Published!!

Hey there everyone,
My article got published in the VLSI periodical, which has sent me right over the moon!
Please do take a look, here is the link!
http://vlsi-india.org/vsi/download/publications/vsi-vision-vol5-1.pdf

Thanks a lot!
Do take care and keep smiling!
Wish you all loads of luck with your dreams!
Poonam

The beauty within you is what I see, it is the only thing that matters to me

Her smile was guileless, it could have melted the stoniest heart with its sheer goodness. Her eyes reflected her emotions like a mirror; if you could just assign a different color to every emotion, you could say that her eyes changed color ever so often, like a dancing peacock whose every pose reflects a different mood, a different flash of colors! Eyes that were quiet and thoughtful as she heard what her companions had to say, they became expressive and mirthful as she spoke of some familiar incident. The flash of fire that occasionally lit her eyes belied her childishness, they became moist as somber thoughts crept into her mind, like thieves stealing their way into a treasury. Her delicate features flaunted a grace that was inimitable, and the tendrils of hair that had escaped from her plait danced merrily around her face.
He had a face that could be read like a book, it was open, honest and kind. His hair was ruffled on his forehead, carelessly, and he ruffled it even more when he was thinking. It made him look endearing, like a little boy who had just lost his way but was content to be wherever he was! He had a serene face, a face that gave you a glimpse of a hard-working man who had no complains with the world, the kind of face that glorified simplicity. His expression was thoughtful and he did not smile very often. But when he did smile, he gave that slow smile that starts out as the mellow sunshine that comes with the first flush of the morning, but ends as the warm golden rays of the sun that stun you with their intensity. His skin was dark mahogany, completely tanned by the sun; his eyes were attentive and sharp, they spoke of endurance, strength and compassion.
His arm went around her shoulders and grasped the bars of the window lightly. She sat on the edge of the seat, head bent and rested on the seat in-front (to make room for an extra person on their seat). They were seated in a bus, as inconspicuous as anyone else around them, yet they were different from the rest. It was their poise and grace that attracted my attention, that made me feel that they should have been seated on a plush settee in a garden, where flowers bloomed in abundance and birds sang in harmony. As that thought took root in my head, I realized that the ambiance did not really matter, for they would be just as regal whether they were sitting on a pile of hay in a barn or standing in the lobby of a luxury hotel!
He had bent his head slightly to give justice to the melody being spun out by her voice; it seemed as if there was no one else in that bus besides them. The jerks due to the motion of the bus, the sounds made by the people surrounding them and the loud horn of the vehicles, the dusty air coming in through the window, nothing mattered to them, nothing distracted them from each other. Nothing disturbed the harmony of their companionship! Everything else in the vicinity paled in comparison to those two demigods I perceived, for they truly had made heaven on earth...................

A letter

Imagine that your life is a grassland and every personal dream is a wild stallion; such that it is untamed and limitless, it has unlimited potential and unfathomable, glorious promises.

The wild stallion races within the boundaries of your grasslands, his heart is pounding as he explores the dimensions of his existence, his veins are taut and visible as he drives himself harder and harder towards perfection, his head is always held high and his stamina is inexhaustible.

Where then would you draw the boundary of your grasslands, of your life?

What happens if you define the boundaries of your grasslands too tight?

Your stallion reins himself in, as he encounters limits and obstacles. His eyes reflect the panic and confusion within him, as his freedom is suddenly stolen away from him. He tries to fight these limits, but they are too much for him; they are real, physical and unaccountable. Slowly, his head sinks down, his gait becomes slower, his eyes, now downcast are sad, and he is transformed from a unique and magnificent beast to a commonplace pony, who is trudging on as if weighed down by several burdens.

This is how a glorious and ambitious dream is converted to a ‘practical’ dream, whose scope is defined by circumstance and not by will.

I believe that every man has unlimited capabilities and creativity, that he himself cannot fathom. In fact, your creativity will startle you, you will marvel at what you are able to achieve when you just set your mind free.

I started this letter with the hope that I could express my feelings to my friends, but I now address this letter to anyone who is willing to question the boundaries man has set for himself.

I realize that I am sounding very dramatic, unreal and ‘unpractical’. For limits do exist in reality, they may be financial, physical, emotional, etc. But limits cannot be used as excuses, as crutches, they have to be considered as challenges to be overcome. Your wild stallion should view them as obstacles he has to jump over.

A wild stallion will usually intimidate the obstacle; he will stare at it with narrowed eyes and flaring nostrils and finally charge at it with unbending confidence. But that is impossible if your stallion is intimidated or defeated by the limits that have crowded your mind.

I know exactly how tough life can be, for I have seen limits in all shapes and sizes, from poverty, emotional distress, physical deformity, to laziness, low self-esteem and various others. I say these limits are real, visible, but conquerable.


I am writing this letter, because I am in despair. I am in despair because I see that people do not have equal opportunities, they do not have equal rights, and they do not have equal facilities. I saw a young girl of 15 being wed to her mother’s brother forcibly, her education was discontinued, and her life has come to a standstill. I could have been that girl; you could have been that girl.

I am not asking these questions to confuse you, or bring you to my point of view. I am asking these questions because every person is expecting the other one to improve his way of life, no one wants to do anything themselves. I am asking these questions to myself, to every student, to every Indian, to every world citizen. I am asking these questions because we discuss these issues, sympathize with the victims and move on. WE MOVE ON! That’s all we do, and I despise myself for that. I do not want to feel helpless anymore; I do not want to surrender my reality to injustice and inequality. I am tired of hearing excuses like, “This is India, you cannot do anything”, or “This is tradition”, etc.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR INJUSTICE.
THERE CAN BE NO COMPROMISE ON A PERSON’S RIGHTS.


I ask these questions because I have in my head the vision of a world that I have never seen in reality. The vision of a world where all men are equal, all men have equal opportunities and rights and unlimited freedom, and every man acts within his rights conscientiously. I believe in this dream, I believe in these simple facts that have been bent and overruled in today’s world. And I believe that this dream is possible if all men unite to make it come true. Hence, I ask these questions of you, my friends, for I will have to give up the idea of this vision if the motto for every human continues to be: “Every man for himself”

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The countries that have risen to glory and success have stood on the shoulders of citizens who said: “I will do it”.
I want every Indian to say those words; I want every citizen in the world to say those words. Imagine, imagine my friends, the power of those words, the difference they will make, the ideas they will generate, the glory they will bring.


One man with an idea can create a company or an organization, which leads to hundreds or thousands of employment opportunities. If we have every human being in the world contributing to this ocean of ideas, the competition itself will guarantee the progress of mankind!




I have seen personally the power of these words, I have seen a cowshed transform into an electronic lab, into a classroom. I have seen the power of the will of one man who took up the responsibility to change one village; it changed the lives of over a hundred people. Imagine the change we can all implement together!

I am not trying to glorify my thoughts or my work, this is not about me, this is not about one village, this is not even about one country; this is about the world. This is about life; this is about earning happiness that comes from the satisfaction in knowing that there will be no injustice in the world because man is beyond such harshness. I want the peace that will prevail when every man believes in the greatness of mankind. I am tired of saying that man is brutal, unkind, a monster, or an unstable element. I want to believe in the true glory of mankind once again, I want to stand and cherish the beauty of humanity, I want to salute the ingenuity of man, and I want to realize the goal of an ideal man. I am not trying to glorify words, these are not just abstract statements; these are our basic dogmas that we compromised. Don’t you feel despair when you hear about men killing one another, torturing one another? But today, news similar to this is taken for granted. I feel destabilized, I feel angry and helpless and frustrated when I encounter such incidents.

TODAY, IT MAY BE HAPPENING TO SOMEONE ELSE, WHAT IF IT HAPPENS TO YOU TOMORROW, WILL IT STILL BE JUST A REPORT ON THE NEWS BULLETIN FOR YOU THEN? OR WILL IT SHATTER YOUR LIFE FOREVER?

I am asking these questions of you, my friends, hoping that we will unite to create a world of our own. I have defined the entire scope of the problem, but we can start in a small way, by solving small problems. But to solve those small problems, we have to first DREAM BIG! Are you with me????? This is not a trivial decision, it will have to impact your life, and it will have to change your environment. I do not want to feel helpless; I do not want to stand aside the next time I see a young girl’s dreams being robbed from her. This first step is to first question ourselves on our current state of mind. The first step is to question our humanity.

In an ideal world, there are no limits or boundaries to your grasslands. One man’s grasslands merge into his neighbor’s grasslands, such that there is unconstrained freedom along with a sense of unity with the world, since your life now has a connection with others as well. The only limits that should be ever-present in your mind are those that oppose you from hampering or stealing the rights of another human being.

I am writing this letter to urge you to dream big, to understand that life can be better than what it is. I am writing this letter to urge you to stop accepting injustice and inequality, I am writing this letter because we need to wake up, and visualize the future and plan to make it better. I am writing this letter to you because we can make it happen, IF YOU DECIDE. It all depends on your goals, if you make comfortable goals, I am sure you will achieve them. But is that all you want? If it is, then I say good luck to you, but if it isn’t then help me, LETS MAKE HEAVEN ON EARTH.



These are my thoughts, you may agree or disagree, and I know that every human has a choice to live his life the way he wants to. But do we not owe anything to ourselves? Why should we feel insecure and uncertain about our future? Why should we feel scared about jobs, money, family or life? We have to make changes to eliminate these very insecurities, to create equal opportunities for all, to create an environment of peace.
When every man respects his fellow human beings such that he treats them as he would like to be treated, that is the day that we will eliminate all differences. Imagine waking up with the feeling that no matter what, your future is in your hands, and the world will urge you towards your dreams. Imagine feeling invincible, believing in the integrity of man, believing that no man will ever hurt another. That is the way life should be, that is what peace feels like.
It is not, was not and will not be an easy task, I know that, but I am willing to give my best. The choice is yours, my friends. Whatever you decide, I hope you find peace.