Hi there

Welcome to Agony and Ecstasy. This blog is all about love, life, friendship and all the other hackneyed stuff about which much has already been written on this blogosphere. So there are strong chances that a sense of deja vu will overcome you while going through some parts of this blog. But that is the price I pay for not jumping on the bandwagon earlier (much earlier, in fact). But as they say, better late than sorry (deja vu no.1). So just read along.

I am Bithika......quite an unusual name for a human, you might thing. But it does have a meaning. Apparently, the ancient forms of abstract painting used to be called "Bithi Chitra" in Sanskrit. Hence the name Bithika meaning "abstract and artistic" (the relevance of the latter part to my personality is a bone of contention). It also has a meaning in Bengali - something related to the forest, a meaning which many have conveniently translated into "wild" (some call me jungli billi as a result). I am very well aware of the peculiarity of my name, but nonetheless I love it. I feel a bizarre sense of pleasure when people come up to me and ask whether there is a spelling error in my name or such a name actually exists. As for me, I don't find my name that weird....but maybe that is because I have been living with it for the past nineteen years.

I chose to name the blog " Agony and Ecstasy" because I do believe that our lives are a mixture of both (deja vu no. 2) ....and also because I have always liked this phrase a lot, for some inexplicable reason. However cliched it may sound, but 'tis true. One's life is not always agonizing nor is truly ecstatic. It is upon the individual to strike a balance between these two and lead a content life. And this can only happen is one always tries to learn something useful from each incident.
For instance, thanks to my dad's job, I have literally spent my life like a gypsy. I had to face a lot of problems due to this. It affected my studies (I have changed as many as nine schools), gave me a major culture crisis and worse of all, I had to say goodbye to a lot of friends, some of them such gems that it killed me to part with them.
But it also came as blessing in disguise to me, for I also learnt some valuable lessons that are going to enrich my life forever. For starters, I have learnt to adapt to any situation and gel with any kind of person. Moreover, it has made me very mindful of other people's space and thus has given me a wider and a deeper perspective of life. As for my culture crisis, I have learnt to rather pride myself as a cosmopolitan.

Because of this, I have developed rather stiff likes and dislikes. For instance, I absolutely abhor people who refuse to acknowledge the fact that other people too have feelings and points of views which are needed to be respected as much as theirs. I absolutely cannot stand people who view the world with their own narrow perspective and dismiss those who don't fall under it.
An another thing I detest, actually abominate in people is pessimism. It is almost a vice and must be immediately exorcised if it grips an individual. It is said that your attitude determines your altitude (deja vu no. 3) and negative attitude hardly takes you anywhere as it cripples you even before you start to climb.

Due to my father's job, I have made a lot of amazing friends and I am greatful to each of them for accepting me as I am and taking me into their lives. I feel that the biggest virtue a friend must have is unconditionality (I hope the noun usage is correct). A true friend must always support you, come what may, without being judgmental. And yes, a friend should also have a good sense of humor. I pity humorless people, for humor not only keeps the atmosphere lively, but also prevent you from taking yourself too seriously.

One of my dearest friends favorite saying is, " you cannot get everything you want in life". It is true indeed. In spite of my reservations, I may have to put up with someone whose sense of humor can be best described as deadpan, or someone so negative that killing him would actually be a service to mankind. But I will be a winner if I do this all with a smile and at the end of the day, am able to sit back and sigh "It is the best of times, it is the worse of times." (The Tale of Two Cities being one of my all time favorite books)

I leave you on this note, with an earnest hope that my indolence doesn't get the better of me and I am able to post something really soon.

bye.