All will be alright

Everything will be alright, they say

But the question is 

When will things be alright

Have faith, they say 

But how much faith should one have

Before they begin to break

Be patient and things will get better

But how much patience should one have

For how long would one have to patiently wait 

Cause for someone that’s racked with anxiety 

Coupled with an overthinking mind 

That’s in constant overdrive 

It’s difficult to be patient 

Especially when the mind 

Is constantly thinking up ways in which 

Things could go wrong

They say things will get better 

But when will that happen 

Is what you want to ask them

When will things start to get better 

You’ve been through the wringer 

Now all you want is a moment to breathe

A moment of levity 

A moment away from the insanity

That you find yourself in 

A moment to untangle the knots

You knotted yourself in

They say stay positive 

And manifest good things 

But how do you stay positive 

When your mind is constantly negative

How do you manifest good things

When your mind is always thinking

About the worst things that could happen 

They say have hope

But how much hope do you have 

Before you finally breakdown and give up

In the end, despite what your mind might think 

And how you act and believe

You’ve got to keep the faith and keep moving

You can never give up 

You keep hoping and moving on 

Cause eventually everything will be alright!

The Positive-Negative Conundrum

We are so caught up what with the negatives of life that we forget about the positives. We forget that a beautiful picture develops from a negative, in a dark room.

We are so caught up with beating ourselves about what we did wrong that we forget to see what did we do right. 

We are so caught up with up with our mistakes that we forget that we need to learn  and grow and move on.

We are so consumed by the hurt that we feel, the sadness and the loneliness that we forget that we need to give ourselves time to heal.

We are so hard on ourselves and what we do that we forget that we need to be kind.

We are so scared of falling and hurting ourselves that we forget that falling is part of life. If we don’t fall we will not learn, and with every fall we will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on.

We are so afraid to make mistake that we forget to learn and that making mistakes is part of the learning process, and with learning we bring about the change, the only constant in life.

We so in our head about the future and what will happen that we forget to live in the present.

Life’s never going to be easy! 

Life’s never going to be simple!

But then that’s the way life is meant to be!

We’ve got to remember that negatives attract positives. So bad times are never going to last forever. We’ve just got to find a way to weather it out.

So stop being so hard on yourself!!l

Stop being so negative and in your head!!

Stop worrying about what is to come! Remember, it’s not here yet.

So live in the present and live with your head held high, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

You’ve got what it takes to make it through and you will surely weather the storm.

So just hang in there and have faith and believe. You’ve got this boy… you always have… you’ll always will.. so just LIVE!!!

Being YOU

It’s not easy being who you are. Its not easy being different, something that society terms as not normal and unnatural. It’s not easy to live out proud and loud, for all to see. It’s not because you are afraid, or you are hiding in your closet. It’s the way you choose to be. And this is not easy to be when you feel constant pressure and judgement.

They may say that love is love is love is love, but this is not true. Love is not the same everywhere. A non-heteronormative love has many labels and boxes that you need to fit into. And you need to navigate through it all these labels and obstacles to find what you are looking for. And when you get to the one, you are all fatigued from navigating the hurdles and obstacles, making you wonder if it is worth it all. You end up being paranoid.

When you find the one you wonder if you are able to vibe, whether you are compatible, sexually and emotionally. And when it comes right at the start, it can make or break what you worked so hard for.

And no matter whether you are out and proud, or quiet and to yourself, happy being who you are, you are emotionally fragile. 

You think and overthink everything, you read and over read into every word and line and situation. You let your paranoia get the better of you when you keep analysing and overanalysing every situation, every word, every action, trying to understand what was the purpose of the action, when you try to read between the lines, when there’s nothing there between those lines. 

You let your past experience work you up, build up fears, form clouds of doubt in your head. Every situation works you up, every action, or inaction, is scrutinised to extent of paranoia. And then you are labelled too emotional.

Its being someone who doesn’t follow the the norms of the community. Your lack of interest for all the parties and orgies like get together, makes you feel quite, quite boring, quite vanilla. You end up wanting a very heteronormative relationship and commitment, which is so difficult in community where promiscuousness is rampant (and there are instances where you too fell for this ). But isn’t men in general supposed to be promiscuous, wanting to speed their seed. 

All you want is to spend time with the one you love. To be in their company. To have their presence in your life. To feel their touch, their caress, their love. You love the attention. But at the same time you are socially awkward. You are not comfortable in parties, you don’t really smoke or drink, you tend to go into your shell, and prefer to be home before midnight (and no, you’re not Cinderella).

All this makes you feel like the least interesting person, boring, bland and vanilla (there I used the term again).

This makes it difficult for you to find companionship, and if you find it, it’s difficult to sustain it (but then aren’t every relationship difficult to sustain). So you end up going through breakups and heartaches. But instead of giving yourself time to heal you find yourself falling in love, cause you’re a fool for love.

And despite it all you can’t help but be who you are. Who you are meant to be. And whether it’s not easy to be you, there’s no other you who you would rather be, no matter how many times you wished you would rather be someone else.

Turning 43

For me birthdays have always been special. It’s your day, a day you celebrate you, it’s your name day (it looks like I am back to GoT mode once again). It’s the day for cutting cakes, dressing in your finest, wining and dining, and toasting you. Raising a toast to growing older, to another year under your belt. You made it through another year, or should I say, you survived another one. 

But turning 43 felt different. It felt lonely and melancholic, rather than joyful and celebratory. It had me feeling low and lost, a bit flustered and frustrated, a bit broody and weary and disturbed. It had me internalising and being an introvert.

And no, I have no problem with growing older, or even greyer. I have accepted that a longtime back and embraced it. Growing older has it perks, except when you get called an uncle. 

You are down not because of growing older but because of your circumstances, your situation.

2022 has been (so far),  a tough year. From struggling with health issues of the mental and physical kind, to the stubborn weight that refused to leave your side (literally). If that wasn’t enough you end up having to cope with break ups and heart aches. And then you have your loneliness that makes you wonder if you are ever going to find a suitable mate, even before you have given yourself time to heal from your past wounds. You wonder, do good men deserve to find love, even the vanilla, boring kind.

Your expectations, your loneliness, your fear from your past, your past mistakes, your past situations, your past experiences, lead you down the path of anxiousness, of self-doubt, and self-inflicted pain.

There were times (and there are still time) where you wish you could escape it all, where you wished that this pain would end, that this feeling of loneliness could just go away and leave you to yourself (the irony of the statement). Where you could sleep and never wake up.

All you wanted to do is runaway from it all, put an end to it all, find some peace of mind, when you feel there’s no end in sight. Somehow you struggle with your loneliness the fear of being alone, fear of being rejected, fear of not being accepted cause you don’t vibe, or you don’t satisfy them physically. All leaves you wondering if you deserve to find someone to love you like the way you are willing to love.

If I could sum up my head, before my birthday, I could do it in these lyrics by Roxette -

You want to hide when you're alone

Where do you run to when everything's gone

You're looking to find a good thing in life

But nothing's in sight at the end of the line

So where do you hide when you're alone

Where do you run to when you're on your own

That dream in the dark just sank like a stone

That voice in your heart

It won't come to the phone

It never comes

Rishikesh has always been on the list of places I wanted to travel to, with all the people visiting it , and yes wanted to do rafting and bungee jumping. Also, I wanted to take a stab at solo travels. I heard of so many people talk about doing a solo travel, it made me want to do the same and see what’s the fuss was all about, experience it all.

But then there was also a fear and sense of hesitation and nervousness, considering I was going through a low, confusing, patch in life. You have this sense of apprehension of whether if this is the right thing to do, is this the right moment go on such an undertaking. But you need to to get away from it all, cause if you don’t, it threatens to consume you whole.You need to find your sanity, you need to find a peace of mind and so you go on the trip.

While in Rishikesh, I may not have found the answers to the questions that riddled my mind, or a way out of the circumstances I had put myself in, the predicament I found myself in. I don’t think I even expected to find answers and solutions, for that matter even love (though somewhere you hoped you could have one those romantic stories where you find love on trips).

What Rishikesh did give me were moments of peace and tranquility, moments to sit in silence and take it all in. Moments to declutter my mind, moments to make sense  of the insanity in my head. It gave me moments to appreciate the faith and beliefs of humanity, to not view everything from a religious point, to open your mind and just accept. 

So be it sitting quietly at the ghats, observing the mighty Ganga as it flowed steadily, while devotees took dips in her, trying to find a way to wash away their past transgressions, to get her blessing, to find moksha.

You found peace while dipping your feet in a stream, or just observing it flow, overcoming all the obstacles, the rocks that came in its way, and in it you found a lesson for yourself.

You found serenity just staring at the mighty Ganga as she flowed through the valley down below, or the Misty mountains covered in clouds, with the moon right over it. 

But then there were crowds and crowds of people with their mobile phone trying to click pics and selfies as they crossed the bridges, or pedestrians walking in lanes meant for vehicles. And while you want to take in the Ganga Aarti, you have these aunties who insist on video calling their relatives, or capturing it on their phones which they held up, even though they had the best seats on the ghats. But then you realised you too were one of them.

You have crowds and crowds of people  in places where you wish you could have some peace and tranquility.

Then you had your dorm mate who insisted on being your guide and show you around the place and take you through lanes and by lanes and telling you about places and myths, when you just wanted some alone time to be with yourself and thoughts. But in hindsight, I did appreciate his company, cause me alone with my thoughts would have been a recipe for disaster.

My decision to stay in dorm of a hostel, rather than at a hotel, actually helped quite a bit. It pushed me to get out of introverted shell, which I keep going into, make acquaintances and find my own way, rather meander around, dragging my feet feeling sorry for myself.

So at the end of this little strip, little solo adventure, I may have not found the solution to my problems, answers to my questions, ways to stop reading into things too much, to stop overthinking. I was still still a bit disturbed, still had heaviness and anxiety. 

However, what I did get a from this trip were moments of clarity, moments to realise that if I need to find peace, I need to make peace in my mind, accept the situation , have no expectations, anchor myself. I had to avoid letting my emotions to get the better of me, though it’s alright to be emotional at times , to cry at times, but not let it control me. I have to stop overanalysing and overthinking and over reading into things, cause the more I did it the more I am leaving myself open to hurting myself. I had to stop having expectations from others, cause everyone has their own ways and agendas.

But most importantly I learned I desperately needed to be by myself for sometime, not let my loneliness become my desperate need to be loved and in a relationship. I needed to be more kind to myself, more appreciative and respectful of myself as I am of others. And accept myself for who I am, a little broken, a little damaged, a little disturbed.

So there you have it, I am 43 and sure hope I can put these realisation to effect to help me be better and saner.

And do I want to do more travels on my own, well the world is large and life is short, so why not I enjoy my own company while making memories.

A Break

“We were on a BREAK!!!” An iconic line for any Friends  fanatic.

Being in love can be exhausting at times. Constantly trying to meet expectations, to say the right things, do the right things, behave the right way, can take a toll even on the best. It can drain you, take you away from who your truly are as a person.

But this is not something expected, not something that is explicitly said (at least not always). It’s something we put on ourselves, a pressure to make up for the past mistakes, past stumbles, to make things work. And though we go into a relationships saying we carry no expectations, but somehow expectations creep in, no matter how hard we try to keep it out.

At first its all nice and comfy and cosy, lovey dovey. But what happens when the endorphins run out, when it no longer has the same effect as it previously had. That’s when a true relationship begins, that’s when your love is tested, that’s when exhaustion sets in.

In these moments you seek a break, Not necessarily a break-up, but a moment to step away, to be yourself, a pause in the journey. A chance to recuperate and recharge. The time to return to yourself, the time that you didn’t have before, the time you deserve.

It’s the time to evaluate the direction your life is taking, whether it’s worth going down the rabbit hole, or set course to a different shore?

Sometimes we need that break, a break from each other, from constantly occupying each other’s space, from constantly expecting things from each other and being disappointed. To escape those unsaid  expectations, the feeling of anxiety.

Maybe this break from each other would work for the best, just what the doctor ordered. Who knows you may come way with a greater appreciation  for what you both have. It  gives you time to work on the chinks and plot the way ahead. It gives you time to work on the perspective and the direction life is taking. It gives you a chance for a fresh start. 

The outcome may not always be in the best interest, but it’s a start in a new direction. Hopefully it may workout for the best, so that you may come out stronger either as a couple or as individuals.

... the Answer is Blowing in the Wind

As he watched the clip of young Ishaan sing Bob Dylan’s Blowing in the Wind, he couldn’t help but admire the young man’s voice. He loved this song. He always felt the song was hauntingly beautiful, and Ishan’s voice added another layer of innocence to it.

But as he listened to Ishan sing, he thought how much this song resonated in today’s time when the world, his country was descended into chaos. Ishan’s innocence made the song feel even more melancholic.

He could feel a deep resentment building within himself. A feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of helplessness, a frustration that lead to anxiety. He could feel an Anger that threatened to let itself loose, like fire from Drogon when he laid waste to Kingslanding.

And as the song asked some poignant question who couldn’t help himself but think on the same lines. He wondered how many more people would need to get infected, needed to die, need to suffocate before the ones in hire power to acknowledge that they have lost the plot, they are grossly incompetent, they have no clue? How long they will be worried about their image, which they wanted to keep intact at all cost, to the extent of  trying silence the voices of descent, criticism, refusing to believe, ignoring facts ans numbers and advice.

How long would they keep turning a blind eyes? How long would they live in denial and keep making head scratching statement that everything is alright, everything is better than last year, there’s surplus and everything was in stock? How long will they cry themselves hoarse on an external conspiracy to malign the ones in power? 

How many more funeral pyres need to burn before they realise that their hands are crimson red of the blood of those who lost their lives because their apathy? The dead may not have a voice, but dead surely know, and the thought them will continue to haunt you for the years to come. And though they may say that the dead don’t count, not realising that the dead represent a life that could be saved if it weren’t for their negligence, if it weren’t for their false ego, their image, their mistrust .

How could religious events, poll rallies, sporting events go on unabaited? Do we even need them. When a country that’s struggling to come to terms, come to grips of the lives lost in the pandemic, how could someone justify the need for this? Were these people blinded by the flames of the funeral pyres, the smoke blocking their senses. He knew karma will catch up with them. He hoped that it didn’t take so long time. He wasn’t a vengeful person, but in this case, he couldn’t help himself.

He wondered how long would they keep trying to silence of the truth through intimidation and fear? Don’t intimidate the people so much that they stop fearing them, and taking a stand would be the only option. An then there would be hell to pay, cause like the North, people remembers and they, like the Lannisters, will pay by their debts.

But he was afraid that people had memories like goldfish, were all Dories, easily forgetting things they should remember and make the ones pay for the transgressions against them. But it was the people who had stepped up and came to the help of those in need, reaching out to those in need, forwarding requirements, posting them on their timelines and stories, doing their bit for one another. A job that those in power should have been doing.

He wondered what happened to those celebrities who parroted lines when image of the nation was questioned? Where were they now? Did they leave the country, flew coup, traveling to some exotic place, or just save and secure behind the comfort of their four walls? Will they ever grow a spine or balls, and take a stand? He didn’t know if they would ever do it. 

There were so many questions swirling through his brain. He had this seething feeling of anger that welling in his chest. He wished the perpetrators would suffer the same faith, or an even worse faith. He was not afraid or surprised that he had these thoughts.

He wondered if the people would ever get the answers the seeked and would the ones I power ever take responsibility?

He closed his eyes as tears began to well in them. He could hear Ishaan singing... 

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind

Puppets on a String

Said Shakespeare many long years ago

“That all world’s a stage 

An all people are actors”

I am not sure if I got that right

But I am sure by now you’ve got the gist

But what if we weren’t actors

And instead of actors we were just puppets 

With our strings in the those who wield 

The powers to be

Making us look left when we should right

Closing our eyes when could with them being open

Shutting our hears and our mind

Making us literally the monkeys of Gandhiji

Giving a new mean meaning to 

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, think evil

Taking advantage of our senses blocked

They got us clapping hands, banging plates, lighting candles 

For those who stood at frontline combatting an unseen enemy 

But of data of those warriors who lost their lives

They had none

They got us to believe they wanted justice a dead soul 

But they didn’t care about the living ones

Or that numbers were rapidly increasing

They made you feel that mental illness doesn’t exist

And is a taboo especially for a healthy man to have it

They made us believe that laws they made were for those who benefitted 

But when then ones who benefited 

Weren’t the ones who it was directly meant for 

And the one that it was directly meant for

Stood against it cause they felt they would face more harm than benefitting from it

So they called them anti national, tukde-tukde, khalistanis

And then when it got leaked that top secret information got leaked

For a lowly television rating

They tried to divert attention to a television series

That they felt hurt religious sentiments 

And showed of a state in bad light

When the state has already been stained

With a blood of an innocent

Who raped and cremated 

But still no justice given, no lesson learned

A stain for ever to remain

And then you have a faux feminist 

Who puts herself on the top of a list

While the rest are B-list and anti national

And she’s the reigning queen

Of an industry filled of druggies

If that’s not all

They make you  feel that a place of worship

Built on the blood of thousands

Is what will bring unity

And therefore ask for donation in the name of the one for whom it’s built

When I am sure he would want to reside ins such a unholy place

But still they put up posters ans ask for donations

Of people who have lost their job, loved one

The reason for living.

And could go on and list more

How that great puppeteer moves the strings

To get his puppets to the things

That benefit and please him

But for now, I’ll say no more

Cause you think of me a silly bore

So for now all o can say

“All the world is a stage

And we just puppets, puppets on a string!”

The Rainbow Hue

Come June and the whole world seems to be rainbow hued. It’s like looking at life through rainbow tinted glasses. Everywhere you see, everything has something rainbow in it, has turned to a rainbow. Be it the logos, the make up and people’s dressing sense, everything seems so full of colours, everything seems to take a rainbow hue. And why not, after all it’s Pride month.

So by changing the colours of  DPs, logos, wearing Pride make up, is a way of showing support for the LGBTQ community. But the question that begs to be asked, is that enough? Is wearing the rainbow flag for 30 days of a month, enough support for a community? What happens to the rest of the 11 months, or the 335 days (336 because we are in a leap year)? Is this 30 days of change sufficient enough to show support? Is this tokenism sufficient enough? Let’s face it, this tokenism is not enough, it doesn’t quite say enough, at end of it all there may not be enough of actions, and actions speak louder than words.

So at the end of June, when once again change all the DPs and logos and it all goes back to the normal ways, ask yourself if you have done anything to make the change? Have you changed your outlook or do you go back to the stereotypes that has been engrained in your head? Have you done anything that would bring about a change? What did you do to dispense off the stereotypes or did you just add to it? What did you do the whole month of June, just celebrate and wish everyone a Happy Pride, and preen and pout? What happens when the party is over?

Companies may change their logos to include the rainbow flag but their actions don’t say much. Though do put into action what they say in words. They flood your timelines with good looking models, many posing as couples, that’s nowhere close to representing the community, but only fuels the anxiety of those who are already very body conscious. But their action speaks very little of inclusivity of a community that’s normally marginalised, that has been the butt of every joke, often bullied. So where are those images of real people from the community?

Throughout the month you’ll be flooded with coming out of stories and stories of fight for acceptance. But once the month is gone, these voices die down, and there’s hardly a platform given to these voice. They need to be heard, they need to be accepted, and not just at Pride month, not just for tokenism. They need to be allowed to be who they are, we all need to be who we are.

So it’s time that we learn to be more inclusive, it’s time we be more kinder and sensitive to those around, to ourselves. It’s time we allow ourselves to be who we are, our true selves, and do the same for others. It’s time we support love, not just a day, not just a month, but for all the days of our lives. It’s time we let our actions speak louder than the words coming out of the bigots, to show this is natural, to show that this is normal, to help affect a change, a change in the way we think, behave, perceive a community, and as a community. Cause at the end of the day this love, and as Lin Manuel Miranda said “Love is Love is Love is Love”!

A Melody can save a LIFE

He stumbled out of his car

And into the bar

After he had been driving all night

He was grateful to see the bar light

Cause he hadn’t any hope or anywhere to go that night

So he walked to the barman

And asked him for a tonic and gin

And then sat at the bar

Trying to drown the sorrow within

The bar was empty, except for a piano man

Who was tickling the ivories by himself

So he walked towards the piano man  while nursing his tonic and gin

He stared at him for while and then said these words to him

He said sing me a song oh you piano man

Sing me a melody tonight

I am old, cold and no where to go

And maybe your melody will give me a reason to fight

My life’s bubble been burst

But I thirst for love and it hurts

I feel all alone and lonely in my life 

So I  want to put an end to this strife

So sing me melody and help to save a life

Now the piano man looked at him from his perch 

And gave him a warm smile

He nodded his way and continued to play 

A melody that would save his life 

He sang sir if I could be so bold 

But you don’t look so old 

And i see no reasons to give up on life

We have all to face strife

It just all part of life

So take deep breath and don’t regret You’re doing quite nice

Clear your mind of the doubts that’s blocking you

Clear your mind of all negative thoughts

Spend time with your family and friends

Don’t  hold your pain within 

And talk when it’s begins to overwhelm 

So raise your glass 

And toast life till it last

And I’ll sing you a melody for life 

So he raised his glass

Toasted the life he had tasked

And drank his tonic and gin

As the the piano man played him a melody 

He tipped his hat to him

He paid for his drink

And left with a grin

With renewed faith within

As he stepped out of the bar that night

Humming the melody that saved his life!

When Words are more Deadlier than the Sword

A man who was visiting a small town in the States, saw a vicious dog attack a young boy. He quickly grabbed the animal and throttled it with his bare hand. A local journalist who happened witness the incident, came and congratulated the man, and told him that the headlines the next day would say “Brave Local Man Saves Child by Killing Vicious Animal”. However the gentleman told the journalist that he was not a local but only visiting a friend in town. So the journalist told him that the headline would then be like this “Patriotic American Saves Child by Killing Dog.” Once again the man corrected him that he was not an American, and was from Pakistan. In that case, said the journalist in a huff, the headlines would be “Pakistani Kills Family Pet!”

A few days back there was a headline stating that a pregnant elephant was killed after it was fed pineapple filled with crackers. The immediate reaction to the headline was that of disgust and disdaine. How could someone do something so heinous to such a gentle creature and it’s unborn child? Had we lost all our senses that made us humane? How cruel  and sadistic could one get?

And slowly and surely social media was flooded with messages and images of the elephant, and how we failed the poor creature and have lost all our humanity in the process. Some of these illustrations were indeed heartbreaking. The who’s who of social media, including the celebrities, politicians and sportspersons, posted pics and condolences and expressed their disgust of the act. Even the veg section of society accused the non veg section of society on the hypocrisy of their support and condolences, since they consumed meat (not quite sure of the logic here).

So you had all this reaction to these headlines and messages that seemed to floating around social media. However, when you peeled away this initial information you realise that there’s more to the story than just the headlines. The elephant wasn’t fed the pineapple but accidentally ate the pineapples that were not meant for it. This was a way (not a legal one though) used by farmers to keep wild boars from destroying their crops. So this was not a case of a heinous prank but a classic case of man v/a wild and man encroaching the animal territory, a constant struggle for survival. The poor animal mistakenly and fatally got caught within this battle.

Words are indeed mightier than the sword. They have the power to motivate, to inspire, to captivate, to move mountains. But at the same time it can be more deadlier than the sword. It can be used to manipulate, misinterpret and mislead and can even be a source of tension. The case in point being the initial headlines resulted in a condemnation of the act and an outpouring of emotions based on words that were factually inaccurate. The incident indeed had taken place but not in the way the words made it to be. And then there was also an added communal angle about where the incident occurred, which once again was factually incorrect. Even the date when it occurred was incorrect.

All this shows that it’s so easy manipulate our emotions with the help of mere words. We are willing to jump to conclusion based on our interpretation of these words, which is more than willing to manipulate and mislead us.

So before we decide to condemn, let’s get our facts straight. Let’s not be mislead by mere words, cause social media and WhatsApp universities are willingly waiting to twist words and manipulate and mislead our emotions, and we like fools fall for it time and time again. So we need to be careful on how we react, cause words can indeed be more deadlier than the sword.

Indian Crabs

I remember this story that we were told as kids (damn now days I seem to be remembering a lot of things that have happened in the past, looks like quarantine has got me reminiscing on the past). The story was that of Indian crabs. For those who haven’t heard of this anecdote (a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person) here it is.

In a popular CRAB market, there was a store which housed all the crabs of the world. There were baskets of each country in the world lying there full of live crabs. The baskets of each country were covered from the top except that of one country "India". The basket full of Indian crabs was uncovered from the top. This perplexed a visitor who asked the owner why only the Indian basket was left open from the top and that of every other country was closed from the top. 

The owner replied: “It’s simple. If we left the baskets of other countries open, all the crabs would climb to the top and walk out. However with the Indian crabs it is never so as every time an Indian crab tries to climb up the container, another crab pulls it down and therefore none of the Indian crabs are able to leave the container!!

Sadly, in the current pandemic scenario this holds true. Rather than working together to find a way to combat the virus, the political parties have been trying to pull each other down, squabbling and complaining like little kids. Rather than bridging the political divide and coming together to work as one they are more hell bent on bringing each other down, trying their best to destabilise each other and add to chaos that’s already there. You can be critical of each other, but for once work with each other for the benefit of the people who elected you and not for your political agendas.

We don’t need clapping, or banging of plates, lightning of diyas, or showering of petals. These are for social media, they are not going to do anything fruitful. And the financial package, sadly, would never reach the ones who need it. We need a leadership, which sadly is mostly missing and mostly appears to either assign some new tasks or extend lockdowns. Celebs and social influencers are either quarantined in their farmhouses, busy posting pics of new tricks they have picked while on lockdown and will only make appearance when it suits them.

We need to stand united if we need to make it out of this situation and come out alive we need to work together, especially our political parties. After all united we stand, divided we fall. Now that’s a thought for another write up!

Hey Jude!!!

“Hey Jude, don't make it bad

Take a sad song and make it better

Remember to let her into your heart

Then you can start to make it better

Hey Jude, don't be afraid

You were made to go out and get her

The minute you let her under your skin

Then you begin to make it better”

.. sang The Beatles in a song that was written for (or allegedly written for) John Lennon’s son, Julian Lennon, as he coped with his fathers separation from his mother, and his relationship with Yoko Ono, helping him cope with the entire situation. In some way this song speaks to us in our current situation, as we try to stay positive, try to sane, while being indoor and safe but is actually very difficult to do.

It’s very difficult to keep a positive outlook when you’re quarantined, which seems to go on and on, although you know it is for the best to combat the virus. But you struggle with yourself, with your mind and body. Though you try to block out the negativity, things still have a way of getting to you.

In a situation where there’s nothing much to do, it’s difficult to maintain a positive outlook of life when there’s a lot going on your mind. There’s so much going on in your mind that you fear it will overheat and explode. You fear for the safety of your family, the ones you love, the ones who matter, your friends and colleagues. You worry about the future, what is to be once this situation passes (and it will pass, eventually). Your worry about your job security, how would you fend for yourself. You think about the people infected, the lives lost, the ones in the frontline, and it sends a shiver down your spine as you fear for them.

And then you struggle with yourself, your mind, your sanity. You struggle to let nothing get to you but in the end, even the little things triggers you off. You try not to be vain but you worry about your health and fitness, about you putting on weight. Your insecurities keep getting the best of you especially when others are busy and you are sitting on your fat lazy ass, when others seem to be doing workout but you find it a struggle to find the motivation. 

This all turns you irritable, with even the slightest thing ticking you off, when things don’t go your way. You end up taking it on others, the ones quarantined with you, never considering they too are going through the same thing, or even worse. 

You want to do so much, write, read, learn new things, put your life in order, but you can’t quite get yourself to do it at all. And when your health fluctuates, you find yourself riding the lows, down in the dumps. That’s when you really start to social distance because you start to push people away from your life, isolating yourself. This can actually end up taking a toll on your head.

But then as Paul McCartney sang, we need to take a sad song, and in our case, a situation, and try to make it better, not letting it get under your skin. So the key to getting to the other side same is to not let things get under your skin. There are things we can’t help, we have no control on. So we need to accept it and move on and learn to live with it, at least for the moment. There’s nothing much you can do about it so why don’t you make the most of it.

We can always use the time not just getting closer to family and friends, but also to get closer to ourselves, the one that’s buried under all the piles of stress and worries. Use this time to go on a self discovery. Cliched as it may sound, use this time for yourself, and ease yourself into doing the things you like, doing things you need to do (but have alway put off), doing things that will help you improve, that will keep you sane, that will make you the better version of you. And hey you don’t have to go at this alone, you will always have someone who will lend a helping hand, if you just reach out and take it.

So in the end, when you don’t let it get under your skin, you can make it better, cause you can always take a sad song and make it better. You just have to go out and get her. What do you say Jude!

I’ll Rise Up

I’ll rise up

Just like the day

I’ll rise from the aches and pains

I’ll rise up

Cause I’ve done it once 

And I’ll do it again

I’ll rise up 

From the dark and fear

I’ll rise up 

To the light of day

Though I’ve fallen a thousand times

But I’ll rise again

I’ll rise up

From my doubts and fears

I’ll rise up 

And wipe away those tears

I’ve done it a thousand times

But  I’ll rise again

I’ll rise up

To face another day

I’ll rise up

And be grateful to be alive

I’ll keep rising

Cause rising is the only thing I know

I’ll rise up 

Not just on my own

I’ll rise up

And lift others on the way

Cause we will rise up once again

We will rise up

Higher than the wave

We will rise up

And let our spirit soar again

Cause rising from every fall

Makes us stronger again

We will rise up

From the strength that we gain

We will rise up 

From the love that overcomes the pain

We will rise up

Cause rising up is what we will do again

We will rise up 

To see another day

We will rise up

And fight till the very end

Cause rising is all we have learned 

We will rise up

We will rise up

We will rise up

Together again!