Oh! So embarrassed.

In our lives, there always comes a moment when we’re oh! SO embarrassed. And later, we strongly feel that it shouldn’t have happened. But , if you come to think of it, these are the little things that makes life worth living by adding up a string of fun and laughter.
There’s this moment when you’re doing something ridiculously stupid or something crazy happened to you and you desperately pray no one should notice you and it is an out-and-out feeling and that very moment you catch someone noticing you and you feel like “Why do you have to freakin’ look at me when I don’t want you to?!”.
These oh! So embarrassing moments happen to you randomly, maybe when:

You trip on a perfectly plain surface while walking with someone.

Your crush looks at you when you’re taking a real HUGE bite of your burger.

You say Hi to someone and they don’t look at you, instead someone else does. Or someone smiles at you and you smile back, then you realize that they were smiling at someone else.

You fall off a chair because it is broken and you did not notice.

You end up dropping water on your pants at a public place.

You, accidentally, spit while talking to someone.

You get into the wrong sex's wash room in a hurry.

You drop food on your clothes in public and there your shirt looks beautiful with yellow stains all over.

You spill water all over the table at a restaurant.

You keep the wrong foot forward. Er, as in you step on poop and you're in deep shit.

You send a wrong text to the wrong person at the wrong time.

And, there are many more….
Sometimes, such funny situations are sure embarrassing and are unavoidable and you can’t help but bear them. So, why do it with a frown when you can laugh it off! The best and simple way to handle such a situation is to shrug off a never mind and giggle at yourself. The idea is to smile and forget it.
So, the next time when something of this sort happens to you, you know what to do!

Peace.

Ima show you, how great I am.

In a crowd of thousands, there I stood with the spotlights on me in front of the huge cynical crowd. I watched the other girls giving their introductions and getting booed even before finishing it. It was my turn, I stepped out, I spoke and they booed. But, this was not what I wanted to happen, so I stood there and told them about how well I can sing. Somebody shouted out loud to sing something for them so that they can boo some more. Now, that’s what I wanted to happen. I sang and they were quiet. All they could do, after I finished, was cheer and applaud.
Do what you want to do and do it with absolute confidence and not the world can stop you. Let the second thoughts disappear, let go off all the inhibitions because it’s about you and your worth. Even if you have to face the failure, do it because only then will you know the real taste of victory.

And, now I leave y'all with this immensely inspirational video.

Peace.

Sweetest Stranger Forever. (Part-III)

This part is about the gradual disconnection. The frequency of them talking was absolutely diminishing. Earlier they could not pass a single day without talking and now they talked every alternate day. She messaged him first and she either used to get a very late reply or no reply at all. Similar thing happened when they talked online. He said he was busy. But, he never really failed to text her 'Good Morning' every day. She woke up to his texts and probably because of that she did not mind texting him first most of the times. It was like a daily routine, but when she actually told him that she expected this much from him and he should text her every morning, the texts were no more regular. The one thing which had her hopes still alive was gone. On asking, he had some or the other excuses. These little problems brought about the ego issues. Every time she thought of starting the conversation first, she was flooded with many other thoughts, what if she's intruding into his life, what if she's being desperate, what if she's being boring or talkative. All these thoughts stormed her head and she used to give up. She only waited for him to remember her.

Things on his side were pretty normal. He did not face any of it may be because he never gave her a special place in his life or probably never loved her the way she did though he was expressive about loving her which actually made her believe that he loved her but then she knew all of it was light-hearted flirting. The only problem was she started taking it seriously when the light-hearted flirting continued for almost a year. He used to talk when he felt like. The talking every day routine was dead.

She pretended to be okay and he believed it, he talked for a bit and used to leave. And she kept wondering how things have changed and deep down inside she wanted the old charm back. She wanted to go on and on talking and smiling but he was not there.

As time passed by, they grew apart. Both of them were online but none started a conversation, they talked after weeks and they used to wrap up the conversation very soon. She kept thinking about him. She kept thinking about the old times when every thing was sweet and hassle-free. She chose to be bold. She decided not to cry over him. She decided to deal with it and forget him. It was painfully difficult. The more she tried to forget him, the more she thought about him. Forgetting him, she realized, was not really possible. She then decided to control her emotions and stop expecting and yes, it was working. She was pretty much able to do it. But then, she could never really resist herself from checking his profile on social networking websites incessantly.

One fine day, as usual, she was checking his updates, the past ones. She found out that he had been in a relationship with a girl before which he had never mentioned to her. It was a surprise for her considering that he told her everything. She was shocked but after musing over it for quite a while she realized that it was moronic of her to check the past updates. It was his past anyway and she had no concerns with his past.

She thought of not uttering a word about this when they talk and things went the usual way. Rare talking, a little glumness.

She was then added by another id of his. On asking, she was told that the earlier had some problem so he's using this one. And the conversations continued. She was getting used to not talking much with him. Sometimes, she used to get upset over the changed circumstances but then she managed. Also, she was not mad to talk with him anymore. She had perfectly prioritised things and she stopped ignoring everything else just to chat with him as she used to. She was gradually stepping into the reality and was handling herself well.

In this whole process of being sensible and practical, she decided to delete her fake id permanently. Suddenly, there was this string of curiosity in her mind to check if his new id has a profile or not. She had always found the new id a little fishy. She hit the search button and she did find a profile. She wished it shouldn't be him. But, God had other plans. It was him. This time, she was shocked out of her wits. All this while, the one thing she respected in him was his honesty for which she was honest to him later and now she found out that he had clearly lied. The profile was active. All the chats and his reasons as to why he could not chat and all of it stormed into her mind. She settled down and now she decided that she will happily never initiate a conversation with him. All the feelings were evaporated for a moment.

There she was, sullen and angry. She decided to end this whole thing which she had for over a year. She decided to treat him as just another person.

Peace.

We, the Women.

With the rise of progress and advancement in India, the rate of women molestation has been rising too. Not a single day passes by, when the newspaper does not have an article reporting a rape of a woman. In spite of being liberal and modern, women molestation has become one of the abundant issues. Be it a little girl or a middle-aged woman or an elderly lady, the rapists leave none. With the passing time, it seems we can not wear what we feel like or walk out in the dark peacefully or go to pubs late night. This does not really signify freedom, does it?

People often say that we should not wear revealing clothes because it invites molestation but the women clad in salwar-kameez are not spared either. Basically, it is not about what a woman is wearing but it is about the mindset of the rapists who view women as their objects of desire and hence, force them into sexual acts. It's not about changing what we wear or restricting our movements, it's about teaching them how to behave with us and enforcing stringent and exemplary punishment so that they know that it is an offence.

Also, there is no equality at all between men and women. Men are free to do whatever they want to but when it comes to women, there are particular set of restrictions and limitations imposed on them just because any desperate man can pounce on them for their sexual pleasure.

It is time to take stringent actions against rapists as raping a woman is becoming a rage every passing day. We are neither safe in daylight nor in the the dark. Workplaces, schools, colleges, roads or even homes for that matter are not safe for us. In most of the rape cases, the rapist is known to the victim as per the case studies/reports.

The need of the hour is to enact strict laws by the government against the rapist if found guilty, to change people's point of view about women and rape. We are the modern women in a liberal nation and we have all the right to stand up and raise our voices against those who commit such a crime, to rise up and protest against those who hamper our respect and dignity.

Peace.

Boyfriend Blues.

She: Hi!

Me : Hey!

She: What's your name?

Me : I'm AB.

She: So, do you have a boyfriend?

Me : *making an awkward face* Um, er, no. I'm single.

She: Why?! You seem to be pretty smart!!

Me : Heh. (Er, what was THAT!) :/

This is a little conversation, I'll remember for life! It was my first day in college, seems like yesterday, I'm done with a year already! Time flies by, indeed. and I was flooded with the lovely question, "Do you have a boyfriend?". I was tired of saying 'No' to everyone and then I started saying 'I don't know'. Okay. Yes. I was pissed. And, well I sure did get weird looks. :D I mean what is so interesting about this question? Why would you ask someone this on the first day, when you know each other from past a minute? Of course, you won't befriend me if I have/don't have a boyfriend, I mean how does it even matter!

Back in school, my girlfriends and I were so much into the other things that we never got time to think about boyfriends. And now when I come to college, There's so much boyfriend gossip around that I got peeved. If you talk about your crush or boyfriend, you will be liked by everyone around.

It has been a year now, and all I've known is girls' one of the most interesting matter has to be boyfriend/crush/ex and they can talk about it incessantly.

• Happily in a relationship.

These girls are madly, deeply and truly in love. All they can talk about is their boyfriend. What he does, eats, like, dislikes, talks about and so on. They don't care if you're bored to death or get the fact that your smile's fake and deep down inside you want to shut her up, they just go on and on about their guy. They can spend hours on phone and not know that you're with them and they should actually attend you.

• In Like.

These girls have started liking someone. Someone they talk with everyday. At first, they would hide it then eventually they'll disclose about this whole like-a-guy thing. The initial stage would be all giggly and chirpy. They get excited when they receive a text or a call from the guy who is likely going to be their next boyfriend according to them. These girls won't ignore you, rather, they discuss each and every minute detail with each other from the conversations to what should they do next. Eventually, the guy stops talking and then comes the sad or vengeance or bold phase where they are either crying or is in a mood to make him jealous or will pretend to not care about him any more. But, they'll sometimes talk to you about how good it felt to talk and how things change i.e only if you're a good friend.

• Broken-up.

Well, I don't really want to talk about this set of girls. They're just sad. Very sad. Every single thing will remind them of their ex.

Now, what I've seen is, having a boyfriend/girlfriend has become more of a trend or probably a cool quotient. Girls grab a guy or vice versa just to 'fit in' and boast. The ones who do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend often end up thinking that they are not worth anything and become depressed over such trivial an issue.

I totally agree that love cannot be imposed on anyone but most people force themselves into love just so they can show their friends that they do have a bf/gf and hence, they're cool.

So people, the world is beyond boyfriends and girlfriends. If you are not happy alone, you'll never be happy with anyone. Find happiness within yourself. Nobody completes you. You complete yourself. Stay happy. Keep smiling!

Peace.

Child Labor.

I see them on the streets.

Walking bare-legged

with a frown on their face

in the hot sun.

I see them knocking

on the windows of sleek cars

selling articles

with a helpless face.

I see them picking up

the enormous vessel

full of soil and bricks

heavier than their own weight.

I see them running.

No, not in a playful manner,

but, carrying the eatables

to the well-bred people.

I see them cleaning.

Cleaning the roads, the houses.

Picking up things from the ground

in hope of finding something better.

I see their little blackened hands

working interminably

to shun the poverty

that they are stuck with.

I see their intense desire

a streak of hope in them

to live, to dream, to learn

to read, to write....

I see them,

you see them,

we all see them,

So, let all of us help them remain childlike.

Peace.

The Ladies' Compartment.

Delhi Metro is truly a saviour. One can travel a real long distance quite comfortably. Well, it really is a saviour especially in the scorching heat of Delhi. The ones who have to travel a long distance each single day for either their work or school and college can rely on the metro. Recently, the Delhi Metro has been made even more comfortable by reserving the very first compartment entirely for women.Most of the men really got paranoid after this alteration. A friend of mine had entered the last compartment of the metro just so that she does not miss the train till the time she reaches the first one. Then when she saw that the train was not very much crowded she dropped the thought of walking all the way to the ladies' compartment. She asked a man to move a little so that she can sit. And he replied "Aap logon ke liye toh pura ek compartment hai, aap wahan chale jao naa" (There's a whole compartment reserved for you, why don't you go there).

Well, I just want to tell such men that yes we do have a compartment reserved for just us but that does NOT mean we cannot travel in the other compartments. And, we have a whole compartment to ourselves because few men are just too desperate.

Few men have deliberately tried not to move from the ladies' compartment. I just want to tell them that it is of no credit to enter into the ladies' compartment and sit proudly and refuse to move. Men are THAT jealous.

The ladies' compartment have surely made traveling for girls quite easy but here's the catch. It isn't as extremely comfortable as you think it is.

The ladies' compartment can be horribly crowded during the peak hours. Of course, that's not an issue, we do not have to bother if someone's groping us or falling on us. But, after a tiresome day of work when you fortunately get a seat, a not-so-aged aunty will stand in front of you and will breathe heavily and will make such facial expression that if she does not get to sit she'll faint. And, eventually there goes your seat!

The ladies' compartment is half full of kids. Kids are very sweet but they can be annoying too. Just when you thought of taking out a book and enjoy the metro ride reading all the while, a kid will start crying as loudly as possible, or would start running around stepping on your feet or would stand with the dirty shoes on, on the seats and look out of the window just beside you. Also, there's always the giggly group of teenager girls who scream and laugh loudly, so much that it is ear shattering. Well, you cannot even sit peacefully now let alone reading.

There's always that group of ladies who travel together and reserve seats for each other. Even if you have an empty seat in a close proximity you cannot sit there because a woman is reserving it for another woman who's walking lazily and is yet to reach.

"Adjusting" can be really irritating sometimes. I understand that we're all women and can sit closely to each other so that more people can get space to sit but that doesn't mean that you'll sit so freakin' close to me that your hair is poking my nose and I can't breathe. Ugh!

But, whatsoever problems we have, of course, the ladies' compartment is comfortable and we can travel safely.

Peace.

I Rushed to the Hills.

To get rid of the scorching heat and usual life of Delhi, I rushed to the Hills, Kausani-Ranikhet-Nainital. It was an eventful and unexpected journey. To start with the train tickets were not confirmed till the last moment. What happened next was, the tickets didn't only get confirmed but also were upgraded! A real good start indeed. I t took a whole night to reach Kathgodam Station. And the moment I stepped out of the train I saw a big hill with it's tip covered with clouds. Mesmerizing!

I was still a little sleepy. The car was ready, and we drove through the giant hills covered with lush green trees till we reach Kausani. And, in between we stopped by Ranikhet, Chaubatiya Garden. The garden was large and full of apple trees. Bright red luscious apples were hanging down from the branches of the tree.We climbed hills, hills which were absolutely green, saw beautiful and eccentric butterflies, monkeys, tents and what not!

We then continued the drive and finally reached Kausani in the evening. The first thing we saw after reaching Kausani was the heavenly view of the Himalayan peaks, clear and perfect.

The rain had stopped and the sun was shining bright which made the Himalayan peaks look even more clearer. We booked the rooms, freshened up and headed to the large balcony and stared at the himalayan range till the sun went down. There was this silence, not eerie, but a peaceful silence which made me calm.

The next day, all fresh and ready, we drove down to Jeolikot. I captured the hills, quaint waterfalls and streams, all of it, in my mind. We were heading to Jeolikot just spend a day in the huge bunglow, Inspection Bunglow, built in 1871. Jeolikot had no places to visit in particular. The bunglow was the only attraction. And, this bunglow was going to be all ours for a day! I was inquisitive about how the Bunglow will be. We reached the Inspection Bunglow. The Bunglow was huge. It had big royal fireplaces and the wash rooms, they were of the size of my bedroom. Also, it had this beautiful mirror just outside the wash room. Everything about the Bunglow was royal and luxurious. The garden was full of mango trees and colourful flowers and fresh lush green grasses with the foggy view of the hills.

Next day began with the showers of rain. We were headed to Nainital finally. It took us probably 3-4 hours to reach Nainital. And then, began the struggle to find 'good' hotels to live in. Nainital is just like another city, over-crowded and busy, the only difference being it has beautiful hills and a long vast lake.I stepped in, it was enthralling. It had royal fireplaces and it was really huge.

Our voices echoed there, which made a little creepy though. The wash rooms were the size of my own actual room. It had a dressing room right outside the wash room with a beautiful stool in front of the big mirror. Everything in the bunglow was royal. Jeolikot was even more quieter. It had a deafening silence. I again enjoyed the hills as much as I could till the sun went down. I explored the lawns. The trees were heaved down with mangoes, peaches, apples and what not!

Finally, with a help of a friend, we landed up in a decent hotel. Without wasting any moment, we quickly were done with lunch and went to Bhutia Market, also called Tibetan Market. The market had everything to sell, clothes, shoes, food, decoration pieces, candles, umbrellas and the list can go really long. After looking around the market for bit, I picked up momos from

the very famous momo shop in the market and sat beside the lake with my friend. Sitting beside the lake and chatting endlessly was such a bliss. It made me realize that, petty little things can make people happy, it's all about emotions rather than materials. We covered almost all of the Nainital walking for it was a tiny city. In the evening, I was called for this dinner at a hotel by a friend. The hotel was absolutely on the top of the hills away from the hustle-bustle of the city down there. Though it took a lot of energy to climb those steep hills and reach the hotel but it was worth it. The hotel was a totally different part, there were cottages, bon fire, live music, food, fountains and was decked up with beautiful lights. The whole Nainital city was visible from the Hotel. The shops and restaurants down there looked like little twinkling stars at night from the balcony of the hotel.The next evening, we walked a long way from Mallital to Tallital, called the Mall Road. We explored the various shops and restaurants that came on our way.

I shopped for my friends. Then we took the most awaited Rickshaw ride. The Rickshaws were super-fast, faster than the ones in Delhi and were more comfortable. They looked good too! On the final day, we went to the snow view by a ropeway. The ropeway was the best part. I could see the clouds falling on the lake and on the city covering them up. After reaching snow view, we saw lots and lots of rides, cafeterias and shops. It was like an amusement park. There was free-fall, go-carting, cable cars, etc. Also they were providing us with binoculars to get a clear view of the Himalayan range. While coming back by the ropeway, we were all surrounded with white clouds!

The evening arrived and we were all ready to head back to Delhi. But, the catch was that our tickets weren't yet confirmed and few hours were left for the train to depart. Traumatic! I know. The driver who drove us till the Kathgodam Station turned out to be quite amusing. And, he shunned away all the trauma with his shayeris, jokes and singing. He kept telling us not to worry and that our tickets will positively get confirmed. And well, there we were, our tickets were eventually confirmed and we reached the station an hour and a half early. The driver was like an angel! We bade him goodbye. And, an hour and a half later we bade Nainital goodbye.