January 27, 2012
Back to Reality

1:43am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyFRb9Fm
January 27, 2012
"Seasons of loneliness are designed to help you discover who you are…& to stop looking outside yourself for your worth."

1:42am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyFRb5FZ
January 15, 2012
“We all came from the same place… love one another”

So I was talking to Guddidi about where our parents came from and their dialect, Sylheti, and where it comes from. My dad and her mom (and their parents/our ancestors) are originally from Sylhet, a place that actually today is a part of Bangladesh. We got into a long discussion about the history of India’s division and the partitions and creations that resulted from religion-centric segregation. 

In 1947, India and Pakistan broke up into two separate countries mostly due to the British creating tension and feeding their minds that Hindus and Muslims are different and should be separated, etc. (even though there are still many Muslims in India, “Hindustan”) Lo and behold, there were issues within Pakistan, the Muslim nation, as the Bengali-speaking folks (East Pakistan/East Bengal) felt like they wanted their own country, separate from Urdu-speaking Muslims. So then the region of these Bengali Muslims, East Pakistan, became Bangladesh in 1971. Now Bangladesh also had a region of Bangladeshi Hindus - in Sylhet. So, West Bengal is actually in Eastern India but is just the western part of “bengal,” consisting of Hindu Bengalis mostly. However East Bengal (Bangladesh) consisted of mostly Muslim Bengalis, with the exception of our family/ancestors. They were the Hindu Bengali minority! So, needless to say, it became unsafe for Hindu Bengalis to stay in Sylhet, Bangladesh, a city that played a major role in the Bangladesh Liberation. Why? Became Sylhet used to be part of Assam prior to the 1947 split up. Assam today is an East Indian state. After 1947, Sylhet was voted to become part of East Pakistan, splitting up Assam and its people. Then in 1971, Sylhet became part of Bangladesh. A lot of people from Sylhet migrated to Silchar, Assam - which is why most people in Silchar speak Sylheti Bangla! So essentially being Assamese Bengali IS different than the Kolkata/West Bengal Bengali in terms of culture and dialect. Assamese Bengalis tend to have more Mongolian/Tibetan ancestry (hence the chinky eyes), while I guess Bengalis of Kolkata have more of the generic Indian features (except.. there are no generic Indian features..). West Bengal is rich in literary culture, fine arts,  (Tagore, for example), while Assamese culture is more a mix of various cultures due to so many migrated ethnic groups. 

So.. our family were the Bengali Hindu refugees to move from Sylhet to Silchar in the late 40s, but still consider themselves “Sylheti,” something I never understood.. until now! I guess coming to India does make you learn a thing or two about family history. 

4:32pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEq2sd0
January 14, 2012
It always gets better! It has to. 

It always gets better! It has to. 

(Source: synodik, via thebeautyofislam)

2:39pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEm9xfC
(Notes: 40,723)
  
January 13, 2012
dearscience: (by *Blueberry Pie)

dearscience:

(by *Blueberry Pie)

4:21pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEj8jdT
(Notes: 152)
  
January 13, 2012
thedailywhat: Legalize It of the Day: A 20-year, federally funded study conducted jointly by researchers at UCSF and UAB found that smoking marijuana once a week, or even once a day in some instances, did no long-term damage to the lungs. The study, published today in the the Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked 5,000 individuals across 20 years, and compared their usage of marijuana and tobacco to their health stats. Cigarette smokers saw a considerable loss in lung function over time, but participants who smokes marijuana as often as once a day for seven years saw no change. Additionally, no harmful effects were recorded in individuals who smoked marijuana occasionally for longer. According to the study’s authors, one possible explanation for the results may be THC — the active ingredient in marijuana. The compound is known to combat inflammation, and may be responsible for offsetting irritants that cause lung problems. Dr. Stefan Kertesz, the study’s co-author, also posits that an unintended side-effect of marijuana usage is the strengthening lung tissue as a result of breathing deeply during inhalation. And as if all that wasn’t enough, researchers found that pot smoking might actually improve lung function. “At levels of marijuana exposure commonly seen in Americans, occasional marijuana use was associated with increases in lung air flow rates and increases in lung capacity,” Kertesz said. He did note that the increase was not enough to “make you feel better,” but, then again, if you’re smoking marijuana, chances are you’re already feeling pretty great.  [ap / afp.]

thedailywhat:

Legalize It of the Day: A 20-year, federally funded study conducted jointly by researchers at UCSF and UAB found that smoking marijuana once a week, or even once a day in some instances, did no long-term damage to the lungs.

The study, published today in the the Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked 5,000 individuals across 20 years, and compared their usage of marijuana and tobacco to their health stats.

Cigarette smokers saw a considerable loss in lung function over time, but participants who smokes marijuana as often as once a day for seven years saw no change.

Additionally, no harmful effects were recorded in individuals who smoked marijuana occasionally for longer.

According to the study’s authors, one possible explanation for the results may be THC — the active ingredient in marijuana. The compound is known to combat inflammation, and may be responsible for offsetting irritants that cause lung problems.

Dr. Stefan Kertesz, the study’s co-author, also posits that an unintended side-effect of marijuana usage is the strengthening lung tissue as a result of breathing deeply during inhalation.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, researchers found that pot smoking might actually improve lung function. “At levels of marijuana exposure commonly seen in Americans, occasional marijuana use was associated with increases in lung air flow rates and increases in lung capacity,” Kertesz said.

He did note that the increase was not enough to “make you feel better,” but, then again, if you’re smoking marijuana, chances are you’re already feeling pretty great. 

[ap / afp.]

(via freenilly)

4:21pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEj8iD8
(Notes: 12,101)
  
January 13, 2012
rainschild: el puerto de barcelona (by flor de la aurora)

rainschild:

el puerto de barcelona (by flor de la aurora)

(via idratherbehome)

4:10pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEj6hQm
(Notes: 201)
  
January 13, 2012
So it’s actually cold

Nomashkaar from Delhi! I’d post a photo except I haven’t taken any yet since I landed late at night and am currently huddled under the covers in bed. Guddi-di is so adorbz. I honestly didn’t expect anything but a futon to sleep on (experience  ensues that flexibility is a must when traveling) and here she has an entire room for me with a full sized bed, a full bathroom, sheets, towels and a space heater, lol. I feel like I’m at a hotel. AND she’s a 7 month pregnant working wife! 

I feel like every time I come to India, it’s changed. Although I’m not here often, Delhi seems so metropolitan now! India is also trying to become more humane. Given that the population here is some enormous figure that I don’t feel like looking up, a life’s value is seen as less, or so it seems. 5-10 years ago a person dying was really an ‘nbd.’ And a poor person dying was an even bigger ‘nbd.’ It barely even mattered how they died. But today, we were watching the news and saw that a woman in Kolkata was denied care at two government hospitals while in labor. She gave birth to two twin babies, but didn’t survive herself. Why was she denied care? Because she was a slumdog! And the fact that the story made it to breaking news on Indian television is a huge deal. People’s mindsets are changing, their morality about humanity is changing and I’m glad to see that. I know many Indian people probably see it in terms of cost-benefit (a poor person is contributing less to the economy & society, taking up space in a densely-populated country, eating when food is scarce); But. One person’s life is not worth more than the other. And the right to health is a basic human right that shouldn’t be denied based on one’s class standing. Humanitarians around the world who come to India to volunteer and aid see that, and that’s why travel from such faraway places to do something about it. It’s time the Indian people see it too. 

3:46pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyEj2I4o
(Notes: 1)
  
January 1, 2012
I used to be all about resolutions back in the day

And in the past few years thought it was silly because why should you suddenly rush to find a new “you” or “better yourself” when you’ve had time to do so all year? So I stopped doing them. I thought, if I wanted to better myself I’ll do it in the moment. It’s more of a social construct of “New year, new me!” But I think it should be more than that. 

Ironically, it was not until last night that I started thinking about myself and analyzing my recent ways and character, after having a conversation with a friend. There’s a lot about myself I can’t say I’m proud about. Plus, this is also the year I graduate from college. I figure that this time would be the best time to make resolutions to better myself, as I think the time has come for much-needed self-improvement. Going to start with buying a journal or diary tomorrow. I want to start writing my thoughts. Tumblr is great but I obviously don’t frequent this too much, plus this is a public blog for everyone to read. I want to write everything down. Every thought, every emotion, every logical reason. Next, I want to read more. And not just books “I would like.” I want to read everything and anything. I want to read science-fiction, political non-fiction, novels, motivational non-fiction, economics and psychology books, CURRENT MEDIA. Reading is a gift. It’s one of the best ways to get information or learn about anything because it is directly given to you to interpret - rather than someone telling you the information and having their opinion or interpretation of it skew it’s about. I also want to listen to people more. I think I used to be a really great listener.. something along the past couple years has changed that. I need to work on it. I want to really listen to people. Without interruptions and with so much engagement that I can gage into what they’re saying or what they’re thinking. When you’re talking to someone,  it’s nice to actually feel the energy of the conversation and between the actors in the conversation. All of this is for the sake of speaking less. I speak too much, without thinking. I’ve been doing too much, without thinking. And that’s just not going to fly anymore. I need to focus my thoughts. Can’t be so scatterbrained anymore. 

Last, but not least, I want to try to be more real. I’ve been focusing too much on being nice, and not enough on being genuine with people. I suppose it’s because I want to get along well with everyone… and I still feel this way. I like being nice to everyone! It just seems easier to please people than to not. But simply doing things or acting a certain way to please people isn’t always healthy. Not because it could be unfair to me, but it can also be unfair to others. And an annoying trait, in general. Needless to say, this will probably be the hardest one to work on. 

I’ll let the rest remain a mystery :) 

Happy 2012 guys! 

11:21pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNyE7sERD
August 24, 2011

Click below for terribly sad photos from the aftermath of today’s earthquake. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/stunning-photos-of-damage-caused-by-the-east-coast

siiike. 

1:00am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZtcuNy8hmTFa
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