The extent of primitiveness and insanity in this country Part 1!!

Hey all! Today, I would like to vent out my thoughts on how backward and stereotypical Indian society is based on my own personal experiences. Though it is my own motherland, but I am highly dubious about its cognitive development.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, India possesses rich cultural attributes endowed with a variety of landforms, food, languages, religions, communities and what not. Also, it has progressed a lot and is much better than before, but still there are some things prevalent only in India which get on my nerves every single time. The main root cause is the society here. The people are stringently conservative and orthodox.

Firstly and most importantly, you get negligible liberty. Certainly, there are constitutional rights granted to all the citizens like the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to freedom of religion etc. However, the irrational and non-sensical norms of the rigid Indian society don’t actually allow you to avail freedom, it doesn’t matter if you are a minor or an adult. You are obliged to blindly assent every idea or action of the society. You are supposed to cater to everyone and fulfill everyone’s unrealistic expectations even though when it means giving the remote control of your life to them. Most of the kids (including teenagers) aren’t permitted to go outside of their houses alone and talk to strangers but once they graduate they are expected to enter the real world with 0 experience and build a great life flawlessly which means having a decent bank balance and marrying. This is it. You are done for life before 30. If you’re an adult, your life is total hell. You must not have your own opinion and if you have and dare to express it, you are outcasted from this idiotic society. You all aren’t unique, if one is doing a thing, you too are induced to do the same. Don’t even get me started about comparison. It is at the next level in India.

Let me give you some real-life examples to justify my stance: you’re not asked if you want to go to a particular party or gathering, you are simply notified when the day comes or in rare cases, a day prior.

You are not supposed to feel anything except happiness. You are chided for crying and not putting on a fake countenance.

People think that if you’re presenting a different perspective you have a habit of arguing and they won’t even listen to your explanation and would just use the phrase “I don’t want to argue with you” as a defense mechanism.

You can’t debunk stupid perceptions of people even if you want to because you are younger and you can never be right in front of an elder who is also a human by chance and we know for a fact that humans make mistakes but one mustn’t forget that they can never be wrong. Hope you can notice the underlying sarcasm here😉 .

The next thing which makes my blood boil is gender inequality. This is a global issue but India manifests it in a way more heightened form. If you’re an Indian girl, the patriarchal society puts forward hard and fast rules for you. You are already not allowed to speak up for yourself and also supposed to sit in a poised manner, talk in a very polite tone and be very prissy. You have to take care of every entity while being ruthless to yourself. Long story short, you are not supposed to have fun in your life, you are just an automaton who is always willing to receive commands and fulfill them. You are not allowed to use your own gifted brain, it is out of question. If you commit a mistake, it’s your fault, if you aren’t subservient enough to abide by the regulations of the society, it’s your fault, if a man loves you, you have cast a magic spell on him, if a man harasses you, that too is your fault and you are not even allowed to talk about it because you somehow have ruined your family’s freaking reputation. How stupid these brats can be!!!! It’s outrageous when you read all this but when you witness the same shit going on around you, you are just ambushed and become speechless and rather just want to die. According to the society, you can’t be loved but you have to love all, you can’t stay out late at nights, you can’t drink, you can’t have male friends and lastly, you need a man for everything. Even freaking identity cards require a man’s name which is absurd and I just want to obliterate the entire Indian ideology currently. But I ought to hold my horses and in a nick of time, I would emerge as a decrier of the society and a slap on its face. I encourage you all to do the same, no matter which country you belong to, you can be self-sustaining through your own hard work.

It is not solely about girls. If you’re an Indian boy, you too have to go through inequality on the basis of sex. If you are found crying, people would sputter: ”Stop crying like a girl!”. They are not allowed to share their feelings and have a heart to heart with anyone. They are expected to be valorous at all times and not allowed to feel afraid.

So this was it for today! Also, today’s blog might have seemed like a total vent out. It was because I got a little touchy with this topic as I witness  this every day.

Btw who wants a part 2?

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

To anyone who’s feeling stuck or tired….

Hi! This is kind of a letter to anyone and everyone feeling suppressed and suffocated.

I know how it feels as I have been combating this since a few months now. It seems as if you’re in an endless loop of trying harder and harder but still aren’t likely to reach anywhere and ultimately retreat to square one. You feel imprisoned in your own protective shell and tend to think that you are in a rut. This phase often appears to one as a lifetime of dejection, downheartedness and hopelessness.

Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that it is just a short tunnel of temporary darkness, you will eventually traverse it and will find light again. What I intend to say is that whatever you are feeling is valid and at the same time momentary and thus, you would be able overcome it and would again start feeling yourself. No matter how hard it seems, just chin up and be patient. Be resilient! Don’t give up whatever it is that you are trying to achieve. You would definitely attain your goal one day if you keep persevering. Just hang on there, leave no stone unturned to prevent negative emotions from overpowering you and you will gradually be able to liberate yourself from the feelings that make you feel trapped. You have come this far already, if you step back now, all your efforts would go in vain and you would feel remorseful about it for the rest of your life.  In this phase where you feel mentally exhausted, it is also necessary that you practise self-love and you don’t be harsh on yourself. Take out time for yourself, meditate or do yoga, journal and put things off your chest and simply do a thing or two daily that truly makes you happy and content. Also, practise affirmations if that works for you. Keep reminding yourself why you are doing whatever you are doing. In the end, everything falls in place though it is not plain sailing to believe that but it is indeed true. If, God forbid, anything unwanted or bad happens, that too is for your own good. We just need to zoom out to look at the larger perspective.

Hope this helped whomsoever needed this and I wish you feel better soon.😊  

Let me know any topic you have in mind which you’d like me to write about.

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

It is time for all of us to lead a non-conventional life!

Hey all! As I said, two blogs a week and here I am! Tada! Okay so, I have a lot to say on this topic because I am a huge advocate of non-conventionality. Firstly, I’d like to enumerate on what exactly is non-conventionality because many people misinterpret its meaning and claim to be a non-conformist when they are actually not.

Non-conventionality is the idea of going against a widely accepted conviction or transgressing a norm if you believe the opposite of it or have an altogether different view point. It includes not only vocally expressing your distinguished perceptions but also abiding by what you believe and say in the form of actions.

The next question arises that why most of the people don’t follow unconventional paths. My take on this is that people are petrified to rebel and express their dissent because they feel that there is some kind of an  obligation to adhere to and that they have to comply and accept each and every thing even if they have to bend their own morals. They have the notion that people would be offended and would outcast them just because they have a different view point. Actually, this is kind of true at times because there are some very orthodox people who feel that a non-conformist has committed a sin but in such cases, I think that initially one should try to make the other person understand that he/she doesn’t intend to ignite a rivalry and is rather just presenting his/her views while respecting other person’s perception but if the latter doesn’t understand, one should simply move on and not bother them and if you are exact opposites, then you should avoid them.

The next reason is that people know that transgression takes a lot of effort and patience but they are not willing to sacrifice and take active participation.

Also, a side note: there is a difference between going against an unjust practice and not following which is rationally correct. Non-conventionality doesn’t necessarily mean going against the constitutional laws just because you don’t want to follow them. Obviously, it doesn’t also imply that you blindly follow a rule that promotes inequality, injustice or exploitation etc.  

Importance of non-conventionality

I will start by giving examples to show how important it is. If Rosa Parks would have been submissive and would have succumbed to the racist segregation, then the first widespread protest won’t have probably taken place for another decade or so. Marie Curie is another quintessence of a rebel. If she won’t have taken a risk by studying at a clandestine institution, the term radioactivity won’t have existed in the dictionary.

I don’t think that anyone can actually live his/her life to the fullest if one is subservient and docile. Then one is only stuck like a thread in the fabric of societal structures. If one really wants to get out of this suppressing fabric, one must be stringent and unbending enough to debunk the customary norms. Added to this, travelling a novel path is an eye opener and one tends to see the world with an unbiased mindset and one gets an opportunity to explore the unknown or the unprecedented.  

I read this quote yesterday and its last part really hit me.

We keep overthinking about the effects of choosing an audacious path and many times, we even give up and go back to what feels comfortable or has tested outcomes.

So, I’ll leave you with this thought today and I hope this article instills in you a shred of hope and courage.

 Also, let me know about your unconventional ideas and beliefs.

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

How I spend my Sundays

We all eagerly wait for the weekend to start so as to take a break from our hectic routines and rejuvenate ourselves to kick-start a brand new week with loads of vigor and motivation. To do so, I try to include the below-listed activities as part of my Sunday. 

Sleeping in 

Who doesn’t long for a good sleeping marathon? I sleep for more than 12 hours on a Sunday unless I have to go somewhere. It just feels so refreshing. 

Self-care

Though I don’t put on face masks and all, but taking long showers and washing my hair is my idea of self-care. 

Baking 

I just love baking cakes and muffins of multifarious flavors and varieties. It is a great hobby and pastime for me. 

Reading (occasionally)

Though I don’t read very regularly, but I’ve been trying to do that. 

Watching a feel-good movie

Sunday is my day to watch movies. I love rewatching my favorites which include rom-coms and Christmas movies. 

Spending time with family

Since all are home on a Sunday, I am able to spend time with them and even nip out with them sometimes.

Karaoke 

Sometimes, I feel a strong urge to scream out my lungs and enjoy music and act like I’m Taylor Swift singing her songs on stage 😉

Writing 

(I don’t know why I’ve added this one towards the end.) Usually when I don’t have a lot on my plate, I write. It could be a diary entry, an article or even a poem.

I know this was a really short one and it was rather personal but I think that as a blogger, it is essential to keep sharing a part of my life time and again. 

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

Routine setting hacks

Hi folks! How are you all doing? Today, after a very long time, I have come up with a hacks-and-tips article(I don’t know if that makes sense).

Moving on to today’s topic, I’ve always wanted to adopt a stable and productive routine and so, I have sufficient experience in formulating time-restrained schedules and in failing to implement them. Over the years, I have found some common mistakes due to which people(including me) can’t stick to a routine. I would like to lay them down here in the form of pointers:

  • List all the activities that you want to do in a day

First the basics. These activities should include everything ranging from taking a bath to having lunch to journaling, even the smallest of tasks. This would help you keep track of where your time goes.

  • Select your daily tasks wisely.

Don’t overfill your to-do list. Classify tasks as urgent, important, not urgent and not important. Firstly, choose the tasks that are most urgent and important. If more than one task falls under this category then do the one that is more difficult or time-consuming first. This would enable you to lift the weight of the task off your shoulders as early as possible and you would get it done on time without procrastinating. Moreover, you might even get a sense of accomplishment after completing a difficult task and ahh! the joy of ticking off that task from the to-do list.

  • Set time-limits for every chore

It is essential to set a specific time duration for each task. For eg:- Do yoga for, let’s say, 45 minutes or read a book for 30 minutes. This helps you to manage your time more efficiently. Also, when there is a time constraint then we tend to do things more swiftly and get distracted less.

  • Keep a reasonable time margin

Setting time-limits doesn’t mean that you must be harsh on yourself and compel yourself to finish a task in a limited time frame. You must be mindful of the fact that to do every task you need to be in a specific place, get the required equipment or even go to another place. So, doing all of this to commence a task also requires time and thus, you must make time for this as well. Also, try to keep additional 5 or 7 minutes for any delay that may arise. For eg:- Workout for 1 hour includes time for taking out the mat, coming into various positions, playing the music etc.

  • Put in small, frequent breaks into your daily time table

This is the most important of all. Trust me, not taking adequate breaks gives you a hard time in the long run of whose side-effects I have been having lately. It can lead to mental and physical exhaustion and even burnout. If you think that working for a week non-stop and then taking a break afterwards would help it is not a good idea. You must take breaks time and again to rejuvenate yourself. These breaks may include taking a nap, playing a sport, reading a book, watching a show etc. However, screen time should be kept in check.

  • Take baby steps

If you are a beginner then you must start small. You must not bombard your day with heaps of activities. First, you should try to complete a handful of chores diligently and then you may regulate them as per your progress.

  • Be patient and hopeful

Sketching a time table is easy but executing the plan isn’t plain-sailing. It takes time, a lot of time. You may, at times, feel despondent but don’t lose hope. Be iron-willed and keep persevering!

  • Don’t keep unrealistic expectations

You can’t expect to be adept in religiously following your routine after two days of practising it. As said earlier, it takes time.

These are some of the suggestions that I wanted to share. Let me know your tips too in the comments below so that we all can improve! Also, an announcement: next week onwards, two articles would be published on Quirky Talksss, one on Wednesday and the other on Friday. Are you excited?;)

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

Social media – A useful weapon

Hi! I’m back with a new blog post. Let’s get started without further ado.

Today’s blog title might seem unusual and uncanny because it is that way. We all know that social media is a bane and how adversely it deteriorates our lives but then I thought that amidst all the discussions and debates about its ill-effects we surely can put spotlight on the brighter side of it.

1.Helps in interaction

This is very obvious that social media helps us to connect with people from any nook and cranny. It also enables us to catch up with our long-lost friends and at the same time,  to make new friends.

2.Source of inspiration

Sometimes, seeing people showcasing their productive routines drives us to do the same and do something that makes us feel accomplished and fulfilled. Although at times, we do feel envious or we tend to have FOMO but still a lot of times we also get boosted with motivation to chase our goals and kick-start our journey for reaching them.

3. Evokes positive feelings

This usually occurs when we consume positive and feel-good content. If you see a cat video or a pic of a baby you find it adorable and that feeling you get at the moment is ineffably warm or if you see a hilarious snippet of a stand-up video you tend to laugh and that’s a good thing. But such feelings won’t obviously arise when you watch a clothing haul or a fake happy pic or someone showcasing their luxurious life. That would rather do the opposite.

4. It educates us

Most important benefit that social media offers is that it edifies us. We tend to become more aware of a plethora of things. We can watch a makeup tutorial, ways to pull an all-nighter or a video on a scientific research. There is a great deal of information available on social media.

5. Helps us to support various campaigns

This too is very advantageous for everyone. Social media helps us to engage in many campaigns and protests. The biggest example is the unprecedented era of Covid. A lot of people were using their social media profiles to help people by posting stories about available beds, oxygen cylinders etc. and many were even spreading positivity  and tips to stay calm in such times. Currently too, people have started using social media as a tool to support other fellows, to raise their voice against unfair practices and demand justice for anybody who is suffering or not being served right.

6. Helps many businesses and startups to grow

Social media is filled with business profiles. It acts as a medium for the businesses and organizations to expand their influence and it also helps the customers to reach out to companies which offer products and services that they want.

There can be more plus-points too. We just need to utilize social media in a way that we get all the benefits and we try to evade the downfalls. We just need to be wise enough to get a positive outcome.

Make benefit out of social media, don’t be its slave!

Are there any other benefits of social media? Let me know in the comments.

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!

World through the eyes of a leftie…

Hey! How are you all? I’m finally back, done with my exams and would be active as earlier from now on.

Today’s post is dedicated to the lefties out there like me and I would love to relate my story of despair with them. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this world is naturally designed for right-handed people as they constitute the majority and by the end of this article, you’ll get sufficient evidence to realize this.

Firstly, since only 10-15% of the global population is left-handed, everyone assumes that the people around them would be right-handed. This happens a lot with me. Whenever I’m doing stuff people notice and ask specifically if I’m a lefty and responding to them with an affirmative answer is fine until they start telling tales of people who they know who are also left-handed. Why would I care if your sister’s friend is a lefty? It’s just ridiculous as people think that if someone has a unique trait then they need some kind of story to be able to resonate and have a feeling of collective belonging though some do need that but not me, I am too happy standing apart from the world. There are several instances that the moment the parents get to know that their child writes with his/her left hand they deliberately make him/her write and do all the things with his /her right hand. I don’t know why that is such a problem. (Luckily, my parents didn’t force me to change my dominant hand.) It is probably due to a widely spread norm that lefties are disabled or peculiar. This false perception should be debunked at all costs. Moreover, people have this conviction that left hand isn’t an ideal hand and thus, sacred threads are also donned on the right hand giving it a high stature of purity which is not just at all.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is more to being a lefty especially in daily life. Primarily, comes the perpetual struggle of using scissors which is too agitating and irking. Imagine running late just because you are unable to cut a piece of paper and it’s not even your disability or fault. The right-handed people can just imagine this but we really have to go through all this. I now feel that I’m indulging into too much self-pity but this is the reality, I can’t help it. Also, the next hurdle is the struggle to write. Being a lefty, you have to align the notebook horizontally and it is very tough if there isn’t much space available, you have to adjust the position of your hand and the notebook time and again which takes up relatively more time. In addition to this, hand gestures are also not plain-sailing. You usually fail to shake hands or do high-fives because you put forward the wrong hand and it is too mortifying lol!

With this, I finally finish my rant on hassles of left-handed people!

I hope all the lefties can relate to this and the righties can get a glimpse of the life of a leftie.

Also, a shoutout to my friend  who has launched her 1st book, ”Teenage Tomorrow” [who is also a lefty ;)]. You can buy the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/dp/9391010342/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QSRQMADFMZJTK0D0GSR0

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!😊

Plague of Materialism

Hey! How are you all doing? I apologize for my current irregular posting pattern and this would remain for about a month more as I’m too engrossed in preparing for my exams which are highly overstated in India because of which students have an unnecessary baggage that, in turn, has no positive effect but adverse mental effects. I would rant about the entire non-benefitting and futile education system in India in detail but let’s not ruin today’s spirit. Hah!

Speaking of today’s topic, I have been so desperately wanting to talk about it because I am highly skeptical about the onslaught of contemporary money-oriented society. Today, the world is becoming intoxicating and ruthless day by day. This originates from humans’ gluttony and the burgeoning zeal to achieve as many things as possible.

Materialism has rendered the humans nothing but self-destruction at their own hands. Many a times, even knowingly, we tend to do things that don’t seem right or that are against one’s grain. The craving to own branded items and modish things and possess humungous sums of money stems from the greed and the sense of acquisitiveness to have every tangible thing in one’s possession for pomp and show. It is so ironical that humans, being the most mindful creatures in this world and having been bestowed the abilities to think and feel, tend to be dominated and controlled by non-living things that don’t have a mouth but whose looks speak volumes. This is also closely related to conforming to the ongoing trends about which I had written an article a while ago[Link to check it out: https://quirkytalksss.art.blog/2022/02/17/following-the-trends-blindly/ ]. Getting back to materialism, it is a venomous contagion that has got to most of the humans. Being materialistic is also a sign of being immature and yes, I just mentioned most humans are materialistic a large proportion of which includes adults and they obviously aren’t mentally mature though they chronologically are. They proclaim to be big people but they are really not because they can’t get themselves out of this worldly trap. They are too absorbed in their avarice to even notice it. Don’t take my word for it  but just observe your surroundings for a while and you can even browse the web to check that mature people aren’t materialistic as they are too spiritual and thoughtful to get distracted by such mundane and trivial fantasies. In addition to this, materialism doesn’t evoke feelings of satisfaction and happiness. This is a mere mirage that buying things leads to gratification. The more you fill the box, the more it seems empty.

This is the link to an analytical study on relation between materialism and happiness and spirituality and happiness: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329103799_A_Mixed-Method_Study_of_Materialism_and_Spirituality_Two_Sides_of_the_Happiness_Coin

If I talk about the repercussions of being materialistic, they all are obviously devastating. It is because the ever-lasting  and overwhelming desire to have things tends to make you go off the rails and you allow yourself to go to great lengths to achieve this. As a result, you fail to stay within your capacity. You never feel gratified with the things you already have and always want to have yet more. This not only makes you ungrateful but also such attempts to grab these unrealistic symbols of joy transform one into an inhumane and callous person. You tend to lack virtuous traits like compassion, loyalty etc. and in turn, give way to vicious ones like greed, acquisitiveness, discontentment etc. You simply don’t remain a human anymore and it makes your life miserable and you lose even what you have. Okay, this is sounding very dejecting, so, just a reality check, it is not happening yet and you still have time to stop mourning over not being able to buy a Guess purse or Fila sneakers and be mature enough to edify yourself that they don’t even guarantee you long-term happiness. So, start today and try to curb your materialistic passions!

How do you think materialism affects us? Comment down to pen down your views!

Kindly don’t mind the errors if any. Not an expert in English. Thanks for reading!😊

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