Of Relocation and Moving Away!

The estranged feeling of not being at the same place where you have been for almost a decade is baffling atleast for me. Imagine leaving behind your room or rather a home full of memories in place for a complete strange new location. Change is inescapable and so is nostalgia, there are times when it just happens and you have no other option except for accepting it. You literally have to make a move then.

That's what even I did!

This year, my family decided to move to new house for better (though in the same city). The whole process behind it- packing, transporting, shifting, loading and unloading stuff became way too chaotic. Not that we didn't expected it to be but maybe we didn't deal with it the right way. Dozens of cartons were just packed and transported to this new place where it was supposed to be unpacked again. It became a task for a family full of working people. Finding limited time off the busy schedule and most importantly that motivation to do so was the key which I clearly lacked.

As usual, I procrastinated and still doing it. The reason even after a month, things haven't been quite settled in this new place. This all started a fortnight away from Diwali, when we finally decided to make the move. Till the last minute, we were quite skeptical to move since the new place wasn't completely ready. We extremely ran short of time since Diwali was the time when we just had to completely settle our new home.

During the whole process, day afer day it used to be a similar schedule. We used to wake up in a mess full of packed and half-packed cartons and messy cupboards. In bits and parts, every single piece of item was wrapped and unwrapped wholly and solely  by a family of six (family- including driver uncle & domestic help and items-excluding heavy pieces of furniture).   

Even a month later, the process of wrapping and unwrapping stuff continues. Slowly and steadily, we will completely settle and adapt to the new habitat. Apart from the thoughts of packing and moving, it is the relocation that has been acting as a major stint. It reminds me of a conversation with a friend where we were talking about how everytime we relocate, we loose a part of ourselves at that place. 

It isn't like this was my first experience of relocating home, but the 8 years that I have spent at this place has been phenomenal in terms of the life phase and major time period during which I lived them.

It were the incidents, events and achievements that would define this place for me. In 9th standard, I moved to this place and lived here till graduation. It was the same place where I completed my schooling and started my college life, the same place where I first learnt how to drive a scooty and then ended up learning a four-wheeler too. The same place where my childhood ended and where I figured out my interest and passion. It is the same place where I  got hold of life's meaning and the urge to live it all. The four walls that strenghtened my bond with my Grandmother (Dadi) became the place where she breathed her last. A lot happened during the years I lived there and that place gave me infinite memories to nurture and cherish forever. 

With time, we create new memories and attachments but without loosing the hold of older ones. Those are the ones created at a particular time when we didn't even know we were creating them. Series of such experiences and memories forms a larger part of life and is always strong enough to create that nostalgia and sweet after-taste...  

The Analogy of 'IF' and the adversities against it!

There are things that we are certain and sure about
things that we know and have complete charge over it.
Then, there are uncertainties of life arising from the 'IF's
IF changes the flow and transforms the fate
The degree of tranquility changes.
It is the 'IF' that gives a new meaning to the whole conditions
As soon as we are sure about something,
The possibility of 'IF' gives it a complete
new perspective, it is then we realize the power of destiny and fate
"What If"? one of the most deadly questions
has the ability to put anyone under the clouds of doubt & self-introspection.
 In order to explore it more, lets take a case
of exploitation of resources and about Earth's polluted face

Imagine one day you wake up from sleep
only to find things going far away from you
Think about the first thought that would cross your mind
Maybe you will analyze it as some conspiracy or
thinking it less as consequences of your own doing.
The dire need will remind you
of all the exploitation and the misuse
But maybe it will be too late
to regret of your own actions

Thousand thoughts will run
at the back of your head
only to find yourself at fault
Maybe you should be a little responsible
as a human and moreover as a consumer

The scarcity of resources didn't scared you
and in turn you took the liberty to destroy it completely
without realizing it was always
the other way around.

The time is now to act
and react before you
start contemplating
the analogy of IF!

Curious Case of the New World

‘Life is not that simple as it used to be’, commented my grandmother while I was busy breathing the virtual world on my Smartphone sitting next to her. To her disagreement, I opposed ‘Not at all, today, we have all the advanced technologies which are built to make our lives convenient. So, how could it become part of the problem?’ ‘True that, but the problem isn’t the technology instead the way how you are feeding over it’, she explained.

Actually, it is worthwhile analyzing two contrasting perspectives in depth, to understand the broadness of the larger debate. There is always much more than what we may or may not consider relevant. It is the selective absorption of facts accordingly i.e. putting a blind eye to things that we don’t consider important. In fact, the word ‘relevance’ itself is born out of perspectives based on said ideologies or thoughts. Probably, it is the major reason behind why the over dependence on technology remains an out-of-context topic.

Technology is omnipresent and currently it has very much to do with our lifestyle. In our everyday life, we feed on technology almost like our food and now it has become an integral part of our lives. Or just remember the time when you jumped with ecstasy after breaking into a public WiFi free of cost. It is rather impossible to imagine life without technology. There are certain symptoms like getting anxious on not find your phone around (leaving it on silent is a sure nightmare) or just forgetting it at home might be another thing that may give your heart skip a beat. Our over-dependence on technology results in taking things for granted. The present generation adapts to technology like never before, for them it is really a simple task to get their hands-on latest gadgets or using the trending app on their Smartphone. True, globalization has indeed transformed the world into a global village. Things can be transferred instantly from one corner to another with the blink of an eye. One moment, someone develops a technology and the very next moment it is innovated and diffused around the world.

Although, the main purpose of technology is to make our life easier, but the opinions on technology are very diverse. Here, technology and digitization has bridged the gap, helping us to reach out people and spreading our message effortlessly among the masses. Today, social media removes all barriers: geographic, societal or cultural. It gives us the power to communicate to anyone, anytime thus creating a permanent platform for communication. But, does that really help when we stop connecting with people in the real world. Isn’t that a harmful consequence of the advanced technology?

Beside the gap, today everyone has the ability to be the source of knowledge because internet has provided us the power to publish. Thus, the credibility of knowledge creator is important than ever before. On internet, hoaxes are believed to spread like a wildfire. You may never know what is true and what isn’t. The constant information overload is taking us nowhere. We ourselves are the creators and victims of this overload.

So, whether technology is simplifying our life, or creating new challenges and stress for us, totally depends on how we act and interact with them. As the technology solves our one problem, we immediately come up with another new problem. It is essential to note that no technology will ever be able to satisfy our constant emerging needs. However, allowing technology to make our life easier will do, just by focusing on the basics of life instead of getting manipulated by materialistic things. Learning to use technology to our own advantage will benefit without actually getting distracted to its flamboyance.  

Even the great Scientist Albert Einstein feared the technology. Once, he said

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiot

s”.

That quote stands so relevant in the era of smart phone and dumb people.

The blues called by the Monday!

Does the Monday morning embark your workweek with feelings of anxiety, sadness, or un-easiness? Do you lack passion and feel dullness all around you? Does it makes you tired and therefore drags you to work with post-weekend trauma on mind?

If you’re nodding affirmatively, you might have a case of the Monday Blues- set of negative emotions at work that many people usually get at the beginning of the workweek if they’re not happy. It contains elements of hopelessness and a sense to work which is unpleasant but also unavoidable. A person usually faces the blues maybe because of the anticipation of what’s in store for them after a perfect weekend. That is the fear of uncertainty that makes them afraid.   

In the recent times, it became a cultural phenomenon prevailing around the world. At a place where the weekends are considered to be blessing, there this Monday is cursed away heartlessly. At this moment, you might find yourself reminding or humming the song ‘Khoon Choos Le” from the unusual Zombie comedy. It was exceptional the way song talked about our gloomy feeling of bloody khooni Monday. In the weekend, after working for straight 5 days, everybody loves to chill with friends or have a gala family time taking a break that becomes necessity for all. Today routine has engrossed us so much that it feels much like shackles, so as the weekend arrives; everyone go gaga over it with the fancy plans. Unfortunately, they end very soon; the next day being a nightmare -Monday.

Universally, people hate Mondays in the same amount as they love Fridays. They have the Monday fear, some even suffering from its phobia- Lunaediesophobia. Though there is no scientific reason to this, Monday blues is basically an illusion. If you love your work, Monday is just another day where you have to be excited and active instead of feeling low and depressed. It may not always be a matter to just laugh it away and ignore. The frequent blue occurrence points out to a bigger problem in your life where you may have to reconsider about your work and finding out your passion for the things that you love to do.

Monday is not so bad after all. It’s just another day of your life for which you have to feel positive. After all the Day isn’t powerful enough to terrorize or torture you, it is you yourself who play the blame game and brush aside your disinterest and inactiveness for an illogical reason. Weekends are beautiful, always cherish them and so are the weekdays (including Monday). A saying by career coach-Rita Friedman goes like, 

“Take Sunday to rest, review and reward, but plan for and get ready to leap into Monday.”

What do you think of Monday, is it your friend or biggest enemy? Share your views below in the comment box. 

The name is Charlie, Charlie Hebdo!

“We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad” shouted the gunmen in unison after killing a dozen people (including the Editor and prominent cartoonists) inside the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Lesser did they know that the brutal attack on journalists would get translated into people’s movement, the biggest in Paris since its liberation during World-War 2. People in Paris united regardless of their identity and culture over the attack on free speech. None did ever imagine the consequences of presenting satirical humor in order to put perspective in a lighter tone.

Charlie Hebdo, weekly magazine with a circulation of 40,000 copies has existed in France for over 40 years in its interesting combination of satirical schoolboy humor on the lines of politics and religion. In a liberated French society, the work of Charlie Hebdo has been connecting with people by taking a dig with its satire and witty humor without any discrimination on the basis of religion. Late Editor and caricaturist Stephane Charbonnier (a.k.a Charb) believed the magazine never criticized any person whether Catholic or Islamic, anyone in particular but just religion which is just an idea. This often brought them at the receiving end from the extremists and ideological groups.      

                        

The aftermath of the attack saw mass demonstrations being held around the world with people taking to the streets and fighting for the free speech. “Je Suis Charlie” became the slogan and the voice of people. On a single day, around 3.7 million people including 40 prominent world leaders came up on streets in Paris to seek solidarity with the victims and condemn the action of extremist terrorist organization in the name of religion. However, the attack over the work of Charlie Hebdo raised a worldwide debate to define free speech and whether they took it too far. Even some of the people joining the protest including Muslims condemned the murder without agreeing or self-identifying to the disgraceful portrayal of their faith. The drawings of Prophet Mohammad were mocked as freedom to express views. In the past, Charlie Hebdo made similar offending cartoons which brought them to top of Al-Qaeda’s hit list.

As the debate strengthened and their content flowed around, #JeNeSuisPasCharlie (I am not Charlie) surfaced on the social network and people were left to choose within their own contemporary expression. It is interesting to note how several ‘JeSuisCharlie’ supporters before the attack didn’t even knew what it was and with mass mobilization, they identified themselves with the organization ending up being a firm supporter of their work.

In a way, the attack on Charlie Hebdo reversed, making them even strong. The publication didn’t close down. The issue of 15^th January skyrocketed to 7.5 million copies straight from 40,000 copies in 6 different languages instead of just French. Their cartoons were carried by several international dailies across the world reaching people like never before. The cover photo showed Prophet again holding ‘Je Suis Charlie’ placard written under the caption ‘All is forgiven’.

Today, the world knows Charlie Hebdo, a publication that might otherwise have remained one of several others. The world condemns the attack and expresses the solidarity, taking a leap of faith in free speech. The cosmopolitan city of Paris far from the Jihad land was never overshadowed by terrorism. But, the support and the aftermath showed the world that it is in a state of intolerance and that liberation and freedom is a part of their culture and it is here to stay.