The Dynamic World Of Greek Mythology

It all started with oblivion, after which Mother Gaia (after her union with Euronyme) gave birth to the sky, the oceans, the soil, the trees and all the things around us. Welcome to the beautiful world of Greek mythology where hospitality and honesty are at the tip of a hat, where imperfections have no room, where even the gods make love to the mortals.

Greek mythology is one of those rare mythologies where the gods seem to have a direct connection with the mortals. They test the nature of the mortals by asking them for help in the form of a beggar, a soldier or sometimes even animals! The nature of the gods is similar to that of humans which resonates in their daily routines. They are portrayed as irascible, impatient, and irritated enough to be throwing tantrums just like humans. Whether its wars or long journeys, punishments or rewards, the Greek gods have always had a powerful relationship with the mortals since time immemorial. They themselves fall in love with humans and make advances towards them with utter seduction. However the most interesting part of it all is that, Greek mythology concentrates on neither the start of the world nor the ending of it; it is based right in the middle of all the happenings which gives us a holistic view of their deep connection with us.I’m gonna try my best to give you guys a brief version of all the major events.

TITAN ERA –

Mother Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the first era of Greek gods and goddesses – The Titans

Mother Gaia

Rhea

They were mainly:

a) CRONUS

b) RHEA
c) PROMETHEUS

d) EPIMETHEUS

e) ATLAS
h) TEHTYS

Cronus was responsible the golden age i.e. the first stage of human existence. A stage where food and water used to be available at all times and people lived ever so peacefully with each other. Rhea the sister-wife of Cronus gave birth to six children. However, Cronus being power stricken and extremely ruthless swallowed all his six children (or so he thought). This was mainly because an oracle had told him that one of his six children would overthrow him and take away his position for eternity.

Cronus

Rhea being a considerate mother decided that she would not let Cronus devour her sixth child (Zeus) and so she gave the baby to a foster mother and requested her to take care of him. She, in turn gave a huge rock wrapped in a cloth to Cronus to be swallowed. Cronus blindly trusting his wife did so without noticing.

Cosmic war-

Years passed by and Zeus grew up to become a young man. As he matured, he came to know from his foster mother of who he really was and how cruel his father had been with him, his siblings, and his mother. From that moment forth he swore to take revenge and bring back his siblings. He cunningly sneaked into the place where Cronus was and offered him a potion as a gift from the mortals. Not noticing Zeus, he drank the whole thing. He ended up vomiting all his five children out in a matter of seconds. Out came the gods- Hades and Poseidon and goddesses – Hera, Hestia and Demeter. These six gods started a war against the Titans called the COSMIC WAR which continued for months until Cronus finally gave up. This marked the end of the Titan era.

OLYMPIAN ERA-

The second era of gods and goddesses who overthrew their father and began a new era in the universe.They were mainly-:

Hades

Zeus

a) Zeus – The ruler of the world, the skies and all the gods.

b) Hades – The ruler of the Underworld.

c) Poseidon – The ruler of the oceans and the seas

d) Hera – The sister-wife of Zeus and the goddess of childbirth and marriage.

e) Hestia– The goddess of the hearth.

f) Demeter – The goddess of agriculture.

Zeus started the Silver age of humans- an age of the seasons, an age of evil and turmoil, an age of crime and punishment, an age of hardships and failures, the current age in which we are living.

The other gods and goddesses- apart from these six gods and goddesses, there were many others who were just as important.Namely...

Ares

a) ARES – The god of war, son of Zeus and Hera.

Dionysus

b) Hephaestus – the god of metalworking, son of Zeus and Hera. 

c) Apollo- the sun god and god of music, son of Zeus and Leto.

d) Artemis – the goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Leto.

e) Athena- the goddess of wisdom, ruler of Athens and the daughter of Zeus and Metis.

f) Dionysus- the god of wine, the son of Zeus and mortal queen, Semele.

g) Persephone- the wife of Hades, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus.

h) Hermes- the messenger god (the only one who could travel from underworld to the skies and vice-versa), the immortal child of Zeus.

Aphrodite

THE ORIGIN OF APHRODITE- Ouranus, the father of the Titans was a very ruthless rules just like his son, Cronus. Ouranus was the one who started the era of the Cyclopes, one eyed giants who were very powerful. Fearing that someday the Cyclopes might overthrow him, Ouranus had kept all of them locked in. Seeing his abominable ways, Mother Gaia was extremely enraged with her husband. Hence, she went to Cronus to seek his help. Cronus, wanting to find a way to overthrow his father, went to kill him. However, Ouranus put up a good fight. Finally using his Sickle, Cronus castrated his father and threw his genitals out into the sea. From there a foam was created which got collected on a shore and gave rise to the Goddess of lust, Aphrodite. Aphrodite was born as a pubescent, she had no childhood.

Greek gods have been the subject of interest for many artists life Picasso and have affected our lives in ways unimaginable. Thank you for taking out the time to read this. Have a good day GUYS‼ 

FRIENDSHIP

They know all your secrets, they know how you are and know how you get. They are the ones who define your life- you know who im talking about. This post is devoted to all the people out there who have learnt to accommodate with our lives and yet unconditionally loved us.

Friends, at every point of life, reflect our personality. They expect the best out of us and never, not even for one second be jealous of what we have. They reprimand us when we do something wrong, and at the same time praise us to the skies even if we get good grades in a class test of ten marks. They share their success with us and take away all the pain and sorrow from our hearts. They cry when we cry and they laugh when we smile.

We can’t measure our friendships on the basis of how long we have been with them. Sometimes, the best people you meet come into your life at a very late stage... We can only measure them on the basis of how much they care for you and whether they stick with you through your darkest times. True friendship is always tested when we are living far away from each other yet take out the time to be with each other, it is tested when the world is against you two being together yet not paying heed to what they are saying. A true friend never lets go of you, no matter what.

Having said all that, I have written a poem on this (please don’t judge):

Sometimes the world seems to push you down,

They don’t realize they’re making you frown.                                                                   

You start thinking life has no meaning,

I know what they say to you is really demeaning.

But, all I want to ask is why are you listening to those people??                                                                                                                                                                                                                             They only hurt the ones who they think are sensitive and feeble.

Why are you so affected by what they say?
It all comes down to me and you against the world, at the end of the day.

 When no one seems to care,

You know I will always be there.

And know this and never forget,

Even when you’re fired, I’ll help you pay your debt.

Even when you’re broke,

We’ll beg together on the road.

 Even when you cry,

I’ll be there to wipe them dry.                                                                                                                                         

Listening to all your problems and complains,                                                                                                                                     

I understand all your pains.

And when life for me won’t be stress free,

I know you too will be there for me.

ACTING EXTRAORDINAIRE

All my life I have been fascinated by the dynamic world of acting. When everyone in the world shuts you out, the movies seem to be the only thing that you can connect to. Whether its romance or horror, action or comedy, every genre appeals to our psyche in such a way that maybe even our close ones can’t. Many of us don’t realize this but, movies and plays have shaped our childhood, our preferences, our actions and sometimes, even the way we speak. Out of all what appeals most to us are of course- The Actors. They make it look so easy but in reality they alter their lifestyles and undergo harsh training just to be able to serve us to their highest potential.

Acting according to me is not about learning the lines, it’s about letting the lines learn you. It’s about escaping into your character’s world and thinking what he thinks, standing how he stands, eating how he eats ( you get the idea). It’s about honesty- The preservation of the originality of the role while delivering your lines such that the audience can feel that special connection with you no matter how big or small your role might be. It’s about getting into each and every crevice of the role, the nitty-gritties of it, understanding his reactions and emotions, his past and his present, his personal and work life- The whole deal.  

And above all it’s about emotions- which is the most important part of acting. It is the direct stairway from ordinary to stardom. Emotions- the feelings that are brought to the role is what helps us to differentiate between a good actor and a bad one. For e.g. the basic principle of comedy is to keep a straight face while delivering the funniest of dialogues. This way people believe that you are delivering your lines in such a way that you don’t realize how funny you sound which amuses them further!! The advantage of portraying the right emotions is that even if you skip one or two dialogues no one would notice because you are already so deep inside your character (which becomes really noticeable if you really are).

Another very significant part of acting is Confidence- with just the right amount of it, you can steal the show in a matter of minutes. The basic principle behind it all is that confidence only comes when you have fun; the more tensed up you are, the more worked up you get and trust me, no one likes that sort of screwed up facial expressions….  According to famous actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld, the no. 1 fear in the world is stage fright and no. 2 is death. Which means you rather be underneath the coffin than do the eulogy!! The more conscious you are about what people think of you, the more apparent it becomes on the stage. The goal is to deliver the lines without any inhibitions whatsoever. For that, all you need to do is devote your heart and soul to the character and you’re good to go. Just believe in yourself and respect the role that you are doing. And don’t forget, practice makes a man perfect :)

“Once in a while I experience an emotion onstage that is so gut-wrenching, so heart-stopping, that I could weep with gratitude and joy. The feeling catches and magnifies so rapidly that it threatens to engulf me.”
― Julie Andrews Edwards

 

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

SECTION B   
What do you think before your results comes in? What is the only thing that you want during that point of time? What is your brain telling you so that you don’t collapse and fall on the floor?
It all comes down to expectations. It is an overwhelming feeling. Before every single important moment, your mind keeps telling you that it’s better to let all the negative thoughts go, it keeps telling you that the odds, no matter what, will be in your favor and that you that you will achieve success and that whatever that is going to happen will make you reach the greatest greats.  
What is expectation?????????? It’s a feeling that turns your mere thoughts into the strongest of beliefs making you feel confident and happy even during the loneliest of your moments. It gives you hope and makes you believe that no matter what happens you will ultimately reach your goal. Expectations are good but, only in certain circumstances.
E.g.1)  whenever your parents used to go out when you were a little kid, you used to expect that they would bring you candies and chocolates. But what would happen if they didn't??? You would be really disappointed, angry and cranky and this phase would last for at least a day or two. The question is: What would've happened if you wouldn't have expected in the first place? The answer is quite simple. Had you not expected that your parents would bring you chocolates, it would've saved you a day or two of sitting in utter distress. That way, even if they didn't bring anything, you wouldn't have been affected! And if they did, well, that would be a much bigger source of joy. In the above case, Expectation turned out to be a kill joy.

E.g.2) what do all those “SAAS-BAHU” serials show? The fighting and the shouting is for what reason? Yes! You guessed it right…………… again Expectation. Both of them want a suitable living scenario with each other. The “BAHU” wants the “SAAS” to be good to her, respect her as an equal family member and love her like the daughter she never had (not to mention some personal space). The “SAAS” wants the “BAHU” to be helping, considerate………………. oh! Who am I kidding? Basically submissive and ready to take orders as and when required. Since both the parties disagree to do so, it results in the biggest, baddest and the most repetitive clashes one might have ever seen. The main point is, had both the parties not categorized their needs and wants, this situation of constant slapping and falling and tugging and crying (u get the idea) would not have taken place. The family could’ve lived happily and peacefully. Unfortunately, TRP is a bitch.  


But you know what? expectations are not that bad. it’s just that the situation has to be right. a good student can expect good marks, because she has worked hard and can afford to gain some confidence. but for a below average student, expectation is detrimental. In his case, there is no point of gaining confidence if he has not worked hard at all.

“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under an illusion about women: they do not read them in a true light: they misapprehend them, both for good and evil: their good woman is a queer thing, half doll, half angel; their bad woman almost always a fiend.” 
― Charlotte Brontë, Shirley

A Spontaneous Overflow Of Powerful Emotions.

Hi guys….. It’s my first shot at a blog………hope all of you enjoy it.

What are emotions? Feelings that you convey to others through one medium or another or keep buried within yourself. Don’t worry, the following write up is not going to be as complex as the heading sounds. The following ground rules simplified with examples can help you avoid being uncomfortable around others and vice-versa.

PART- A {never quit on anything or anybody}

As simple as this seems, many of us don’t practice what we preach. Giving up, these days, is as common as E.bola. Many of us don’t realize that if one door shuts down on us one more always opens, we just have to take up that opportunity and make the most of it. No matter how hard the situation might be, if the job needs to be done, it’s more like a Sophie’s choice. Quitting on something is very different from quitting on someone. The following examples will help you to decipher exactly this:-

·         Quitting on something :

EXAMPLE 1 – The other day, my dad got some food from outside. The delivery man came really late and we were almost famished. The order came, and, like any other delivery, the food was inside a plastic bag bound by a god-awful double knot. I don’t even know how they do it but look at it through the eyes of a hungry group of people; you’ll see that that knot is a big hindrance to the paradise that’s inside the bag. So, at once my brother decided to open it up. And as usual as human behavior, he gave it up after exactly 5 seconds and tore the packet open. As a result, half the contents fell to the ground and all us went to bed partially hunger stricken.

OBSERVATION: - had my brother taken the help of a pair of scissors [* one-more-door-opens*theory comes into my mind] to cut open the packet, we could have had our food with the full delight and contentment that one gets when they eat butter naan with dal makhani and not got to sleep hungry and wanting more.

I guess what I am trying to convey is the faster you quit, the worse will be the consequences that you will have to face at one point or another.

EXAMPLE 2: - What do we exactly do in class XI? What according to everyone, is the first priority as soon as they set foot into the senior wing? Yes, it’s the ghastly “deciding-your-stream phase”. At this point of time, many students are decided as to what they will take; minds made up…. all excited to start the new session [though inky kuchh mahino mein phategi]. But this is just true for the 15% of the total school population because the rest of the 85% per cent of the students are still in a daze. They still haven’t come out of their 2 months holiday after class X phase. So hyped up are they that [and seriously someone actually said this to me] they wished they could fail Xth so that they could just to come back to these 2 months and party like there’s no tomorrow {or in this case, no future}.

After a week or two of deciding what we want, the school decides what we “DESERVE”. That’s of course on the basis of how much GPA we get in our Xth. I’m sorry I’m not here to give you all a lecture on how CCE works…… but it’s my job to give you a pretext otherwise you won’t understand what I’m trying to say, and you’ll end up not being able to pay any heed to this and eventually,  give up on the write – up . I just don’t want that, is all.

a) Giving up for bad – a student took PCB with say, Phys. Ed. he decided not to take Maths as he was never really good at it. Now, what he doesn't understand is that physics and chemistry contains a good amount of Maths that he has to do, anyway. I’m not saying it was stupid of him to not take Maths [because PCB with Maths is a very tough combination….. though ideal…. but tough], what I'm saying is that it was stupid of him to not try and understand Maths during his junior years. Had he not given up on Maths completely, he could have done better in physics and chemistry and avoid being amongst the bottom three of the class. What I’m trying to say is that try and understand what you are doing and give all that you have to achieve all that you want.

b) Giving up for good- a student took Humanities, she got GPA 10 in class Xth she was very good in Maths but she decided to take Humanities. It’s not like she gave up on Maths, she decided that for her career she simply didn't  need Maths or Science and that she wanted to pay more attention on English, sociology, political science, etc. if you look at it from one way it’s not even giving up. She tried as much as she could during her junior years and got above 90% in Maths!!That’s not giving up, that’s called being a winner. She has nothing to be guilty about, and unlike the above mentioned student, she’s got no worries, no problems and can start her senior year with the pride and happiness she deserves. Therefore,

·         Quitting on someone : -

EXAMPLE 1: - Say you have been friends with a person since about 10 years. Being childhood friends, you guys are very close to each other. All of a sudden, he becomes adrift from you, starts getting irritated at the smallest things. Slowly and slowly he just shuts down all contact and just becomes isolated. You try to find out what’s going on and you finally decide to meet his parents, his other friends and his siblings. But none of them have any clue as to what is going on. You see him tip toe out of his house in the middle of the night one day and decide to follow him. To your surprise he enters into one of his friends’ house. You secretly try to peep in and get the shock of your life. Your best friend, just 17 was caught by you while he was doing drugs. What do you do? Do you run away and decide never to contact him henceforth? What do you do? Do you inform his family and tell them to take appropriate steps? Do you decide to beat the living daylights out of him and his friends and hand them over to the police? Or do you wait for him to OD and eventually die?

You can’t run away, you have to help him. As his best friend you have to show him the way before he does some serious damage to himself. To save him from the shame that will come upon him, you have to pull him out of the darkness and let him know that you are there for him no matter what the situation might be. At this point of time, beating him up or shouting at him; it will make him much more sensitive and confused than he already is. Sorting out the problem through simple, nonviolent conversations will help him a ton because he’s still at that phase where he hasn’t fully overdosed himself, though he’s vulnerable to it.

EXAMPLE 2: - let’s say that a girl starts liking this guy in her class. She’s really conservative of her feelings and keeps them bottled up within herself. Days pass by and it’s almost the end of the year and she’s still in complete ‘awe’ of him. She decides that she should go and convey her feelings to him. Being really shy, she told her friend to tell him. That guy, after knowing all about this messaged her promising that he would talk to her. The next day, the girl goes to the class expecting to hear from him. The guy comes into the class, he ignores her and doesn't even come near that row in which she’s sitting. She keeps thinking that he’s actually not talking because he might be just as shy as she is. She comes home sad, disappointed, and cranky. She doesn't feel like eating anything and immediately goes to bed. The next day, she decides not to go to school. That evening, her friend calls up and tells her that he told everyone about this and made a laughing stock out of her. He also said that he would never talk to her. Unable to believe her friend, she opens up her account and realizes that he had blocked her from all the social sites through which they were connected.  Now, imagine that you’re in her position and try to answer this question: -

How could the situation be handled differently?

Instead of being so ruthless about it, he could have talked it out with the girl. The girl instead of hiding her feelings, felt she owed him the truth. He should have respected her feelings and should have told her how he really felt [even if it was probably nothing] and should have told her the reasons as to why he can’t like her or be with her.

What I’m trying to say is that, giving up on someone not only hurts them, it hurts you too. At some point in your life you might repent what you did and how much it would have hurt the other person. Whether it’s your family or your friends, they desperately need your support and trust in every way possible. Giving up on a loved one would not be the best way to go. It’s a fact that people like these tend to remain isolated, unhappy and guilt conscious for the rest of their lives. Always remember…. “What goes around comes all the way back around”.