I have a child who believes in the magic of magic. She thinks there is actually a treasure at the end of the rainbow and that in some corner of the earth, there must be a fairyland which no one knows about. She is almost 6-year-old now and the pragmatic me used to try to tell her to come out of this imaginary magical world. “There is no magic in reality”, I insisted every so often during my conversations with her. I could see the tad bit of disappointment on her face whenever I said so. A few months back, while we were having lunch, she grumbled about the taste of yoghurt that day and requested me to feed her. I sensed this could just be an excuse for getting fed by me and I happily obliged. The moment she took a spoonful in her mouth, she exclaimed.
“The curd now tastes delicious, Mumma! How did this happen?”
“Well! That’s Mother’s Magic”, I instinctively quipped amused.
“See! I told you magic exists. It is everywhere Mumma.”, she tried to convince me.
If there is anything humans have been reminded of this year more than ever before, it is the fact that nothing is over and above our health. We might rise and progress in multifarious ways, but it is all secondary to our existence. Hence, as a parent, the health of our children is always at the top of our scheme of things. It is imperative for us to be more aware to be able to give our children holistic and the best possible health care. This is precisely why Episode 2 of 9 Months Season 5 by Firstpost is an important watch because it revolves around the theme of vaccination for kids.
A few days back, I saw a post on Facebook which asked people what superpower they would like to possess. While many wished for the power of reading minds or flying in the air, my instant answer was “Power to make my house spick and span without actually having to do the cleaning.”
The unfortunate and heart-breaking demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput triggered debates and dialogues manifold. While there is definitely an urgent need for us to create mental health awareness, what I found appalling is that in an attempt to do this, a lot of us have missed the point leading to a counter-productive endeavour.
At the outset, I want to state in bold that this post is neither about determining whether or not Sushant Singh Rajput was suffering from depression nor is it about analyzing the cause of his death. I know nothing about him personally to make any claims and I pray he gets justice and his family finds closure.
Today is the 72nd Republic Day of India. Today is the day when we celebrate the Constitution of India. But while we remember history, do we also see the history that we are creating? I woke up today with thoughts taking the shape of a maze in my head. If I have to be brutally honest to myself, I don’t know whether I am patriotic. I don’t know whether I am a worthy citizen of my land. I don’t know whether my bit is enough. I just know one thing that if there is someone who gives me hope in tumultuous times, it’s the children of India. Their honesty, intuitiveness, unbiased opinions and inherent empathy makes me feel assured and optimistic. But the irony is that we never fail to let them down every single day. Every time we push a child to be what the child is not, every time we silence their pragmatic voices with our adult egos, every time we invalidate their feelings due to our myopia – every such time we crush hope, we crush dreams, we crush spirits.
Recently, someone shared a blog on a WhatsApp group where I am a member. The writer had written a story about a woman who felt uplifted and empowered when she began to wear a bright red shade of lipstick. It was a beautiful depiction of her journey and some found the writing to be powerful.
The pandemic has been a tough time for kids in many ways, yet they adapted to the abrupt change in their lifestyle as best as they could. It is not easy for them to stay at home without jumping around with their friends or bonding with their school mates. They have also been missing out on all the stimulation they get from outdoor play which is so essential for their development. As a parent, I have been trying my best to help my almost 6-year-old stay excited and active through this phase at home.
While I was flicking through some posts on online media platforms, I came across a news article which made me pause and ponder. It was about how the reality television star, Divya Agarwal, was being trolled mercilessly only because she posted a glamorous picture from a photoshoot on social media around a week after her father’s demise.
“Sometimes, I find myself in the pages of a book” – This is a line from a poem I had penned on finding my identity a few weeks back. The latest creation of Writer’s Collective, “Aashi” is one of those books where I found flakes of myself scattered across its length and breadth. Aashi’s story is not my story. Yet, the terrains are familiar; the world seems my own; the core is one. Her passion, her spirit and her outlook towards life – I found myself in the essence of Aashi. This is Author Maitabi Banerjee’s debut novel who makes a glorious entry into the literary space with a story that converses with you like a long-lost friend. You listen, you laugh, you sob, you scream, you believe and you embrace it with all your heart.
2020 has been a year that has gripped humankind by its claws. We do not know when we would be able to break free. We do not know what more is in store for us. The pandemic has hit us so hard that the impact of the blow is perpetual. As people grapple with physical health, mental well-being and economic slump, there is this disquieting feeling of helplessness within me. It has been heartening to see how the common people have risen up to the catastrophe to help and support those in need. We all have tried to do our bit but none of us can really undo the loss or turnaround the situation. I think I have become even more cognizant of my privilege and I count my blessings every moment of the day. With two senior citizens and a 5-year-old at home, I have been quite vigilant from the time the lockdown was initially announced. This means that even though the world has started unlocking gradually, we are sticking to maintaining our self-imposed lockdown. We head out only when it is a ‘have-to’ and not a ‘would-like-to’ scenario. We have learnt to embrace the mundane within the confines of our comfortable abode.
