my most hated character in VBTS is...

Biju? Hari's father? Billu? Which one? I shan't tell you, but continue reading on and find out!



Okay, firstly let's analyse Biju's character. At first glance you would say that he is the proudest man on the surface of this earth and deserved to be hated to the core. His ill-treatment to his workers cause us to feel for the workers and make our hate swell towards him. He boasts about his boat, has the most amount of bullock carts and even has a television set which doesn't work. How odd! He has a serious ego problem. BUT if you look more closely.... what is the yelling all about to the guard? He was protecting the village! He had an ego problem nonetheless, but he managed to use his egoism to make the villagers have a sense of belonging and they could depend on themselves and not others.



Hmm, now its time for Hari's father. He drinks toddy all day long, beats his wife and children, caused the death of the family dog, sold the family boat and made his eldest children carry the burden of sustaining a family. Obviously they cannot do a good job, who can if you are just in your so young and immature? He "recovers" nearing the end of the story but I think that the family has suffered a lot already. Perhaps if I were Anita Desai, I would complete it with the father doing something good for the family like getting a job or something of that sort.



Lastly, lets take a look at Billu. He looks really kind at first sight, tossing Hari a coconut to drink to quench his thirst. Really a nice guy right? Good man at heart right? Wrong, wrong and wrong again. Teaching Hari to disobey his parents, tell him to be a loner and that there is no help in the world. The world is full of rich people who doesn't help the poor and he was one of those who was helpless. This is really morally wrong and I hope all of you would not heed his advice even if you felt that your situation was worse than Hari.



Alright, that brings me to the end of character analysis, its time to name the man. Who would it be? None other than Hari's father. Surprising? Not really. Let us take a look at Biju. He did not affect Hari much. Just some demoralising. What about Billu? Hari would not have met him if his father was responsible! Thats why I made Billu seem as if he was such a terrible man. It was all Hari's father's fault. Get it now? Even if he made some"amendments" I think it would be too late. That is also why I wrote that if I were the author, I would write something nicer about Hari's father to absolve himself from the blame. Alright, quite a long post, it would be yours truly signing off......

Country rat? City rat? Which would you rather be? Let's weigh the plusses and minusses of being a country rat and city rat:

Starting with the country rat, we would realise that our resources are widely available as long as you are financially inclined. Modernisation is a 100% yes in the city and there would be continuous developement to make life more convenient. Higher literacy level and all of that sort.Sounds great? Then what about these: The cost of living is high, the living standards are high, crime rates are high...... there you have all of these. People have much knowledge in managing but what is knowledge? City=More jobs? That is quite right but you would realise that people are more densely populated and competition for resources are high, thus city also= more people! Now think about it: If you have a low literacy level, poor financial state, then you would be more of a beggar roaming the streets than a person leaving in a mansion with many servants and the latest gadgets and a large plot of land and a big business to run...... How would it be?

Next with the country rat, let us weigh it out, starting with the positive: Slow-paced lifestyle, easy to cope. Resort to farming and fishing as your way of life and financially stable. You work for yourself, you are the boss. You control your income. No external interferences. Absolutely fantastic. Wait. Are you sure it is fantastic? Traditional way of life, always useful? Medical clinics easily available? Check. Learning centres easily accessible? Check. Slow-paced=less stressful, Can we contribute significantly to the society? How is it possible then? Purpose of life is to fish and farm. So is slow-paced lifestye=fulfilled life?

To summarise, you can only cope in the city if you have a stable and high-paid job. You can survive in the country in any conditions. So would you like to know if I would rather be a city rat or a country rat? Honestly, I would like to be a city rat. This is because I am not that sort of a slow-paced person. I like competition. It is by human nature. I would like to compete my way in the city. I would not always win, I would have fought hard enough. That is certainly what I want. But for the country rat, I would just like to go to the countryside for holidays or something of that sort but certainly not to live there. Its just a direct opposite.
So care for any comments? Share your views!

Hello all, this is the Monday Interview! Today, our grand interviewee will be.... my father! Ok, just a brief introduction. This interview is to understand the reading habbits of my father and you would be interested in how he answers his question. Off we go then!

What is the title of the book that you are reading? Why are you reading it?
Glycerine. I am reading it for scientific purposes and for my researches in the laboratory. I do a lot of lab work, so this book will come in handy, especially if I am doing a project about it.

What are the criterion that you use to select a book title?
It must be topics of my interests and I would like to read books which are in the form of movie trailers. One of such is The Da Vinci Code. Other criterion that I choose is that the book must work-related.

Do you think it more important to read for leisure than for work?
Yes, because I think that reading is more of a form of leisure and even though I read books that are related to work, I find it rather relaxing as work is also a form of leisure for me.

How does reading benefit you? (for relaxation? for learning new knowledge? gaining literature insights?)
It is more for relaxation and to expand my vocabulary. It is also for my leisure activities.

Which book has the greatest impact on you? Why?
Animal Farm by George Orwell. It reminds me as a parent especially to be fair and transparent always or my children (my siblings and I ) will be mad at me!

Can you recommend some books you have read in your childhood that you think is suitable for us to read?
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Another one is Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

If your shelf caught fire, which book would you take?
Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I usually read this book to sleep and the thought-provoking mysteries prevent my mind from overworking.

Overall, I think that my father reads quite a fair bit but if may seem that he is quite a workaholic. The fact that he reads most of his books related to work makes me feel that way. Alright, the interview has ended. Hope you enjoyed it and I will try to have an interview weekly until the end of the holidays.

Phew, the weekend is almost over! The week is starting all over again! You may find it weird, but I just love a new week and a new day. The holidays are approaching, but I am sure it will be hectic. The weekend was rather eventful, but I would just like to share with you one of the main events that happened and I think that it should be rather predictable if you went with some people in the class on Saturday. It was the Spastic Children's Association of Singapore (SCAS) 47th annual Sports Meet held at Meridian JC. I would just give a brief introduction on the event. There were 17 events altogether, consisting of rollators/kaywalkers* competition, dash races and staff races. There were actually spastic adults too. I was allocated in the yellow house and the boy whom I was handling was exceptionally hyperactive. He would run everywhere with so much zest that I had trouble handling him. I felt relieved that he managed to put his hyperactiveness to good use when he competed in 3 events. I would like to point out this boy as he had trouble with his hand movements and could not fully control it. There was one thing about this boy which I took notice of: his eyes were quite big and although he did not speak English, he could somehow understand what I was saying. The event I would like to highlight is the one which was the 50m dash race. This boy was very enthusiastic and raced me to the start line. When the umpire rang the horn, off he went like a wind. You would not expect him to go as fast as Usain Bolt, but I can tell you that that legs of his was as strong as anyone's. Even without much hand movement, he pushed on in the race and managed to come in second, before collapsing on the track. The smile on his face was exceptional. I had seen many people smile before, but I knew that this boy had the widest grin I had ever seen. It was a heartwarming sight. Even after the whole race, he ran some 20m more before I caught up with him. I think he wanted support from people who came, and I was glad I could provide it. Congratulating him, he completely ignored me. He wanted to continue running, until his adrenaline rush finally died down. Until now, I felt this event was one of the best I have ever seen. His sheer effort and enthusiasm taught me to put in the best effort that I could in everything, and continue to go the extra mile. This boy who was "supposed" to be handicapped, proved to be that there was no such handicappness if you put in the best that you could.

*rollators/kaywalkers are rolling walkers which help to ease movement.

A Long Road

Don't we all love walking never ending roads. I went to the dentist today and I chose to walk back instead of taking any forms of transport. I think it must have been at least 1.6km. This time, the path I chose to walk was just under an MRT line. The road must have been really long. Eager to reach home, I walked briskly until I started to pant. It must be like taking part in a walkathon. It must be a long road ahead. Whether I walked slowly or quickly, I would still reach my destination. I felt that I was being the one who would walk so quickly that I would not even notice my surroundings. It would take you to your destination very quickly, but you would have not enjoyed the surroundings around you. I started to slow down my pace, and take a break from walking. It was then I realised all the things I had missed. There was full of greenery and I noticed many creatures that lived there. Initially, all around me were just green stuff which are so common to me. Now, as I look more carefully, more vividly, I discovered a few squirrels on the tree. Not one. A few. As I drew out my camera phone to snap a picture, they scrambled down to the undergrowth and disappeared out of sight. Although I could not get a picture, it was better than not having to see them at all. Now, I feel that I should really take the time in June holidays to observe more carefully to the creatures that so frequently roam the earth but me having failed to realise their presence.

WOOOTSSSS! I won the triple jump event today! Can't believe I won because I was not the "favourite" to win. I am currently aiming for double field champion award but I think I have to work hard for it. Actually, I did not really jump very far. It was just 10.69m. However, this event has thought me a lesson. It is that you should not underestimate yourself as I did not even know that I could jump over 9m. This is quite an achievement and I hope I can do better in the future :) Now, it is all time for high jump, my next mission. Nothing much to blog about, I would just have to take the time off now. However, thanks for the support that 1O2 gave and I think that we would be able to win more for our class.

Hello everyone there, I would like to express my own reflections on something that just happen two days ago. I was just rushing back home from the dentist and the distance I had to walk from the dentist to my home was like a million miles to me. Then I saw this woman who had a young child and was pushing him in a pram. Then, she said in Mandarin to her son, "Look, there is a sparrow on the tree!" Mind you, the sparrow was nothing special. It was just ordinary. Right after she said that, I immediately turned my head to look at the sparrow. On the way back, I realised something odd. I, after 13 years living on this earth, am still turning my head to look at something I have seen for probably more than a 100 times. Then, so fascinated as ever, the young boy stared at it entranced, with his head not moving an inch. I started to wonder: After 13 years of my life, how many times have I looked back at the past years to enjoy what I had seen and experience. So, I am just trying to get that amidst all your homework, all the pressure from the working world, let us take time to relax and look back at what we had all enjoyed when we were younger.