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ADULTHOOD: ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

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"Adulting" is a  web series released in 2018 that follows two best friends Nikhat and Ray, struggling to succeed in the urban jungle of Mumbai. The web series is supposed to give a raw peek into how difficult it is to be independent in Mumbai and how much one has to struggle to juggle friendships, relationships, and work. Although it totally ignores the fact that they already have a fancy high-paying job, in a fancy company with fancy colleagues, enough to pay for their fancy house in a fancy locality. This is just an example in the world of visual cinema that gets everything wrong about adulthood. Sure they portray how to survive but who talks about how to face it for the first time? Who talks about going away from family for the first time? Who talks about fitting in or standing out? Who talks about how to navigate your way into the real world? My first-hand experience with adulthood can be summed up in only one word: HARD. It has been chaotic, stressful, full of anxiety, a...
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SIMON SAYS

Simon Says is a children's game for three or more players. One player takes the role of "Simon" and issues instructions to the other players, which should be followed only when prefaced with the phrase "Simon says". It was a vibrant game to play as a child. Little did I know that as an Indian girl, the game will embody my life. Simon says  girls shouldn't be alone in the vicinity of males because apparently half of the world's population is a threat to the other half. And, mind you, this is the rule of well-educated Indian families as over 40% of Indian girls may not step out of the house at the onset of darkness. To the naked eye, more and more families are encouraging their girls to be independent and strong, but are oblivious to the fact that we are taught to be cautious and are raised to be preventive. On one hand, we are taught to be outspoken and on the other to shush to save our "izzat". Funny how one chromosome can establish a whole dis...
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GIRL MEETS BELIEF

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In 1425, Joan of Arc, a 13 y/o girl, believed that  she heard the voice of God telling her to drive the English out of France. Consequently, she was tried for witchcraft and heresy in 1431, at the age of 19. Crazy, right? But what if she wasn't crazy and deeply believed in something? The greatest thinkers of the world believed in something so strongly that it changed the world. Different people have faith in different things. And that's ok-7% of the world population are convinced atheists. But that doesn't mean they don't have faith in other people, in a better world, in the mysteries of the universe. Some blindly trust a higher power, and others have faith in their morals and actions. I believe in people, and their confidence in a higher power, which makes me feel safe. However, it is hard to develop strong credence, not just in ourselves but in the ancient and immortal God. People take years to search for their passion, the ideologies worth for them to fight for. In t...
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A BLACK CHECK IN OUR EMOTIONAL CHESSBOARD

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 Anger, anxiety, disgust, fear, horror, envy are some of the black squares of our emotional chessboard. Among them, fear is the most enigmatic emotion I ever experienced.  American Psychological Association defines fear as " An emotion involving immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the organism by triggering a set of physiological changes including rapid heartbeat, redirection of blood flow away from the periphery toward the gut, tensing of the muscles and general mobilization of the organism to take action." Let's change the direction of the kaleidoscope and see beyond logic. Fear is the sharpest weapon of our subconsciousness to make us see the worst in all and give up. Fear is the society of the 90s that will judge you, make you self-doubt yourself, and make you give up every unconventional dream you had. Fear is the overthinking demon inside you. But if trepidation is all up in our heads, then why does it keep us at night? We get so caught up in our own worst-case ...
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WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE THE UNBELIEVABLE?

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 Morals, beliefs, faith forms an important part of one's personality, however, people always forget the grey area; Oxford defines superstitions as "excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural" Simply speaking, it's just an irrational belief. The number 13, black cats, broken mirrors, crossed fingers are all walking examples of our irrational beliefs. But if they are not scientifically proven and are simply unfounded and irrational, then why do people believe in the unbelievable.  This might have to do something with our upbringing. We are brainwashed to always take fewer risks, to remain on the safer side. And this mindset sets the perfect environment for the seed of superstition to grow. People start to fear fears and try everything in their power to keep the demon off the edge. They forget that life's true meaning lies within our perils and hide behind the curtains of what we call superstitions.  To avert anything wrong to happen in their ...
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TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

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    “Kabhi Kabhi to lage har din mushkil aur har pal ek saza” penned down A.R. Rahman in “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”   title track. This phrase was my anthem for 2020 but only one thing got me through the chaos, taking a look in the mirror. Praising myself in the mirror, remembering my achievements, gave me the much-needed push for the pandemic. Turns out, it’s not as easy as it sounds. When everything seems bleak and you have lost all your confidence, the only thing that helps you is your little treats of motivation. A simile, a "you look beautiful today", even though you look wrecked, or even a simple "hey". These messages make you realize that someone out there cares about you, you are valuable and loved. Still don’t get me? Remember when Zach Dempsey stole Hannah’s notes of encouragement? To Hannah, they were a major deal because she would rely on those notes for the hope her life has to offer her. Just like her, such notes mean something to someone and to you. So t...
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WHY IS BEAUTY ASSOCIATED WITH MORALITY

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  No, I am not talking about ‘inner beauty’ that should flourish in our society but rather the ‘superficial beauty’ that does flourish in our society. St. Thomas Aquinas,   in his Magnus opus, the  Summa Theologica,  Aquinas   describes beauty as “that which gives pleasure when seen.” Hence, according to him, beauty serves as a function of what does or does not provide pleasure.  So you might think that these notions are a part of   Greek mythology and should not hold true in today’s contemporary world. Turns out that’s not the case. This mental picture is imbibed so well in our minds that we have stopped taking a look at them.  Imagine the following scenario:  An elderly man falls over the curb of a street, and a young girl passing by immediately runs to him and attempts to help. If you witnessed this, you would probably be impressed by the kindness of the girl’s deed, and it may also occur to you that this girl has a beautif...
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