The Untold Stories

Lockdown. Quarantine. Self-isolation. Pandemic. Words that were almost unknown until 2019 have suddenly become common parlance in 2020. Hand hygiene, air purifying, social distancing have become daily norms on par with home-made concoctions and vaporisers. Giloy Tulasi hit the market shelves along with masks and gloves and shields and sprays. 2020 shall go down world history as a year of unprecedented panic. Panic that pushed humans indoors. Panic that brought economy down onto its knees. Panic that strengthened international borders. Panic that cleared the skies of air traffic. One virus gave a befitting answer to unquestioned human aggression. One virus raised many questions regarding the future of human existence. On the last day of 2019 China reported to World Health Organisation the presence of a deadly viral infection in Wuhan. Within less than two months the virus crossed international borders and by March 11, 2020, got recognised as a global pandemic. Lockdowns became a ne...

Women empowerment and women security are two boats that India struggles to balance on a rugged sea of a patriarchal society. Sexual assaults against women are a day-to-day reality that, as of now, occupy no greater space in the mind of a reader than allocated in a newspaper. Protests against assaults escalate every once in a while (mostly before imminent elections) and die down with a strong condemnation of such assaults by all political leaders, academicians, journalists, film stars and all other individuals who have a word to say. Safety laws aimed at providing security to women are brought-in by various governing bodies but no law seems capable enough to put a cork onto these assaults. One main reason behind this inability can be attributed to unquestioned moral policing that aims at suppressing women in the name of safety. On January 5, 2020 an Anganwadi worker was reported to have been gang-raped and tortured to death by a temple priest and his cohorts in Badaun district of Utta...

 It was the end of a terrible year. Hope was high in the air when the protagonist said he shall soon lead from the front. Thousands of followers waited with bated breath for his grand announcement. Thalaiva did make an announcement. Not what everybody expected him to make but quite the contrary. Film Stars in politics Superstar Rajinikanth , affectionately called Thalaiva , a veteran film actor and philanthropist, has been making news in Tamil politics for last five years. Rajini’s followers have been waiting for him to enter active politics since many years. It is not uncommon to Indian actors to move to politics at a later stage of their career. Tamil Nadu, in particular, has seen notable film stars turning mass leaders throughout its political history. M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha are some of the popular leaders from the state that had a previous career in film industry. Andhra Pradesh, is also, not unfamiliar with this trend. N T Rama Rao , a veteran film ...

  In the early hours of September 6, 2020, a century-old wooden chariot was set ablaze in Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Antarvedi. Hindu religious bodies across the state raised an uproar at the incident. Political parties lost no time in condemning the ruling YSRCP for failing to protect the chariot. The incident was likened to the burning of the chariot of Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy temple in Nellore district on February 14, 2020. Desecration of idol at Pithapuram Skathi Peetham on January 25, 2020 was also brought into light by the agitators. The ruling party tried to make amends by taking up the task of building a new chariot at Antarvedi. The case was also handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation to ensure a fair and transparent investigation.  The ripples seemed to die down when a Nandi idol was vandalized in Chittoor district on September 27, 2020. The incident again brought the state government under attack for its negligence in protecting religious prop...

I am not much into detective films and scoop stories but since one week I am involved in a lemon- giver-detection project. It all started few days back when I found a lemon on my terrace. By lemon, I didn’t mean the frail, not-yet-ripe, tiny lemons we find in the market. The lemon that hit my leg was bright, yellow, round, inviting-you-to-taste-it kind. I looked around to see if someone on another terrace was looking for a lost lemon but found none. I scanned the surroundings to see if there was any unnoticed lemon tree in the vicinity, from where this fruit might have come flying. Illogical it might seem but one can’t take chances when viruses are believed to die with photon energy that converts to atomic energy which in turn converts to quantum energy. When I found no trees, I searched for any naughty kid that might have used a lemon in place of a tennis ball. Again, my search was in vain. Satisfied at the results, I finally took the lemon home and had a glass of fresh lime water s...

  Of late, I am greatly worried I might have turned blind to certain colours. It’s already been a week since I noticed this issue and I am still not able to identify a name for it. As usual, I asked my google assistant to tell me if there is any such disease that lets an individual see only few colours and skip the rest but interestingly she has no idea. May be if it is a man, he would have found an answer to it, but apparently people do not recruit men as bot assistants for some reason. Should ask a feminist what she thinks about this biased favouritism bestowed towards women in this field. I decided to wait for a while and see if it gradually recedes on its own. For two weeks I had to suffer with this Four Colour Syndrome; FCS I named it just in case someone came up with a similar complaint. Beginning from my morning newspaper to any channel I tune to on my smart TV, all I could see were four colours, white, green, orange and blue to be precise. I open a shopping app and I see ...

"She was ill", they said. It was not fever. It was not flu. It was an illness that had no name. She caught the illness too and lived with it throughout her life. Not Anymore. Click the following link to read the article on Youth Ki Awaaz. Not Anymore

Are you a feminist? If yes, read my article on Youth ki Awaaz. If no, read my article on Youth ki Awaaz. If you think you have a better answer, then you better read my article immediately. Are girls shying away from being called feminists?

Last night I went through an application form which asked me to mention my current working status. I put my pen down to write but the nib wouldn't move. “Who am I?” I started thinking. I study a lot, but I can't call myself a student because I don't attend a college right now. I employ myself in lots of tasks the whole day but that doesn't make me an employee. Am I a chef? I cook for myself yes, but that won't qualify me to become a chef! Wait. I take care of the plants in my backyard so, can I mention myself as a gardener? May be not. I teach the kids in my street but that would be mean if I call myself a teacher. I even train them in sports once in a while, but no, I'm not going to call myself a physical trainer. I click pictures in my phone, I'm not a photographer. I sing to myself so well and I'm not a singer either. I dance when I feel bored, I write when I feel rejuvenated but that makes me neither a dancer nor a writer by any means...

The chilly cold breeze of the December winds was scarring his face. Anshul was staring out of the window unbothered of the freezing pain caused by their cold fingers. He was deep immersed in his thoughts about the on-going project. The days weren't harsh. He had been through harder times. This time his thoughts were more concerned about the impact his film is going to make on the viewers. Even one life saved is saved forever. He knew the impact films could have on people. When films could westernize people, teach them all sorts of violence and all sorts of crimes, then what great wonders could films do if they spread values? One good film is a one-time vaccine that hits millions of hearts in a single take and then keeps them immune to evil for a lifetime. 

Hundreds and hundreds of years ago there were great men ruling the Indian sub-continent. Their tales were written by the scholars of the time and bards began to sing their glories in every nook and corner of the world. With the passage of time, more glories were added to the actual tales and by the time the tales reached the farthest corners of the globe, they were more of mystery and fantasy than real life stories. After years of unending controversies about the reality of the tales and their fantastic mysticism, a new trend of bards have taken birth with the start of the second millennium after the birth of Christ.

Few days ago, I attended the birthday party of a five year old living a few houses across mine. The family was a close acquaintance of ours and hence the celebration was least avoidable. Hence on said evening I reluctantly walked to the house counting to myself the number of feet to be touched and the number of fake smiles to be bestowed. 

“Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world”, said Edward Hopper, a prominent American realist painter. The saying might seem to be related to art as it is said by an artist but in reality it relates to all walks of life. Any great deed by an individual always turns out to be the expression of one’s own inner life. That is the reason why great art always walks hand in hand with solace. In the absence of this inner life, people tend to win over the material world with their deeds and thus become a slave to its desires.  It is the presence of the inner life that keeps men stable and unmoved to any fluctuations in the outer world and thus places them in a greater position than the rest.

16 December 2012, for the first time in Indian history the word “Sexual Assault” took to the forefront of the national interests. The issue which was often considered a taboo by the Indian masses broke free from the clutches of “Cultural Inhibitions” and walked boldly on the streets of the national capital. One single incident shook the nation to its core. One of the largest mass movements of the world took place under the title Nirbhaya which means “The Fearless”.    

March 08,2015; the International Women's Day is celebrated all over the world. This day, the dawn breaks with the existence of women being celebrated on a grand scale. The mother living in every daughter and the daughter living in every mother is cherished. The augmenting achievements of women in all walks of life is made known and all the great women of the past are paid homage. The day on a whole is a day of acknowledgement of the greatness of being a woman. By the time the dusk sets in all the women of the nation end their day with pride in their hearts and happiness in their eyes.

   ప్రేమ జీవిత0లో కొన్ని ఆన0దలు అనుభవిస్తేకానీ తెలీవ0టారు. అలా0టి ఓ అ0దమైన మరపురాని స0ఘటన నేడు నా జీవిత0లో చోటుచేసుకు0ది. ఎప్పుడూ చెవిలొ ఇయర్ ఫోన్లు  పెట్టుకుని తమలో తాము మాట్లాడుకునే విధ్యార్థులనో, లేక కాళ్ళమీద ల్యాప్ టాప్లు  పెట్టుకుని ఏదో దేశకార్యచరన సాగిస్తున్నట్టు కనిపి0చే కొత్త తరహా ఉద్యోగస్తులనో పరిచయ0 చేసే ధూమశకట0 నేడు నాకో కుటు0భాన్ని అ0ది0చి0ది.

12th October,2014; A very special day in my life. A day so special that 150 years ago I was first introduced to this world and a day even more special that after 150 years of my birth I breathe my last on the same day.

I once had a friend a very sweet friend who had a sweeter voice that never spoke. Apart from the two girls from the nearby city she was the most beautiful girl in the class. With the two long braids hanging down in unison she used to sit there in the first bench right in front of the door.

Vote, Not just a Right but a Duty A week of shame in the history of the Indian democracy .Beginning with the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha, the entire week was full of news that has put the entire nation to disgrace. The public representatives, the face of the nation have made the largest democracy in the world to bend down its head in shame. The disgrace was well discussed in every corner of the nation but do we exactly have a solution to this outcome of unruly behavior in the parliament time and again?

The‘Jadu’ has done, what a ‘ Whistle’ could not                                   December 2013, the Delhi Assembly Elections have seen a bureaucrat come into power as a direct representative of the people. The entire nation was in praise for the Aam Aadmi Party for initiating the change. However, almost 6years back, another IAS officer had tried to mobilise the masses in the same direction but in vain. What is it that differentiated the Jan Lokpal Movement from the Lok Satta Movement?