To-Do List 2017 - An Introspection

I never believe in new year resolutions and can not keep them anyways. But I try to maintain a to-do list in a notepad, a list of things on the personal and professional fronts that I want to achieve. I call it my own bucket list or wish list to make it sound fancy. Please do not confuse it with the wish list I send to Santa on Christmas or the bucket list of activities to do before I die. This wish list is closer to reality. For example, I remember this particular bucket list from the year 2014 when I wanted to stay on my own in a rented apartment (I was staying at a hostel before I moved into the apartment), get a driver's license and buy a two-wheeler, invite my parents for an extended stay at my place, join swimming classes, search for a job I like, and look after my finances responsibly. These wishes might sound mundane but they played an important role to boost up my confidence- the confidence to live alone, drive across the city, meet new people, and confront my inner demons.

This makes me realize that I have not made my bucket list for quite sometime. To my utter surprise, I have spent almost a year and a half to learn to stay with a guy and to settle in a new country. No, I do not regret the time I took. But now is the time to make a new bucket list. The bucket list 2017 looks nowhere similar to the one made in 2014. A 27-year-old's wish list was poles apart from that of a nearing 30-year-old's. Sigh!!!

Getting organized and managing my time well: I have never been able to stick to timelines and I hate deadlines. Obviously, it is a Herculean task for me to manage my time efficiently amid cooking, grocery, and laundry (the top three least favorite chores). So, I am aiming to steal away some quality time everyday to read, blog, paint, and talk to my parents and friends. And yes, I want to minimize the last-minute chaos in my life.

Following a healthy routine: A brisk morning jog or swimming have always been a part of my day. So have been the late night movies, skipped breakfasts and weekend celebrations with beer. I am working on waking up early after a good eight hours sleep, followed by a heavy breakfast. And the morning jogs have now transformed into long evening walks. While I can't assure myself of "beerless" weekends, I am planning to cut down my alcohol intake significantly.

Learning something new and completing some unfinished tasks: "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I need to learn driving a four-wheeler and get a driver's license. I am planning to work as a volunteer for the local library. On the professional front, I wish to learn coding and get enrolled in a course (this is particularly scary for me given my non-technical background). Also, I plan to work diligently on my website.

This bucket list demands some major lifestyle changes from me. Let's see how far I succeed. Wish me luck :)

Protective Mothers or Rape Deniers?

I came across an interesting article in The New York Times last month about a group of mothers defending their sons who had been accused of sexual assaults at college campuses. In the U.S., the guidelines on campus sexual assaults had been pretty stringent so far. However, these guidelines have been blamed to presume the accused students as guilty, who are usually suspended or expelled from the college campuses for a certain amount of time. Needless to say, most of the accused are men.
These mothers are on a mission to save their sons who, they believe, were “wrongly accused.” As protective mothers, they had compelled the college authorities to relook into their sons’ charges. Some of them consider themselves as feminists and hold opinions that how girls today have misconstrued the definition of sexual assault.
In our own backyard, let us recall the infamous Delhi gang rape in 2012. Malti Devi, the mother of one of the convicts Akshay Thakur, desperately pleaded her son’s innocence in f…

When I Met Harry

Harry came to my life when I was in the eighth standard. A bespectacled young boy with ruffled jet black hair, green eyes, and a scar on his forehead; a boy to fall in love with. Don't blame me as I was a teenager who wanted a spell of magic in her life and to run away to the Hogwarts. I hated being a muggle and aspired to become another Hermione Granger. I imagined myself boarding the Hogwarts Express and reaching Hogsmeade, going to that magical school, and learning to wave my wand. I had once written a secret letter to Harry on Valentine's day and later decided to keep it safe in my diary. When I watched 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' for the first time, I lost my mind (and heart!) over that young and extremely cute Daniel Radcliffe. I remember keeping newspaper cuttings of anything and everything related to him. I still have them, safely secured in my old trunk. Well, that infatuation lasted for a couple of years till I graduated from college. And…

The Unfamiliarity

Through out my life, I have always been on move; never sticking to a place for long and trying to adjust to new surroundings. So when I needed to move to Irving, Texas in early 2016, I just packed my bags without any thoughts. After all, I had lived across six states in India while surviving through different schools, colleges, and jobs. "It’s no big deal," I said to myself.
I was wrong. The moment I came out of the airport, it took me a while to realize that the cars on the road were driving on the right side. Back in my country, we drive on the left side of the road! Right there, I froze. It was definitely not love at the first sight.
Whenever I start residing at a new place, I try to look out for some elements in my surrounding that were common at the places I lived before. Funny as it might sound but it brought me some comfort on staring at a tall, rusty, dimly lit streetlight standing next to the apartment that I called ‘home’ for the next one year. That streetlight sweet…

The Peace Amidst Chaos

In my mind, there is always a cobweb of thoughts running in a loop: worries about my parents' health, anxiety over the work deadlines, fear about my future; the thoughts go on and on. So, when I decided to take my parents on a short trip to Banaras, I was anxious over charting out the travel plan and executing it to perfection. My parents, on the other hand, were initially reluctant and later very excited to go to the holy city for the umpteenth time. But the bone of contention between us was the travel plan itself. While I was stressing on early reservation and booking for the trains and hotel, they were thrilled over traveling by a bus overnight and staying at a place with bare minimum facilities. No prizes for guessing that they are more adventurous than me. Needless to say, I could manage to book the train tickets only.
Banaras has a charm that never fades away. Though I have visited the city a couple of times, I still look forward to roam across those narrow by-lanes and rev…

Cupid Came & Went Away !

It is that time of the year again! Spring is knocking at the door - the warm sunshine feels great amid the slight chill in the air, a delicate scent of flowers lingers in the early morning breeze, and even my neglected garden tries to look good without any help. And I almost forgot that it is the season of love too; through branded merchandise, and corny posts shared on social media.

Valentine's day has a long history. I particularly enjoyed reading through Devdutt Pattanaik's Return of the Love-Godabout the origins of the day and similar celebrations across different cultures. I also unsuccessfully tried to overlook any news covering vandalism caused by certain groups who, every year, make their presence felt on this day by harassing hapless couples. Well, it is hard to ignore the other side of the coin!
While I absolutely hate the commercialization of emotions (and that does not restrict to Valentine's day only), I genuinely feel sorry for those couples who sneaked out …

Books and Coffee

As ridiculous as it might sound, at the end of a long tiring day, a perfect date for me means a large cup of coffee and an interesting novel to read. Yes, you have the liberty to label me as an anti-social and a nerdy introvert! I find it pretty amusing when someone tells me that reading novels is a wastage of time. Or that someone likes to go through work-related books and not elaborate literary pieces.
An introvert raised as a single child, I have always found solace in my books. My love for storybooks started with Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Little Mermaid. My father introduced me early to the monthly kids magazines- Tinkle, Champak, Nandan and Chandamama. I do not know if these magazines still exist. Billu, Pinki and Chacha Chowdhary followed soon. The Famous Five and The Little Women too entered into my life. Being a true Bong, Anandamela was an absolute necessity during Durga Pujo. The lazy afternoons of summer vacations were sometimes spent on Tagore and Sarat Chan…

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