Article

I picked my first Nancy Drew novel in Grade 5 and instantly was obsessed with this little girl going around finding clues and unfolding secrets I could only dream of. I tried to do the same, however, staying in a hostel I could barely afford a lawyer father who would give me cases. Regardless, our assumptions were limited to Jujuman, the hostel ghost, and we used to snoop around in his abandoned car in front of the music room. We would sit there after dance and music classes and look at the old car. Although no one had the courage to go inside, we were very curious and so started investigating the mud around the area. This novel made me realize my hunger for mysteries and quests. It also help form a deep connection with my best friends where we would establish an informal book club. It also developed my habit of reading where gradually I shifted from Nancy to Nora Roberts to Dan Brown to Sidney Sheldon and Jeffery Archer books. One major thing I learned is: She starts from a clue and s...

I was the secretariat for EIMUN 2022 where we witnessed delegates from 11 different countries. I actively went around meeting people when I met Tuba Farewar, a 19-year-old from Afghanistan. She talked about her home country and how it has been taken over by the Taliban. It was heartbreaking to see her talk about how she was studying in a foreign country when she heard the news. She told me that if he ever goes back, the Taliban will take her to camps and likely kill her and her family as she is studying in the US Education system and has been actively associating herself with US Embassy by participating in their programs. I have delegated as Afghanistan in some MUNs and have represented both: the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, for the thrill of seeing things from a different perspective. To witness a real-life human sharing her traumatic experience was a setback for me.  She also mentioned that her parents are in Afghanistan and she couldn’t...

I must refrain from over-sharing here yet I do my best to reflect on the entire experience and dump my few insights of it as a barely-teen barely-adult kind of being. Safe to say it is a page from my journal.I have rewatched and taken notes from a lot of Bollywood movies but why did not one prepped me for this. The bump was rapid and immediate. My fellowship was new, exciting, and thrilling and the familiarity amongst us rested like an old photograph discovered of a toddler you. Adhering to my Saggitarus Sun, I am very comfortable with quitting people. But quitting someone you shared so many stories, moments and aspirations feel like making a Horcrux and abandoning it. However, today I still go on with my day: dance to Bollywood songs, obsess over Koffee with Karan and watch South Indian movies. I still procrastinate and struggle to reach places on time. Nothing really changed. I don’t feel like a new person but also a bit wiser and at ease. Should the credit rest on my companion or me...

When faced with multiple choices at hand, it might be difficult to obtain a certain particular solution. In the present date, decision making needs to be taken at every stage and with availability of multiple substitutes, it’s often difficult to promptly decide on what institution to join, which job to take etc. This Paradox of Choice occurs because instead of the choices being at two opposite spectrums, they are only differentiated to a slight extent and as one wants to make the absolute best choice for themselves, can’t easily decide. A series of consultation activities is taken then. A basis of decision making made easier based on suggestions and tips from expertise from an external party when there are selections to be taken. One approaches a certified organization like manpower, agencies or informal groups like chitchats and individual opinions while seeking consultations. Humorously, some individuals are hired to think and ask questions about what could go wrong and what would be...

‘I’m gonna look the prettiest.’ I thought to myself as I joined my first Model UN which was happening in my school and was hosting a lot of other school students as well. I pulled off a red saree with a golden shimmer border and an ounce of foundation on my face. With coal-like kohl smeared on my eyelids, I went to my first MUN dressed up to kill anyone who’d endanger themselves by glancing my way.   The results of my laborious effort to put collateral damage to the MUNers were void. Nothing happened. Other than dancing at the Motion of Entertainment, I received rarely any second glances. It hurt to realize that I was just another pretty face there. At the end of the three days, I realized the privilege the out-spoken people received; the spotlight which shone on them. Not the prettiest one but the boldest one. It was surprisingly settling to think about how I don’t have to worry about cakey concealer again or the hair on my arms. You could still be the center of attention as...

I rewatched the 10 episodes long drama Kakafukaka and wanted to reflect on it.  Sometimes I watch dramas to fill a void of romance that I don’t seem to have in my life at the present moment. To be swooned over by a fictional character and obsessed over him for the show, only to stalk him and realize these people originate from the womb of a pen. I fully admit it. Sometimes I'm either shouting at the frustrating leads on not picking hints or making happy shrieking noises when the pixels kiss on my tiny laptop screen. Regardless of which, I had stopped watching dramas like Meteor Garden because of a boring lengthy plot. Even though my honour wouldn’t permit me to say anything bad about the Boys Before Flower sequence, I found Meteor Garden disappointedly mediocre. The storyline just kept beating the bush. The female lead accepts him, then pull away, then gets close. It was all repetitive and annoying. Similarly, many other dramas have similar predictable plots. The beautiful enthusia...