation and cursing their cowardice. 

One of the most fascinating form of irony is our own self. We are "something" inside, with our fears, desires, regrets, insecurities, expectations, guilts and incompetencies. But what we project to the outside world? We project what we "wish" to be. We even guide people around us to handle situations we ourselves could never face if subjected to. For example, people who could not get through the IIT-JEE exam after all their attempts, guarantee your kid's admission in the top college regardless of the kid's own caliber or interest. 

In literature or even while talking generally, irony is used to add fun to the conversation or explain something which is contrary to general expectation. It is fun to humor your friends by hurling random ironic statements like "The most silent place to study at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study room?" Being a part of speech used on a regular basis, ironies are familiar to many of us. Of course, we never look into whether the usage is correct or not. Found a website http://www.isitironic.com/ where we can actually check whether our usage of irony is correct or not. This website is entertaining and enlightening at the same time. Readers will cast their own vote – you can see the percentages of the votes – and the website will provide the final yes or no verdict.

Some of the best entries from this website are mentioned:

  • Is it ironic that the creative process (for writing) actually kills my creativity?...
83% ironic 17% not ironic

  • The most silent place to study at my university is the cafeteria and not the library or the study room?...
75% ironic 25% not ironic

  • My school email system marks as spam, email that is sent from the school itself?...
89% ironic 11% not ironic  

  • After Christmas a person who hates Christmas time says "Thank God" when it is over....
75% ironic 25% not ironic

  • Having noted that most people do not understand the meaning of irony, we now have a crowd-sourced website that uses majority rule voting to decide what is and is not ironic....
83% ironic 17% not ironic

  • The bank charges you extra money for not having enough money in your account?...
86% ironic 14% not ironic  

  • I posted a generalized statement on Facebook about being disappointed in people's behavior and the person I am aiming it at unknowingly likes my post?...
83% ironic 17% not ironic

  • I said "I made a typo" and then misspelled typo?
86% ironic 14% not ironic  

  • I took the advice from the Charlie Chaplin song, "smile", with the lyric: "smile even though your heart is breaking"...  which I did at a funeral. I was kicked out the funeral because people thought I was happy the deceased was dead. And because of the lyric: "smile through your fear", I smiled at a scary man who was growling at me and he punched me because he thought I was disrespecting him....
90% ironic 10% not ironic 

  • Benedict Cumberbatch, who narrated a documentary where he mispronounced the word "penguins" numerous times, starred in the "Madagascar" spin-off film "Penguins" of Madagascar!!...
78% ironic 22% not ironic



So, irony comes from contradiction between the apparent and traditional. I am an engineering graduate in electronics and communication branch, currently working in a software company, writing a general humor blog with a defective mobile phone. 

(Those who think it is ironic, please explain those who didn't get it) :P 

Image Source : www.boredpanda.com

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

11 Rules for Critical Thinking


Reflective and independent thinking can be tough these days. With media and internet becoming the source of mostly biased and opinion-based information, one has to isolate his mind for some time to introspect and understand his own opinion about things. Social media on one side is the fastest means to spread a news but it also often propagates highly judgmental views. So, how to discover our own thoughts, not the ones derived from the pre-existing and spoon-fed opinions around us. 

It takes a critical approach to be original and not a mere paraphrased version of the peripheral world. Thinking "out-of-the-box" requires challenging the consensus, not taking the usual route but trying less-popular approaches. I have observed that since childhood, my critical thinking ability has reduced. May be it happens with everyone, you start accepting the general flow and start flowing in the same direction. I was very critical of the world around me. After watching "Terminator", for some time I was sure that everyone around me was a robot and Skynet knew everything about me. All the people I knew were either the ones protecting me or the those who came to destroy the only left human on the planet. Among the destroyers were my school teachers and siblings. Well, this was obviously an exaggerated critical approach to human existence but yes, children have that ability to deny what everyone believes or asks them to believe. They just reject you boldly.



While reading around, I came across "Prospero's Precepts"- 11 rules for critical thinking. These rules are contributions from great minds from history. They have immense depth, and they can serve as guidelines for thinking differently in any matters of doubt. 


1.  All beliefs in whatever realm are theories at some level. 

2.  Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. 
(Dandemis)

3.  Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. 

4.  Never fall in love with your hypothesis. 

5.  It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts. 

6.  A theory should not attempt to explain all the facts, because some of the facts are wrong. 

7.  The thing that doesn’t fit is the thing that is most interesting. 

8.  To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact. 

9.  It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. 

10.  Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong. 

11. All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second, it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident. 




Monday, 11 May 2015

Mean Memes !!



Memes have been flooding over facebook, twitter and almost everywhere else these days. I didn't know how to pronounce it correctly even after using it several times. For those who still don't know, it's not "meh-meh" but "mi-m" or "meem". 

Google says meme is "an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations." Wikipedia rather gives a complicated theory behind its origin and usage. Who cares where and how they originated but they sure are entertaining. I came across some of the meanest and bang-on memes. They have a message from the society and to the society, with the perfect balance between humor and irony.

Some of the best I found... Enjoy :) 


  • This is a fact. Not a single bunk is 100% successful. There is always a "Chatur" in every class.





  • The Creator of this planet was clever enough to add ingredients like "light skinned people", "medium skinned people", "dark-skinned people", birds, insects, reptiles, tress etc. "Jerks" were added for fun I guess.



  • I believe him!


  • This one is just very funny, not sure what it implies though.



  • Don't know who was more stupid, the human or the alien.


  • It's designed for humans. If I consider vice-versa is true, there are many aliens living among us. The company claims that the phone is inspired by nature and is designed for human emotions. #IdontBelieveIt


  • This one is really ironic and shows how virtual kindness is nothing as compared to real help and sympathy. 









  • "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of every one." - John Maynard Keynes



  • No offenses meant to iPhone users. But isn't that true? 


  • Women!! :D


Source: Quora

Thursday, 23 April 2015

Prologue - Who am I ?



Hola !

Greetings to fellow earthly people and to the aliens who just came to earth for free wifi.

This is an introduction to my blog "My Onion Soul". Well, who am I and why this blog? 

I am a keen observer. 
I see people striving hard to find ideal jobs, good life and meet others' expectations. All that is obligatory in today's world, to do what is expected of you for your own better future. But in that struggle to achieve our goals, we forget who we really are and what we really like to do. I believe in preserving our real self. Sustaining our childhood hobbies helps us rejuvenate our self and fills us with new energy to achieve what we strive for. 

I have tried to keep my hobbies alive; they make me feel stress free and useful. Writing blog is the recent addition to my list of hobbies. This blog is my amateur attempt to the field of writing excluding the essay competitions at school and my small personal diary. My posts might not have any morals to teach you but they would take your mind off from worldly heebie-jeebies. Not being a professional writer, I expect the readers to be encouraging and not strictly judgmental. There is no particular genre of my blog. All thoughts expressed here are inspired from real life thoughts and incidents from my life. I am open to reviews and suggestions from fellow bloggers and readers.

Happy Blogging! :)
I'll be back!! (#Arnold voice)

ill be back terminator photo:  tumblr_lwxbm5k9xP1qgplyq.gif

Disclaimer:

This blog is meant for recreational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely intentional and no apologies should be expected. The ideas expressed in the blog strictly belong to the author and must not be taken seriously. Any images used in the posts were searched on Google and belong to their corresponding owners and not the author. If any ideas appear to resemble yours, then the author should be considered as a mind reader and nothing else. If the reader feels insulted or irritated while or after reading the content of this blog, he/she is free to leave the page after sharing it on social websites. If condition persists, consult your physician. This blog is subject to change without notice. No animals or humans were harmed in the process of writing this blog. This blog is suitable for people with high IQ levels and also engineers. All posts of this blog belong to the author and if any part of the text is copied by anyone without prior notice and payment, the person will be punished by God in due time. Charitable investment in the form of cash, cheque or food is humbly accepted. Investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document after investing. Investors can drop a mail regarding the payment and in return get a free trip to Mars (*Conditions Applied)