Deafening silence

Pause

2020-07-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

Play:
The alarm goes off. Out of instincts you push the snooze button and doze off again to savour those 5 minutes of sleep,before the alarm goes off yet again. Which is fine because you were prepared for it, your alarm was set 15 minutes early than it was supposed to be. Why you ask? Because those few minutes prepared you for actually waking up and facing the day. You wake up, get ready, stuff your breakfast down as soon as you can and run off to where you're supposed to be. Depending on where you live and where you have to go , you either take a bus or a train or a private vehicle. Now if you live in Mumbai, it's most likely to be train. You face the rush, reach your destination (definitely either already tired or frustrated, fantastic start to a day isn't it?) You slog the whole day, only to face this rush again and dump yourself on the couch when you finally do get a moment to breathe. 80% of the time you'll continue to rest in the same position with a device until it's dinner time and then sleep. The alarm goes off........ You see where I am going with this? A typical and faced by majority (not all) day in Mumbai. If you've noticed, I didn't care to elaborate much after the waking up, the reason I did do so is because that's how quickly a day goes by, you realise and hold on to every minute while those 15 minutes last because everything after that is just a hectic and fast schedule you're accustomed to.

Rewind:
It's 6 o'clock, you wake up and the realisation hits you....It's a new day!!! You immediately get out of bed, run to your parent's room and wake them up with an extraordinary excitement to get on with the day. You get your daily chores done as quickly as possible, to get it out of the way, so that you can seize the day to the fullest. Gazing out of the window you realise there's a new type of bird you've never seen before, racing to the kitchen you grab your mom and ask her a billion questions about it. Looking at the twinkle in your eyes your mom doesn't resist it and enlightens you to the fullest. Having learned something new, you make a mental note to tell your friends. You decide to color a page in your color book and after an hour of toiling along with a great sense of achievement , you decide to take a nap. You wake up in an hour ( yes you read that right, a nap which actually remains a nap) and look for things to do next. After a mental debate, you settle for playing with your new toy car and after total satisfaction is derived from it, you settle down in your bean bag for a nice reading session. Just then your mom says she has to run an errand and you practically beg her to take you along (that's right, no dragging yourself to run the errand). Fascinated with the things around you, you keep on asking your mom what the pull lever in the train is for, how the tracks meet and diverge without trains colliding, how the QR code scanning works at the billing counter, so on and so forth. On reaching your building you notice your friends and stay downstairs to play. Feeling the rush when you're about to get caught in hide and seek,when you'll suddenly be given kho in kho kho and have to run for team and how you made deals with god in your mind to not get diner's turn. Finally at dinner time your mom calls you and that marks the end of your day, if you get Rasna along with dinner then that's just the perfect bonus. Now, who's this alien you ask? I presume you know. Why were you this curious in life then? Was it because you barely knew anything? Maybe. Was it because you actually noticed the small things then and took a moment to just pause and look around? Also a very plausible explanation. Why was the day so long then? Was it because you had no job or college to attend? Maybe. Or was it also because you actually took time to do something new everyday and appreciate every moment?

Pause:
What happens when a train in full acceleration suddenly stops? You get a jerk and then come to a sudden stillness. That's exactly what this pandemic has done for us. All of our trains were moving in full acceleration,coursing through life,trying to get ahead,inevitably feeling the need to win a race we created. To be very honest I felt the same, as if a train I was supposed to be on was leaving the station,until someone told me that it's my train and it's going to be right there until I board it and only then will it go ahead. The point I am trying to make is that you set the pace for yourself and the only one you're racing against is you. I know nobody asked for this pause but wasn't it needed? Wasn't this exactly what we all needed to strike a balance between the two contrast I just gave. Don't fall back into the same routine when this ends. Find a middle ground. Next time you're outside, take a moment to notice your surroundings, get curious about things you weren't aware of, don't be in a rush to reach your destination and kill time on your phone, look up. Enjoy the journey. In a fast moving schedule, make time for things that give you joy. Go on those random and sudden plans, talk to people in person, get out of your comfort zone and do things you would've never done before, because at the end of the day, these are the moments you'll remember. Along the years, we've succumbed to the norms and path the society set. We lost the curiosity ,the excitement and the energy somewhere along the way. If you aren't one to whom this applies, kudos! You've actually implemented carpe diem in your life. But if you are one, I appeal to you, think.

Dark Hour

2019-09-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

Dark hour is in literal sense the hour before dawn when there is darkness all around and then the sun rises. But metaphorically speaking what does it mean?

Dark hour is the lowest point in one's life. Its that point of time where everything seems like a lost cause and things aren't getting any better, if anything it keeps on deteriorating. Often when we come across such a time, the main thought in our head is "Nothing's gonna get better.. This is it". And this is completely acceptable. When one is in a negative state of mind, the brain tends to think even more negative thoughts. We naturally take this out on the people around us or worse we go completely silent, evaluating everything in our life. But what we fail to understand at that moment is that everything has two approaches: glass half full or glass half empty. It's just a matter of how you choose to look at it. Of course you aren't expected to immediately get that but eventually you have to. Life is too short to fixate on what is wrong and too big to fixate on how to make things right and how to live it to the fullest. At such a time ask yourself these questions- Till when am I going to continue to live like this? How many more days am I going to waste being sad? Is this actually helping me out in anyway? You will actually be quite surprised on how the answer to this immediately changes your perspective.

When things go wrong, focus on what's right. I know it's easier said than done but this is the only approach,that will in any way, help your mental health. And if by chance, everything is wrong then get up from your couch, get out and make your way to better things! Talk it out with people around you, understand that you are not a special case, there are many people out there going through the same thing. I once read somewhere that "We are all in the same game, just different levels. Dealing with the same hell, just different demons."

Often people choose the cowards way out when they are going through a dark hour, suicide. What you don't get is that by doing this all you are doing is escaping your dark hour by bestowing it upon your loved ones. And when it was too much for you to bear then how can you just put that on people whom you love, who love you?! Stay! Fight! And survive! Running away is not an option!

Keep in mind, just like night engulfs us in darkness and sun rises everyday bringing light upon us ,so will life. It's a phase,that once you get through,you will emerge stronger, just like a Phoenix is reborn from its ashes. These are exactly the situations that shape a person's personality. It tests you in every possible way and by going through it you just come out wiser and stronger. They are always the turning point in one's life. Once the light finally arrives, it will make way for better things. It will definitely seem like there is no way that would happen but trust me, looking back you will understand this statement. Get out of your comfort zone, do things you've always wanted to do and see how opportunities unfold for you themselves.

I conclude by quoting Albus Dumbledore "Happiness can be found,in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Sarcasm:The spice of language

2019-09-18T04:43:00.000-07:00

Imagine for a moment, FRIENDS with no Chandler Bing!! Seems pretty dull doesn't it? After all he is the king of sarcasm, the one who made us laugh in all the serious situations, the one who taught us that every awkward situation can be handled with a sarcastic comment and also the one who taught me that sarcasm at the wrong moment can have serious repercussions.If I am being completely honest,he introduced me to the very concept of sarcasm.

If you are surrounded by the type of friends that I am surrounded by, you face sarcasm at an hourly nay minute basis.Though it never gets old. There have been moments in a heated argument where just a sarcastic comment made me laugh or situations where it alleviated the seriousness. Also, on a personal level I feel that closeness with a person can be defined by the amount of sarcasm between them (or maybe i am just crazy). Sarcasm is like salt if you think about it, it just fits everywhere and a conversation without it seems pretty dull. There have even been moments where I have been on the verge of crying and my idiot bestfriend just passes a comment and there we are laughing our heads off, though the comment is about the thing that affected me in the first place. But mind you, just like salt in a dessert is a no no,you must know that certain situations are just not the time for it. I know,I know, Chandler got away with sarcasm in every situation but lets face the real world now shall we. Could this get anymore philosophical?

Lets just say that, until salt was discovered, every dish seemed fine without it. But once it was discovered, every dish seems incomplete without it.This is a very unique approach to it but isn't sarcasm the spice of language after all in today's world?

Is the concept of equality, inequality in itself?

2019-09-18T02:33:00.000-07:00

Feminism. What is feminism? You must have come across this term a lot over the past few months, but does anyone know exactly what it means? I don't. And from what I've gathered, people around me don't either. Everyone has their own meaning or idea about it. Some support it and some are against it. Here's the thing though, feminism is a whole different idea then what today's "feminists" have made it to be. I am a female but if feminism is what I see on social media everyday then no, I am not a feminist.

I believe in a whole different concept, the concept of equality. No, not the idea of equality you come across on a daily basis, equality in it's true sense. If you've gone through the college admission process, you must have noticed one thing. There are seat reservations for girls. Now for a moment wonder, why is it so? Equality, the feminists of today would say, inequality it is.Why should education for girls be any different? Don't we all have equal right to education? "Ladies first" I've often heard females saying when they wanted something done before the males ahead. Why? If you believe in equality believe it in every situation, not when its convenient for you! If a man moves aside and lets you go ahead,remember he's doing it out of respect not obligation! Ever heard a girl put the heavy lifting on her brother or friend? Many would argue that males are biologically built more powerful than females. True. But does that make us weak? Mary Kom would contradict. Why are we ourselves considering us as an unequal? As far as the debate of females being paid less for the same jobs as male is concerned, don't settle for a salary less than you expect. Stand up for yourself and what you want. Don't let anybody take what's rightfully yours.

'Reservations' are done as a way to promote equality but in my opinion it does the exact opposite of it. I think you get the hypocrisy by now, we are trying to promote equality by using inequality to our benefit. If you truly believe in equality then stop expecting a special treatment and start looking at yourself as an equal to the rest. Expecting privileges in the name of it is NOT "spreading the message".We expect equality but we want to keep the perks of being the "weaker" ones. Unless you start looking at yourself as an equal, no one else will either. Feminism is defined as 'the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes' if this is exactly what you practice as you preach then, yes I am a feminist. Inequality between sexes is no doubt a major issue today but lets eradicate it in the true sense and not just turn the gun around....