An Ode To Openness!!

Well... although I don’t want a major part of my blog to be about symbiosis, I just can’t help writing about my second exciting week here. I guess this is the first time ever that I’ll be writing on my academics. For a person like me… that is actually something.  Anyway this week, as I mentioned in the title, was all about how open a person should be to everything. When I first got my week’s Time Table, I was horrified because we had classes till 8 in the evening. And the worse part that concerned me was that whole week… right from 9 in the morning to 8 in the night, will be dealt by only one professor. I dint know what to do. No matter how great the lecture is, bearing one person from morning to evening and that too for ONE WHOLE week wasn't something I was looking forward to. So I woke up on Monday, got ready, had my breakfast, and I went to the class. Little did I know that something else was waiting for me there.  There he came, a human encyclopedia,  a man of substance, Mr. A.F. Mathew. He is  an Ex faculty at MUDRA and now will be joining IIM Kozikode after his workshop here. He dealt with different elements in the society which included castism, gender, reservation, nationalism,communalism,violence etc. 

On the very first day, he showed us what kind of a pathetic life people are leading in the name of religion. Being an atheist, he feels that the country is in a greater danger. “All Religions are Equally good or Equally Rubbish”… that’s what he said. And frankly, I was not at all happy with his first lecture because I wasn’t comfortable with his idea of taunting all the religions. Then, after he said all that he has to say, he finally showed us movie, which actually burnt the insides of my stomach. The movie, titled Magdalene Sisters, is a real life incident on how religion ruined the life of 3 innocent women in Ireland. I’d say that the movie had a great impact on everyone who watched it.  I could’ve easily bunked the second day as I wasn’t comfortable with everything that he said. But then he revealed so many facts that it was hardly impossible for me to NOT attend his class.  On day two, he dealt with gender factor and how the lives of women are affected in this male dominated society.  The movie that he showed as a proof of this was an Iranian movie called Two Women.  Quite a brilliant work.  The day three was something  that excited me as he dealt with Nazis. He showed us a movie on how homosexuals were treated during the Nazi revolution. The outcome was.. I CRIED my lungs out.  Similarly, everyday he used to tell us about different sensitive issues that ruined the true spirit of humanity. He gave us ample facts to make us understand why India NEEDS reservations, why one SHOULD NOT supports a person like ABDUL KALAM to be the president and also made me realize that Humanity stands ahead of patriotism, nationalism, communal ism. As shocking as it was... at the end of the day… it all made sense.  Now I think I am a bigger person and I do know that I should do a thorough analysis before supporting someone blindly. I would like to say that this is one of the BEST LECTURES that I ever had in my 19 years of education.

Here are some of Sir Mathew's Epic lines....

“I am like a ray of light in your wretched lives”

I feel like a genius everywhere I go because you people know nothing"

"U don’t read newspaper, u don’t watch TV, so what u do all day, watch Porn....hmmm "

"god is standing in front of u
don’t worry now I have come
everything will be alright...hmmm "

"If a girl sleeps with ten boys of her class, she's a slut. If a boy does the same with ten girls, he's a stud. This is the bang-on-target example of gender bias...”

Addressing a lady: "Do you go home and declare, Mom! Great news!! I'm a lesbian!! "

"I will declare I will screen a Lesbian film in auditorium and when all the seats are occupied, I will play the Gay Film"

"Of course I don't believe in that rubbish that all men are equal...You can't be my equal"

"In Mills & Boon, hero plants a kiss on heroine's forehead and she faints. I think she'll have epilepsy during intercourse”

A Dream Worth Living!

So this is my second blog after such a long time that i don't even remember. Anyway I have realized that if I want to become a journalist, then I better get serious with my blogs as well. Now the topic that I chose now is pretty obvious for all the people who know me... My first week EVER in my dream destination SIMC :D. Well let me be frank with you. I have joined pretty late as I had some last minute emergencies. And then being a late comer, I was quite scared that Id be the odd one out with everybody forming groups already. But little did i know that SIMC was planning on a whole week of bonding exercises. And this has become one of the greatest opportunities to meet some wonderful people and mingle with them. Basically, being the youngest child in my house, i am used to a lot of pampering. People back in Hyderabad (Hyderabad is my home city) thought Id bounce back in a week with home sickness. But i don't know if something is horribly wrong with me but i never missed my home till now. I think i have a pretty good explanation for that as well. Getting into SIMC has always been my prime motive. And lets say from the past two years, I have been dreaming about this college. You know when people say they wait for ages for something to happen, and when it finally happens.... its not as good as they thought it would be? Well, SIMC is exactly the opposite. After 4 years of struggling and trying to be something else and constant failure and dissatisfaction, SIMC experience so far is way too refreshing. The early morning breeze, the hill, the campus... It is like living a dream. It has given me great opportunities to fulfill my other desires like swimming, photography etc. Before you come to a conclusion that I am the "official promoter"of SIMC ;) , I would like to add that I am quite overwhelmed with whatever is going on in my life right now like unconventional teaching methods followed by them and also getting to see some of the real journalists here.

Well now I'm going to concentrate on the negative points as well because many of you may have already come to a conclusion that I am way too optimistic about everything in SIMC but then I have a few a few minor points as well... like food in the mess.. I don't say its CRAP... but then... its definitely make you crave for moms food. All i can say is its edible and if you are not a foodie.. you don't have anything to complain. But that's not the case always though. Sometimes the food is really good. The second thing that is the the distance that we have to walk. I mean i have nothing against walking... in fact I love walking... but it gets really annoying when you are late for your lecture. That's all I have about the campus. 

Now in my final note.. I would suggest you to grab EVERY opportunity you get to stay away from your family. This is because you are coming out of your very own comfort zone and try to achieve something. This is the best opportunity to explore yourself and also to learn a lot about life. In the very first week.. I would say that i have learnt to wash my clothes, keep my room clean, wake up on time and and to keep myself organized. This is all so thrilling as this is my first experience to me.

That's all folks.... Thanks a bunch for reading this.. This means so much to me! :) Do give your feedback here!! https://www.facebook.com/sameera.jonnalagadda