Anecdotes and Realizations

We went to Westside and Landmark the other day, for some 'birthday shopping'. I realised that while I am much more confident being myself, I still feel judged all the time. I wonder when it is that I began feeling that. 'Log Kya Kahenge' is unfortunately a big thing for me, in trivial matters mainly.  So, I was browsing through the range of clothes by Bombay Paisley and then I began thinking. I can't spend 2000 on clothes. I don't NEED it. People will think I am spoilt. I ordered some things for myself for MY birthday, and I felt a little guilty. 'Spoilt!' 'Inconsiderate' the voices echoed in my head. My parents are the most incredible people, who want you to be yourself and have fun with life. They keep telling me to work on Deservability.  I did not get everything I really wanted yesterday. Only what I thought was an appropriate amount. On top of that was the guilt of not studying a few days before the exams. Even though, I have already finishe...

Here's to all the darling dreamers With fire in their souls And who fail to see the world When they are lost in their creation To those who cannot see Why others do not see There is another way Another way to do it right To those who understand That right and wrong, or good and bad Are all points of view,  As long as we do what we know we want to do To those who sing their blues away And dance it out everyday And feel the rhythm shake  And those who have the guts to take A new step or a new way A way to make it through the day Without losing who you are But, jumping, sprinting far Get Set, go! To those who wake up with an urge To show the world who you are What it is that makes your blood boil And your feet come alive To those who have an excitement in their gut And crack their knuckles , ready to go Who have something to say And cannot wait to roar To those who know that they may lose But choose not to care What the non-dreamers think  For it is not their world to rethin...

 I recently watched 'Main Hoon Na' with Mama. Timepass masala movie. I liked Sanjana's line 'Atleast usey mere kapdo se pyar nahi hai' . Something for Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to learn from.  I immediately fell in love with the song Chale Jaise Hawaiyen. I flow with the wind, like a butterfly in a garden, like a bird in the sky!  Also, Vasundhara Das' voice is quite fun! 'It's the Time to Disco' really was what it was thanks to her. The lyrics go on : ' Koi Roke Koi Aaye, Kitna Bhi Mujhko Samjhaye Main Na Sunoongi Kabhi Apni Hi Dhun Mein Rahti Hoon Main Pagli Hoon, Main Ziddi Hoon, Kahte Hain Ye To Sabhi ' Love it! Apni hi dhun mein rahti hoon!!

These feminists these days. What else do they want? They can vote, they can work. Such attention-seekers. Suna tho hoga?  But that's the point. We need to seek attention. Because sexism , misogyny and patriarchy exists everywhere. Even in the most "forward" of families. When you point it out, you have decided to shake things up. People, as a group, do not like when such things happen What comes next is a real test of your 'liberal ideas'.  Have you every wondered? Maybe my mother does not have to do all the work. Maybe it is not her duty from birth to become a disrespected manager of someone's house and children. Maybe we could be nicer to her, since she's doing everything for us. Why is it normal to expect the Mother to cook every single meal? Ever thought that maybe she has a life outside of the kitchen. Maybe she has a dream, maybe she wanted to be more than this.  Why do we hear that the Father is the Head of the house? Kyu? Papa se kyu poochoge? Is no...

 Young and fierce, the mother lay Looking amongst the bushes Each rustle sending a chill in her spine Of something wild and vicious With fur of golden wheat And eyes that captured the world She had a growl of rumbling thunder When a threat bound onward Four little balls of flesh Suckled unto her Starving herself, She had no respite A human arrived one day Stood far and stood For hours until she got close to her and finally her puppies had love Now they had a home With humans for lord's sake They were one of the lucky ones For they had friends after all Golden Wheat Sona, darling! Is there not the World in these eyes? Rest in Peace, Zindagi Her puppies grew big and playful And jumped around the pots And stole their way into the hearts Of every human on the block Yet there was always a fear A Fear of something unknown Until one day it came true And into the dark went one young 'un Another was injured And the girl could not take it anymore The pup stayed inside,  And all her drea...

 Every now and then The day will break And you open your eyes Thinking, not again And you push yourself  out thinking, this is how it must be  You're young and sweet and all of fourteen,  but you look like you've been at it since sixteen Oh darling! When did you get so old? Remember the time without a care in the world When you awoke,  just to see the clouds swirl Oh dear! Where did those days go away? Why don't you let yourself go have fun? Play around , goof around, life has just begun Are you scared people won't like you then? Oh darling! They don't like you anyway Did you think there was a purpose to life? That we wake up for a reason that God has spoke But sweetheart, no one cares you exist This life, it's only for us You can find what you want, or just grow old If today was the end Would you be proud of yourself? You can get what you want Or what everyone else would want There is no way to sit on the fence,  So , tell me, Who do you choose? Will you j...

After years of listening to the name ABBA, I have finally hooked on to everyone's good old favourites! Mama and I watched Mamma Mia! on Netflix recently. Meryl Streep was of course a delight, but the songs really caught my eye. I explored a little, and found that all of these were taken from ABBA, a 70s group that created some smash hits in its day! The group consists of Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha. (A.B.B.A.) From their performances, they were thick friends, throughout the romances, marriages and divorces.  I soon added 'This is ABBA' to my liked albums and now I can't go one morning without some 'Super Trouper'! My father was thrilled, he had heard ABBA for the first time when we has 15! Quite a coincidence, I should say. He marked the day by purchasing a cassette, and I did by adding it to Spotify's Liked Songs section.  If you are young , I'd suggest you get hooked on to ABBA with 'Mamma Mia!', 'Gimme!Gimme!Gimme!' and 'Mo...

 Embarking upon their first joint venture as 'Heart & Soul' , my father began a program based on the book 'Measure What Matters' - Take Off- OKRs! Initially, I only joined for the sake of supporting my parents, but it turned out to be very interesting. The simple funda is that OKR stands for Objective - Key Results. Objectives are goals that if achieved will signigicantly impact your life. For example, one of my four objectives was to get 3 published pieced by Jan 2021. Your objectives should make you uncomfortable, they should make you a little apprehensive.  The KR's now are the 3-4 KEY results that will lead to your Objective. For example, for the above Objective, my key-results were as follows : - Blog weekly, i.e, have 16 blogs up by the end of the year - Read Quality Books every week (Starting with Wuthering Heights) - Identify Students' Newspapers / Magazines / Poetry Journals that take submissions by Sep 15th - Send submissions to the School Blog - W...