The Group that Lived (Live your life HP style)..Part1

I expect this to be one of my best posts..don't know if it will be or not..but i definitely want it to be so....Ahem ahem, this is a storyline that I'm starting on my blog...titles invited from the characters....and well...here's a lil background- Me n Divi sit chatting n she says wont it be cool to have the common room and no 10.30 bell..And there it is..she impregnated my mind with this thought.....imagine if we were in Hogwarts..!! COOL!!..

And so i decided to write it..and before I begin..I dedicate this post to my sweet dear Divi, who has always been my source of imagination...

Lets all say once- "To Divi!!"

and so here it is...the first part of (hopefully) a good and popular thread..

Prelude: Shanky always knew he was a special kid..he had talents which no one else had- like KEEN observation power, a desire to top in everything and well, a habit of constantly correcting the universe!!....And this all found its true form when he got admission into Hogwarts college!!..the best place to be...with lush green fields..a huge castle..a forbidden forest (which he didn't know wont be so forbidden after all)..and well, loads of other magical things..

But it is there that he met up with the people he never knew he'd get sooo close to..the people who were about to become his friends, his company, in joy, in sorrow, in war, in peace!!..(u know....blaa blaa)....

Diva was always as her name described her..indeed a Diva..a born writer, who could control the world with her writings..she did not know her own strength..her magic lay in her pen!!..with hair as fragrant as blooming hibiscus..she never knew that she will find the boy of her dreams in the place where she last ended she'll land up, but which was her magical destiny!

And neither was Kackary aware that he'll end up meeting the girl of his dreams at Hogwarts..while his magic lay in his innate affinity towards making things vanish..little did his mother know that when he was stealing his school girls' hairbands, he was actually making them disappear..only to be conjured back when he wanted!

Mauliks was always a heart winner..a flower by nature..never knowing that magic was flowing in her veins giving her the strength to live (and what a lively person she is!) despite her unnaturally malnutritioned body!!..magic was in her everything, that inevitably gave people the impression that she was flirting, when she actually was merely using a cupid charm on the guys around her!

Katrina was the life of the lot..bubbly, chirpy, so full of energy and life..at a very young age her parents knew that she will prove to be a great witch (descending from a family of the royal pure bloods), for even before she completed 7, she became a master of mood-control charms, which were often the cause of her constant whining!!

Sarpita was a hard core witchist..from a very lil age she had started advocating equal magical rights for witches and removing the trend of witches being made to wear longer robes than the wizards!..her rage was unmatched and when infuriated no one could stop her from using even the unforgivable curses (gud she didn't know them)

Sindhrina was a born magic..her organisational skills being accredited to her birth inside the ministry of magic due to a curfew during the dark lord's reign!..talented, sweet and an out of the way helper, her parents knew that she was perfect to carry on the legacy of being the minister for muggle affairs!!

Sneel was a born talker..with a tongue as long as a dragon's tail..and a gifted child (yes..he was a..shhh...parseltongue)..who could always drop dungbombs by his talks..he was very excited to go into Hogwarts after spending a year at Durmstrang School for Magical Technologies!!

Bambi was an eye-catcher from birth..in fact, her mother remembers a St. Mungo's clerk checking her out even in her cradle..oh, she was there because she was very small (a day or so)..she accidentally step foot on a blast ended screwt!!..Always a brainy witch, she had her own way with the wizards (stories are famous about her romance charm on the unknown G)..!

Tsera was grace and beauty personified..an Agrde polymagus from a very early age, she as hard to identify in her rooster form....When she was 5, she was found using her play-wand (special make with additional features like 'glow-in-dark', 'remote control', 'used as a straw', etc.) to bewitch her way into a muggle kid Kareeb's room..and so her wand was acquited and eversince she has been using an old tattered pink umbrella which is contemplated to be the original one with which Hufflepuff had puffed muriel in a duel!!..She can be found using her know-it-all quill to copy notes in lectures of "Anciant (the 'a' is deliberate ;)) and mediaval (again ;)) history of muggles from the Holy land of India'. She has often be found burning her hand in potions class as Professor Sushant Kehta gives directions to heat the poltion!!

Vibs, a child prodigy..wrote a book on "How to attract Slytherins" at an early age of 13..Rumours occur that Sarmy the Sltherin has a crush on her..for which he uses choclate frogs adultrated with love potion!!..Known for her parseltongue grammar thesis..(her being a typical parselMOUTH, cos it fails to open beyond the snake diameter)!!

Rooplectella, the witch with attitude..ever since childhood she was good at trying her hand at creative magic like conjuring birds out of trash..her mom knew she had it in her when one day she entered her room to find the walls covered in multicolour!! Tough to control when furious cos of the mood-spell that katrina had one day accidentally put on her!!

Together they constitued the chirp of Hogwarts..they all were sorted into Gryfindor..and their firs encounter with Sammy (the infamous Slytherin) was in the express..but they never seemed to care........

the story shall continue...wait fr Part 2!!

Obliviate!!..oops Sorry..Petrificus Totalus!

Well, the original post was named Obliviate till someone enlightened me with the true HP fan insight and made me realise that the title was anything but apt..so here it is to Her-Sindhu!..Dedicated to Sindhu..With love...

I of course will not be changing the original post..because though stupid but it is still the product of a fan mind at 12.00 in the night..but what I can do is give it a new context...so here goes..

We DO NOT want the spell obliviate, because forgetting Harry Potter (and specially Hermionee) will be like erasing a segment of our (at least my) childhood..instead, we use another spell- "Petrificus Totalus"..to freeze these lovely memories..to freeze the anticipation, the excitement, the love, the hatred, the fantasy and at times the dejection....TO quote a very wise witch "HP will never be over..it'll just cease to continue"..So lets all say it out loud..Petrificus Totalus to freeze the HP fever...and as a tribute to this Nobel thought...I request all the comments (if any) to be started with an exciting recital of "Petrificus Totalus"..!

Well, all those who are true Harry Potter fans must have realised by now what this post is regarding! Well, yes, it is a tribute to our beloved Harry Potter and what better day to write it then today, the 31st of July- his Birthday!!..Happy Birthday Harry!!

The title says obliviate, and I'm sure everyone reading this knows that this is a memory charm (remember Gilderoy Lockhart!)..used to erase memories!!..Well, the reason why I chose this as a title is because for all of us who have lived Hogwarts for all these years, spent nights n days without any work, isolating ourselves from human society and buried ourselves in the books as they came along, we need to have this spell used upon us to get rid of the HP mania..I mean it is sooooo tough to imagine that this is it..there wont be any more of it, no more Hogwarts, no more magic, no more Harry and most of all...NO MORE HERMIONEE (for all those who have awaited the Yule Ball in our lives!!)..

I recall my reading of the last book (which by the way was not as good as I thought it would be)..but when I started reading it, I was overjoyed..feeling this is it!..the last one..the one where it all ends..where all the mysteries solve..where he who must not be named faces his own soul!!..and the like!!..but the point is, it was thrilling..it was intriguing..but the moment I reached the epilogue, the elation changed into this fear, this unnerving feeling..I was dreading the end!..not because something new might come up..but because it was THE END!!..the end of the age-old link between our lives and his..the inter-twined destinies of the zillions of fans around the globe finally breaks ties with that of the Boy Who Lived..

And then finally, when I reached the end..it was all over..forever!..no more HP..no more anticipating snape being good and no more anticipating Harry being the last Horcrux..no more awaiting 3-4 months in advance for the book to arrive..no more sitting for hours together, digesting each n every line of the book (an extensive post-mortem)..no more pretending that there is still hope of Hogwarts, that in the real world they take in wizards till the age of 20 so that we still have years of hope (I cant believe I said that!!)..and of course no more contemplating the romance of Ron n Hermionee..no more thinking that Harry n Ginny were a good couple!!..

From as far as I remember, Hogwarts was my dream-place, where i always wanted to go..always wishing that I could also top the OWLS (I know I Know, I'm sorry..but for those who know me..they'll understand)..I wanted to become a teahcer at Hogwarts later..I'm sure a lot of us have had their fantasies..so let this be an outlet..let it all out..what did u dream of when you read HP......

say it all out..before we forever forget it for our own good...and say....Obliviate!

I Walk a Lonely Road.....!!.....??....

Well firstly I'd like to apologise for not being able to write for a long long time..well been busy!!..Not that anyone reads this..but well, I do owe an apology to myself..

So anyways, its around 12:00 in the night and I have a History test tomorrow..still i got this weirdest urge to scribble this one down!!..so here goes..

Well, so off late I've had the opportunity of strolling all by myself after dinner, which can well be credited to the constantly increasing workload at college, which keeps most of my friends deeply engaged in some thing or the other. So, I walk alone..putting in other words: I walk a lonely road." And it is during these short lasting rendezvous with myself that I got to realise a lot of things. For one, how much fun it is to walk alone!!..Trust me, I never knew it before this, probably couldn't have even imagined it being fun..And that is perhaps why i used to always connote a negative sense to the song - "boulevard of broken dreams"!!..

Elucidating more upon the lucrative nature of this newly discovered leisure activity, you can not imagine the amount of fun it bundles up in itself. I mean, lets start off by saying that you never have the patience or the interest to observe things. Do not mistake this to be peeping into others business. Not at all!..But yes, definitely observing everything around you, as you walk the so called lonely road. You see so many people around you, majority delusioned by the nicety of the company they cherish on these walks. They'll laugh, fight, run, snog (this is a relatively new addition to my vocab thanks to the HP mania), do all sorts of things, totally oblivious to your eyes as you analyse their moves, actions, but definitely not their snogging (that is one activity I prefer to keep my eyes off)!! But anyways, the point is that you observe, you see, you think and you comprehend!..Comprehend what? Well, that totally depends upon the person observing. Like I observe the social pretences people need to follow at times to keep up with their companionship wealth, while the same set may put up a show of hard-to-break bonds to some people. So there you go, each to himself (Herself)..

Then what do you do once you've observed. Well, you ponder. And soon, its not just you walking. It is you marching upon the beat of thoughts- both good and bad (I try keeping them good!) And then before you know, your much-cherished time with yourself is over, till you await its arrival the following day and the day after that and the day after that and so on.

But above all, on these solitary strolls of yours, you are bound to bump into one person!..Probably the person who you ought to see more often, the person who has been with you longer that all others- and that person is....you yourself!!..Yes, it is only in these moments that you manage to meet yourself, the real you, not the one who you want to become or whom others want to meet..but the one who has been there all along..you just failed to acknowledge!!

And then, once you meet yourself..you'll realise that being all by yourself (which technically is always two as I just established) is not all that bad...Now is it?..So well, whats the harm if....

I walk a lonely road!!

The Eyes

Now this one is a poem which I recently scribbled down while sitting in the class (;-)..nothing much to it, open to all sorts of interpretations!!

The eyes that have but tons to speak,
the eyes that spend the nights unsleep;
the eyes that talk and make you stop,
the eyes that cry when moments try;
the eyes that love, the eyes that hate,
the eyes that trust, the eyes that gape;
the eyes that are the doors of heart,
that spill all and make apart;
what lies beneath deep down inside,
the feelings unsaid, the broken lies;
the love, the pain,
the loss, the gain;
at times when words can't say it out,
it is the eyes that make aloud;
the feelings that need a form to be,
a moment of expression, to understand thee;

But now I close these eyes to you,
never again would they be true;
never again will you hear them speak,
what's left unsaid, what lies beneath!!

The path I once chose....

OK, now i really can't call this one a poem..but i cant call it a pure pros as well..hmm..well, i guess ill call it a combo of the two..and people, don't go by the words OK, i am not this negative all the time!..but its good to be pensive once in a while!..so here goes......

I had started from those crossroads thinking that I'll never see them again. But alas, today i am back there, once again, the people have changed but the pain they caused is the same.
I remember the path which I once chose to take, but forgive me my heart, I know that I failed. It was my resolution that I never will, fall in love the day until; things will change and the tables would turn, for a change it won't be mine but their hearts that burn.
Everyone says be practical, learn to see between the lines; people pretend with open minds. But I always thought it was not true; if there is true love, we'll always make it through. For nothing can ever be stronger than love, coz its not the minds but the hearts that lush. You can always think that that you go by the mind, but I claim that its not so in mine. When god made the mind to win over others, he realised that this is not what he wants his world to be. And then came the life that beats within all- the pain, the joy, the envy, the blush- yes, it was the heart indeed to control the mind that goes and fleeks. It is love that makes the world go round; you may stop the mind but there'll be the sound; of that heart that beats inside, not for you but for those you might..!

But today i see it was stupid of me; the world goes not with the heart, but the mind it seems. The sooner I get it the better it is, I know now it was me who was wrong. And now I am back at those crossraods and i choose to yet again go on the path i once chose. But all I ask this time is a little more strength, cause being hurt is what i want never again. I want that this time /i don't detour and keep going on...the path i once chose!

hmm..well that's it..now i know its slightly sad..actually its just very unexpected from someone like me(those who know me wud know)..but what the hell, i just scribbled it down and whatever it is (altho im still wondering where it came from), its an original!!

The Guard and the Bubble

Well, this is another one of my personal philosophies dealing with the two different type of introverts.
One day as I sat looking at a child in the street blowing out bubbles from that little thing that vendors sell at typical primitive urban settlements. The bubble seemed so beautiful indeed, with all the seven colours making momentary appearances as though playing to decide which one comes first and which later. And then of course, we had read about the scientific aspects of bubble formation making me realise that it after all isn't as simple as it looks. I mean what we see is just a transparent sphere that genuinely makes us believe that what we see is what is the reality, what lies beneath. But then I realised, as I was taught, that it is not just that, it is not just what is visible, it is actually a double-layered structure with various complexities involved. Thus, the lesson that comes through is, what we see is far from what actually lies within.
Well, there we go, I have developed a base for my philosophy. So now we get started. All of us have some day or the other heard of the phrase "to have a guard on", which means that the person being talked of always has a kind of wall in front of him or her, more like a shield, to prevent other people from closing in. People definitely have different reasons for having a guard on, some have it because they are afraid of getting close to others, while others can be just called shear introverts. But this is where my philosophy comes, I think there are two types of introverts, one the "guard on" type while the other the "inside a bubble" type.

Now what is this "inside the bubble"? I believe that introverts do not necessarily need to have a "guard on". There is a much smarter type of introverts, who make you believe that you can see the person through, but in reality, what you see is nothing more than what we see inside a bubble, forgetting that in reality there is not just one, but two layers (though transparent) between you and the truth of the other person. But the very fact that they are transparent makes you fall for the illusionary truth of their personalities. And it really is tough to get to know when the person is actually transparent and when he or she is inside the bubble.

Having a guard on, on the other, is the normal style of introverts, who may be called the original unevolved introverts. It is like having a wall in front of somebody, i.e., you cannot see through, no illusion, no false hopes, just no vision at all. The point is, for these people, the other person can easily get the feeling that he or she has a guard on, that I cannot easily break through this thick wall and that he or she may require some time to pull it down. Here there is no illusion, its all the reality, i.e., you can see that he's not letting you close in.

So there we go, that's my theory..on one side there are people who can be easily seen to be introverts and on the other side there are these disguised introverts who make you believe that they are not. Its all about being not able to see through a wall as opposed to being able to see a lot inside a bubble, but not realising that that is not the complete truth.

Now, that's where my theory ends. But my dear friend Divi came up with an addition to that. See says that in a bubble you always see different colours, at times one is more prominent, while at other times, another totally steals the show. So that means that such people seem to be different at different times (that is to the best of my interpretation, I'm sorry if its wrong Divi, you can always correct me!). And this really amazes you how one person can have so many different sides. It bedazzles you because you were apparently living under the false impression that you know that person but nope!, and then he or she does something that just makes you think "where did that come from?"..but its all about realising that you actually do not know that person, coz hello!..remember the bubble, what you see are all the different colours from outside being reflected in that person. Here I provide another aspect, it also shows that such people are also very good at camouflaging with the surrounding, because they are so busy trying to hide their real self that they don't see this coming that they are actually just reflecting the colours of the outside..seems so void (at least to me), doesn' it!

Is divinity divine?

Well, I thought of writing this article after reading my friend Divya's write up on divinity at her blog http://poignantrose.blogspot.com/2006/08/divinity-defined.html. When I commented on that article, I realised its about time I write my views on the same...so here goes...

Well, as Divya had said that she does not believe in the concept of religion, in submitting to a supreme power when you need help, she does not believe in the exploitation done, the commercialisation done through religion. Said she rather believed in the entities (the pagan way), the sun, the moon, nature!!..So, I was thinking about it and this is what I guess my views are (I write I guess because there are some things, some topics on which you cannot be so sure of your views..but that's the beauty of thought!!)....

It is very much true that religion indeed has been exploited..the cacophony, the excessive trade, everything just supports the claim!!..But then, like I had told her, is it not into the very human nature to exploit anything and everything to its own benefit. I mean, the human society has a tendency of using everything that involves more than one person. Lets assume a situation where there was no religion, no god to worship..lets assume the pagan days when human faith would rest upon nature. If such were the case, then how can we be so sure that the sun, the moon, the stars, nature would not been exploited. Well, I'm pretty sure they would have ;because like I said, its in the very human nature to exploit anything that can be beneficial for it, even in the remotest of ways. There are so many things around us that are used up for one motive or the other, but that does not and should not stop us from continuing believing in the same..that would be against the very concept of individuality!!..I mean our belief on anything should not be dependant upon what is happening to that particular thing..there are loads of bad things in the world..but keeping faith and continuing your belief is what is making the world go round..But in no way am I contradicting Divi's point.Both the views lead to the same conclusion-Its all about choice!! Yep, it was her choice not to believe in religion because of the exploitation that was being done, which is perfectly fine in a way!! But my choice is to continue having faith because i believe not in religion, but I have faith in the human faith!!

Oh, by the way, please do not think that just because I'm supporting religion means I'm religious..its slightly more complicated than that!!

Like I said, I do not believe in religion, i just have faith in the human faith! I believe in the power of the human will, I believe in the divinity of humanity. It is not religion that is divine, it is the human belief that is. Is it not surprising how conveniently we take humans to be the centre of the universe- I mean think about it, be it any religion, gods are always taken to resemble human beings..Brahma created the universe and the amazing thing is he looked like nothing else but a human!!..I guess had animals had the potential to rule the planet and communicate, they would have pictured god as an animal, won't they? But we have just never ever questioned this have we? U know why?..because its not really the form given to god that we believe in, but we believe in the human thought that gave rise to that form and hence, we never question it!!..I mean I am a very strong believer of god..and I m pretty sure everyone is, even those who call themselves atheist..but my belief is not in any particular god, but I very much believe in every religion..because if you ask me, religion is not about god..its about the humans, its about the way of life..its about what should be the ideal behaviour: but who would listen to it just like that, so for that we gave it the supreme tag of god's commandment. And it makes total sense..god is everywhere..he (or she) is within us, he is the human thought that created religion, he is the human faith that helps us go through the toughest of times. God is not any entity, he is just a force..one force that survives on faith..and this force is so beautifully embroidered into the fabric of life that it just amazes me!!..Science can never, doesn't matter how much it tries, explain everything, because its not supposed to..but neither can religion..so there we are, what we have is a perfect combination of religion and science, each complimenting the other!!..none alone can stand, none alone can satisfy!!..All is one and one is all- a cosmological conspiracy..yes, god is in our thoughts..for me, god might be in my parents, for others in a statue!!

As for surrendering to a supreme power,I think that's very interesting..another one of the mysteries of the human kind!!..i mean think about it, none of us can deny (OK! maybe some can!) that keeping faith in one supreme power has helped us in tough times, the thought of having one hand above us has given us light in the dark, hasn't it?..but i still stand strong in my views..its yet again nothing but human faith..it is this human faith that gives strength to humans themselves and they become their own destiny makers..of course, there are times when you do need to surrender and it is in those times that the human faith establishes a nexus between the humans and the supreme power, the force that I talked of..so basically, my philosophy is: it all comes to one word: faith...a choice..and whatever you choose have faith in it..The force does not want worshipping, it does not want religion..all it wants is faith..the biggest religion always was and will always be humanity, the religion of love, the religion of harmony!! (i do not wish to elucidate any further upon the religion of humanity because i think its too cliche and all know of it)..

So, there we go: Divinity is indeed divine..everything is..the moment you have faith (in anything) you get in touch with this divinity!!..so my message to all will be, just have faith..be it in religion, be it in god, be it in anything..but just have faith!!