Saturday, 17 November 2012

5 reasons why you should switch to Windows 8.

1. It’s cheaper:  A Windows 8 upgrade costs $39.99 for users using Windows 7, Vista, or XP and will be available through the end of Jan. Microsoft also has an offer for you! If you buy a PC with Windows 7 between June 2, 2012 to Jan 31, 2013 it will give you an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for a very cheap price.     

2. It’s Safer: Windows 8 has Windows Defender which is an integrated antivirus program. You can also install other antivirus which will disable Windows Defender. It has SmartScreen filter which will scan the EXE files that you download. According to PC Magazine networking and security analyst Fahmida Rashid, windows 8 is the most secure version of Windows.




3. Internet Explorer is better: Internet Explorer 10 is build to take advantage of Windows 8. It is easier, safe and more private. Windows 8 is also touch friendly since the titles and tabs are over sized.


4. It’s Faster: Windows 8 is faster and smarter than Windows 7. It runs faster on not only laptops and desktops but in fact on all devices.

5. Better battery life: Are you fed up of charging your PC every now and then? If yes then Windows 8 is your savior. Windows 8 improves battery life by 13 %.


Thursday, 15 November 2012


Some Unforgettable Indian Ads..

It is seen that many times people might buy or not buy the advertised products but tend to remember the ads for a long time. Some ads leave a lasting effect on the memory of people. Whether it’s about prompting a smile on the faces of people or motivating them, these ads have managed to make people develop affinity towards the products. I’ve listed some of the ads that I find unforgettable.

1. Limca: The earlier ads of Limca could grab people’s attention due to the great visuals of water splashing everywhere, romantic theme and mesmerizing music. In fact many people downloaded the songs that were played in the ads of Limca. The new Limca ads with Kareena Kapoor saying, “Pyaas Badhao” lacked any of these elements and therefore couldn’t create magic.





2. Surf Excel-Daag Acche hain: How can we ever forget this cute ad? The ad shows two kids walking back home from school. The little girl falls down into a puddle and so her brother decides to seek revenge by diving into the puddle and smashing it. After trying to hit and spoiling his shirt with stains of mud, he smiles and says, “Sorry Bol raha hain.”[The puddle is apologizing for hurting his sister.]



3. Happy dent: The ad shows that teeth shine after using happy dent and displays the various ways in which electricity can be replaced by sparkling teeth. The ad is certainly very enjoyable.


4. Hero Motorcorp Theme Song: It is a very motivating ad with meaningful, heart-touching lyrics and real-life situations. The music composed by A.R Rahman has touched various hearts around the world.



5. Amul Manthan Ad:  The Amul Manthan ad which told the story of Amul model of co-operatives with the song, “Mero Gaam Katha Parey” and actress Smitha Patil is still fresh in the minds of viewers. A new version of the ad has also been made recently with some additions. The lines “Khush rahe tera beta beti” and “Tere chehre ki yeh laali laaye mare mann ujaali” indicate how the hard work put in by these rural women enhances the lives of urban children as well their mothers. It also shows how rural women are catching up with the changes taking place in India.




6. Kitkat Squirrel Ad: The animated squirrels with a famous Bollywood song,"Kaante nahi kat te Din yeh Raat” is a great combination to watch! The ad shows a male squirrel trying to woo his partner by singing a song and expressing his love for her.


7. Coca Cola Song Ad: The ad of Coca Cola with children singing the song, “Umeed waali Dhoop, Sunshine waali Asha” is certainly one of the best ads of Coca Cola. With a resplendent song, the ad gives us various reasons why we should we should believe in a better tomorrow.


8. Centre Fresh Bank Robbery Ad: This humorous ad shows a man robbing the bank and taking away all the money but a lady shouts “Security” and it is revealed that the security turns out to be the robber!




We see various people today falling prey to drugs. Drugs can attack anyone, anywhere and at any time. Drugs are so sneaky and full of deceit that they make lives miserable in just a glance. The people who once fall into this trap think that there is no way out as they become slaves of this evil master. But it’s never too late to start living once again. :)

I Will Never Give Up on Life reflects the feelings of a boy who is admitted in a rehab. He is both ashamed and repentant but decides to move on and stop clinging to the past.


                                            I Will Never Give Up On Life


I open my eyes and see darkness everywhere.
All I can witness around me now is ruefulness.
Engulfed by grief I hate to see myself like this.
Every breath that I take reminds me,
Of the life I have wasted.

I take a few steps and walk towards the mirror,
My own reflection refuses to recognize me.
I can’t recollect the last time I heard my own laughter.
In the rehab all I hear are the macabre voices of my screams in agony.
I look at the lines of my palms and realize that I have marred my own destiny.

I used to live my life with great exultation.
I miss playing soccer with brother every time I hear the raindrops.
I miss Mama’s homemade pancakes and eating them with Dad.
I miss my high school chums and playing guitar with them.
I suppose all that mattered for me was to get high.

Life seems so obscured now.
I promised myself every day,
That this would be my last shot.
But the end seemed nowhere.
And I succumbed to the master of misery and shame.

But a hope still lingers in my heart.
That one day I’ll be the same jovial lad
With eyes gleaming blithely, filled with ambitions.
I have chosen to embark on a new journey
And I will never give up on life.


Wednesday, 14 November 2012




Tips For Becoming A Movie Director.

There are many people who aspire to work behind the scenes in order to make a movie/ film successful.  A movie director is responsible for the creative aspects of film production. Directing movies is an exciting and an arduous task. While the main job of a movie director is to direct the film, they are also responsible for:

-making script changes,
-Selecting movie locations,
-Finalizing costume designs,
-Approving special effects,
-Providing coaching to actors,
-Auditioning of actors.

1) To become a director it is better to have a Bachelor’s degree in the field of Communication/Film-making/Acting.

2) A person aspiring to become a director must have leadership and creativity skills. A director is completely paralytic without these skills.

3) Gain as much experience as possible. Learn like crazy, slog day and night! Become an intern on a movie set. Even if you don’t get paid, you’ll gain valuable knowledge.

4) Make short films, documentaries, commercials, educational films. Participating in various film-making contests (National and International) is always a good idea. Your movie might win the contest and you might gain attention of various movie makers.

5) You can always go for a Master’s degree later, but it’s advisable to gain some practical knowledge before entering into a Master’s program. It is always better to continue your education due to the film industry’s highly competitive nature.

6) A good director should also be proficient in editing and acting.

7) You have to be tough in this field and not sensitive. The better you can handle people’s tantrums the easier your job will be.

8) Look at the brighter side but don’t be oblivious to the dark side of direction. Salary of a director depends on his work. You don’t have a consistent income in the field of direction.

9) Be positive, motivated and determined to make your own name in this field. Who knows you might be the next James Cameron or Steven Spielberg J

Monday, 12 November 2012

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS!

Here is your chance to win $ 100 Online. My friend suggested me about MyCoolGigs which is a micro job website where a user can buy/sell their services from $5 to $25. They have come up with their first contest for sellers and freelancers, who are willing to work with them and the contest ends on 16th November, 2012. 

All you have to do is post a Gig i.e. a job for ex - I will promote your product/service on social networking sites for $ 10 or I will write an essay for you on education for $ 5. You can post jobs in various fields like Advertising, Technology, Business, Social Marketing, Tips and Advice, Fitness, Beauty and Health, Writing and many more. If people are interested, they will buy for services.

You also have the opportunity to earn points! The winner will be picked randomly through random.org, after the contest ends. So hurry up and register asap! Good Luck :)








Sunday, 11 November 2012


How to make the edges of an image blurred in Photoshop?

Blurring edges in Photoshop is very simple. You can blur the edges of any image by simply following the steps mentioned below:

1.      Select an image whose edges you want to blur. Make sure the background is set to the color you want the image to blend into.

2.      In the 2nd step select the Rectangular Marquee tool and create a square in the image. Don’t include the area that u want to be blurred in the square.

3.      After that go to Settings > Feather, use 10 pixels and select OK. You can vary the pixel number according to your wish.

4.      Press Ctrl+ Shift+ I and hit the delete key. That’s it!

Since now you know how to blur edges, keep experimenting with different images and numbers to get the effect you want J

Difference between SLR and DSLR cameras.


Photographs are essential elements of memories. We all take photographs on special occasions or randomly to cherish some resplendent memories in future. We had photography in our last semester and one of my friends was sceptical regarding the difference between SLR and DSLR cameras. Therefore I decided to write a post on my blog instead! So that it helps various other people who find it difficult to comprehend the difference and consider both to be the same.



The basic difference between both the cameras is the way pictures are developed.  In an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, films that are usually 35mm are used to record pictures, whereas in a DSLR (Digital version of SLR) camera, a memory card is used. It is a lot better than SLR because of advanced features and settings. It is a perfect choice for professional photographers, as they won’t need to change the memory card and can store a lot of amazing and breathtaking photographs.

There is also a vast difference between a DSLR and a plain Point and Shoot/ Compact camera. People sometimes use the term “DSLR” when they mean a plain digital camera. DSLRs are larger in size and more expensive. DSLRs are a bit intricate to use due to different settings. There is also a vast difference between the image qualities of the pictures taken by these two different cameras. Photographs clicked with a DSLR camera are certainly more superior. The lens of a DSLR camera is more complex and is manual whereas Compact digital cameras have automatic focus and zoom as high as 12 X.


We all love taking photographs irrespective of the fact whether we take pictures of finest/average/poorest quality. So grab your cam and keep clicking! J















Saturday, 10 November 2012


Has The Depiction of Women in Indian Media Really Changed?







Media by its nature receives wide exposure. It presumably affects various activities of people including lifestyle and values. It exerts a powerful influence on the society due to its ability to shape social trends and mould personal attitudes. It plays a substantial role in the social and economic development of women.In the past, women were always patronized by men. Their modus vivendi included marriage, looking after the family, needs of the house, getting involved in household chores, lacking confidence to deal with the cosmos outside the four walls of the kitchen and being oblivious to all the political events and technological breakthroughs in the country and the world.


It would be incorrect to say that depiction of women has not changed since the dawn of media in India. We have ads like Yakult - which shows a lady looking after her family without being dependent on her husband, Stayfree- which says, “'If something irritates us so much, hume isse change karna chahiyeindicating that women today are capable of bringing about a change, Samsung Galaxy Y that shows a young girl trying to fulfil her dream of becoming a singer despite of discouragement from others, the Scooty Pep ads with the tagline, “Why Should Boys Have All The Fun?”  In earlier days, a widow in movies was depicted as a Dukhi Aatma who was chronically ill and poor. We can witness an array of movies that depicted actresses like Nirupa Roy and Kamini Kaushal as helpless, dependent widows trying to save defend themselves from being dishonoured. Whereas today, one can acknowledge the change by watching movies like Partner, where Lara Dutta plays the role of a photo journalist, who wears low waist jeans and short skirts, is the mother of a child and falls in love with a man despite of being a widow. The word “Vidhva”is a part of her life and is not dominating her life.


Regardless of these changes, some studies have found that social issues of status and opportunity related to women got less than nine percent while sensational stories relating to women which included mostly crime stories got a score around 52 in newspapers. Majority dailies portray women as victims of sexual harassment but news of serious problems that are faced by women in their daily lives is missing. The portrayal of women in advertising is an issue that has received a great deal of attention.  Some ads have been stereotyping women, failing to recognize their changing roles in the society. The Axe Dark Temptation ad shows a woman taking bites out of a man’s bottom who is coated in chocolate after using the chocolate flavoured deodorant. A Wild Stone deodorant ad shows a woman tricking her way into her brother in law’s arms due to the effect of his deodorant on her. The makers of the ads have defended themselves by saying that since males mostly groom themselves for females, they have used the theme of attraction for selling the products; however the objection here is reaction of women which states that sexual availability of a woman becomes easy after using these products. Females have been used as decorative objects by showing them in ads which are nowhere related to women, a J.K Cement ad showed a woman in bikini emerging the sea to show the strength of the cement.


Our daily saas- bahu serials depict women involved in conspiracy, premarital, extra-marital affairs leading to pregnancy (How can we ever forget the proverbial “Main Tumhare Bache Ki Maa Banne Waali Hu.” dialogue?) , wearing big ticket clothes and make-up, roaming in luxurious cars to attend parties and functions with little concern about the happenings in the outside world. In fact when I was watching an episode of a serial, I overheard my friend’s father saying, “This is the reason why girls shouldn’t be given the liberty to lead their lives the way they want!” News channels have many good looking female news readers, reporters and it evident that many of them are employed mainly because of their looks rather than potential.


All this indicates that though the lifestyles and habits of women have changed dramatically in the last few decades, media reflects a very small part of the true picture. Instead of trying to curb stereotypes and promote values, trends, attitudes that can help in strengthening the position of women in our country, media falls short in the enhancement of women’s role in our society. 

Thursday, 19 July 2012



The Girl with a Peacock Feather




Mumbai’s monsoon is proverbial all over India. At one second the sky will be clear with the sun shining radiantly and at the other, it will turn inclement. People here have become accustomed to such out of the blue situations.  I woke up in the morning listening to the raindrops. Since my mom was busy with her work I didn’t choose to disturb her and decided to make something on my own for breakfast. I made myself a cup of coffee and some peanut butter sandwiches. I sat against the window and looked at the rain outside. Everything looked hazy. I could feel the cool breeze touching my face and also changing the direction of the steam coming out of my coffee. 

I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and saw our family friends Mr and Mrs Nayak (real names not revealed to conceal their identities) standing outside. They both gave me a hug and sat in the drawing room. Mom made some tea for them and we all sat together and discussed the current happenings of our lives. Mr. Nayak is one of the most adventurous people I have ever met. He has a certain kind of affinity towards bizarre stuffs. No wonder we both get along so well with each other. I often tell him that he should have been a mountaineer instead of a doctor.  Whereas Mrs.Nayak is also a doctor like her husband but they are poles apart. She has a demure nature and is a bit of an introvert. Since it was raining outside, Mr.Nayak decided to take all of us for a long drive. Mrs.Nayak was tentative but she agreed later on. Persuading her is not a cinch! Unfortunately mom couldn’t join us due to her pending work. We all fastened our seat belts and carried some snacks along with us. Mr.Nayak was driving and Mrs Nayak sat beside him. We all talked for a while and then were listening to some old melodious songs and co-incidentally the songs perfectly matched the weather! I was looking at the rain drops falling on the windowpane. Such state of affairs urge me to write some inspirational lines in my diary.  But alas, I hadn’t carried it along with me. Suddenly the car halted as the red signal was on. I saw a young girl standing near the car opposite ours. She was hardly 10 years old. She wore a yellow frock which was torn from many parts and had placed a beautiful peacock feather in her hair so elegantly that it almost looked like a hairclip. Her jet black eyes were filled with innocence. She was selling some Jasmine Gajras. The tempestuous weather didn’t seem to bother her. Although she was shivering due to the increasing frigidness, there was a precious smile on her little face. But there was something else that had caught my eye. The girl was using some kind of sign language to communicate with people. It was evident that she was a mute. Soon she came and stood near our car. Before I could say or do anything Mr. Nayak grimaced at her and started cursing the girl. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. I had always seen him laughing and jesting and for the first time in my life I was seeing a new Avatar of Mr.Nayak.  The girl was touching the window and pointing downwards. It seemed that she was trying to show something. Mrs Nayak opened the window and warned her to stand away from their car.  The girl kept pointing downwards. I had seen enough. I opened my window and offered her some money. I told her that I didn’t want Gajras but she can keep the money. She shook her head in disagreement and tried to hand over some Gajras to me. But before I could take them from her the signal turned green and Mr.Nayak drove the car. I could make out that my act had made them livid but I chose not to bother. There was an awkward silence between the three of us. Soon there was a red signal again. A taxi stood on our left side. The driver opened his window and knocked at the window against Mrs. Nayak. She opened hers and the driver told her that her dupatta is falling out of the car is very near to the tire. She quickly opened the door and pulled it inside. She also thanked the driver and smiled at him. I now realized why the young girl was pointing downwards. But instead of receiving gratefulness, she was being cursed. Mrs. Nayak smiled at the driver but abused and mistreated the poor girl who only wanted to help her. Although she was ill-treated by her, she kept pointing downwards. They dropped me at my colony gate, bid me goodbye and drove away. While walking back home, some questions kept ringing in my mind.

 Does being affluent give us the liberty to insult those who are underprivileged? Why do we treat them worse than trash? Aren’t they created by the same almighty? And who do you think is more civilized? Mr. and Mrs Nayak who wear big-ticket clothes, roam in their pricey car and ill-treat people who are underprivileged or the little girl with a peacock feather who wasn’t willing to accept money from people without selling them her Gajras and who tried to save Mrs. Nayak’s life and continued her attempt even after being insulted by her?

Thursday, 29 March 2012


Ray of Hope

She sat there alone, spinning a yarn.
With swollen eyes and tears that encompassed shattered dreams.
Felicitous desires had taken the role of macabre reality.
A mistake had pulverized her life forever.
Uncertain of her future, she felt redundant.
How she wished she could go back and amend her greatest folly!
Of intrusting a traitor and bringing dishonor to her family.
She had surrendered her body, mind and soul to him.
She looked out of the window and gazed the moon.
Alone in the dark sky, she found it solitary and despondent like her.
She kept her hand on the protruding belly.
The thought of her child’s somber future raised her trepidation.
She shut her eyelids and found a ray of hope subsisting in her.
Her child would be her moonlight, she thought.
And render her life with light whenever darkness took over.
Notwithstanding the anguish, there was a smile on her face,
And her amber eyes were desirous of embarking on a new journey.






Saturday, 24 March 2012

I had written the following article as a part of my assignment. I hope you like it..:) Nd I request you to give me your honest feedback after reading it.. Thanks...:)



INCIPIENT OF A NEW DAWN
-Vaishali Sharma
The hardest profession to take in life is being a girl child. Starting from her presence into her mother’s womb to infancy, childhood and finally to adulthood, she faces many difficulties in this world. It is said that God created mothers because He could not be present everywhere. In a country like India where we worship goddesses like Durga and Parvati, it is opprobrious to see a God’s representative killing someone beautiful and impeccant even before she can enter the world and see the beauty of nature. Atrocities like female feticide and child marriages are still carried out in our country. Why can’t they see innocence in the eyes of their daughters before slaying them remorselessly? Is being born as a girl child a sin in our land?

Despite of these problems there is still something that doesn’t let us breakdown and leave the hand of hope. Suresh More, a farmer who lives in Mahalunge( a small village in Maharashtra) reckons that if we want our country to develop we must make sure that our girls are educated. He has two daughters and he wants them to attend school regularly and be sincere with their studies. He is also very much against child marriage. “The people who commit crimes like female feticide and child marriages should be apprehended. I’m a farmer and a poor man but I didn’t kill my daughters due to the fear of dowry. I’m very well cognizant that dowry is illegal and I’m a law abiding citizen. I want my daughters to be literate and stand on their own feet. I want to die in peace and that won’t happen unless my daughters are independent and living blithely.” Suresh More’s words are a slap on the faces of those people who think that a female child is nothing but a burden. His views are much more modern than those who live in urban areas, wear big –ticket clothes but discriminate between girls and boys and then call themselves ‘Modern’. 

People like Suresh More are the only ones who can make this country free from such abhorrent atrocities. We have numerous social awareness campaigns that are trying to make people aware of the eyesores that persist in our society but still some people fail to fathom their significance. On one hand we try to show that our country is progressing and on the other we kill our own daughters. Isn’t this nothing but hypocrisy? People like Suresh More give us hope that a new dawn will definitely arise where no girl child in this country will be tormented and excruciated.



Saturday, 4 February 2012



We live in a world where everything is resplendent and unique. From a petite caterpillar to the breathtaking rainbows we see during monsoon. God has made each one of us with great exertion and love. We all are born with different talents and capabilities which differentiate us from each other and therefore make us one of a kind. There can never be someone who thinks and feels exactly the same way you do. The sparks in your eyes, tears, and the sound of your heartbeat makes you stand out from others. 

Sometimes people feel extremely diffident because they don’t have a talent/ability that others posses. It can be beauty, flourishing business or something else. They create an inferiority complex and start detaching themselves from the rest of the society. They become intrigued with the personalities of others & start imitating them but they don’t realize that by becoming someone they aren’t will only sabotage their own talents and make things much more byzantine. Why do we fail to acknowledge that beauty lies beneath the skin? We may apply loads of makeup & endure big-ticket surgeries to make ourselves look bewitching but it all will be worthless if we don’t have a magnanimous heart big enough to hold no grudges. We can always try to become successful at any point of time in our lives as it is never too late to try. We weren’t born to accept failure and become no-hopers but to triumph over miseries. How can we expect others to love & respect us when we ourselves don’t? We often complaint about lurking for our Mr. /Ms Perfect and intricacies of facing solitude. Why do you want someone else’s love when the person who can love you the most in this world is “YOU”? “YOU” are the only person who will be with you every moment on the path of life. "YOU" are the only person who will be there for you when no one else is. I’m not saying that one should be self-centered and behave like a selfish brat. There is a vast difference between being self-centered and loving and appreciating yourself.

Praise and think positive about yourself every morning and to your surprise you will find yourself doing the same for others. Start your day by saying, “I’m happy, confident and blessed “and enjoy experiencing the spirits of a gleeful life for the rest of your day!!!!

Thursday, 2 February 2012




















So, we live in a democratic country that says, “For the people, by the people”. We also have a right to freedom of expression & speech in our country which says that freedom of Speech and expression means the right to express one's own convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode. But do we enjoy this kind of a right in our country?

There are numerous examples where the Indian government has tried to curb free speech. For instance, the screening of the movie Dam 999 was banned as it was set against the backdrop of the Mullaperiyar Dam Controversy on the ground that it might lead to public order problems in the state. We were the first country to ban Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses. The Indian-born British writer had to cancel his visit to the Jaipur Lit fest due to life threats and protests made by people. Although he then came up with an idea of attending the fest via video link, but unfortunately it was later proved to be abortive as well. Rohinton Mistry's Such A Long Journey was dropped by the Mumbai University from its syllabus as it contained abusive and derogatory statements from the perspective of a character in the book against Bal Thackeray; Delhi University did the same with A.K. Ramanujan's essay Three Hundred Ramayanas; makers of the movie Rockstar were forced to blur the Tibetan flag in the “Sadda Haq” song; and movies like Deshdrohi, Bandit Queen, Da Vinci Code, Fire and many others have been banned by State governments. And now we have a new fresh case of the Kolkata Book Fair cancelling Taslima Nasrin’s book launch. Arundhati Roy’s expression of support for the independence of Kashmir was excoriated by the BJP and INC. Prashant Bhushan was thrashed by two activists for his view that the Indian army should be withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir and if the Kashmiri people did not want to live in India, they should be permitted to vote for separation.

We belong to a country where people think it is possible to burn ideas by burning books. This has created mentalities that by making ideas invisible, we can kill them. All these things engender a question: Are we becoming too touchy over religion and region? Whether it is Salman Rushdie’s book or Jay leno’s satirical comments on the Golden Temple, we Indians always take up the role of a grievant. Our Cinema displays a parade of self-sacrificing mothers, virtuous wives, garrulous sisters and chivalrous men. Why can’t they come up with films that discuss such issues and change the mindset of fanatics present in our nation? Perhaps, they too are apprehensive that such acts might prove to be detrimental to them. Our government also fears taking an austere action against such people to avoid losing vote banks. Many fail to express outrageous opinions as they fear isolation. We live in a society where predominant ideas always prevail. Is thrashing and not allowing people to attend prominent fests justified? Have we become so intolerable to exorbitant ideas that we are willing to slay people? On one hand we say that books should be worshipped as it is Saraswati and on the other hand we burn books just because we disapprove of certain ideas? Is humanity evanescing amidst such insensate actions? It’s HIGH TIME we stop THINKING and start DOING something.

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite short stories. This one was told by my teacher when I was in grade 5. I hope you enjoy reading it :)

Once Buddha was en route to some place with a few of his disciples. On their journey, they happened to pass a lake. Buddha stopped and asked one of his disciples to fetch water for him as he was feeling thirsty.

 The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and a bullock cart was crossing through the lake. Hence, the water was muddy and very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my Lord!” So he came back and told Buddha that the water was unfit for him to drink it.

After about half an hour, Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple yieldingly went back to the lake. This time to his surprise, he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked crystal clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean? You let it be and the mud settled down on its own and so you could get some clear water for me. Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Refrain yourself from giving any advices or suggestions to it. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having 'peace of mind' is not an arduous task; it is a facile process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.