Smileeee Please..!!!

‘Smile is the second best thing you can do with your lips’, a pun commonly being used as a pick up line, as quotes on t-shirts and a lot more places.

So, what is a Smile?

A mere movement of muscles of the face which some put on to impress and some dazzle one to express. In any way, smile is truly a medicine that heals relationships and works as a remedy for pain.

To try the benefits, consequences and upshots caused by a smile, I decided to try smiling at three people today for no definite reason; I was going to smile at a stranger, a senior and somebody I don’t get along with.

To start with, I left home to pick up a friend of mine for college. When I was waiting for her, there was a cute looking guy in the parking. I looked straight at him and gave a ’flirt filled’ smile. He looked at me puzzled, he looked behind him thinking there was someone else there I smiled at. But things just went wrong when I heard a voice behind me,

“Dada, tujhi aai var thambli ahe tujhya sathi.”

That was my friend, and apparently he was her cousin. He looked at me, wittily smiled back and went upstairs. The ‘smile at a stranger’ ended with some embarrassment.

Next, we entered the college building. Near the entrance, I saw a senior professor walking towards us. The professor was one of the coolest of the lots, so I decided to try the ‘smile at a senior’ with him. I looked at him and gave one good innocent smile. My muscles had not even completely flexed, I heard him scream

“You are roving around in lecture timings with the audacity to face me with a smile? You are meeting me after the lunch break, with your attendance records.”

We were a little late so had missed our first lecture. But the outrage of the cool sir was devastating.

Finally, when going back home, I saw a classmate near the staff room. I was not on good terms with her; in fact you could say I have been bitchy with her at every occasion possible. I thought I should give a try of ‘Smile at an enemy’ with her; hence, I gave her a nice big Colgate smile. Though refrained, she did smile back at me. The prior two experiences were disheartening, but I thought a smile did prove good here. Or I did think that, until when next day there were rumors that I smiled at this girl I hate, walked up to her and apologized for being a witch to her.

So, the whole ‘Smiling is contagious’ became ‘Smiling is Outrageous’ for me. I decided never to let these lips get any exercise through smiling. But a few days later, my friend’s cousin sent me a request on Facebook, the cool turned angry Professor was impressed with my academic records I had handed to him, so much so that he decided to help me with Paper Presentations and Researches  and the girl I hated came up to me saying,

“You showed a good gesture with the smile and I just used it in a wrong way. Sorry!”

So it actually works, eh!

The Life Long Infatuation...!!!

The season of love is in here – it is the valentine’s. This week is got to be the most romantic time. The ones already in love will be making promises to stay the same all life, the ones who like somebody might just confess it to their crush and the ones with nobody special around will be content with a hope that next valentine’s they will have somebody to celebrate it with.

Our generation is not the “Love happens just once” types; many of us might have fallen in and out of love quite a few times. This is because we are the practical people who believe in moving on and ahead. Though we all must have fallen in love more than once, there always remains something special for the first one. The “First Love” is a feeling that can never be compared with or shared with any other.

The butterflies tickling in the stomach when fingers brush each other accidentally, the smile that comes from nowhere with just a thought of being together and the feeling of being special in a different way for the first time is worth an experience for life.

Each one of us has our own stories of our First Love, tales that would stay in our hearts forever. A few lucky ones get to be infatuated with their first crush all life and a few have to be satisfied with the memories of the time they had spent together.

In this chaos and love and heartbreaks, I met a couple who set a different example all together. They belong to our very own city whom I met through a common friend.

The couple looked quite ordinary. But when I had a talk to them, it struck to me how simple it is to love somebody and keep it alive. The duo had the typical simple start, met in high school, became friends, and got closer in graduation and now getting married soon. They were in a relationship for 10 years now. The story was very similar to a lot of others, but what set them apart was the concluding 10 years by taking marriage vows.

“What kept you guys together for so long?”

The girl laughed at my question and replied,

“You might think the love, but I would like to say it was our friendship that kept us going.”

“Okay, so you say there is not much importance of love in any relationship?”

“No, it is important, but love is overrated.  Love is just a feeling for your partner that sets him apart from the rest of the crowd. The feelings of trust and friendship are the one that keeps the love going. Love is something that is not so reliable you know, it always needs something else to keep it firm and not distract”

The statement was something to think over. It really did make some sense and maybe gave the answer for all the heart breaks. We do expect being loved all the time ignoring the basic friendship and trust factors that can help us remain closer.  

“You were in high school when you first met and now it is been 10 years, did you ever had a thought that you did not want to be together?”

Both of them replied to this question shouting “many times”, they looked at each other and all of us laughed at the impulsive answers.

“Okay, so we have had a lot of times when we fought, argued, not talked for days and so much more. Even when we were away for 4 years the time I was doing a job in Bangalore, we had a hard time but she would stand next to me and tolerate me in every high and low.” He put her arms around her and continued,

“She is my luck and inspiration. How would I let that go away?”

“A final question, what are your plans for 14^th Feb?”

She gave me a wink and replied, “I do expect a surprise”

With this the guy replied in a witty tone,

“10 years I have been surprising her and she is been giving me shocks. Yet, she is never satisfied. I am stuck here for life time.”

The both of them had this cute and naught expressions on their face.

“You guys are an example for a perfect couple.”

“No, we are a just a couple ignoring imperfections and encouraging the best out of each other“

A very positive message by the ‘soon to get married and in love for the past 10 years’ love birds. So, this valentine’s be strength to your partner’s weaknesses. Love each other for what you are and not what you want them to become. I hope this small message would help somebody to make their love life better. Have a happy and loving valentine’s…!!

- Anvi Mehta

#Week 2 - Article for Campus For You

It all begins here...

“Words can influence you, they may make you laugh or bring down tears. They may induce your bright thoughts or daunt your content feelings. Words have the clout to express your outlook and convey your views.”

A few days back a college mate sent me a text on Facebook saying that he liked my blogs and articles. I took it as a compliment considering him a usual reader and thanked him for the appreciation. The same guy then asked me if I could help him with some articles. I was curious as to where and why does this fella need an article from me. That is the first time I was told about the concept of “Campus For You”.

I never expected somebody among us to come up with something so innovative and pioneering for the students of Kolhapur – actually it would be a little biased by mentioning Kolhapur alone. This was a much needed concept of binding together the students of our university through a common platform – a platform that has been used since ages to induce change and awareness in people – a very own newspaper for the youth by the youth.

I was glad for being considered by the team of “Campus ForYou” for being a part of them. The Newspaper team sent me a mail asking me to write the first article for the first edition. They asked to give a brief introduction on what this column was all about. It was tough as after this article the readers would decide whether or not to read the column again. The Introduction had to be awesome. After drafts and drafts of cliché articles, I thought,

”Hey, what am I exactly doing?”

I realized it was pointless if I mentioned everything I was going to pen down for the section in the first article itself. It would be like knowing the story of any movie even before watching the trailer. That is not what I wanted and am sure the team would approve of this as well.

So people this column is going to be a surprise or a shock each time as is the life of youth which is filled with revelations and stuns in every phase. We have so many twists and turns changing the direction of our lives, than why make the column predictable. The life of a college student as well as a bachelor has many defining moments which come along at the time when they are least expected. Be it a job interview call or the first kiss, they are never intimated before. They pop up from nowhere and you have to grab them and cherish them all life. That is what this column is all about. I will grab stories and hope you cherish them all along.

The life of a student is the most interesting phase which everybody wants to know of. These are the days that no individual can ever forget and the memories of which are always treasured.

So a small message that this column would be conveying each time is

 “Live your life and don’t just survive it. Do not think much before taking any decisions and never regret if they seem to be wrong; do not think of what others are thinking of you, some day you will be respected for what you are and not what they want you to be. There will be people who would call you ugly, but concentrate on the ones for whom are the most beautiful thing happened to them, there will be people who would laugh on your dreams but prove them wrong by living your dreams, there will be times you think it is the end but that is the time you start all over again, there will be a day when these days will be gone forever, so be sure you do not miss any instant.”

- Anvi Mehta