Silence: Need Of The Hour.

There are times when all I want is silence. Silence from the loud engines of vehicles, from all the machinery making noise on a construction site, from the television or phones people want all the time, from the constant chatter everybody wants. I'm so exhausted from hearing all the noise that even if it's just for a few minutes, I want silence. Complete and utter silence. I wouldn't mind the pitter-patter of rain or the chirping of birds. Not even the rustling of trees. All that is calming. I feel at peace with those sounds.

I read a poem once, it said that humans are so busy moving their hands too much and running towards development, making so much noise because they can't stop speaking and using loud motors. They never stop and reflect on what effect their actions have on other living creatures. The poet gave examples of a man who stops extracting salt from rocks to examine his wounded hands and feet, and another one of a fisherman who stops fishing for once and thinks how painful it must be for the whales whose lives he had taken. If for once, all of us manage to stop with all the work we're doing and reflect. Reflect on what effect it has on others, on what we really want with our lives. We'll be able to introspect oneself if we are given silence. Trust me it would feel beautiful.

I always have music blasting through the doors of my brother's room, television on full volume in the living area, sounds of utensils clicking against each other in the kitchen and the loud noise from a construction site in front of my house. So I once went to a garden in search of silence, there weren't many people there. I took around and then sat on a bench facing a small lake with a lot of greenery around it. I looked at all the trees, their leaves, the colours of their leaves, their trunks, it's height, the water in the lake, some guys playing football nearby and a few people walking around. It felt good to be able to observe everything in so much detail. There were mosquitos biting me but it didn't bother me much, I had a silence around. It didn't even last for a few minutes when people in groups walking across me started to talk and laugh loudly. Many of them looked at me as if I'm the biggest idiot sitting alone in a park and not doing anything. Is it so bad to want silence for a while?

Whenever I try to study, there always is a loud noise in the background that I can't even concentrate. I have grown so tired of telling everybody to not be loud, nobody listens. My mother used to scold me because I never helped her. Now when I do, she scolds me because I didn't do it properly, if I did it'd be because I didn't do some other work. It's those times when she never appreciates what I did when all I want to hear is a simple 'thank you' or a 'good job' and I don't even get a smile when I grow frustrated. When I want silence and someone would come around and start speaking without a pause. I don't think silence is a bad thing to want. Some of you might hate it but just try to experience some for a while and think. Think about anything and everything that comes to your mind. I assure you it would feel good. In this fast-paced world, all we require is a moment of a break when we all can sit down for once and introspect. But for that the only prerequisite is silence.

By: Roma

Talking Periods!

 

Being a girl has its own hardships. It is her who is expected to do all the household chores and take care of her family, especially if she's married. It is her who is going to get pregnant so that the human race doesn't end. It is a girl who has to experience periods every month for more than half her life.

A little before our teenage, we are terrorized about getting our periods and not being able to do certain things which involve physical work. In some orthodox families, even going into a kitchen or a holy place is strictly prohibited. But getting terrorized about it and experiencing it are two whole different scenarios. First, the 'Premenstrual Syndrome' (PMS) which is the overly emotional and physically painful phase that occurs a week or two before each cycle. Then comes a week-long bloody war. A waterfall of blood flowing down in the panties. If we sneeze or laugh, it would feel like a flood down there.

Just imagine, being so emotional that you cry over anything and everything happening around you, being angry at something with no-fault, craving sweet at all the odd hours and the feeling of nerves being pulled in your lower abdomen. And then a few days later, discovering your underwear and bedsheets ruined with blood. Your underwear being full of blood for a week every month, the uncomfort of putting a pad, tampon or menstrual cup, all the while keeping in check that the blood doesn't leak out and ruin your clothes. On top of it, back pain, the ache in the thighs and unbearable cramps, so bad that in some cases that one can't survive without painkillers. Sounds horrifying? Well, it is! And girls experience it all since their early teenage.

Then comes the taboo of not talking about it, especially with the guys. Why? What if I have a guy best friend? What if I don't get along well with girls and I want to talk about it when I got periods the first time? I never get the point of keeping our menstrual cycle a secret from guys. So what if they know? We did a study about it in school, right? They know it happens. Then what is the problem if they know when it does?

A girl requires around 10 pads and a few tampons for each cycle that occurs every 28 days for forty years. Each pad costs for Rs. 7 in general. Which means Rs. 70 goes to buying pads for each cycle. Experiencing approximately 521 cycles in our lifetime costs us Rs. 36,500 for just the sanitary pads. The cleaning products, ruining a panty and bedsheet every month, clothes at times too is to be added to the cost. Then if the cycle is irregular, going to a gynaecologist and buying the recommended medicines.

Well, this is periods for us. And if we get angry over something, we are made fun of by being asked, “Are you on your period?”. Well, it makes me want to answer, “Yes, I started my day by waking up in the puddle of my own blood. Is that how you want me to end yours?” So dramatic.

Girls find it embarrassing to buy menstrual products, not just because they want to keep it a secret but also because of the judging stares getting in their way. This is just a little description of periods we are expected to not talk about. Trust me, they're worse. So much to go through and not being able to talk about it freely is somewhat distressing. I want to be able to talk about it without being judged and I bet so does every other girl.

By: Mahi

Lockdown For Me: Personal Perception.

How is your quarantine going? nowadays this might be the most regular question you get asked, do you notice that now you have lots to tell about your day, how it goes. Regardless of whether you spend your day sitting idle, you do respond to this question enthusiastically, however before there was no time for this question to be asked, all were struggling for working their day out. 

If somebody asks me this question I have a lot to tell about. As this time I feel to be a blessing for me, for every one of us, if you have a positive view towards it. I feel so much of change in me these days. "Change is the rule of nature, it's your choice to see, it's good or bad". Mine is good, YAY!

Before it used to be a riotous day, we as a whole loathe that, I think. Why not to. But now I can work peacefully, no concerns to be in time, no concerns of following a plan, I under my own management can accomplish my preferred work in a superior way, in my own particular manner.

 

" Man is a social creature" this was limited for just saying, the social contact has lost in man, But these are the days we get many calls from family members whose contact were even not saved in our list, from friends who were just limited for online conversation and were unheard for a long period of time, this change was the most significant and the most noticeable one I got the opportunity to see in this lockdown.

Social distancing is both necessary and hard.

I've been considering my life a lot and the way in which lockdown has changed the manner in which we interact with one another. As of now, I've seen the effects this is having on myself as well as other people. 

Despite the fact that I'm an introvert, not seeing a considerable lot of my friends for more than four months has hit me hard. last month, our government relaxed up the guidelines a little – not that things feel any different to me. 

It's yet locked down for the time being, 

God knows since how long! 

I lost the count back at 54... 

"It's going to last long," some says. 

For the intensity of solidarity, that kept us going, 

Isn't what is required as of this hour... 

In contrast to the earlier times, how we remained alongside, 

Breaking the chain will give us more power! 

Everybody should make a note, 

That it's isolated we will all stand… 

keeping safe distances will save lives, 

I hope that all of you comprehend! 

Travelling through the ocean of life, 

As every day passes by… 

Enjoy the time that you have senseless, 

Don't waste it checking by! 

This is the ideal opportunity to do what you like, 

learn the things that you always wanted. 

Lift that lazy bum and get ready, 

I surmise you can work when you're dismayed! 

By: Samar

You have successfully survived until this point, 

Appraise yourself, give two parts of congratulations! 

Now you know, you can survive with necessities, 

Self-realization is the thing that you truly need!

The Dysphoria Of Loneliness.

Everything that we see around us leaves a significant impact on how we feel, a child screams when accidentally he slides his hand over a knife and then every time when he sees a knife he would get a familiar haunting feeling. This phenomenon of sensory flashback is an intrinsic part of our human consciousness. One such emotion that we all relate to is Loneliness. 

Loneliness can be such a painful frightening experience that people would do practically anything to avoid it. There are no justifications as to why or how this feeling arises let alone why or how can it be erased. Our consciousness revolves around emotions, be it our etiquette or morals, we feel and hence we act. 

It is a feeling, a shear stare in an empty hollow room inside you, that overshadows every rational understanding. It is an acute awareness that overcomes you when you are looking searching for some peace. It is a feeling that shower upon you when you try and laugh, and in that bitter taste of saliva, does it hit! That it is a long corridor dazzled by anxious stares, asking you, yelling, how have you been? One tries so hard to get better, to get over it, to forget it all and move on, and on instances, you would say that you are better, you are over it, but with a blink, it all comes rushing back to your doorsteps.

 Luckily with a certain understanding amongst the crowd, mental health has become a vividly discussed topic in the society. The dysphoric discussions about loneliness have taken a turn into a positive and supportive hand. People tend to discuss things and talking always helps. It will be an impossible question to answer as to why does one feel so? In terms of the reason there are multiple factors that are often associated with loneliness, but to announce them as the base reason behind this anguishing feeling cannot be justified.  It is and has always been an intrinsic part of the human psyche, and most millennials should accept that emotions are a part of human life and they need to be felt with apt concern. 

According to a theory the level of any Loneliness is directly proportional to the perception one has of life. If you think that your life should be like this then you wouldn’t feel alone and if you feel your life should have more to it then the chances are that at the end of the day with probably a cigarette in hand you will sit by the balcony and think how life is unjustified to you. One more factor that plays an important role behind this phenomenon is of ‘quality-quantity complexity' one may have n number of friends in his life to hang out and play cool with but if the heart longs for a deep conversation with someone then you are alone amongst the crowd and so is the case with quality, if you only one or two people in your life and now you are tired of how they think or always talk about how the parlour lady is charging extra, then you are missing the quantity. So to sum to it, loneliness depends upon how badly are you Miss ng something or someone or how badly do you want something or someone. 

With all the justified reasons said there is the answer as to why do you sit with the silence around, with nothing but regret, a ray of hope shines somewhere but is lost in some old ancient corner of this mess.

By: Hammy

RARITY OF LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS.

Relationships can be complicated and difficult. There is no right way or set of predefined rules that one can follow to be apt let alone perfect. To understand and comprehend what the other person needs in this exact moment is how you move forward. And things become far more entangling when you are in a long-distance relationship (L.D.R) 

To put it right there hasn't been a person who said ' yes my partner lives 13 hours away in Shimla, and it's great' On the contrary, everyone who has somehow experienced LDR will relate to the agonizing feeling; that your heart is slowly being carved out of your chest by a butter knife and replaced with an unsatisfying  WhatsApp call and instant notifications. 

In this fast-paced world, the notion of every relationship can be summed up into two basic words ' compatibility and comfortability’ and surely there might be a way to find this in an ordinary love story but for LDR these two words are the hardest of milestones to achieve. 

Imagine sitting on a balcony, on a monsoon evening, and watching a distant diminishing shine, will it still be worth for you? For the millennials, LDR is more complicated. We have been bought up in an era where waiting isn't part of life. And before these video chats and long-distance calls, the only way to know the whereabouts was through letters but now with every single ping, and all the status notifications you connect the dots and every single insecurity embarks fro there onwards. Questions like: is it all worth it? Does he also feel the same way? Or who am I kidding? This ain't gonna work? There is no easy answer to this but to say, hormones can't be trusted but the person can be! 

There is no easy way to keep an LDR moving! But love was never made to be simple or easy and planning things work. One should be marking important dates and should look forward to them. These dated would be the one when you finally get to meet each other again in person. Perhaps the moment you stop having some milestones to look forward to, the harder it will be to maintain the same enthusiasm and optimism in, each other. 

Be slow to judge each other. It is alright to have doubts and getting irritated over simplest of mistakes, but try and understand it's the distance that is exaggerating it, irrational possessiveness will lead to nothing and yes it is truly said that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' trust in your self, that you are irreplaceable and things will fall in place. 

To put in the simplest terms, communication is the key to it all. Your partner needs to know how much you still care for them, and the only way you can make them realize that is to tell me them yourself, talk to them and they will feel secure .tell them your problems and they will help you even if the god doesn't wish to help. 

The relationship is all about dependency and if everything that excites you can't be shared with your partner than what are you even there for? One thing that is true about relationships is that if it is not growing then it is dying.

By: Roma

The festival of care: Raksha Bandhan

All of us, specifically Indians, know very well about the festival ‘Rakshabandhan’. It is observed to pay homage to the consecrated and unconditional bond between brothers and sisters. Rakshabandhan in Sanskrit actually signifies ‘the tie or knot of protection’. This special festival of India is renowned around the world. It is celebrated on a full moon day in the month of July, Sravan month (the month of Monsoon), with great pageantry or grandeur. 

On this festival, as a ritual, a sister ties a colourful band called ‘rakhi’, a holy string that symbolizes the love between siblings, around her brother’s wrist. The festival begins by performing traditional aarti and concludes with prayers for the prosperity for her brother. After the prayer, the sister applies a tilak, a red mark on the forehead of the brother. After that, the brother promises to guide and protect the sister throughout life under all circumstances. Moreover, as a part of the tradition, a brother presents his sister with varied exciting gifts. Gifts play a prominent role and symbolize tokens of love and affection. The brother may also feed his sister with his hands. Then they hug and the larger family ritually congratulate the festive celebration of brother-sister love and protection.

Raksha Bandhan is a festival not only celebrated for fun and enjoyment, but it is also a promise. A promise that brothers and sisters make to each other, to support and protect each other, come what may.

Now you must be wondering where does this tradition come from? Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival and has numerous myths and historic legends linked to it. The popular practice of Raksha Bandhan has its historical associations also. The Rajput queens practised the custom of sending rakhi threads to neighbouring rulers as token of brotherhood.

But, if we go into our history and mythological legends, we will find that Rakhi doesn't not only mean a symbol of love and protection among brothers and sisters. In the legend of Indra and Indrani, Indra's partner Indrani ties a holy thread on his wrist to protect him from the evils. This story tells us that Rakhi was used to protect our close ones from demons. It was also used as a way to bring the Hindus and Muslims together during the Bengal partition that took place during the struggle of Independence in India. Rabindranath Tagore used rakhi to bring harmony and fraternity between the two religions to halt the decision of separating Bengal by the British.

There are numerous stories that carry forward the practice of rakhi time to time in a various distinctive manner. Thus, gradually Rakshabandhan comes in its modern form.

This year in quarantine, Rakshabandhan came at a time where you can truly show how much you care. This is a time for siblings to truly think about each other and in spite the fact that the tradition is for a sister to tie a rakhi on her brother's wrist, I believe that the sibling bond is same no matter if it came in quarantine.

Happy Raksha Bandhan!

By: Mahi

Friendship Day

What distinguishes human beings from other living creatures is their sense of relationships. While some connections are by blood – one’s parents and children – there are others that are acquired through betrothal or contract like spouse and in-laws. However, one relationship that is neither acquired by blood nor betrothal and that involves no responsibility, commitment, duty, impulse or formality but is purely a matter of heart and choice is friendship.

Friends are such an important part of our life, so we celebrate our friendship every year on 'Friendship Day'.  Usually, it is celebrated by exchanging gifts like flowers, cards or wristbands among friends. It was initially promoted by Hallmark cards. For the first time, Friendship Day was celebrated on 30th July 1958 in Paraguay. The International Friendship Day is celebrated each year on July 30th however, in a few South Asian countries including India, we celebrate it on the first Sunday of August. So, this year we'll be celebrating our friendships on August 2nd. 

Friendship Day is celebrated in various ways depending upon the age group. I remember being a little kid exchanging bands with all of my friends. I always gave the best bands to the closest ones. And then we all used to compare who got more and who got prettier ones. When I was in my early teenage, I would go for an outing with friends and then come back before it starts to get dark so that my parents don't worry. In High School, I would leave at dusk and come back late at night after a dinner party with friends. My parents always just make some calls to wish their closest friends. But have you ever wondered if the Friendship Day is just about wishing and celebrating friends? Not at all. You should celebrate with your friends, no doubt. But at the same time, it is also about making new friends, about reanimating the dismantled bonds. 

There surely must have been friendship breakups at some point in your life. To be honest, I have had many. Be it because of some misunderstanding or maybe a stupid mistake one of us made. But now that I think if that misunderstanding is worth letting the friendship we had to go? In most cases, it's not. Now that we know what the actual purpose of Friendship Day is, why not fulfil it? This friendship day, let's befriend a ton of people. Get in touch with those friends again with whom you have lost contact, intentionally or not. I know that I would surely get back with all of those who have not been in contact lately and I know your friends would too. Specifically, at this point in time when most of us are stuck in our homes, talking to old friends would feel like living in the fragrant memories again. Let's make them feel special, not just the old-lost friends but everyone out there. Make it beautiful for everyone.

Wishing you all a very Happy Friendship Day!

By: Hammy