'Tie and Sari Day' of Yesteryear

No, it’s not the usual Tie day for boys and Sari Day for girls that is been conducted in colleges. Actually it’s not even a Tie and the Sari Day but a Tie and Sari WEEK! What I’m talking about is a workshop that we had at the B-school that required all students to be in formal wear.

It was the second week of us joining the B-school. We had just begun mingling with each other and knowing each other; that we had this one week workshop!

Girls found it difficult to handle the saris, walking upstairs and downstairs the college (most of the times, the elevator didn’t work!). Boys didn’t have any issue, (I suppose) in handling their ties. The only issue they had that most of them didn’t know how to tie a tie! (Even today, some of them don’t know. Sigh!).

We were made to deliver speeches, write essays, novel review, observe etiquettes, conduct mock interviews etc. None of us left a stone unturned. Each of us put in best of our efforts to please the professor (in fact to be less humiliated in front of the entire batch of students).

It came as a surprise to us that while we deliver the speech or conduct an interview, our actions were been recorded on a video cam which was been telecast before rest of the students (Oh my god!).

‘To deliver a speech without a paper in hand is next to impossible’ is what we thought. But the challenge or fear whatever you call it, brought the confidence in us. (This deserves a pat on the back!)

We thought that acting as an interviewer was an easy task but it wasn’t. I’m sure many would agree with me. Having an objective of selecting a right candidate out of many is definitely not an easy task.

What was difficult was to submit a summary of how we performed by having a look at the videos. The comments that we received from the professor after every session sounded cynical. But as days passed by, we took it in the right spirit. We enjoyed the sessions that we had later during the year.

Some found the sessions to be humiliating while some found it hilarious.We have been mimicking the professor – the way he spoke and also mimicking some of our batch mates – the way they sounded foolish in front of the class.

Each of us has had an experience that hasn’t been left unspoken. We grumbled a lot but I’m sure each one of us still remembers and cherishes those moments. Even today, each of us has a hearty laugh when remembering those days! I’m sure we still have those FUNNY VIDEOS with us!

Deception

Wikipedia says,” An emoticon is a textual expression representing the face of a writer's mood or facial expression.”

Isn’t that true?

There was a time when I didn’t know what emoticons are. I only knew about one emoticon “smiley” which I didn’t use very often.

One of my friends used emoticons in every email and sms that she sent. Every message of hers would make me smile because of the use of different emoticons. That was the reason I became addicted to emoticons.

In Every sms, every email (to friends), every online chat, I use emoticons. After every sentence, I put an emoticon instead of “full stop”. It’s almost impossible for me to stop using emoticons. It’s like one of the punctuation marks without which a sentence seems incomplete; infact a message seems incomplete.

Without emoticons, the conversation doesn’t convey the writer’s feelings to the reader.

But at times, aren’t these false faces? Isn’t it like wearing a mask? Hiding your true emotions?

There are times when I am sad but I don’t want to convey the same to the reader, so I use a smiley icon instead of the sad one. A person could possibly hide his true feelings by using emoticons.

Isn’t it deceptive?

Or maybe it’s just a kind of non-verbal communication that adds glitter to the message and richness of meaning that cannot be communicated verbally.

It’s just the way one feels when words alone just aren't enough.

You say it best …When you say Nothing at all ;) <3 ;)