Padmaja's

“Letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about someone anymore. It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.”   ―   Deborah Reber ,   Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul I don’t know why but I always had problem making friends. Was it because I am too boring, can’t crack jokes or was it something else? I longed for an answer and at the same time envied people who were popular among everyone. I longed to be like them. I wanted to be the live of the party but then at the same time I disliked having too many people around me for no reason. I cursed myself because I didn't think and didn't act like my class mates. I eat clumsily in public and I am okay with it. But I try to eat like every other girl. Why should I have different opinion than what is circulated in the mainstream media? Can’t I just be like everyone else who loves selfies and KFCs? Why should I continue feeling guilty about the things I did long back? Why do I

There are varied types of news. Some appear like a breeze and some like hurricanes. And there is some news that is unpredictable and gives the intensity of an earthquake that shakes the earth underneath our feet. Just a few days back, our academic director, KM Srivastava came to Kottayam to take us to Malaya Manorama, a reputed Malayalam daily, to make us familiar with the concept of integrated newsrooms.  As the day progressed, I realised that he was a true gentleman . He taught us to think beyond the conventional and to see the different sides of everything.   The next thing we know is that he suffered a heart attack and is no more. It made me aware of the fragile nature of life. The nature of life is such that we are always walking on thin ice. We do not know when it will break and take us inside the icy cold water freezing us to death.  This forced me to unwind my life. Have I accomplished anything worthwhile in the last 23 years of my life? Alas, I didn’t

A trip to a place where nature is in full glory is always refreshing particularly when it is a getaway for the week end. Getting to such a getaway also demands a bit of work. Early on a Saturday, I and my friends, set out on our trip towards athirapally waterfalls. It is situated in the Thrissur district of Kerela. From Kottayam, it is nearly a five hour long journey. Thankfully, one of our classmates hailed from the area and hence things turned out to be smooth. Our hostel is located at Athirampuzha near Mahatma Gandhi University which is on the outskirts of Kottayam town. I am always in a dilemma whether this place is a town or village. There is a university and a medical college nearby, but the surroundings are fields and tree gardens we took a bus to Kerela state transport depot and got into a Thrissur bound bus. The bus drivers here are very smart. The roads are narrow and full of bends; still they drive very fast, often giving jerks to the passengers. We passed through Kottayam