Trying to connect the dots.....

One thing that has remained constant among the world humans under this lockdown (forced & self) is their involuntary quest for both introspection and extrospection. Whether we want it or not, life has boiled down to the bare essentials even for the fortunate ones. while we women fight for equal treatment as that of our male counterparts, nature has done its bit in making us realise that women and men are just a few levels of androgen apart. All thanks to the salons being shut. Some of us who are not that good at DIY techniques can give a complex to the males in the locked house with our bushy eyebrows, noticeable moustaches and a dash of beard. Among the thousands of forwards being forwarded during this lockdown, there was one such forward that resonated with my current feeling. So, I too mindlessly forwarded the same to the other groups without knowing there would be a backlash by a man! Yes, a man stating that, I shouldn't be engaging in gender discrimination.  

Meeting! The Oxford dictionary says,"A meeting is an assembly of people for a particular purpose". Let's delve deeper into the particulars and the purposes. Going by the above definition, I have been attending meetings ever since I was a toddler.  How? Let me tell you.  As a kid, I have always enjoyed going to birthday meetings, because the purpose was always clear,  "To eat the cake!" It's pretty much the same even now, just that eating cake is not as simple as before especially when birthday meetings are planned as meticulously as a wedding where cakes are based on themes. The last birthday meeting I attended had a theme, "Love your animals" so as you might have guessed it the cake was a bone shaped vanilla cake which looked almost like a bone. To say the least, I wasn't pleased. Talking about young adult days, when I used to attend conferences/lectures just to appear intellectual amongst my peers. Here too, the purpose was very c

"Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximize the time we have" . what a great phrase by John C Maxwell! As if life was that simple... As if life and the society at large weren’t enough to fill our lives with oxymorons, we have these anonymously or famously quoted phrases that we come across quite frequently. Some can give you a new perspective, some can inspire you and some can really make you sick in your head. When I look back at some of those quotes that have inspired me, I feel I have somewhere failed to read between the lines. I say that because  if moral policing with rebellious people , can be done only by reverse psychology, the morality gets imbibed in impulsive people like me by the motivational quotes. The quotes that randomly appear before them and never by elderly guidance. You know the ones who tell you, “they have seen life so

“It is never too late to be what you might have been”. I realized my childhood dream of learning the basics of at least one dance form during my adolescence. Thus, enrolled to a one month salsa class organised at our college. According to me, there are two types of dancers, one that dances like no one is watching and the other kind who dances like every living or non-living organism is watching. My Capricorn husband who was my then and the only boyfriend I have ever had belonged to the latter kind. “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change”. Alas, that challenge doesn’t look like one when you are in love. Capricorns always like to know everything about the territory they are entering into. So, my Capricorn boyfriend decides to watch a video of the dance form and asked me “what if you don’t have a partner? To which I replied casually “they will assign”. And, he immediately enrolled to the class, who until then enjoyed dancing

Today my research based article is based on something that is an undisputed favourite of all Indians, few of its neighbouring countries and all the food connoisseurs from across the globe; something that unites people beyond cultural and social barriers. Yes, I am talking about Pani Puri!                            Whenever I get Pani Puri attacks, My husband gets a panic attack because I need to have at least one come what may, to tackle it. This lip-smacking savoury consists of a crisp sphere made using either wheat flour or semolina that is stuffed with a variety of fillings depending on the place where it is being served; then generously dipped in flavoured water which again varies from place to place. We all have something that we secretly or not so secretly hate to share. For some, it might be your louis vuitton handbag, your Kanchivaram saree or your Apple products. However, for me, it is my plate of pani puri so much so that I cringe with pain even when my three and a half-

A few years ago, while I was still recovering from my cesarean delivery and had barely analyzed the features of my one-day-old baby girl, I could hear only one conversation running in the room, "Whom does she look like?". It was of course only my husband who had contributed to her genes according to his kith and kin. The twentieth time I heard that question, I frankly wanted to scream that, she looks like a boiled potato right now! I love my daughter but how can a day old baby resemble anybody! I think clashing of ideologies began that day and doesn't seem to cease anytime soon. Child rearing is like those baby soap ads, which looks all glossy and glamorous only on Instagram and Facebook and that too when others post them.  Parenthood is already imposed with so many practical hiccups that, sleepless nights are just too mundane to talk about. Your toddler wants to poop only when you are having your food. These two activities have coincided so many times that I n

Feminism - the outcome of choosing such a topic lies in the state of one’s mind while penning down thoughts. If you are feeling good then it can motivate men to become feminists. Otherwise, it can simply turn out to be a hate speech.   This ideology has many facets depending on the societal class one belongs to or the political situation one is subjected to. While we have a section of women fighting for equal pay at work and longer maternity leaves, we still have a lot of them struggling for basic political rights & requirements pertaining to personal health. So, this topic has a wide spectrum. Therefore, I will talk briefly about only one such stigma plaguing our society that dictates traditional gender-specific roles. And, I believe its impact is mostly on the middle-class ambitious women.  The conscience is quite clear when it comes to other sections of our society. On one end, if we have women entrepreneurs paving their way to the Forbes list, on the other end the need for