Hindu mythology says that there are only three major events in a person’s lifetime: Birth, marriage and death. And it also says that since you are fully conscious only during one of these three events, you better celebrate it with all possible grandeur and make it memorable.

But in the life of an Indian ‘ex-teen but yet-to-be-called-uncle’ youth, there’s one other event that’s as eventful and memorable as the other three, and this one occurs when that person is fully conscious too. Wondering what I’m talking about ? Yes, its the first trip abroad/overseas for ‘higher’ studies.

There is a unique quality in human beings, which gives them an edge over all the other creations of God -the ability to express their feelings. Expressing feelings or emotions is a simple way to understand information for, and about, us. The art of expressing a ‘feeling’ is nothing but the creative de-coding of how exactly the ‘feeling’ wants to come out, so that you can avoid ‘feeling’ the worse for it.
Sadly, in today’s materialistic and fast paced world, expressing one’s feelings or emotions is often considered weak, or foolish.

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance… We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.”
These are the impressive words of the speech titled, “Tryst with Destiny” given by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on August 15, 1947. The real struggle for independence of India had begun almost 90 years before in 1857, when a group of sepoys mutinied against the East India Company.

A nation represents the collective soul of the Individuals who are it’s Citizens, and the State in which a nation is… is a reflection of the attitude that it’s people have towards themselves and each other.
Why am I writing this today?
Because…
It’s August, the 15th again – the Indian Independence Day. What am I going to do for this occasion?. I’ll probably go to my hospital & do my duty, while feeling a little bad that this 15th Aug fell on a Sunday and I have been robbed of one of my 11 precious gazetted holidays…

There was this story I read a number of years ago, wherein two gentlemen wait for a third to join them at eight o’clock in the evening for a meeting that would become the crux of the story. A few minutes before eight, one looks out the window, sees no carriage stopping at their door and says, “I don’t think he’ll turn up.” Of course he had valid reasons for doubting the man’s word.
The other says, “He will. He is an Englishman. He will be here on the dot, at eight.”
Sure enough, midway into the clock’s chime, there is a knock at the door and the landlady announces his arrival.

Somebody has said that we choose our friends, while relatives come in pre-made packages. How right that somebody was! It is true that we try to select for ourselves that which we think is best for us, but, often and again, we make errors in our judgements. As Shakespeare has said, it’s better to have an enemy who tells you – on your face – your weaknesses, rather than a friend who hides them from you. With this idea in mind, I have always sought to find a friend who would be a friend in need, and thus become a friend in deed.

The Winner for Caption This-XXIX is Deepa for her Caption: “The colours of our future”. Congratulations! Your T-shirt will be on its way soon. If you missed out this time, or you think you could have done better, don’t despair, you still have your chance. Take a good look at the picture for this fortnight, and give it a caption that you think apt. If your caption is the best, you win, and your name will be announced on the front page of The MAG. Additionally, you also stand to win a “The MAG” T-shirt.