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[sulagna-sivprava]

Actors And Armymen

Five days after the death of Irfan Khan; I heard about the death of a couple of soldier in Kashmir. The former losing his life to a terminal disease while the latter lost their lives to a cross-border firing!

While the loss of Irfan Khan came across as a personal loss to Indians all over the world; the death of these few army men didn’t stir up any such emotions.

Social Media was flooded…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Human, Inhuman and the Divine!

If the power to either be inhuman or divine rests with us; why do we often chose the former?

It was 20th of February. I was in Syndey. Seven days had passed since the Pulwama attack!

My timeline was filled with people talking about war and peace. I woke up every morning with the hope that everything would be fine, that we wouldn’t be going on a war. Better sense would prevail and the answer to violence wouldn’t be violence!

I was reminded of a night, more than a year ago. I was…

[sulagna-sivprava]

GREY

I am either a leftist or a rightist

A sicular or a bhakt

A devi or a slut

Either independent or needy

One fine day I heard someone say-

“There is no good, no bad; no right no wrong

‘No purity no impurity

No easy no difficult”

That someone also said- “humans are grey.”

I wondered that night,

If we are grey

how can the labels attached to us be black or…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Of ...DIVERS, SURFERS & LOVERS

Of …DIVERS, SURFERS & LOVERS

When skydivers jump thoughtlessly  from the sky They surrender their lives to a power higher than they know of! When surfers surf They surrender themselves To the mighty power of the sea

These jumps and dives into the oblivion  with little protection and faith unshaken.

The rush the craze  The ecstasy The wind’s embrace The water’s surface

The diver and surfer confessed Something within…

[sulagna-sivprava]

STORIES LIKE DREAMS!

Multiple stories in our minds We turn them Twist Them Give it an ending We Love

But those remain But, stories Those stories in your head Is all that you own Is all that you reign

For reality Is different The reign in another hand Cannot be turned or twisted Just accepted!

[sulagna-sivprava]

ONLY IF TRUST COULD BE BUILT, NOT BROKEN

ONLY IF TRUST COULD BE BUILT, NOT BROKEN

ONLY IF TRUST COULD BE BUILT, NOT BROKEN

But alas! That which can be built; can also be broken!

I know this girl Geeta She has amazing collar bones and loves love stories She tells me; what is this fuss over Priyanka marrying Nick? It’s their life; if they love each other, they should stay together!

Oh did I say? She also cooks really well and recycles plastic like no one else She makes…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Those Scandalous Bumps...

Those Scandalous Bumps…

You sexualise it, without respecting it and that made me feel ashamed of it!

My earliest memory and probably the first one, of realizing that I had grown breasts was in 4th grade. I remember two classmates of mine fighting and one of them accidentally falling over me. I remember feeling a lot of pain in my chest, an unusual one rather.

I spoke with my mother about this strange pain, and…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Where is development taking us?

Where is development taking us?

Varying levels inequality and inequity is not something that would raise eyebrows in India. We grow up in it, experience it, every single day of our lives and it gradually becomes a part of our reality. We learn to live with it. We accept that it’s inevitable. 

Seeing people beg and sleep on the roads- homeless and hungry; does make us uncomfortable, but we accept it, ignore it, there is…

[sulagna-sivprava]

The irony of identity

The irony of identity

It gives you life, and also takes it away!

We are a concoction, a mixture of identities. Which identity holds primacy depends on the circumstance at play. There are certain identities that we aren’t so proud of, and some that we are. The ones ascribed to us at birth (mainly religion and caste), are the ones we don’t have to build upon and often the ones we want to hide and shed. This is more…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Bharat Mata ki Jai??

Bharat Mata ki Jai??

Mother is sacrificing, nurturing, caring, and all things divine! Nature is mother, so is the country we live in. Respect, revere and worship She cannot be flawed. She is after all perfection’s incarnation!  

When you plant in people, sentiments of nationalism Infused with feelings of maternal love towards the nation; Country’s children are what becomes their identification

Who invented this…

[sulagna-sivprava]

T0 my friends in the valley...

T0 my friends in the valley…

Hold my hand

Can you trust me?

Come give me a hug

Do you feel safe?

Let me hold you tight

For as long as you want..

Let me caress your hair and

Whisper words of love

Whisper the language

This land stood for

This is bharat

I am a bharatiya…

We love you, we care for you

Those few men killing you

Are dead inside

But we are alive

Alive to…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Being independent is great! It’s what one should strive for. Why do we value and revere independence so much? More so with financial independence!

Growing up I realised; the more possessions you create from the money you earned; and whether you are able to live without much financial and emotional dependence, defines how well you are doing in life!

Sometimes I wonder, working hard to…

[sulagna-sivprava]

People of this world...

People of this world…

Nation is an idea. An idea, that people have of the sovereign territory they reside in. It’s also an identity and an emotion, that’s both given and built over time. How pleasant the emotion is, or how strong the attachment is, depends upon the experiences one has had and what one perceives the idea of a nation should be.

Nationality can be forced upon but not nationalism. Nationalism is an…

[sulagna-sivprava]

For a moment...

For a moment…

In the vast expanse of the sea,

(just for a moment)

I feel small; insignificant

As the waves touch my feet,

(just for a moment)

I feel my problems getting washed…

I wipe my tears, and

(just for a moment)

I see a smile make its way on my lips

I wonder, if anything can come close,

To what the sea does to me

In just a moment…!

[sulagna-sivprava]

Small Acts, Big Impacts!

Small Acts, Big Impacts!

This 2nd October was my fourth International Day of Service at Bakul. Prior to this, I had been to orphanages and Anganwadis. This was my first IDOS inside a low income neighbourhood in Bhubaneswar. It felt nostalgic. I was reminded of days when I would visit such neighbourhoods, almost every day. It’s been almost two years that I haven’t.

Going into such places is always a reminder of the stark…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Bhaiya yar, sukha nahi diya!

Bhaiya yar, sukha nahi diya!

I walked out of the Indian grocery store in Paramatta, the predominantly Indian suburb in Sydney. Interesting piece of trivia: Indian grocery stores abroad have much more variety Well that I think is because,  it’s for all the Indians, not specifically catered to the Punjabi, or the Odiya!

Before I digress further, let me get to the point. I walked out and noticed a pani-puri wala. He was well…

[sulagna-sivprava]

Ye Galiyan, ye Chaubara

Ye Galiyan, ye Chaubara

I was driving towards the station which is a few kilometres away from my home. There was incessant honking for most part of my journey. People, stopping vehicles to cross roads, cattle and dogs wandering around, fully aware that, humans are going to risk their own lives but try their very best not to inflict any injury upon them. I saw bus conductors screaming at everyone on the road to move…