Lying to be perfect

Saw this movie on Youtube today at 2 am courtesy insomnia  . Hence the decision to watch a chick-flick .  'Lying to be perfect' is the movie adaptation of the book 'The Cinderella Pact' by Sarah Strohmeyer . Before you ask , No ! I haven't read the book . 

So it's a story about a frumpy , dowdy , old - fashioned girl named Nola . She is overlooked by her co-workers for she is too large for her body . She is overweight . Inspite of being intellectual , budding & talented  , she is not given any promotion . She is referred to as a 'Big Girl with Big Dreams' . This brings down her self-esteem even more . Without giving up  , she disguises herself & behind the anonymity of the screen , becomes 'Belinda Apple'- The advice columnist of a  magazine . 

Her overweight friends suffering from the same woes form 'The Cinderella Pact' focused on loosing flab . They succeed & win the world over with their determination . The rest can be seen in the movie .

Watch it . You'll love it ;)

Follow me on twitter @shefaliscints

'ONLINE' Exams suck

It's been a long while since i wrote to you last . Don't worry ! I do have an article for you today . 

SE blog traffic comprises the college students largely . So i am sure you guys must know about exams like CAT , AIEEE , BITSAT ,  XAT , JEE  etc . If knowing is a big deal , then you must have at-least heard about them . 

These exams are very hard to crack . You should be impregnably & ingeniously bright to  clear these exams with distinction . Frankly speaking , most of us have no luck there . If the difficulty levels were not enough to put us off , most of these highly coveted exams are going online in few years . 

The education sector has seen great implementation of the IT ever since it's inception . Smart-classrooms , digital education & virtual teaching methodologies have proved to be a boon  . 

Technology is a good slave but a monster for the master . I understand the concept of modernization goes hand in hand with virtualization , but the level of it's implementation is questionable .

Online examinations  are something i can't stand . Only a minority of students in colleges & schools in India support the concept of studying from e-books . No matter how cheap , it's really difficult to study on a screen . Your eyes start to pain . You get disinterested  & you might not be able to get to the bottom of the subject . 

Going against the concept of online examinations is my personal choice . You might disagree . I respect your opinion  . What's disappointing is the fact that in a jest to be politically correct & intellectually smart , we tend to say how good the concept of Online Ed is . We save a lot of paper . We save trees . We don't have to spend hard-earned money on expensive books . We get study-material 24*7 etc . 

A few features surely , are truly fascinating but i think one  can't put in his/her best while working with a screen . It's very similar to choosing i-pads , mobile phones , playstations for playing games over going out & playing Soccer , Cricket or sports involving physical activities . 

When you are giving an online exam , you might be given a sheet of paper for rough work . You might keep it on your desk and start the exam . After a while you'll find yourself switching time & again from desk to paper & paper to desk . The techy life of a tech-savy child . 

And when your life is at stake , let's say during the campus placement online aptitude tests , a single headache insinuated due to the screen-stress can give you a headache for your entire life . Suppose you mess up your CAT/AIEEE/IIT exam just because it goes online , you might as well get scarred . Harry Potter got a scar on his forehead . Yours might get instilled right in the centre of your brain . 

Note : The exaggerated bits not to be taken seriously . However , i whole heartedly  , am against the concept of online exams . 

Good things about Orkut

Orkut was developed by Orkut Büyükkökten and purchased by Google in 2004 . It  used to be one of the most trendy & happening social networking sites . However , the popularization of Facebook in 2010  & Twitter in  2006 , lead to it's slow and steady demise . Within a few years , it was wiped out as useless by the internet users . 

Orkut is going offline on September 30, 2014 . As of today , when we come across this news in the buzz feed , we can't help remembering a few glowing features of Orkut that made it so special . Some of which are :-

1. Scraps : If you were never a part of Orkut , then you surely have missed out on a lot . The Scrapbook feature allowed your added friends on the site to send you messages in the form of scraps . These could be viewed by anyone until Orkut added a few stringent privacy settings .The more the no. of scraps , the more cooler you were thought to be . 

2.Testimonials - You could write  testimonials . These generally constituted long letters of goodwill from your friends and foes . You could add poems and songs in them too . If you have ever forced a friend to write for you , a testimonial , then you surely have been a true Orkut user . 

3.Crush-List - A very interesting feature of Orkut . You could add a person as your crush . Don't worry , the other person would not be notified unless he/she also adds you to his/her crush list . Looks like Orkut was keen on making matches . 

4.Profile-Views - Yes . You could actually see who viewed your profile . Every time you opened your account , the names of the people were displayed on the home screen . If you could see who viewed your profile , then the others could too :P . No clue whether it worked in favour of the site or not , but it was a feature unique to Orkut .

5.Colored Themes : You can change the color of your profile time & again depending on your mood . Facebook offers us only the blue color & probably ever will . If you didn't know , i'll tell you that Mark Zuckerberg , the accidental billionaire who discovered FB , is color blind . The only color he can see properly is the shade of blue which adorns our FB profiles . So the chances of getting a red , green , orange or silver FB profile are minimal in the future too . If you really want colors , you could have shifted to Orkut , but even that won't be feasible after 30th September , 2014.

Bollywood's flair for terminal diseases

' Bollywood ' - the major Hindi  film industry in India has risen up rampantly in the past few years . Movies like Dhoom 3 , Chennai Express , Krishh 3 have boosted up the money making capabilities of the Indian Cinema . 

However , sensible & meaningful movies , not aimed at minting money do not seem to be a part of this rat-race . It's not saying much that such films are no longer being made .

Very interestingly , on the contrary , Bollywood's connection with terminal diseases has been splendid . It is not tough to name films in which illness of the protagonist constitutes the backdrop . The actors inching every second towards death , sensitize you towards such diseases but still there is better scope for more realistic portrayal .  Such films definitely bring tears to our eyes , but do they forget to bring substance to the table  ? 

I have compiled a list of 10 movies aimed at using terminal diseases as their selling point  :-

1. Ek Villain : Aisha ( Shraddha Kapoor ) has Cancer . Her health deteriorates every second but her cheer for life  pulls her out of the agony victoriously  . No wonder the movie's 11 days collection is 95.38 crore .

2. Kal Ho Naa Ho - A Shah-Rukh Khan starrer romcom , features him as terminally ill . He succumbs to death in excruciating pain . With an actor like him , you can't expect the film 'not to' win 2 National awards & 7 Filmfares . 

3. Anand - a 1971 film starring Rajesh Khanna features him being a terminal patient  . The movie built a cult status for itself and became a smashing hit in the country .

4.Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. - grabbed good reviews from the critics and the audiences alike . Zaheer ( Jimmy Shergill ) finds himself in dying state & dies in Sanjay Dutt's arms .

5.We are a family - A multi starrer drama depicts Kajol having Cancer . The movie revolves around the how the family copes up with her ailments .

6.U  Me Aur Hum - portrays Kajol suffering from Alzheimer disease . The movie didn't do very well at the box-office .

7. Aashayein - John Abraham has Cancer & that makes situations worse for him and others .

8.Rockstar - Nargis Fakhri's debut film , features her Cancer struck . She is set opposite Ranbir Kapoor . The film garnered her critical appreciation .

9.Dard Ka Rishta - The daughter of the protagonist , suffers from Leukemia . It's a 1982 release .

10.Kaash - Another 1987 film , where the child has brain tumor & it affects the lives of others around .

FYI , Karan Johar has recently bagged the rights to remake 'The Fault in our Stars' . He plans to sign Alia Bhatt to play the role of a Cancer - ridden girl eager to fulfill her last wishes . 

If you think i missed a film with a similar theme , do not forget to tell me .

Where in Chandigarh ? Here .

Located in North India . It is a UT . The first well planned city of the country , designed by Le Carbousier is also called 'The City Beautiful'. Why ?

The answer to that is quite simple . 

Because it's simply plain , yet exotically beautiful . 

Recently in a Twitter post , Preity Zinta mentioned how fascinated she was with the cleanliness in the city . Later she also pleaded the other citizens of India to keep their respective states unblemished . 

When i see such posts , i feel very honored . There are 100s of places to visit here . The major tourist attractions are - Sukhna Lake , Rock Garden , Zakir Rose Garden , Sector 17 and many more . 

Visited them all ? Good , if yes . On the contrary , pretty much against your expectation , you still can't be called a true Chandigarhian if you don't accomplish the task of visiting and enjoying the following destinations :-

Sector - 17 A full market gehri .

Spring Rolls and Momos from the mini markets located in each sector can be relished in the evenings .

Butterscotch milkshake of Sector 40 main market .

The Pomegranate mix juice of Sector 22 can make you forget the tropical juices , mocktails and drinks of all times .

Books and brew - Sector 16 - Maggi with coke on the upper shed . P.S. You can also have a clear view of couples from there :P Sector 38 Music nights and Board games with free internet .

Rock Garden : The swings & the waterfall .

Fried burgers and aloo tikkis have to be tried no matter how unhealthy they may seem . 

Garden of Silence - Didn't get a chance to move too close to the water on the front main lake ? You might wanna try the backside  .  Cool wind is guaranteed . 

Golgappas from the Sector 22 ans Sector 19 market are sure to lend your taste-buds craving for more . 

Stu-C : Have everything there :P

Do you own a car , Activa , bike ? I am sure you won't mind going for a Gehri on the Sector 8 - 9 Gehri route . You can always be up for a good Gehri even if you have a Bajaj Scooter . In case you have an open jeep , then your tour'll has to be nothing short of divinity .

A stroll in the rain anywhere .

The leaky train

Thursday morning Mumbai received heavy showers in the morning . Well , so did the  Metro commuters . Shocked ? Check out the picture . 

8 years & 4.5 crores later , Mumbai gets it's Metro train . However , Reliance this time does not come up with a normal expensive transport system designed spectacularly for the commuters ,  but a well-designed system that wondrously fails in the advent of the monsoons . The compartments spring leaks through the air-conditioning ducts . 

The situations puts a question mark on the impending hike in train fare . Only , do we have a responsibility to pay taxes ?  There is a penalty for our every default & none when it comes to the Government . Only we are made to comply by the laws . 

This state of affairs is sad but you can still smile by reading the tweets which went viral after the incident happened . :v

"If you're running late, just take a shower on your way to office in the new Mumbai Metro.  "


" Folks commuting to work by Mumbai Metro remember to take your own soaps & towels along till Reliance kindly provides some with free shower. "


" Mumbai Metro Rail converted to Mumbai Metro Rain! Amazing! #Respect "


" Reliance installs most advanced technology for commuters to experience Mumbai Rains, even while in Metro.. "


"The world may laugh at our primitive infra but Mumbai's metros have built in rain showers.Try to beat that guys . "

Fight for yourself

There are many kinds of people in the world . Some are the ones who are domineering . They never miss a chance to put you down . They win mostly because they are insensitive towards the feelings of the others . 

The weak and fragile ones have to suffer . They are bullied constantly till the time they decide to stand-up for themselves . Before that , they are prone to dismissive behavior and verbal-abuse . They tend to let it go . 

The row ends when the submissive person voluntarily looses . Their brain knows they were right but the heart says it's good to end things . The heart always has reasons that even reasons don't understand . There is distance & there are prayers . The rebuke never leaves them . There is a prayer they say everyday .

The bullies fear nobody . They assert that they do , but they really don't . They try to camouflage their negativity through their harsh words . One day they are made to suffer . Suffer real bad .

The naive people should stop living in denial . One bad person shouldn't be able to ruin your life . Life keeps moving . Sometimes the circumstances are not bad , but the people are .  Be strong . 

The weak win as soon as they stand-up for themselves . They achieve inner peace . Their life is more calm . What they achieve internally changes their outer reality .