9.4.09

It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen

Right after the first exam- Individual and Society (which went quite well considering the questions were ridiculously easy (and since only I (Yes! The others found it a lil 'weird' and lengthy (WTF!)) found it easy, I'm sure I've screwed it up.)), I was excited (and ruffled and jittery and twitchy... get the picture?) about the next one- Environmental Issues in India (or EII, as it's better known). Since we didn't have any classes in the third term, we had not done a single case study (and there are nine!). I decided to not take things lightly and asked a friend of mine (who happens to be younger than me and yet my senior in college) to help me out. This helpful soul (I'm not being sarcastic!) came to the college and I spent the day studying EII. 

(Check the parenthesis)

What did I learn?

Take a look-

(Click on the pictures for a larger version)


 
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. 
- Dickens


You must not know too much or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and watercraft; a certain free-margin, and even vagueness - ignorance, credulity - helps your enjoyment of these things.
Now hast thou but [two bare years] to live,
And then thou must be damned perpetually.
Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven,
That time may cease, and midnight never come.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. -Shakespeare
 Adda: Our little heaven. They say that Heaven is like TV... a perfect little world, that doesn't really need you.
If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.
 
Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
 Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it. -Thoureau
You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.
I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.
There's nothing that keeps its youth,
So far as I know, but a tree and truth.
Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling.
Go often to the house of thy friend; for weeds soon choke up the unused path.
Those whom we support hold us up in life.
False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports. - Richard Burton
If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees. - Khali Gibran
To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold. -Archibald MacLeish
Thank heavens the sun has gone in, and I don't have to go out and enjoy it.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. - Martin Luther King Jr.
 
Tis education forms the common mind; 
Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined. 
- Alexander Pope
 For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. -Edwin Teale
It is not much for its beauty that makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. - R.L. Stevenson
 Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes.
 The strongest man in the world is he who stands alone.
It is not growing like a tree in bulk doth make man better be; 
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, 
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere, 
A lily of a day is fairer in May 
Although it fall and die that night, 
It was the plant of flower and light, 
In small proportions we just beauties see; 
And in short measures, life may perfect be. 
The Critics' Advocate: Gates to heaven, anyone?
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. - Shakespeare
 The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits. - Chesterton
From the persistence of noise comes the insistence of rage. From the emergence of tone comes the divergence of thought. From the enlightenment of music comes the wisdom of... silence. - Visions of Gregorian Chants
Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!
One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place. - Emily Dickinson
God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.
In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.
I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at all.
That's what college is for - getting as many bad decisions as possible out of the way before you're forced into the real world. I keep a checklist of 'em on the wall in my room.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
And you think I would waste such a good day trying to study wretched EII? Naah!! Impossible.
___________________________________________________________________________________ 
Author's note: I just wasted some two hours  searching for good quotes and uploading these pictures. If you don't leave a comment... I'll haunt you forever with a dagger in my hand chanting "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen". 
Have fun.
Cheers! 

21 comments:

Aniket Thakkar said...

If you see HOUSE MD, you'll know how much I love "Thirteen". She is awesome! And so is your post.

I was wondering what all these nice pictures and quotes had anything to do with your exams, until you packed a punch in the end. lolzz...

Good show... and I shall leave the blog not chanting "It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen" (Since I posted a comment)....

But go aways hummiong... "We don't need no Education..."

PS: How can I leave without posting a quote myself:

"A chain is only as strong as its weekest link, and faith only as strong as its weekest believer"

Amritorupa Kanjilal said...

WHOA!! SOMEONE HAS BEEN HAVING A GOOD TIME... :)
the photographs were lovely, in the sense that they actually took me there...
and the quotes were very appropriate, especially the opening lines from a tale of two cities...

Deepa Gopal said...

BEAUTIFUL pics & beautiful quotes..
You did really spend some time on it. And here's ur first comment. Your blog looks gud.
Cheers!

Kriti said...

@ Aniket

Well, I don't watch HOUSE MD, but I just googled it and found myself staring at numerous pictures of a pretty, scantily clad lady. Yes, I understand why she is awesome(pun intended).

Seiously, who would let go such a beautiful day trying to study?

Thank you for being the first one to post a comment. (To quote you: You are climbing the charts of being my fav. blog friend, real fast. LOL)

P.S.: Since you've triggered a 'chain' reaction, here's one from my side too- "Some day you'll learn that greatness is only the seizing of opportunity - clutching with your bare hands 'til the knuckles show white."

Kriti said...

@ Amritorupa

Yay! I spelt it right, didn't I?

Yup, yup! Great time, definitely!
Thank you for liking the photographs. I was a lil apprehensive about putting them up... considering they've been taken with my stinking 1.3MP cellphone camera.
And well, that quote is my personal favourite too and it goes just too well with my college and time spent there (so what if its just been one year!)

Kriti said...

@ Deepa

Thank you so much. I'm glad that those photographs were appreciated by an artist(doesn't matter if she's just 'in the making') ;-)

Thanks a lot for dropping by and leaving a comment; now I won't haunt you with a dagger in my hand...

Keep visiting.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

hey babes nice pictures...i just love thm..
but yea i didnt read all tht..cuz m not in mooood after readin philo ki book.. ghosh it sucks :P
chal keep posting pics like this.
take care!

Kriti said...

@ Anu

Hahahaha. I'm glad you were truthful. I know, yaar, exams and all... And I can imagine how bad Philo must be...
Do you have Western Philophy wala course?

And well, if Ramjas keeps looking as beautiful as it did that day then I'll definitely upload more pictures. :-)

Aniket Thakkar said...

Well in my defense, I never said I admired her acting skills... lolz

She is a 'bi' in the serial. Thats so hot! :-D

And one of my all time fav.:

"A man who has become a beast, is free from the pain of being a man"

Kriti said...

@ Aniket

Be glad that a certain friend of mine never reads this blog, else she would've never let you reast in peace after that statement. She is dying to figure out why guys like lesbians and 'BIs' more.

One of MY all time favourite: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!

;-)

Kriti said...

rest*

Aniket Thakkar said...

Well, we guys wont be able to understand your fascination with pillows or large handbags or tissues or matching sandals either...

You should must watch Coupling (a brit comedy series) It is uber awesome!

Kriti said...

Aniket,

If that's what girls are supposed to be fascinated with, then, I guess, I'm a misfit. Seriously, tissues?

Yes, I've heard about it but I doin't watch at all (unless of course, it's news or cricket!)

Margaret said...

Lovely post, lovely photos, lovely quotes..........

I really enjoyed this post, we can learn soooo much from these quotes from Shakespeare, Thoureau & co.
They really knew what life was about.

All the same, exams are important and I wish you lotzzzz of luck with yours.

Kriti said...

@ Margaret

Thank you for the wishes. :-)

Keep visiting,
Cheers!

ShantanuDas said...

Ya You do kick ass! I never saw such a demand askng your regular readers to comment!
haha!
Good!
But I liked the photos -you took them? mobile phone must be ? (since I cannot expect u to carry a proper camera to college.. hmm.. well.. who knows! mb u did)..

Kriti said...

@ Shantanu

Yup! Mobile phone camera. I would've taken a camera to college provided I had one!!

Thank you for dropping by... hope to see you around more! :-)

Cheers!

ShantanuDas said...

Ya!! your photos prove that the man behind the camera is what counts and not the camera!!

[Man=woman in this case]
:-) ya I will.. come again..

Kriti said...

Oh thank you ji.

By the way, it's a pretty lame 1.3 MP camera.

I'm glad you've promised to visit again! :-)

AP said...

I wouldn't mind you haunting me, though I would object to the dagger...but perhaps that'll be necessay, as the Drama Queen, eh?

Anyway, it seems you had a nice time studying EII with this bloke, all in open air and close to nature! Good, good!

Kriti said...

@ AP

I reserve my right to reply to such smart alecks as yourself!