Last afternoon I was working. I was completely engrossed in the research study that I had been reviewing. I was startled by my phone. I checked the notification, it was a text from my friend Shubha, "did you see the news?"
I was completely clueless. I had read the news in the morning but after that I was completely unaware what had happened. I replied, "which news? I am occupied with my research work".
"Oh! Nothing urgent. We will speak later," texted me back.
Once my work was over in the evening I decided to text her back, "what did you want to tell me in the afternoon?"
10 minutes later, Shubha shared a news article with me "20 dead cats were found in Chembur area". Just the headline gave a lump in my throat. I swallowed hard and read the news. The news article mentioned that in Chemb…
Name the worry that is loudest right now. What is it really about, underneath?
‘’ I think my biggest worry write now is weather I am actually making the right choices for my future. I have lot of ideas and things I want to try, but sometimes I wonder if I am moving forward or just jumping from one thing to another . Maybe underneath it all , I’m just scared of wasting my potential and look back wishing I had taken myself more seriously.’’
We were in the cafeteria having lunch. My friend Sonia sat opposite me. She looked really pale that day.
"Sonia are you unwell?" I was worried so I asked her.
"I am feeling little tired today. Little drowsy too. Is it so obvious on my face?" Sonia asked. I nodded.
After lunch we got back to work. I was checking on her every now and then. I was really worried about her because definitely she looked really unwell. I told the colleagues who sat nearby to keep a close eye on her.
Around 4 I went to Sonia's desk to ask her if she wanted a cup of coffee. I saw that Sonia had closed her eyes tightly. Her hands were on her desk. I wanted to make sure that she was okay. I placed my hand on her shoulder. She quickly grabbed my hand in her hands. Her hands were cold. Too cold almost like she had …
It was that day of our friend's wedding. I along with three of my friends where going to attend it after our office. I booked a cab from my office to the wedding venue. It was supposed to be a fun ride but it resulted in a nightmare.
We boarded the cab and I realised that the driver was really glad to see young women in the cab. He was looking at each one of us. My instinct were telling me to stay careful. I started speaking in my authoritative voice. I believed it was sufficient for him to know that he also needed to be careful.
While I had sensed the danger my friends were completely carefree. Sitting in the back seat they had started singing. They had been singing really loudly. Unfortunately because of their behaviour the cab driver was getting entertained. I had kept my guard up …
Currently there are many raids being performed by the food and drug administration (FDA) especially in Maharashtra. Each day when we open the newspapers, we see that a new restaurant had been raided and the license has been report.
Today I opened the news paper. The news read 'Hotel ABC was raided by the FDA. It was found that several food safety laws were broken. The raw material was stored near the drain. The restaurant had been using unfiltered, tap water for preparation of food. Raw material was stored in unhygienic conditions. The restaurant had failed to maintain hygienic conditions in the kitchen area. The licence of the restaurant has been revoked'. When I read the news I was in complete disbelief. I had a lump in my throat reading that the restaurant was operating in unhygienic …
It was 8:55 in the morning. I entered the office and went straight to my desk. While I was settling down I saw that the conference room door opened. Ajay one of the project managers came out of the room and he walked straight up to me. He looked angry, "why have you not joined the meeting yet?"
I responded, " there is no meeting on my calendar. I have not received any invitation to the meeting which begins now," I was very clear with what I had to say. What I said was true.
" Everyone is waiting for you to join, now join quickly", he almost shouted at me.
"Send me the meeting invitation then. I will join," I reply it politely at the same time assertively.
He angrily walked back to the conference room. I waited to receive the meeting invitation. It was 9:05 and I had not received any meeti…
It was after 10 o'clock in the night. I was listening to a podcast on my phone. While my mother was watching her entertainment videos on YouTube. Suddenly my mother tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see that my mother look bit worried and was looking at the phone. She said, "I just watched a news on a YouTube channel. There has been a road accident near where we used to stay. One person died and many have been injured. The name of accused has been given and it is someone we know".
After hearing that I had a lump in my throat. I read the name and definitely he was someone we knew. In fact he had been a family friend. He was a very skilled driver and used to travel a lot. He was not negligent as well. But he was old and had many health issues. My mind was trying to conclude that it…
That time I was 9 years old. It was the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. We had visited the town of Dadar because we had been attending our families Ganesh puja. In the evening dad informed us that we were going to visit his cousin Avi kaka's place. He to used to live in Dadar.
We had started walking towards Avi kaka's home. As soon as we reached his building I felt something was off. My stomach dropped. My heart started racing. All my instincts where telling me not to enter. But I had no control over where we would go. I had to follow my parents.
Avi kaka's building was a very old architecture. It was dark and dull. The vibe and energy of Ganesh Chaturthi was no longer being felt at that place. It felt as if the enthusiasm and positive energy has been sucked out by this dreaded building. It fe…
When I was in school carrying handkerchief was a mandate. In school it was a habit to carry the handkerchief. This habit even continued to college. As everything started to progress each and every place would also have paper towels. Because of the easy availability of paper towels I had stopped carrying handkerchief. However one incident changed everything.
I used to work at one of the biggest multinational companies. The office was glamorous. Everything was portrayed to be sophisticated. The restrooms were spacious and impeccable. The restrooms had high quality and gentle hand wash. The paper towels that were provided in the restrooms were of superior quality and from a well recognised brand. They even were anti bacterial. Looking at the maintenance of the restrooms and the quality of s…
I was in Grade 7 that time. This incident took place in the month of December when the days are shorter and the night is longer. It was a regular day at school. The lectures happened as they were supposed to. The recess happened as it was supposed to. But as the school day was about to end something unusual happened.
It was the lecture of science that was going on. Our teacher was teaching us about the commonly used chemicals in the school laboratory. The lecture had become very interesting because all students were intrigued by the school laboratory. The teacher wanted to show us how potassium permanganate changes the colour of water. Our teacher Mrs Kulkarni wanted a student to go to the school laboratory and issue a few milligrams of potassium permanganate on her name for class demon…
Imagine that you made a person who is popular among all your friends or colleagues. Everybody praises them a lot. You meet this person for the first time. You really wanted to like that person but after meeting them something feels off. Does that this sound relatable to you? Here is my experience.
While working with one of my organisations I was transferred from my old project to a new pilot project. Along with me my friend Kira had joined the new project. In this new project there were a few friends who belonged to other project. It was really a relieving experience because most people in the project where known to me. Our training for the new project started.
During the training period a lot of senior trainer is where introduced to us. One day our lead trainer informed us that Mohit …
The day I needed something to protect myself , he gave ne this. He is a man too, yet he never made me feel like I had to depend on a man for my safety.
Instead , he quietly made sure I could protect myself. maybe that’s what meant the most to me , not the thing that he gave me but the thought behind it. I’m not sure when can I say women are safe even many of the men out there know very well that how men are so they try to protect their loved ones at all cost. Such harsh truth but it’s the reality and we all women have to live with this even men are suffering from this now. The day when he gave me this I realized how worried he is because how unsafe it was for me and he is scared too. I got this after sharing what harsh things have happened with me to him, he is always there with me just i…
It was the year 2020. Everyone was confined to their homes because of the lockdown restrictions. With so much free time in the hands a lot of people started getting into new hobbies and passions. The dreams that were put on hold had the time to resurface. My friend Asha (pseudonym) had also started pursuing her dream of starting a new YouTube channel showing her culinary skills.
Asha along with her husband Amit had started a YouTube channel which showed various recipes. Every Sunday Asha would share the link of her YouTube video with us on our friends group chat. I would eagerly wait for her video to be uploaded. I would diligently watch her video and also sometimes try the recipe that she had shared. I was really happy that she was able to chase her dream and start a new journey.
In J…
Name the worry that is loudest right now. What is it really about, underneath?
Heyy it's 9:43 PM AND I'M WRITING THIS actually from last 2 days I was not able to give time to my bf we're in long distance relationship soo we only do texting and calls so I was not giving him time cuz there was constant arguments in my house between my parents they were not serious at all but I'm a teenager and it is a little like we feel too much so I feel very overwhelmed by all this my studies are also not going very well these days so I'm little disappointed from my self and he thinks that I'm cheating on him and I still don't wanna explain him about anything because I feel that he'll not understand my situation and I feel insecure to tell him please give me some advice I'm very very stressed these days
It was a Friday. I finished my work on time and I packed my bag. I was really happy and excited that day. The reason was not that the weekend was at the corner but rather I was going to meet my friends for dinner. I left from the office and headed to the mall where we were going to meet.
I reached the mall where my friend Reena had been waiting for me. Few of my friends were going to join us two hours later so Reena and I had a lot of time to talk about a lot of things. After our casual talk Reeena dived into a topic that completely surprised me.
"Have you noticed something off about Ketan in the recent days?" She asked me.
"Unusual as in he argues with everyone for everything. If you say sun sets in the West, he will argue that it sets in the North. It is impossible to have a civil conv…
It was a regular workday at office. The only unusual thing was it was raining heavily and because of that a lot of people had not turned up in the office. But again for Mumbai that is nothing unusual. That day me and my friend Isha went to the cafeteria at 4 o'clock to have our evening coffee break. The cafeteria was fairly empty. Isha sat at the table where there was nobody around. As I sat down she asked me an unexpected question, "do you know any lawyer?"
This question froze me. With wide eyes I was looking at Isha still trying to understand what questions she had asked me. I had no idea if I should respond to her or ask her follow up questions.
" What is going on here? Why do you need to know if I know any lawyer?" I did not realise but I did sound very interrogative.
Isha was taken …
"I need to speak with you. I will call you tonight", I received a very direct text message from my friend Bhakti, my life long colleague turned friend. After reading that text I knew the phone call is going to be an explosive one.
Bhakti called me at 10:30 pm, " I really need to get this off my chest or I don't know I will probably lose my mind" her voice was anxious.
" You do not need to be so dramatic. Take a deep breath and tell me everything from the beginning," I told her in a calm way.
" Okay, I met an Astrologer in December," she had started but I interrupted her, " why did you do that Bhakti? I told you not to do something like that. It is just an unnecessary and useless rabbit hole," I practically scolded her.
" Now you listen to me very carefully everything is going to be really …
I jolted and woke up from sleep. It was a nightmare that woke me up from my deep sleep. I sat up. I was sweating heavily. My heart was racing. I could feel it beating in my chest, as if it was pounding to escape the ribs. I checked my pulse - 107 beats per minute was the count. That definitely is too high.
I checked the time. It is 2:35 AM. My head feels heavy. My mouth is dry, I felt I needed to drink water. I tried to get up but I couldn't move. My left leg is numb. I massaged my leg to relieve the numbness. It started to get better gradually. Then I got pins and needles sensation in leg. I sat for two more minutes. I checked the pulse again - now 97 beats per minute. My palpitations are getting better but they are not yet normal.
Now the numbness in the leg is much better. I was able…
It was a regular Wednesday for me. IPod tired from the busy day at the office and had just returned home. Outside the door step I found two pairs of shoes, a high heeled sandals and a child's sandals. That was enough to tell me that we had visitors. My tired body and soul were not ready to socialize.
As I entered my home I heard my mother speaking with someone. I also heard the voice of my nephew. Then I heard the voice of a woman and a child which I did not a recognise. Apparently they were the visitors. Surprisingly they were not sitting in the living room but in the bedroom. I had come home and 2 minutes in home where sufficient to increase my frustration.
I entered the bedroom to see the visitors. They were the women and her neuro divergent son who were living in my complex. They …
Me and three of my friends had planned a nightout for the weekend. The nightout was supposed to be at my home. We had already planned that we will gather at my home, have dinner, play some games, and spend the entire night talking with each other. It was going to be a fun night and all of us were excited.
On Friday I received a text from Madhu (pseudonym) about the nightout, "hey we gotta speak with Nidhi and Kaya about tomorrow. Nidhi has something else in her mind".
Madhu's text made me think about what was being planned. I replied on our group chat, "hey girls meet me at 4:30 in the cafeteria. Need a list of things I need to get for tomorrow". I thought it would be in our best interest to meet and discuss rather than speaking on the phone.
We all gathered in our office cafeteria f…
I received a friend request on social media. I read the name "Maya R". The name does not ring a bell. Then I proceed it to see the photo and it did bring back a lot of memories.
It was one of my colleagues Maya. She was with me in my first organisation. Free used to set next me. She had joined after me and I had the duty to mentor. She was smart but her entire attention was somewhere else. She had joined because her boyfriend used to work in our company. Apparently horror boyfriend was one of my friends. Maya always had one thing on her mind: finish the work at soon as possible and the instant the time with boyfriend. Everyone in our project new this about Maya.
Maya would always tell me that she comes from a very strict household. She used to say that if her dad or elder brother come …
She grew up where mornings smelled of wet earth,
Where wheat bowed to the wind, and every house knew everyone else's story.
Before she learned what freedom meant , she learned to ask , " Can I go ?"
The answer was usually no.
The road outside her gate belonged to her brothers.
Her world was measured from the kitchen to the courtyard , to the room where she cried without making a sound.
Her father's anger didn't always leave bruises .
Sometimes it came as words, sharp enough
to stay long after the shouting ended.
People looked at her as if they already knew who she should become. Too quiet. Too stubborn. Too ambitious. Never...simply herself.
Every expectation was another brick placed on her shoulder . Be good . Be careful. Don't answer back. Don't dream too loudly.
She began to be…
I had reached my friend Sakshi's home. I was waiting for my other friends to join. At Sakshi's home for Pooja a lot of her relatives had arrived and I just wanted some of the familiar people with me. I texted my other friend Madhu who had promised me that she was going to join, "where are you? I am at Sakshi's home waiting for you. Come quick." Within a minute or two after sending the message my phone buzzed, "Will reach in 10 minutes" Madhu's response made me a little relived. I felt relaxed because I will have to be in pool of steangers for 10 more minutes and once Madhu is here I will be with her.
Madhu arrived 10 minutes later. I was seeing almost after 5 years. She had changed a lot. She looked as if she has aged by 15 years. There were deep wrinkles on her face. She had a lot of g…
I completed my studies in 2008. After the result was out I was employed within a month. I started working at a small research and development firm. The learning was great. The problem was with the payments. It was a small firm and the owner was bankrupt. The owner would commit projects to various organisation and would fail to deliver them on time. Because of this the payment would get delayed from those organisations. At the payment for the business would not get received even our salaries would get delayed. When we would ask about our salary he would get angry and hurl abuses at us. Everyday that I spent in that firm would create more discomfort and insecurity. I left that organisation within 6 months. The reason was that I was not getting paid for the work I was doing.
How was strange …
A few years ago, me and my friend Kaya (pseudonym) were going through same phase - our parents were looking for suitable men for our marriage. Kaya had a terrifying experience.
Kaya had met a man. The initial meeting went well. She liked the guy too. The only drawback was that the guy's mother had died when he was a kid. While they awaited the second meet, Kaya's parents had started a general verification about the family. The information they got from the verification was scary. When she heard that, she had called me.
My phone buzzed at 11:30 pm. I saw her name on the screen and immediately knew something was wrong. I took a deep breath and answered her call.
"My dad knew someone who also knew the guy's family. The information that I have received is disturbing," Kaya was whispring as i…
It was a regular Tuesday of August. It was raining heavily. I returned from the office, completely soaked in rain. The only thing on my mind was to change clothes and take bath. I entered my home to find out we have guests.
I found my aunt and uncle in the living room. It appeared they have come some time ago. I casually spoke with them and was about to rush to my room. That is when my aunt called almost screaming, "no don't enter the room".
I was startled. Why would someone restrict me to enter my room of my own home. I was too tired and wet to hold it back, "you startled me. What happened?"
"Rohit is in the room. He is attending a meeting. I don't want you to disturb him," she said as if she is the boss ordering me what to do. I looked at my parents, they did not make an eye contact wit…
Yesterday I was a completing a study. This was an academic research study about Human Psychology. A question that was asked me was "what is your worst fear?" This question made me think a lot. It provoked thinking beyond what happens day to day.
What is my worst fear? Is it spiders? Yes I am scared of spiders. I absolutely cannot bare the sight of spiders. I try to avoid any places where I know spiders with be there. That is why I do not go for treks or hiking. Because I know in the wild there will be spiders and those would be dangerous spiders. But it could not be my worst fear. If time comes I will kill the spiders. I crossed it off in my mind.
Next potential fear was dogs. I am scared of dogs because few times when I was almost attacked by dogs. I avoid dogs at all cost. But again this…
What are you afraid might happen? Now ask yourself: how likely is it, truly?
Lately there is one thought that keeps visiting me especially late at night when everything is quite.
What if I don't get a job?
I am in my third year of engineering now. Only one years remains before placements begin. It feels strange how quickly time has passed. I still remember feeling like a new commer to college and now I am standing at the edge of the biggest transition of my life.
Every headline about companies reducing hiring seems to find me. Every conversation about layoffs stays in my mind longer than it should.
Major companies like Zoho, CTS and TCS are not visiting college for placements anyone. My heart sinked when I heard that and I could feel my books growing cold at that moment. It feels as…
I am a hobby photographer and sometimes I go on photo walks. The aim is to take random pictures without thinking much. Most photo works are amazing but there was this one walk that gave me nightmares.
I had gone to a nearby lake to take a pictures. I was walking around the lake with my DSLR. I was just walking and taking pictures of animals, walls, trees, or lake. I was overall enjoying it. It was fun to just stroll around and take pictures.
What I had always noticed is that DSLR catches attention. A few people for walking around the lake had come and spoken with me. They were curious to know which pictures I had been taking. They wanted to see how the pictures look with DSLR. And then made some general enquiries like if I am a photographer or how much DSLR costs. I found all those enq…
People love saying "Life is not fair". It is one of the phrases we hear often so much that it has lost it's meaning. But every once in a while life reminds you just how true thoses four worlds really are.
Some children are born into homes filled with love whole others spent their childhood wondering what if feels like to be the hugged without fear. Some people inherit oppertunities even before they can even spell the work oppertunity. Other spend entireives working twice as hard as just to to stand someonle else began. None of us chose the family we are born into, the country that appears in our birth certificate or the circumstances that shape our earliest years. Yet thoses things influence so much the things that follow after that.
Sometimes the kindest people carry the heaviest bur…
