Lights. Camera. RCNM.

Yeah we know! Allies won the 1st world war and defeated Germany. Japan attacked the US of A and got quite a bit of spanking for it during the 2nd. Then there's the Cold War and the Indo-Pak war and oh! hpw can we forget The Indo-China war. The list is quite long. It really is. The world has written eulogies about the war victims and has lashed out at the warring nations but, right now, in January 2015, we at the Rotaract Club of NM College, are least bothered about it. And isn't it justified?! There are battles emerging at every corner and the fighters are falling short of expletives to fire at each other! Believe us, it's a bloodbath out there. Out there, on our streets, Slytherins have vowed to flaunt their pure blood in the face of Gryffindors. George R. R. Martin and JRR Tolkein have pulled back their sleeves and are ready for the word 'go'! Paul McCartney and John Lennon are in a skirmish (again). And music lovers, world over, are rooting...

When I came to this city, my first impression was very vague. To describe my emotions, I would like to pen down a poem. I hated the running around, the cacophonous sound, the never ending nights, the extremely bright lights, the non-stop rains, and the rush in the local trains. I felt like going back home, into the known world, my own Rome. I thought it was a struggle with destiny, but my mind wanted mutiny. Somehow a month passed by, the city embraced me but I still wanted to bid goodbye. I spoke to my dad, he said you can come home my dear lad, but fight it out in the city for a year, it may just bring you some cheer. So I dug my heels in, prepared to face every sin. Slowly and gradually the city won me over, Going back home seemed like a push over. I never realized that a shift had taken place, my bachelor pad had turned into a home I now embraced. As ...

Doppelgänger You know the famous paranormal phenomenon that people quote often of how there are 7 faces identical to yours in the world. Do you think you have an exact double or doppelgänger somewhere in the world? Pronounced as dop-puhl-ganger, it means an apparition or double of a living person.  Drawn from the German language, its origin walks back to the 19 th century when a lot of superstitions and folk tales were attached to the word. This is a list of German expressions used in English; some are relatively common but most are comparatively rare. In many cases the loanword has assumed a meaning substantially different from its German forebear. In contemporary vernacular , the word doppelgänger is often used in a more general sense to identify any person that physically or perhaps even behaviourally resembles another person. The word doppelgänger is a loanword from German Doppelgänger, consisting of the two substantives Doppel (double) Gänger (walk...

'Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering,  fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before!'   - Edgar Allan Poe. Which is the foremost thought darkness evokes in your mind?- Fear? Batman?  Nothingness? Emptiness? Vampires? Ghosts? Werewolves? Dracula? It is self- evident that darkness has always been associated with all the negative things in the world. As a kid, I never used to enter a dark room alone, not because I was afraid, but because of the never ending void it created within me. But as I grew, I equated darkness with fear. I'm quite sure most of us have a similar story to tell. But there is a lot more to this never-ending expanse of nothingness.            There is an age-old saying which goes ' the night is darkest before dawn'. It is in these dark times that a person encounters his innermost fears and desires as well! The void that darkness creates inside us makes ...

I dream of the day I will go home My hardwork shall pay The moment I see the open door. My mother shall be in tears And I in her lap She will love me for years Till it's time to go back. My father will be the happiest in ages He will hug me and kiss me He will express his love in stages And inspire and bless me. My siblings will have a hundred stories Of what happened when I wasn't around. Together we'll have fruits and berries That we'll now not fight for. My mother will cook me the best savouries My father will not stop till i drop He will fill my plate with memories And scold me when i refuse to take any more. We will huddle together on the sofa And watch tv and laugh We will sleep together on the terrace And wish for nights longer, days half. May this vacation last a lifetime May the golden sun never set May my sleep last some more time Till my dream is reality one day. Aishwarya ...

Love is a relative phenomenon, it happens once for some, twice for some and endlessly for some others. I don't know of falling in love is good or bad. But a few days back I met a beautiful girl. I don't know if this happens with everyone, but my heart was forcing me to fall in love with her. It wasn't just superficial. The conversations we had, the moments we shared. They are beyond words for me. No one has made me feel more special. No one has missed me more when I left for a new city. I so wish I could be right by her side. Is that what love is ? I don't know. I am the most selfish guy on earth and I whole heartedly accept that but I don't know what has happened to me. I was willing to wait for her. Wait till the time she made up my mind. Is that what love is ? I don't know. I have an image of being the most logical guy in my group but somehow, flying down 500 KMs in an instant for her seemed the most logical option to me. Somehow I didn'...

An experience that completely changed my life makes me go back in time. I was 25 or maybe 26 then. In Bhopal, there is a lake which is famous for attracting love birds, the ones that don't have wings. I out of habit used to tell my mom wherever I was and where I was supposed to go. It so happened that on my friend's birthday, he took me to the lake. I had informed my mother about the plan. When I went there, I saw my aunt in the vicinity. But it doesn't end there. She saw me, with those doubting eyes of hers. Then she moved her gaze to my friend, scanned him as if he was some alien. With all dignity, I decided to approach her. Slowly I moved towards her and her eyes became bigger and bigger. I don't know whether this was because of the decrease in distance or the increase in the level of shock. Finally I stood right in front of her. I asked her about her health and various other silly, non-sensical questions, which we ask people out of courtesy.   ...

B.E.L.I.E.F.  6 letters. One word. Bazillion different interpretations. If we go by what the oh-so-boring dictionary says, ‘belief’ is a vague idea in which some confidence is placed. Synonymous with faith, you could say. Your beliefs motivate you, make you the person you are or wish to be.  Be it the belief that everything will be alright by the end and if it's not alright then it's not the end (filmy much?) Or the belief that you'll pass an examination even after buying the books a day before the exam and studying for just a couple of hours. A belief is a belief no matter how humongous or petty.  Remember the cricket world cup? When India was on the brink of losing? Saying ' Dhoni hai nah..bass! ' is belief. Believing profoundly in something that you love doing always makes you do that something with twice the force and four times the joy.  Self-belief : Believing in yourself, your abilities only makes you stronger as an individual, pumpi...

Slang of the day! -  Zonked A not-so-common British slang, the word is used to display feelings of frustration, fatigue, weariness,etc. 'To be zonked' or being 'zonked out' literally means being totally knackered or 'exhausted'. In extreme cases, a person can even 'zonk out' to bed (sleep). Caution: Though all of us have an uncanny habit of over-using new slangs, this is not the word to mess with! Never tamper an unofficially 'official' slang! There are complete chances of making blunders like 'zonking' or 'zonker', which are totally senseless. So that's your slang for the day! Go on, use it, but wisely. Don't be zonked thinking about this one. There are others coming up in the weeks to follow. Watch this space!