Unleashed Thoughts
Unleashed Thoughts is the social and lifestyle segment of WANDER BIRD, which highlights stories on life experiences and social causes in its truest form.
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“That Unconditional Love for My Best Friend” – The Best #LoveStory Ever
Here’s a fictional short story on the essence of unconditional love – the best feeling ever! “It needs immense strength to give, without expecting anything in return (not even appreciation). And the day, you can give such unconditional love, is the day you free your soul.” ~ A Believer. It was my first day in graduate school, and I stepped into the premises with loads of excitement. Few moments later, my eyes caught a glimpse of a tall guy, with unkempt hair and a flustered look writ on his face. A thought flashed through my mind – Yes! This was the same guy I’d met outside a coaching institute almost…
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The grandeur of Chhath Puja at Dhanbad
Since the ‘Garib Rath’ direct route from Bhubaneswar to Dhanbad has been cancelled now (courtesy – the Jharia CoalField fires), we had to first take a train to Kolkata and then run for our lives to board another train to Dhanbad from a different railway platform. We were almost on the verge of missing this train due to overlapping timelines of our Indian railways. Perhaps, this thrill set the mood for my journey to Dhanbad – the Coal Capital of India! Travelling for the second-time after marriage to my husband’s city, was already giving me goosebumps. Once we reached the Dhanbad railway station, we decided to take an auto-rickshaw to…
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The Day I Met GOD Himself – A.R. Rahman
A.R. RAHMAN – This name needs no introduction. Being a 90’s kid, I have grown up grooving to the tunes of Roja, Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se, Taal and what not! This man had started carving his niche amidst the cacophony of raging music directors in the country, right from those times. His music has always been mellifluous – it’s just DIFFERENT, it’s MAGICAL. I remember observing him keenly on television, in any of his public gatherings or interviews. He was always a man of few words. He was extremely humble, down-to-earth and exuded oodles of simplicity from that heavenly persona of his. He still is, a man of few words.…
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A Narrow Escape from Perverts Around Me – #MeToo
Born and brought up in a country like ours, sexual harassment in various forms is considered to be pretty usual in our daily lives. This marks the first impression about the sorry state of affairs in our nation. Sexual exploitation in any form, leaves an indelible mark on the soul of the concerned person – be it male/female. And a casual approach towards the frequency of such incidents, is alarming indeed. Somewhere, something is definitely going wrong! I clearly remember a vivid incident from my childhood, when I was hardly 11-12 years old. I was sent by my mother to the nearest grocery store to grab a packet of bread, when…
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Top 5 Questions to Review Before You Start Professional Blogging
I have often been asked a lot of questions on where exactly to start, if you want to take up serious blogging. The basic thumb rule for blogging is – no rule at all! I have heard a lot of experiences, where people tend to get so excited about the idea of blogging that they actually tend to ignore the basics. They end up purchasing expensive domains, premium blog themes, researching about SEO and what not, without even having a basic plan of what their long-term goal for blogging is. I might not be a rule-book person, and don’t really believe in following mindless marketing gimmicks to setup a blog.…
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HUMANITY First – Kerala Will Rise Above Hate-mongers!
Monsoons have always been eagerly awaited in India, since the Indian Monsoon plays a major role in turning large parts of India from semi-deserts to green lands. It is a symbol of joy and celebration, especially amongst farmers. They wait patiently throughout the year, just for the monsoons to arrive and help them grow crops at their best. Who could fathom that this joy would be diminished in India this year? Little did we know that this year, the same Monsoons would wreak havoc in God’s own country – Kerala. Around August 10-11, I noticed Twitter trends highlighting about Kerala floods, which had reached alarming levels. Several parts of Kerala…
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“A Heart’s First Flutter” – An Ode to that uncanny vibe of LOVE
Disclaimer : Please note that I have never been a poet and hardly have any poetic flair. This particular post is a consequence of relentless encouragement from a woman of substance, who kept prodding me to pursue writing from my heart. We have never been close friends and were introduced on rather strange circumstances at some point in our lives. Our relationship from that day to today, has come a long way. Today, I look up to her as a major inspiration and influence in my life. And ofcourse, this post is dedicated to the man who has been my rock-solid anchor in life. I could not have asked for…
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“An Unplanned Pregnancy Changed My Life Forever” – An Honest Confession of a Young Working Woman
In the cacophony of a busy day, my phone blinked with a message – “I have some news for you.” And before I could even think of guessing, there was another message in my inbox. It stated – “I am expecting.” I was thrilled. I was actually feeling ecstatic, rather even that would be an understatement. The message was from an old colleague from work, with whom I had not even chatted for more than a year maybe. Even if we are not the closest of friends, she was always like a constant travel-buddy in all my trips. She would always be my travel roommate and secretly, I was quite…
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LOVE CYCLES, FEAR CYCLES – A Complete (Work)Book for All Couples
One fine evening, I was working on a writing assignment when I got a notification on my social media account. A lady was looking for volunteers to review a book named “Love Cycles, Fear Cycles”. It had been quite a long while since I’d read a book then. So, even though I have never been an avid reader of relationship-based books, I decided to give it a shot. And there it was! Within a span of two weeks, the complimentary copy was delivered to my home in Texas, USA. First Look I would like to make a special mention about the way my anticipation for this book was build up.…
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IPC 498A – Does it actually protect women or is it a choking noose for innocent men?
DOWRY – a social menace which compels the bride’s family to pay a specific amount in cash or goods to the bridegroom’s family (considered as a ‘norm’ of an Indian wedding), is practised in many parts of India even today. BUT what’s even worse is the reckless misuse of the law which was initially formed to curb exploitation in the name of dowry. Undoubtedly, dowry still remains an ugly truth of India today. But, fake dowry harassment cases depict an even uglier and lurking reality of the Indian society. True Story Recently, after posting an extensive article on the actual history of the dowry system, I was going through the…
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Palur Chronicles : “First Day Jitters at Palur Hills”
11 years gone, and still counting! The first day jitters still remain the same. As I sit down today reminiscing about the good old engineering days, all the memories seem to brush past like a whiff of fresh air. It seems like yesterday, when we had first stepped into the magnificent campus of our engineering college at Palur Hills. Boarded on bright yellow college buses, we noticed the sprawling campus from the national highway. This was going to be our second home, for the next 4 years of our lifetime. Since the college was situated in the outskirts of the city, the most feasible means of transport was college bus.…
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Palur Chronicles : “My valedictory to 4 precious years of a lifetime”
“Contemplating about the past 4 years spent in these lush green locales of Palur Hills, we seem to have attained a very peculiar state – a placid persona ready to forgive and forget. The ambience here has definitely nurtured every individual to become the human being that they are.” I penned down these above lines way back in the summer. Sitting on the staircase of the topmost floor, probably waiting for someone, gazing away into the greenery around, the unending sky, I was in a different world altogether – a world of my thoughts, my world of contemplation. Just couldn’t muster enough courage to complete what I’d started. Hearts were…
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Public Opinion – Yes, We Are A Country Obsessed With BODY WEIGHT!
This is a sequel to the last post in the Social and Lifestyle segment of WANDER BIRD – “19 Things People Say When You Are Lean ~ The Saga of Being Thin”. This has been the most popular post so far, with thin people exactly relating to each point mentioned in this article. Rather, they even sent me few more hilarious comments which they’ve personally experienced for being lean. Even if I plan to put all the new details in a fresh post, the list will be unending. This made me realise, how casually people have normalised an abnormal behaviour of taunting or nagging someone constantly for his/her body weight.…
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Why Did Dowry Ever Come Into Existence in India – High Time for a Reality Check?
The dowry system in India has been blindly followed since ages and I have always found it extremely absurd. Detesting this evil practice to the core, I decided to dig deep into the actual history of the dowry system in India. How did such an evil-practice ever come into existence? Did our ancestors actually have such a backward thinking? The answer is – NO. Earlier, dowry was nowhere described as a mandate for the groom to make demands on the girl’s family. Inspite of this practice being so obsolete, regressive and a significant reason for a higher crime rate in today’s times, people in many parts of India are still following…
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Justice for Asifa : Can Rape Ever Be Justified?
I begin writing about this ghastly incident, with a very heavy heart. Yesterday, my day started with a Facebook post shared by a friend which read – “The Gory Details of the Khatua gang-rape shows that the India we live in is NOT really shining.” Going through the gruesome details mentioned in the post, I drew a deep shuddering breath. The grim news of the gang-rape and murder of an 8 year-old girl was described with such horrific details that the basic faith on humanity inside me, actually made me question the article – “Is this news authentic?” The details mentioned in the post, seemed too heinous to be true.…
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The Ugly Truth of Dowry in India today
While going through the government’s initiatives for women empowerment in recent times, I stumbled across few thought-provoking ads which deliver powerful messages against the age-old practice of dowry in Indian marriages. The messages were loud and clear – “Say NO to dowry.” Dowry system in India refers to any form of movable goods, property or cash that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom’s family, as one of the pre-requisites for marriage. Considering the nagging societal pressures and crimes regarding dowry, I decided to delve deep into the history of dowry system in India. I strongly believe that the history of this culture-rich country has been distorted time and again to…
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19 Things People Say When You are Lean ~ The Saga of “BEING THIN”
Having been slightly underweight almost all my life, I have come across a volley of sarcastic comments, concerned advice, unwelcome suggestions and what not for committing a crime of sorts – the crime of “being THIN”. We are a nation where food is given utmost importance (which is great), resulting in a wide variety of cuisine available to be explored in a single country. Consequently, being thin in this country is almost treated as a crime. People will not bother if you are healthy (literally) or have never suffered from any ailments in your lifetime. The moment you come in their range of vision, they just have to blurt out…
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An experience on Bakul’s Day of Service : A Day dedicated to Humanity
Surfing through my WhatsApp messages last night, I came across a message in my WhatsApp group : DOS – 2017 (Patia Region). It was a notification from a fellow Bakul member stating that the first Bakul Day of Service for 2018 was scheduled on March 25, 2018 (held on last Sunday of March) and anybody could volunteer. This brought back a plethora of memories from the last Day of Service that I attended in Bhubaneswar, during the Joy of Giving Week on October 2, 2017. For a beginner’s information, the day of service (DOS) is celebrated across India and worldwide to promote the spirit of social service and provide a…
