How to make your own passport photos at home?

How to make your own passport photos at home?

Three little flowers

Chinnu was looking out of his window when he saw three little white flowers basking in the soft rays of the early morning sun. Along came a tiny spider that was looking for a place to spin a web. It asked the first flower, "Can I spin a web on your stalk? I need a place to stay and this looks perfect." The first flower frowned haughtily and said, "Hmmph, move on spider, I do not want your sticky goo all over me. Go find a different place to make your mess". The dejected spider went to the second flower and asked for permission. The second flower was more welcoming and said, "Take all the place you need. Nothing makes me happier, than to help a friend". The spider was overjoyed, he thanked the flower and set to work.

Next, came a buzzing bumble bee looking for honey. The bee approached the first flower and asked for some nectar. The proud flower again refused. "Go away you noisy bee. Let me enjoy the tranquil and quiet of the early dawn", said the flower. The hungry bee flew past the second flower and went to the third and asked for some nectar. The third flower was very friendly. It readily agreed and said, "Take some my friend, I have brewed a whole lot and was waiting to share it with someone".

By now, the sun had grown a little brighter. Soon a bunch of grannies and grandpas started streaming by, armed with a small basket and a crooked stick, on their rounds to pluck flowers for the morning pooja at home. A bent granny with grey hair and large glasses spotted these three flowers by Chinnu's window and took a fancy for them. She stopped and thought of plucking a flower or two. She saw the third flower and saw a bumble bee buzzing around it. Scared of getting stung, she let the flower pass. Next, she set her eyes on the second flower. It had a white sticky web at the stalk. Repelled by the gooeyness, the old lady left the flower alone. Finally she saw the first flower. The flower looked perfect. It was squeaky clean and its petals were glistening in the morning sun. With a yelp of joy, the granny pulled out her stick and reached for the flower and "snap", plucked it from its perch. The sad flower shed a tear as it parted from the plant. The two other flowers waved their friend goodbye. "Chinnu! Stop staring out of the window. Brush you teeth. You are getting late for school", shouted Chinnu's mother.
 

Exercise while on a holiday

I'm just back from a half an hour workout. I ran 4 km, did a few stretches and some push ups. I'm all sweaty and kicked to take on the day. What makes this seemingly routine workout session worthy of a blog? Well, it is the fact that I've been doing all this in Mangalore, where I've come for a niece's wedding. I got off the morning bus in Managalore and reached my uncle's house. We had a good three hours to kill before we left for the wedding. I felt like en-cashing on Mangalore's sultry weather and set out on a jog. The run was splendid. Here's a list of reasons as to why exercising while on a holiday is a great idea:

1. You'll have enough idle time on your hands. Make use of it.
2. You'll tend to eat heavy food and sit around doing nothing. Burn calories through exercise so, that your body is ready to take all the heavy food.
3. Running is a great way to experience the local weather. Each city you visit tends to be different. Some are dry, some are sultry, some are cold. Running is a wonderful to soak up those climates. Each weather type tends to have a different impact on the body. If its sultry you loose water like mad. If its cold, your breathing becomes heavy due to all the work in warming up the body. Experience this sort of acclimatization experiment. It's a great feeling

More to come...got to leave now...have a wedding to attend....cheers!

Of grannies and their fussing...

The world would be much bereft of love without all the fussing that grannies shower on their grandchildren.

Image source: http://www.janierezner.com/background.html

When dad drove the car over a vegetable vendor's foot!

My dad and mom leave for work together every morning in the family car. Dad drives; he first drops mom off at her college and then proceeds to the Law School. My dad has never been a particularly good driver. He learnt driving quite late, in his thirties, and like most people who learn driving late in their lives, he is pretty uptight at the wheel.  On this particular day, dad was navigating his way through the twists and turns on the usual route. While making a tight left into a narrow gulley, the car went over something and there was a sharp yelp. Dad stopped and looked around to see a vegetable vendor with a pushcart clutching his foot and howling in pain. Both dad and mom got out of the vehicle and stared incredulously at the poor man who was hopping on one foot and making quite a racket. Soon, a local ruffian entered the scene and started making an unsolicited representation on behalf of the limping cart pusher. Dad and the ruffian got into a verbal duel. As charges and counter-charges began to flow, mom, the vegetable vendor and pedestrians on the street, became unwitting onlookers. And then! All of us sudden, the push cart that had been standing neglected all alone by itself, sprung to life and started rolling down the street as if on its own volition. The vegetable vendor who had been hopping, limping, and sobbing till then, suddenly forgot all his misery and started running after the cart as if for dear life. It was like a Charlie Chaplin movie being played out in real life. My dad, being the astute lawyer that he is, immediately pointed to the fact that the vendor's foot seemed absolutely fine in action. Amidst all the confusion, mom yanked at dad's arm, hurled him into the car, jumped into the driver's seat, hit the gas pedal and scooted from the scene while everyone else was still trying to figure out what was happening!

Later that evening, all of us had a hearty laugh. Dad still claims that the guy's leg was absolutely fine, else how could he chase after the cart. Mom has declard dad's driving as unsafe and put severe curbs on his freedom of speech while at the wheel. I, on my part, mutter a couple of silent prayers everytime I wave them off at the gate, one for the poor car that bears the brunt of dad's driving, and one for the poor pedestrians who don't know what's coming their way.

Cheers.

Regrets

How do some people claim they don't have regrets? I don't see how even the most cheerful people can live through life without regrets. I guess, when a person says he doesn't have regrets, he really means that he hasn't succumbed to his regrets. He has regrets, but he has accepted them and moved on. Regrets, if let loose to grow, can become all devouring black holes. They suck every sliver of hope and happiness left in you, leaving you despondent and restless. It is a strange state of restlessness, bordering on depression. It doesn't let you focus on things that are positive and can break this cycle of negativity, instead it prods you to continue down the path of self-destruction, leaving you worse than where you had begun. It's a vicious cycle at it's vicious best.

Projections

I often wonder about how all of us tend to project an image. It is a little like role play. We choose to behave differently with different people. For instance, if I run into a pesky neighbour I'd like to avoid, I act all busy and try to ignore him. On the other hand, if I run into a senior colleague I'd like to please, I'm all graces and charms. Then, who is the real me? Am I a haughty snob or a fawning sycophant. I say, I'm both. In fact I'm more. I can be a loyal friend, a generous host, a mean competitor, a swindling fraudster, a caring son, a spoilt brat and every other hue and shade there is out there.  These are just different faces/aspects of the real me. I firmly believe that all human beings are basically the same. We share a common pool of emotions and responses. Some are more adept at controlling them, while some are not. But, then these exist in one and all.

Hence, my theory goes as follows. Don't be hasty in labelling people as good, bad, haughty, selfish, etc. If your first impression leave a bad taste, give the relationship some more time and see if subsequent interactions change your opinion. If you keep running into the bad side of a person, try to analyze and figure out how to net him on the good side. A person that you want to influence might project a mean and harsh exterior, but rest assured he has a caring and reasonable facade as well. You'll have to be smart enought to figure out how to tap that positive emotion in him. As always, the ball is in your court, it's upto you to put in the legwork and play it to your advantage.