Welcoming Future

 Fear is what treads my mind,

anticipation and anxiety its' sign, 

thoughts which together I cannot bind,

like diverse people who cannot together dine.

Future's at stake,

it cannot wait for date after date,

so wake up; don't be late,

because it's a ' Tabula Rasa'- a blank slate.

so fill in the colours of your delight,

don't dread the world it's just trite,

so get up; face the world; and win your fight,

because only then will you see the eternal light.

the eternal light,

The Eternal Light.

Love

Pankhuri

Life Fully Lived

 You are born, not as a corn,

but as a human being.

You have to face the World,

fight the challenges and 

not to turn a blind eye towards them.

A Life well lived is one, in which,

when you depart,

you fill others eyes with tears 

of distress, sorrow and of being forlorn.

They remember you,

they cry for you,

they recall you,

they want you.

But as time heals all wounds

so it does of solitude,

it makes them filled with fortitude.

Thus those tears dry,

But a life fully lived is one in which those tears do not dry.

As time passes and you are,

One with Him,

One with the Earth,

One with the Environment,

and One with the Aura.

Those people recall you,

and yet, their eyes are filled with tears,

but, not of sorrow.

They feel happy to be reminded about you,

they feel blessed to have had you,

they feel privileged to have been there with you,

and they feel you guiding when they think about you.

This, my dear is a life fully lived.

Live life as if, you live once,

Live life to the fullest.

For you do not know,

your presence may have an indelible mark on someone.

Try to make your life worthwhile,

try to make something of yourself,

try to make yourself, proud of yourself,

and in turn,

try to make him proud for having given birth to you,

and sent you to this Earth as His agent.

Love

Pankhuri

Conservation of Girls

 Girls (the Meek Ones, the Weak Ones) are extinct in wild (cities). You seldom or maybe never see them in the public place without powerful escort team- which might include among others boyfriends, family, or, they might come out in large numbers themselves to combat against the much 'mightier' bullier lot.

Girls are declared as critically endangered and hence they have been forbidden to move out of the houses to protect them against illegal poachers (crimes that include sexual atrocities and human trafficking).

To, protect the girls from the harsh society, they are kept within the four walls of the house. They are not allowed access to schools and talking about higher education of girls is a taboo.

To, enhance their safety they are betrothed at an early age, but, there too they receive minimal liberty and freedom and die a 'caged life'.

Are You There (Poem)

You, continue to toil, but,

success does not cross your path.

You, have grown the ability to walk in the dark, but,

light does not make its mark.

You, go undeterred on the path, but,

support does not come your way.

You, continue to strive to succeed , but,

the summit to the goal seems faraway.

You, continue to believe in Him, but,

His bounty is missing.

You, have an ocean full of discomforts in-front, but,

until now are unable in surmounting.

Oh! You seem to be listening!

but, not helping.

You seem to be seeing,

but, not caring.

I wish to attain the goal

I wish to conquer the goal

I aim at becoming....

I will be becoming....

Only your help will work wonders,

help me solve and overcome blunders.

Please Almighty be with me,

help me,

to cross the turbulent sea.

Love 

Pankhuri

Busting the Misconception of Humanities being a Worthless Degree

With the ensuing debate of the Australian government asking its students to pay for their Humanities Degrees themselves as STEM Degrees are more job prone and hence, more likely to revive the economy.

The age old question of Humanities Degrees being Worthless or dubbed as Soft Degrees has reemerged. 

Why is it that people who have a Science Degree are treated as some extra-terrestrial animates with great superpowers whereas the people who have a Humanities background are dubbed as either dumb or vacuous.

I was personally on the receiving end of this whole debate. When I decided to opt for Humanities, while, I was fortunate to find the support of my family, there were some who out-rightly branded me as dull-witted who could not cope with the intricacies of Sciences.  

IMPORTANCE OF HUMANITIES SUBJECT:-

History- The general thought process ridicules this subject as nothing but a bunch of mistakes committed by someone. But, in all reality if one was to be unaware of how things were in the past and what's the reason for current situation one would be living in Dystopia.

(Would you not want to be aware why certain nations are friends and others share an aura of animosity, or, why certain borders are disputed.)

Geography-  Would you not want to be aware about the Structure of the Earth, The composition of the Planets and Seasonal winds, Seas, Mountains and other physical features. (Oh don't tell me you would want to visit and see the flat end of the Earth and maybe peek what's below.)

Economics- This is the subject that comes in handy in your daily life. How and why Governments formulate their policies and what impact it has on you. How your savings and expenditure determine your spending spree and most importantly the job market. (Now if you say you don't want to have a knowledge about how money works well maybe Barter System is the one for you.)

Political Science- As a civilised human if you follow laws and and abide by the Constitution would you not want to be aware of how those laws were formulated and what are the various features of the said law. (OK maybe you like the hooligan life where no laws prevail and you are a rowdy soul)

Psychology- This subject helps you in understanding why humans react the way they do, it helps humans to live in harmony as social beings. (Unless of-course you take Social distancing too seriously and do not want to interact with other people and would prefer to live in a cave)

Languages and Literature- The knowledge of these helps one in communicating with one another and helps us evolve and understand each other. There are several Languages spoken in the World and the understanding of these helps us in getting along and also not being isolated. Literature on the other hand, is the creative writing or composition in these Languages which helps us in understanding the socio-political and economic background in which the literary text has been written and we learn about new places and cultures through it. ( So if one wants to interact he needs to have a knowledge of Languages unless, he chooses to use pictograph as a means of communication) 

The importance of only a few Humanities subjects listed above show, how crucial the knowledge of each and every subject is. No wonder at schools no subject is branded derogatory to the other. But, why is it that general masses then dub the Humanities as being a study for dummers.  

We need to bust this misconception that has somehow crept inside the minds of people and treat each subject as a source of information necessary for life. Governments too, need to employ a different approach where they instead of preferring the Sciences ask students to study the stream (line of Education that allows the students to apply their learning in real life situations) of their choice.

Love

Pankhuri

PS.- I have only listed a few subjects of Humanities and their importance in real life scenarios, but feel free to mention other subjects and their importance in the comments sections below.

Also, please share which Stream did you opt for in your Higher Education- was it Humanities, Sciences, Commerce, Management or some other and did you have to go through peer or parental or societal pressure when you chose the subject of your liking.

 

 

 

Avengers- The Corona-Warriors Version

Avengers are a group of Super-Heroes that save the Earth from any and all forms of dangers, similarly, at the moment the Corona-Warriors are a team of Guardians that are protecting the Earth from the pandemic-COVID-19.

When the world was infested with "he who shall not be named", Humanity came together to assemble the mightiest and bravest of its champions together to fight the calamity- They were hence, to be known as The Corona-Warriors. They chiefly comprised of the Medical Staff (Doctors, Nurses), The Sanitation Workers, The Police and The Essential Service Providers.

Meanwhile, the Dark Lord too was enlarging his army (The Dark Forces). While the army comprised chiefly of loyalists, His army swelled with new entrants. Whenever, The Dark Lord or any of the members of the Dark Forces touched a person who was not in their army they were able to cast a spell and the person deviated and now, owed his allegiance to the Dark Lord. He too became a carrier and became a conscript soldier of the army.

Each Corona-Warrior or CW, as they liked to be called, had different responsibilities. While, the Medical Staff had to bring back the people who had deviated into their own group, The Sanitation Workers ensured that no new people joined the Dark Forces by washing the areas with the Serum that could curtail the Dark Forces for a while. The Police were given the power of Sticks, these sticks scared the people from deviating to the other side, as, these sticks were rock solid and once they were used by the Police on the bodies of deviants they were bound to be sore (in both ways). The Essential Service Providers had the task to maintain Social Distancing and for this they were to provide all items needed by the masses on their doorsteps and guarantee that the people did not aimlessly loiter in the streets and fall a prey to the Dark Forces. Thus the CW ensured to protect the planet and it's people from The Dark Lord. 

However, The Dark Lord was also very powerful, as no known weapon had been able to incur any major loss on him or his followers. The only way to defeat him was to not cross paths with him. Although, all had not lost hope and some Labbies (people who wore white coats and tried to invent new things- previously known as scientists) were trying to make a concoction to ward off the Dark Lord.

A glimpse of hope can be seen with the fact that the CW's have been able to defeat the Dark Lord from Aotearoa. If all goes well they might be able to defeat them fully and banish them from Earth.

With Hopes held high.

Love 

Pankhuri

Glossary of terms-

"he who shall not be named"- Corona virus

the Dark Lord- Corona virus

Serum- Sanitiser

weapon- vaccine

Labbies- scientists

concoction- vaccine

Aotearoa- New Zealand

Is Humanity Dead? An Animal cruelty issue.

According to Charles Darwin: Humans have evolved from Primates. Their were certain mutations which led to Humans evolving as the fittest living organism amongst all present at that time. But, are Humans worthy to be called the fittest and most sane beings to reside the Planet Earth? Well, the recent events, makes one think otherwise. 

Animal cruelty- an activity in which barbaric behaviour is done towards non-humans. It has several forms ranging from violence being meted out on animals to Wildlife Smuggling.

My recent post, shall talk about all forms of animal cruelty and also feature certain heart-breaking incidents from across the world. My aim is to raise awareness and bring people from all walks of life together to pressurise authorities to make stringent laws to curtail this inhumane behaviour.

While, we were all busy in our lives, a heart-rendering news came from Kerala, India. A hungry pregnant elephant was given explosives hidden in a fruit. This resulted in the death of the animal. Police and Wildlife authorities are said to be investigating the issue and are trying to bring the culprits to book.

Another incident that shook us all, came from Idaho, United States, where a women was seen incessantly boxing her pet dog. The person filming the video seemed to be enjoying the act and made no efforts to stop the women. This video brought about an outrage and the women was identified and hopefully punished. 

Its not just pets or tamed animals that are facing cruelty, even wildlife animals have to face the inhumane activities of Humans. Wildlife Smuggling being one of the greatest form of brutality. #Animals are smuggled for decorative purposes like-

Tiger for his skin,

Tortoise for their shells,

Leopard heads and Tiger heads as Trophy for bravery and hunting.

#Then, animals are smuggled for their medicinal value-

Tiger meat is used in traditional medicines,

Elephant skin is beneficial for stomach ailments,

Pangolin scales are used in certain medicines similarly like Rhinoceros horns,

the bile from the gall bladders of Bears are also of medicinal value.

#Then Animals are smuggled as their remains are a source of snob appeal-

Elephant tusks and teeth of tigers are used as a symbol of richness and this adds to the poaching of wildlife.

While there are several institutions that are present to preserve the rights of animals and provide them protection like PETA and WWF, we cannot disregard our fundamental duty as humans to protect this planet and its inhabitants. We should all realise the fact that humans alone cannot reside on this planet and that we need to be more proactive in our approach towards both Wildlife conservation and animal cruelty in any and every form.

PS- if you have any ideas on how this can be achieved please feel free to share in the comment section below.  

Love 

Pankhuri

Rape Culture- Boys will be Boys (really!)

While all news agencies are solely focusing on COVID 19 and news related to it. A major incident happened that though featured in the news, was not really discussed.

Bois Locker Room Incident-

Now what is the incident?

"Bois Locker Room", is an Instagram (social media) account comprising of school going boys in Delhi, India. The group came under the scanner when it was brought to light that, the participants of this group were sharing nudes and other obscene material of their fellow classmates (girls). They were also, making crude comments and talking of raping these girls.

My Take-

When you hear such an incident, your first thoughts are really, come again, am I hearing the right thing? But alas, this is the brutal reality we all have to live with.

India is a country where girls or kanyas are worshipped as an incarnation of Goddess Durga- the deity of strength and source of life on Earth (aadi-shakti). And still, incidences are these are found out frequently. 

According to many psychologists, the problem lies in the patriarchal mindset of people and the way they treat boys to be the flag bearers (descendants) of their family and their name and girls to be a burden which is best disposed off by marrying her. Boys enjoy significant freedom whereas, girls are subjected to live within the four walls of the house. This very upbringing strategy leaves a scar on the minds of youth and they unknowing carry forward this misogynistic attitude and regard womenfolk as degraded beings- 'The Second Sex.'

Certain boys also join groups like these to appear cool. They are either under peer pressure or they live under the mis-guided notion that if they are not a part of such a group, then, they are not cool and hence would be a loner. 

Tendencies to objectify women and treat them as a means of pleasure may have their roots in pornographic films. Now we all know, in the Lockdown, most of us have been spending hours on the internet (working from home) and when such an access was given to young boys they found recourse in porn sites. Porn-hub a leading porn site was found to have given unlimited access to their porn content to help people stay at home. This could be one of the reasons for such a behaviour. 

Even the Films, Television Series and shows online are a source of degrading women by explicitly using sexual innuendos and portraying women as a seductress, whose sole object is to woo her man and please him through her body. The profuse use of Item numbers that showcase women in a demeaning light too add to the list. 

I personally think, that the laxity in enforcing laws that prevent the repetition of sexual crimes too makes the offenders fearless of law and they, go about their business without any fear of being punished. Its often said that "Justice delayed is Justice denied". I agree that there are a lot of pending cases in the Judiciary and with limited number of Judges, the burden of work is major on each. But still it cannot be denied that if offenders were punished brutally and within a time frame then such cases would fall considerably.

Finally, the callous attitude of the masses too is a chief cause of the rise in cases like these. People usually resort to victim shaming and and also in a way eulogise boys by stating that Boys will be Boys and they are bound to do stuff like this.

In the end I would like to remind all that Manu (a mythological character) had stated that God resides there, where Women are respected and treated well. So it not in our scriptures to belittle women but in our own corrupt mindset.

Hope some sense shall prevail after some of you read this blog.

Love,

Pankhuri

Life of a Pet Dog- Sparkles

While most of us have pets, be they cats or dogs or other creatures like birds, what we do not realise is that, they too have a life of their own. This is a story of how Sparkles (a pet dog) goes about in his life, be cautious of the end because it may make you teary eyed.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were a newly married couple who had settled in their new house, after their wedding. At the house warming party that, they held for their close friends, they were surprised to receive a pet dog as a gift. Their happiness knew no bounds, as they welcomed their pet who was now officially their first child, with open arms. As, the dog brought with it smiles and a ray of happiness they named him Sparkles.

Sparkles, was just 2 months old. He really missed his mother, Julie but, he would rarely show it on his face. He was very playful and an attention seeker, he would not miss a chance to be the centre of attraction in the house.

Time passed by and after a year, the Wilkins were blessed with a baby boy, Samuel. Sparkles was delighted to meet his little hooman and play with him. Samuel and Sparkles were like two inseparable forces and they were always together. When Samuel had to go to school, Sparkles would accompany him to the bus-stop and when he returned Sparkles was always waiting by the bus-stop to receive Samuel. Their bond of friendship grew and Sparkles was never treated as an animal but as a family member. He felt blessed to have the companionship of such a loving family.

All was going well for the Wilkins, and Sparkles, well he was on cloud nine as he was the star of the Wilkin Family. Then COVID-19 spread across the world. Those were dark times, people were scared and also scarred for life. All form of information and mis-information were doing rounds on social media and nobody could decipher right from wrong.

At such a time, the Wilkins came across a piece of information which stated that Corona-Virus could spread from animals to humans and pets were considered to be the carriers of this deadly virus. The Wilkins had no idea whether this news was correct or not, but, they did want to take any chances. The Wilkins therefore, decided to shift Sparkles in the garage, he was not allowed to enter the house and all his toys and clothes were shifted to the garage. The garage was the apt place to shift Sparkles as due to the Lockdown, the Wilkins were unable to go out and they were working from home.

Sparkles who until now had been leading a stately life was distraught with the change of affairs. Samuel and Mr and Mrs Wilkins would hardly come to see him and he was spending time alone in the garage. He however, considered it to be a temporary affair and was hopeful to return to the Wilkins' house which he considered home.

But it seems, the good days of Sparkles had come to an end and he was to face a much harsher truth. As, the pandemic spread and took a toll on human lives, people became paranoid. The Wilkins were advised by friends and relatives alike, to maintain distance from Sparkles, as Samuel was small and thus, vulnerable to the disease.

Thus the ominous night came when in-spite of the Lockdown, the Wilkins came to the garage and made Sparkles enter the car. Sparkles thought that his woeful days were over and he was happy to be reunited with the Wilkins. The car started and Sparkles was  ecstatic. He would occasionally take his face out from the moving vehicles' window and try to lick the air.

After about an hour's drive, the car came to an abrupt stop and the Wilkins got out from the car. Sparkles was clueless about his whereabouts and also the darkness of the night was making him shiver in anxiety. He was made to come out of the car, Sparkles thought that, maybe the whole family was camping in this unknown location and was thus vigorously wagging his tail. Mr Wilkins opened the leash and instructed Sparkles to explore the area. Sparkles after living in the confinements of the garage welcomed the independence and began to run about.

It was at this time he was not able to notice that the Wilkins, had already entered their car and were going. He thought that, they had maybe, forgotten him and he began to bark. The car sped off and Sparkles was chasing the car but his speed was no match to the metal monster that the Wilkins were riding in. Sparkles was thus, left behind in the dark night alone in an unknown place.

All this chasing had landed Sparkles into a place where there were other stray dogs. Those stray dogs on seeing Sparkles, an unknown dog, felt threatened and began to chase him off their designated territory. Sparkles was very confused and was not able to proceed how his life had taken a 180 degree turn. He spent the night hiding from the stray dogs in a drain.

When morning came, along came hunger and Sparkles was forced to move out of the drain. As soon as, he came out the leader of the Stray dogs, Hector was looking down at him. Sparkles was ashamed to be judged but, at the moment he was not in the situation to pull off a fight and thus he tucked his tail between his legs, to show allegiance to Hector's leadership. Hector though tough, welcomed him in his gang and introduced him to his lieutenant Marks. Marks was not so welcoming and as soon as, he saw Sparkles he began to tease him about him being an abandoned dog. Mark laughed at the state in which Sparkles was and said that his fidelity was rewarded by the owners and he was set free.

Once Sparkles was inducted in the gang, he was instructed that he was no longer the Prince that he used to be. He would have to share his food and any other conquests with the gang equally and since he was the newest member, he was to be the lowest in the hierarchy of importance. Though, it was all new for Sparkles he still felt welcomed and was grateful to Hector and Marks for helping him to cope in this time of grief.

Sparkles would often remember the Wilkins and get nostalgic, but he had moved on in his life. The gang found that he was an excellent charmer and thus, he could easily persuade the passerby's and the local residents to give some food to the dogs. Sparkles through his ability was able to rise in ranks in the gang and was now no-longer the laughing stock of the gang.

In the end, Sparkles had realised that he had to fend for himself and that grieving would not land him anywhere. He was no longer the cuddly Sparkles that would wag his tail, when his master would return home, from work, but he had evolved into a dog that was able to live a life in this cruel world alone and without the support of others.

Thus, though Sparkles had lost his home and his hoomans, he had had gained the essential life lesson of being self-reliant and independent.

Love,
Pankhuri   

Social Distancing- a misnomer

In these times of Lock-down, while we are all practising self isolation, a word that can be heard most is Social Distancing. Government and Health workers are asking us to practice social distancing and remain aloof from large gatherings or public areas by staying quarantined at home.

Now, what is social distancing: While according to the government agencies it is avoiding crowed areas and maintaing a distance between humans. But is the term really appropriate or should it be physical distancing instead.

While the word physical distancing is clear from its name alone, authorities have to strive to educate the masses about the meaning of social distancing. Let's see what does the word Social mean: it means the need to find companionship and thereby the motive of living in communities.

Social life has its origins in evolution, when humans saw the need to be together to ward off danger and be projected as a group to enhance both efficiency and power of subsistence. Thus, it can be said that living in societies is deeply rooted inside us. Living together has its benefits like providing emotional support in times of distress and acting as a composite whole when faced with challenging situations.

In times like these, when humanity is coming together to fight the invisible enemy, we should be cautious of the words and messages we share and post, as one mistake shall lead to unwarranted results. Its no mystery that old people are the most vulnerable at this time. They are both, facing the danger of getting contaminated from the disease as well as they, are feeling emotionally left out, as they have been cut from being in contact with their loved ones.

At such a time, Social Media comes to the rescue of these elderly as it is through this medium they can easily connect and still remain aloof with the people they love. Thus, the word Social Distancing here would be rather misleading and also act as a form of mis-information.

Now, if we are to go back in history, we come across the practice of social discrimination in almost all the areas of the world. Like in India, in the past, the society was divided into social strata and while, the higher class people were allowed to maintain social contact with one another the lowest class faced discrimination. They, were not allowed to enter certain areas and also the people from higher class maintained a distance from them claiming them to be untouchables owing to the work they did, which involved cleaning and washing the human excreta of the higher strata people. In United States of America, while, the Whites deemed themselves to be superior they also dubbed the Blacks as their Slaves and bonded labourers. Thus, they too maintained a distance from these folks and were critical of being associated with them. Similarly, in France, the society was divided into three classes at the time of French Revolution and while, the highest class which comprised of the ruling lot were economically strong the lowest class or the masses suffered hardships.

Thus, we see that in history there is ample example of society being divided into several classes and strata and they in turn, maintaining a certain amount of disassociation with the other classes.

Therefore, I personally feel the usage of a term that was used in history to segregate the people according to their classes returning in modern day and that too at a time when all should stand united is uncalled for. Thus, I urge all my readers to use the term Physical Distancing instead of Social distancing.

Love
Pankhuri

Hail Corona Warriors- a poem

Doctors, Nurses and Policemen,
They are acting like Mother Hen,
protecting their chicks; from any harm,
and in turn, protecting the entire farm.

We are fighting against an enemy that is invisible,
but, that does not mean that it is invincible.
We just have to remain strong,
follow the given norms,
or, else the fight shall be prolonged.

Stay Safe and Work from home,
cause it is your safe haven, your own dome.
Practice Physical Distancing and Wash your Hands,
and COVID-19 is bound to leave our lands.

Love
Pankhuri

The Kingdom of Messages- an animated account

There was a Kingdom of Messages and it was ruled by the system of Oligarchy- a process in which power resides amongst a small group of people. In the kingdom, the power of governance or transferring messages from one place to another thus, was placed amongst Humans and Horses on an equivalent basis. Whenever, a message needed to be delivered a rider would ride the horse-back and deliver and receive messages. Messages were delivered without any hindrance and people prospered. Things were going on in a calm manner.

Things began to change when one son of a noble showed signs of rebellion. His name was Telegram. He wanted to overtake the kingdom and rule it like a dictator. He was successful in transferring power under his name and became an autocrat. Under his regime, he modified the kingdom and was successful in sending symbolic codes rather than the actual message which could be read by any person to whom it was not intended and thus the whole purpose of communication would be compromised. The common people were elated with his new ways of governance and supported the benevolent monarch. Although, he was an autocrat, he renounced his throne to his younger brother.

He was thus, succeeded by his younger brother, Telephone. As, Telephone was a minor a regency was set up to help him rule the kingdom. The chief adviser position was given to Alexander Gram Bell who regarded Telephone as his own son. Telephone made prominent improvements in the ruling of the kingdom. His chief contribution being the removal of middlemen from the messaging track. Now, people could send and receive messages without giving commission to middlemen. 

When Telephone became old, a plot was hatched to snatch the throne from him. Radio was the chief conspirator. While Radio had a huge mass following he was not able to dethrone Telephone, as the methods employed by Radio were one sided and people though fascinated by its charm could not deny the importance of the rule of Telephone.

Several years later, a discontent cousin of Radio, Television, tried to renew the rebellion but he too failed to dethrone Telephone, as, the masses supported Telephone wholeheartedly. Although, a disgruntled Television was able to build his own empire elsewhere, where he ruled and was very popular among the common people of his kingdom. 

As old age began to show its effects on Telephone, the question of who was to succeed him came to the forefront. Since, Telephone did not have an issue, he asked all the people of the kingdom to enter into a competition to choose his successor. Cell Phone, a promising though naive boy emerged victorious and Telephone gave away his throne to him. Cell phone brought about several cord breaking improvements in the governance of the kingdom. 

Cell phone was succeeded by his children who ruled after him like Fold-able Phone, Multimedia Phone and Touch Screen, but the rule of Smart phone needs to be mentioned in detail. It was Smartphone, who with his prime minister Internet, brought about a revolutionary change in the mindset of people. He was able to remove illiteracy and was the chief force in connecting people who had lost touch with one another.

Now, Smart Phone decided that it was the opportune time to reconsider the mode of government in The Kingdom of Messages and thus he declared the kingdom to be a Constitutional Monarchy. Where, he was to act as the figurative head of the State, however, the actual functioning of the State was looked after by several provincial state heads. Thus, emerged local yet, popular leaders like Whats-app, Gmail, Skype, Face-time, Tik-Tok, Instagram and Twitter among others. 

Now, with the help of these generals Smart Phone is able to rule The Kingdom of Messages very efficiently and the masses too, are very content with the government.  

Love

Pankhuri

Evolution of Theatre

When you hear the word Theatre, you usually associate it with modern day drama and actors both male and female wearing several costumes to stage the play in-front of the audience. Have, you ever given a thought, to the origins of Theatre, how it all started and why did it start and when did it start. Well, all these questions shall be answered in this blog so read on.

In ancient times, theatre was used as a means, to educate the masses about the various religious practices. The religious leaders dramatised the religious activities during various festivities. This was done so that the common masses through, entertainment gained the tenets of religion and subconsciously incorporated these very attributes in their lives. The religious leaders thus, either performed scenes from the lives of saints or acted out portions from religious texts.This was the very crude beginning of theatre as we know now. 

As, people became educated and they began to develop scientific temperament, they became critical of the association of theatre (which they dubbed to be a means of entertainment and relaxation) with religion. Thus, a rift between the two was inevitable. 

During these times, the rich and influential commissioned the writers to write scripts that were either entertaining or plays that eulogised them as great warriors or leaders or saviour of the people. Thereby, a paradigm shift in the content of plays can be seen from being religious didactic and sermonising to that of being boastful and panegyric. 

However, this trend did not last for long as more and more people wanted playwrights to write about their lifestyles and the audiences were not finding this trend to be as entertaining as they did earlier. Thus, now plays were written with plots that had a lot of bloodshed and terror in it. This catered to the masses need, for entertainment and was an instant hit amongst the audiences. 

A note here also needs to made that while the audiences comprised of people from all the social strata and sexes the actors performing on stages were only males. Whenever, a role of a lady was to be enacted a young boy who was rather effeminate was to act as the woman.

As all trends wither, so did the trend of drama being filled with barbaric activities. Now, the stage was to be taken by plays that had the theme of incest in it. Playwrights now wrote plays that had extra marital affairs or cuckold as their theme. 

After this the playwrights instead of blindly following a trend wrote as per their talent. While some aced in comedy, other were writers of great tragic plays. Audiences too, were happy as they were able to choose from the wide array of plays to watch. But, as all good things come to and end, so, did the golden era of theatre, with the invention of Radio and Television. Now, masses had the choice of choosing their mode of entertainment. 

In today's times, people would rather opt to go for a movie which has a successful and famous movie star in it than, going to watch a play which they dub as outmoded. Though, movies are a great source of entertainment but, they cannot be said to be a replacement of Theatre. The onus now lies on us, whether we want to save theatre from the gloomy cage it is in or we want this art form to become history.

Love 

Pankhuri

How to fall asleep as soon as you go to bed- with a twist

In the World, there are two types of people; one- who dose off as soon as their body touches the mattress of the bed and two- who well just can't sleep. Well if you fall under the second category, all your worries are about to come to an end as I shall help you through this blog to fall asleep instantly.

Well when, one enters the bedroom and is unable to sleep, the most common thing one does is switch off the lights of the room- Well as much as people say this helps in sleeping, as the hormone Melatonin is produced in the dark. I beg to differ, you see, when you switch off the lights you are subconsciously thinking about all the monsters that were to come and scare your pants off. Thus, you are unable to fall asleep.

Now, if you are the believer that drinking a glass of water shall help in falling asleep, alas you have bad news, when, you drink water it might help to fall asleep initially but, later on your kidneys are heard to be screaming Tsunami and you have to take a bathroom break. Thereby, all your hard-work goes down the drains and you are back to square one.

Some people like to read before going to bed, well its their call, but, I would not recommend it. You see, if you start reading a good book you just cannot put it down until you have read all through so, where is your sleep and if the book is not so enticing well, why are you reading it in the first case. I mean come on, Grow up.

You could listen to Music, it's said, music helps induce sleep. However, there are certain things you need to keep in mind before doing so. If you love to hear loud music, you are bound to wake up in the middle of the night because of the constant knocking of your neighbours to turn down the volume. You could easily avoid this situation, if you were to plug in the earphones and listen to music, but, that too has it's own problems. Before you even think of doing it, I would recommend you to book an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist as, you are bound to turn deaf over-time.

Also, the type of music you hear affects your sleep, if you are a fan of pop/rock music, I don't know about sleep but you are sure to get your neck fractured with the constant nodding you would be doing while listening to the music. If you are a classical lover, you could suffer from premature balding since, the music has this kind of effect on most of the recent generation.

Now come people, who think that sleeping with loved ones brings you calmness of mind and helps initiate good sleep. Two minute silence for these mis-believers. Agreed, sleeping with someone you love has its perks like cuddling but, once your beloved falls asleep and starts to snore you have no choice but to bid adieu to to your own sleep. Unless, of-course if you can fall asleep while the railway engine is blasting beside you.

You could watch some show either online or on television, but, will that bring you sleep or frustration is based on the type of show you watch. Also, if you are binge watching YouTube videos you could have a serious case of existential crisis, when you see that  people half your age are earning double through, making non nonsensical videos and are famous while you are in your pyjamas praying to Gods to fall asleep.

In the end, you could use the universal technique of counting sheep , dogs, pigeons or whatever suits you. I have personally tried this on many occasions, and I would love to hear from you if it works for you because well, for me I just could not count further than infinity you see, and thus, I guess I could not really benefit from this step.

Hope, this blog has helped you in how to fall asleep and if you still cannot fall asleep you can always try to read my other blogs, maybe, they could help you somehow.

Love
Pankhuri


Please note- This blog was written for people, who are suffering from sleeping disorders and want some real guidance from a professional, like me.

Work from Home- A funny intake

As the world is battling against the Novel Corona-virus, almost all the countries have instructed their citizens to Work from Home. This comes in the light that the said virus, spreads through contact and thus, if people were to remain quarantined or isolated inside their homes, there would be less chances of the spread of the pandemic.

While working from home can be not much of an issue for some people, there are others, whose working from home rather is dangerous and funny at the same time. In this blog I shall try to showcase the different scenarios that would be faced by people if they were to literally work from home.

When an Archaeologist is asked to work from from home he/she can be seen digging his/her entire house to find artefacts and something of historical importance.  

Salesman- he/she was found forcefully selling his/her old junk, clothes and other items to his/her parents and was seen to be persistently trying to convince them about its relevance and importance.

Loan recovery agent- he/she was seen beating his/her children for stealing candies from the jar and being unable to repay for the same.

Traffic policeman- While he/she was resting at home he/she came across an army of ants and was seen giving directions and guiding them to their desired location.

Media-person- When she was at home her husband was having a shower, where accidentally soap entered in his eyes, and she instead of helping him to wash his face was seen interviewing him and quizzing him if he had ever experienced such a situation before and how he was feeling at the moment.

Reality Show Judge- When he/she saw his/her children crying he/she was seen to be giving a standing ovation and commenting that these very difficult situations would help the child to win the show as people apparently like melodrama.

Teacher- she/he was found to be schooling the lizards, spiders and rats of the house.

Dentist- he was seen uprooting his own tooth.

Politician- he/she was seen delivering speeches in-front of his/her pets.

While the work culture in the west allows the workers to work from home easily, as most of their work is based on the internet, they could easily modify the work and do so from their homes. The work culture in India is very different, the office staff are unable to bring home the termite eaten files, either because they are not allowed owing to the privacy policy of the company they work for, or, because well, they just don't want to take these file homes.

In such a case these workers while working from home set up a small office space for themselves in their houses and call (audio call or video call- depending on their data packs) their colleagues. They then, start to work from home, which involves either gossiping or plotting and planning against their superior. They can also, be seen consistently pestering their wives for tea every half an hour.

No matter how you do it, its best you stay at home at these times and yes Work from Home.

Love

Pankhuri

Please Note- This blog was written for entertainment purposes and I had no intention of either disrespecting any person or profession. I personally salute all the Corona Warriors who are working relentlessly on the front-line to help us stay safe and I am thankful for them. 

PS- These were the funny situations I could come up with, if you have any other such incident to share please feel free to comment down below.

COVID 19- opening of the Pandora's box

 It would be no exaggeration if one were to say that the Novel Corona virus which has recently engulfed the world in its clutches is a monster. Dubbing the virus as the opening of the Pandora's box would not be an understatement. According to the Greek mythology The Pandora's box was a vessel that contained all sorts of evils and curses, both known and unknown to humanity.

With the beginning of the year 2020 the world witnessed the greatest pandemic it was to ever to see and posed as a threat to the very existence of mankind. While several theories of the virus being a biological terror weapon to it being the God's curse sent on us are doing rounds, I personally attribute the virus to a very different source.

In the Hindu mythology, when the world entered the fourth Yug or the last phase of evolution, God's and their incarnations went back to their abodes. The demons and the monsters too were asked to do the same but instead they transformed themselves and continued to live on the Earth to spread evil.

While some demons became mosquitoes, some changed themselves into cockroaches and so on. They thus, continued to spread immoralities and influence the nature and behaviour of Humans. It was with the beginning of the new decade they decided to modify their ways and hamper the progress of humans both economically and socially and thus they adapted themselves into this wicked virus.

When a high level meeting of these demons took place they decided to spread their wings and also influence not just a nation but Humanity as a whole and thereby cause the greatest harm they could to God's lovely creation. They came up with an idea to transform themselves into an unknown virus that was not only difficult to detect but also novel as none had heard or read or seen it. They thus, spread around the world in the form of a disease hereto unknown to the human race.

With a heavy heart it would not be wrong to say that they are successfully devouring the human populace and we are as of now unable to cope up with it. The only means through which we can fight back is to take two steps back as the tiger does while attacking its prey. In these difficult times we need to stay strong. We need to stay at home, practice social distancing, washing hands and hope that this dark phase passes away.

No matter how dark the night is, it always ends and the Sun rises strong and bright. Lets fight this together and be there for one another.

Love
Pankhuri