Nature Is Thanking You!

 At the point when the world is very still, 

It's an ideal opportunity to kick back and reflect, 

On the habits of man, 

His damaging and disastrous acts 

While the world is attempting to contain the infection, 

Nature takes over with every one of its admirers, 

Presently the air is cleaner, 

What's more, the earth is greener 

Winged animals are twittering, 

Squirrels are bouncing, 

Seas are breathing, 

What's more, streams are cleaner, 

Appears nature is mending, 

Grinning with bliss, its eyes are sparkling, 

The sun is sparkling energetically, 

Indeed!! it is a progressively iridescent night, 

The moon and stars are sparkling brilliant, 

As the layers of toxins are not obstructing the light, 

The rushing about of city has stopped, 

Nature springs back to existence with a shock, 

In spite of the fact that the time is extreme, 

The stage is harsh, 

Be that as it may, it's a matter of concern, 

What's more, an exercise to learn,

Be increasingly slow, 

What's more, utilize your brain, 

Just spotlight on need, 

Evade the voracity and cold-bloodedness, 

God is allowing us to change our predetermination,

If it's not too much trouble spare mankind and a more advantageous condition for your future offspring.

By: Hammy

Changing Forms Of Atrocities On Women.

When you are going out with your parents, does your dad ever ask your mom if she wants to drive the car? Has it ever happened that your dad comes back from work and your mom asked him to make dinner because she's tired? No doubt she too had been working all day. I don't recall any such moment and I think neither do you.

Moving on to why it is because our society is still 'male-dominated'. No doubt the atrocities on women have changed their form, but these still are day-to-day phenomena in our society. Why? Because that has become our mentality. Women have become used to being subdued, so much that they don't even realize it. There certainly are exceptions, but we are not talking about those.

In earlier times, women were steered by men. They had to cover their faces in front of any man other than their husband. They were thrashed, treated like a mere servant who did not have to be paid for all the work she did just because she was married to a man of the house. But we have moved on from that phase, at least most of us have.

About the present scenario now, if we talk about my family, the morning tea, the food, snacks or any other household work is always done by my mother, sometimes with the assistance of gran. My dad didn't even know how to light up the stove until last year. My mother knows how to drive a car but she never does. Most of the times she has to get grocery, she would take dad along. He doesn't have to do anything, just tag along. Why? She could go on her own. But she's dependent on him. Even when she doesn't need to be. I know she can do all the chores by herself and help dad too. But that never happened. She has accepted something that is not even true, that she is something less.

In most families, major earning is by the male member. A husband wants something done, his wife would do it without a word spoken. A wife wants some work done? She would be showered with questions. For an exact same job, a man is paid much more than a woman. Compare the ratio of working men and non-working men to those of women and all will be clear. Then how do we chant that the men and women stand equal in our country?

Women should be given equal respect, equal support, equal opportunities and the equal burden too. That day, when your dad will ask your mom if she wants to drive, that day when your dad would make the morning tea and wake your mom and have tea on a bed that day when your dad does all the cleaning work when your mom is out shopping, that would be the day when a man and the woman would stand equal. 

By: Mahi

Goals Of Life!

Defining goals in life is an important thing. These goals help us thrive our abilities and bring out the best in us. Choosing goals can be a tricky thing to do. There are numerous options to choose from, but one needs to keep in mind, that our goals represent our virtue and hence, whatever goal we set to achieve should possess the same virtue.

We are taught to acknowledge our goals and also align them with our career goals,  so much so that our career options become our life goals. The sole reason behind it remains the financial benefits,  that one will achieve from it. From a very young age, a child is a module to understand how certain career options have more money in them than the others at times the criterion becomes power. The impact of this understanding is very much visible in the society today,  where 1.5million engineers are produced every year,  out of which an ample amount struggles with an existential crisis.

Though society as a whole can be blamed for this, the educational institutions and their hypocritical standards of selections go unchecked. In order to pursue science stream, a student needs to score a hefty 80% while to pursue art he barely needs 45% marks. Since when did understanding science become more important than having good morals. Literature,  arts,  psychology are an essential part of human life and are needed to be given their due importance. 

The new reform in the education policy where one can decide to choose his or her own subject to study will, therefore, help in eradicating the earlier orthodox mentality and hopefully, the vision of running behind money and power will eventually be replaced by running behind one's own passion.

We were taught to run,  and we ran to thrive! Else what was the point of running? It is good if perfection is achieved in something that we are doing,  but life isn't a race. It is okay to at times take a break and one can grow in life no matter which profession does he chooses. 

Passion is what should define one's goal. If one is passionate about his goal and the work,  he will have better chances of succeeding in his career. Your goal should be your dream,  and your dreams always need to be inclined with your happiness. Money and power are just commodities and no matter what the notion is,  it just can't buy happiness.

By: Roma

 

Friends First!

What is going to be your first instinct when you meet a good-looking person of the opposite sex? Considering that you are single, would it be to make him/her a friend? Or you will want something more?

For me, it would always be to make a friend out of some guy, however bad I want a boyfriend. Personally, I think that you should get into a relationship only when you've known your partner for quite a while. A plus point of it would be that your partner would always be able to be your friend when you need one. If your first instinct is to make a person something more than good friends, it's nearly impossible to work out. Not possible, but it's kinda rare.

Let me narrate you a little story on this. A group of students in my school including me were hosting a group of students from Denmark under an exchange programme. Being the prankster I am, I pulled out a prank on the roof of 'Jal Mahal' in Jaipur. I had a water bottle with me. The best I could think of that place was to pour it on someone. I chose a guy, a year junior to me who looked like he won't try to revenge on me and did what I had to do. I was just laughing my ass off after it and he didn't look angry or anything so all was good. We started talking a lot and for the rest of the while, we were touring the city. We were inseparable for all I can say. For me, he was a very good friend but it wasn't the same for him, which is something I found out recently. There are times when I miss him and I just want to talk to him but I just can't because I know he requires space from me. We do talk once in a while but it's not the same and always a little awkward.

Feelings are something that never goes easily. Then why do we always let them get to us so easily? Why not be friends first and get to know the person well and then when we feel something for them, we can go ahead and see what more can we have. 

By: Mahi

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!