Rebel without a Cause
I, Sameer was born into a respectable family in Pratappur, grew up with enough resources at my disposal, and was engaged to Panna, a lovely young woman. Nothing could dampen my spirit, not even my often-overbearing mother. That was until the day…
Peace in the middle of Chaos
Mumbai is a whirlwind. No time-lapse video could ever truly capture how fast this city moves. As a lawyer with a private practice, yes, I have had a cocooned life. I wouldn’t say my home city is perfect, it is far from it, but I have lived a life of…
Men of Chhatarpur
For ages, men have kept their egos safe and hidden under the idea that masculinity resides in their forearms and is only as strong as the fear in a woman’s mind. But definitions are a flowing stream, they take shape, however, time demands of them. I…
Let me Escape the Shackles of Patriarchy
When I was a child, my mother affectionately called me “Beta”. The term of endearment came from a place of so much warmth and love that I used to relish in the sweetness of the word. But even in my childlike curiosity I never questioned why my…
A Second Chance at Happiness
I have always been a firm believer of the idea that showing sympathy and wearing your heart on your sleeves takes a great deal of courage. Niceness is so often mistaken for weakness that this ruthless world leaves no chance to exploit those who are…
The Longest Distance Between People can be Measured in Words
Words have more power than we can ever imagine. The biggest distance I have seen between two people can be measured in words; some said and some left unsaid. They have the ability to distance even those who have their hearts tied together. For very…
Rescuing Voices Lost in Crowds
Imagine you lost your wallet in a crowd; you ask people if they have seen it, but in the midst of the chaos your voice goes unheard. A man walks up to you, hands you a loudspeaker, and voila, you have people’s attention. That is what journalists are…
This Nation, Where Two Universes Collide
Time and distance are funny concepts. Mere miles away from you, there are people living in an entirely different world. This world, in the same time-zone as yours, is somehow still stuck in another century. When people shy away from raising their…
What brought me to Pratappur, and made me stay
Honest people often paint the world in the colours of their own honesty, but their blissful ignorance is broken when they are faced with deceit. My familiarisation with the immorality of the world began long before I was shaken by the impact of it.…
We are all victims of toxic masculinity!
Certain moments in life are more important than others. These are moments of impact that shake you out of normalcy, making you see how every person you pass has a life just as vivid and complex as your own. They make you wonder how many people…