I write because I feel!!

Like us on Facebook Most of the working people in ITs and corporate is that they have nausea, heavy head, gastric, reflux and what not? Some also complain that they don’t even have time to eat but still they are having bloated stomach and heavy body. what could go wrong/ The answer is that these working people are lacking healthy lifestyle. .Spending more than couple of hours in front of office desk, meeting office targets, keeping the social media status updated, and then bonding with real-life friends and dear ones. It reflects adverse effect not only on your physical but also mental health. While following the basic tech routine in daily life, we tend to neglect or overlook our healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle has two main components; 1) Eating fresh and healthy food on time, and 2) Exercise for at least 30 minutes in day. If both mentioned factors are taken care of, one can enjoy a healthy life, physically and mentally. And of course, a healthy body and pea...

Can’t believe it! Recently, someone asked me how big is your lil one now? Well, it’s the first time someone asked me such a question in the past seven months or so and I wondered what to answer and started thinking that he is big enough to sit for a while without any support, smart enough to make an attempt to crawl or roll over to reach out for his favourite toys, wants to be left alone to see his feet moving, loud enough to initiate talks when no one hears him out, intelligent enough to not to go to strangers and innocent enough to smile genuinely even without a reason and kind enough to spread happiness wherever he goes… But then yes, this seven months old mama’s boy is too small to be left alone unattended, needs someone to change his diapers, bathe him, take him to parks, read bed time stories and then there is so much, which, I, as a mother, feel he simply can’t do without me (Nice feeling though for a few more years)!! Someone rightly said, once a mother, always a mothe...

http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/dying-student-political-activism/ Student unrest was a common sight on Indian campuses in the ’60s, but gone are those days when change was brought about because ordinary people dared to do extraordinary things. Come to think of it or even talk about student political activism, even inside the closed doors, the answer is perhaps anybody’s guess “LEADERSHIP HAS NO FUTURE”! Many people believe that student political activism is restricted to colleges or universities alone and lack motivating factors like power, anti-establishment feelings and rational attitude among today’s youth. Indian student activism started in 1928 under the Indian National Congress for India’s Independence from the British Raj.It is  during the  freedom struggle that the student movement was born and played a crucial role in India’s freedom. It was Patriotism that united students from lower middle class families.And from 1947 to this day, the student movement has ...

With the recent results in Delhi Elections, we seek real democracy, not divided by religion or strata, no driven by just mere ideology of development... We need real change, real revolution and real democracy. We want Swarajya! -Nidhi Pathak

Ravia Gupta Early to bed, early to rise, is what my mom insisted upon and I, too, like an obedient child, happily added this in my lifestyle. At around 5:30 am just when my alarm started to ring, I started to fight with the first devil attack of the day. To get up in the morning is not an easy one! Get up, get going or to take it easy and continue to dream for some more time is the challenge. And guess what? I won yet again to get up and get going…get going for a morning walk first, a shortcut to a healthy breakfast meal, making my way through the narrow lanes of a small town, chaotic traffic, just wishing for a few more minutes to be at my side and finally making it on time for work at dot 9:30 am. An empty parking lot with just a few men around, kept me thinking if I was too early or I was out to work on a public holiday. Within no time I got to know it was neither of the two. It was a ‘bandh’, meaning ‘closed, a general or a routine strike in our case. Now, this one surely is a ...

Sunday, September 8, 2013 Ravia Gupta Everyone has that special something for their hometown. It's just that right now they want something more and don't want their wings to be clipped. We try and find out why youngsters don't mind a nice short stay in Jammu, but completely rule out settling down here. Is it merely a job compulsion or something else? Been there, done all that and now back to square one to initiate change! Sounds heroic indeed, but who will bell the cat, who will bugle the change and lack of job opportunities, lack of institutes for higher education, lack of good private hospitals, the lifestyle, the comfort and the list goes on……A teenager growing up in a small town, for sure, wants to get away from it all one day, to a big city, or abroad, anywhere but the boring old small town and its conservative culture, at least once to feel alive and experience life on his/her own terms. Reasons to migrate For some, there are too many re...

T he “call” to adventure can come in any form from anywhere. It can be in the form of a dream, a message, a letter or a sudden phone call and there you go, all set with your backpack to search for unknown lands. Some trips take years of planning, some just happen and then there are a few which come as a nice surprise to you. Now, this one was a nice surprise family trip to the holy places of Vrindavan and Mathura. A spiritual call in the late 20s may sound a bit too early, but, as they say every true spiritual journey is a quest and we set out to discover something. I too thought of discovering something different this time around. It wasn’t just fun, food or friends, but this trip was all about the ultimate purpose of my life. Certainly, big and uncomfortable questions that led me embark on a spiritual journey. Fascinated by the hot and cool image of the on-screen gods these days, I, too, wanted to connect with the God of cool things in my own way. A true devotee, a r...

by Ravia Gupta THEY make me work, they make me slog, they make me learn, they make me relearn; together we both make our lives difficult. My students always find new challenges for me each day! It was yet another attempt to have a better understanding of the “You Live Only Once Generation”. First I laughed, laughed out loudly, thinking it was too funny. Then I thought what to answer when they asked me, “Is getting married easier than going to work? Whose decision should it be? Whether or not a woman should work post-marriage? Who decides what career she must opt? Besides, why is it that husbands who encourage their wives to work or have a career in the first place, then turn back and complain when she starts enjoying what she does? Suddenly, the fun was over and soon as I started explaining them that getting married and staying home was much more difficult than going to work. Not that my marriage is too old or troubling me, but if you want to have a good marriage and a stable ho...

By Ravia Gupta Many voices, one world; many debates with no result----“We are the hollow men, We are the stuffed men, Leaning together, Headpiece filled with straw. Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass, Or rats' feet over broken glass, In our dry cellar, Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion…” (T.S. Eliot) WHERE’S THE PARTY TONIGHT? Party, certainly not for me, as I prefer to stay home before its dark. Don’t be such a bore, after all you don’t stay in Kashmir? Yes, you are right, but I genuinely don’t feel safe, be it Kashmir or Delhi. But what is the reason? Simply, because I am a woman. Time and again I have been told that I have a ‘Lakshman rekha’ and I must not cross it to avoid unwanted consequences! Society reminds us that we are females and that we need to put efforts to ensure that we don’t present ourselves as targets to be raped. Though, my parents, over the ...

The quantitative expansion of higher education has contracted the quality of education (Ravia Gupta’s article ‘ Higher education needs to meet higher expectations ’, February 12). Teachers are the growth engine of quality education. A complete generation is affected by their conduct. Though stringent measures are taken in the selection of a good teacher but monitoring at different intervals is important for quality teaching. Unethical practices in education and professional dishonesty should be strictly dealt with. Prevailing good practices should be encouraged. Students at graduate and intermediate levels should do innovative project works so as to acquire interest in research work. These days a major chunk of research degree holders end up in colleges to take up teaching as a career. Only few are able to carry out research work. Research work needs a lot of hard work, focused attention and good remunerations by government of private industries. Various funding agencie...

Contributed for The Tribune SOME learn to earn, while there are others who earn to learn, and are ready to take risks at any cost. Does India have an excellent higher education system or is it struggling in a sea of mediocrity? After having worked with a reputed TV channel for almost three years, one day Rahul decided to quit and joined a media course. Having got a seat in one of the premier institutes of the country, he still isn’t sure if he has been provided with the best of education. Is it something to do with an international university tag or lack of opportunities here in India that are putting pressure on today’s youth? But the real issue is, why should our students seek to go to foreign universities? So, what are the real issues that are hindering the growth of higher education sector in our country? Is it infrastructure or a lesser number of institutions? Certainly not! At least by looking at the increasing number of Central universities, deemed universitie...

Many voices, one world; many debates with no result----“ We are the hollow men, We are the stuffed men, Leaning together, Headpiece filled with straw. Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass, Or rats' feet over broken glass, In our dry cellar, Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion…”   WHERE’S THE PARTY TONIGHT? Party, certainly not for me, as I prefer to stay home before its dark. Don’t be such a bore, after all you don’t stay in Kashmir? Yes, you are right, but I genuinely don’t feel safe, be it Kashmir or Delhi. But what is the reason? Simply, because I am a woman. Time and again I have been told that I have a ‘Lakshman rekha’ and I must not cross it to avoid unwanted consequences! Society reminds us that we are females and that we need to put efforts to ensure that we don’t present ourselves as targets to be raped. Though, my parents, over the years, have trained me to protect...

by Ravia Gupta Thursday, June 21, 2012, Chandigarh, India A little chaos is needed in the soul to give birth to a dancing star…..” Even before that alarming sound could wake me up from the deep slumber, I was up in the morning around 4 a.m. to promise myself a new me and had a word with the self that I shall shine today! All thanks to my Buddhist practice, which is helping me in the path of human evolution. It’s an amazing feeling to be a woman of the 21st century, as I have the freedom to decide the way I want to live on my own terms, define my own values and belief, and follow my own system and, even better, follow my spirit, follow my own path to find that connection with the higher being. This “offbeat” career option is so happening, and I realised it only when I attended my first prayer meeting where I could hear many voices, but it was only one world, where the youth and spirituality were hand in glove with one another. Where the most talented, confident, young...

Calling parents and you can be sure of the obvious questions around food, eating habits and health. And for all your answers they have just one word- ‘MISFIT’ in the society is what they feel you are and often try to remind you of the “forgotten” system. A rule based system of life? Can you ever imagine yourself to be a part of this so-called systematic way of life, where you start your day with the sunrise and then follow the strict systems religiously till the planet completes a full rotation about its axis, relative to the sun, and then happily call it a day with a sunset in a cozy ‘homely-environment’ with friends and…oops family and family. Well, writing about a systematic way of life itself is giving me a hard time, forget about being a part of this not-so-easy system-based life, which my parents, till today, are ardently following, even when they have almost no one who ‘cares’ or ‘stops’ them to do what they want to? Besides, I guess they are in complete control of this syst...

I often wonder what do rich people talk about. What do people who don't have to worry about money talk about? I, too dream of growing rich one day and often think about my rich worries, beyond the five-buck fight with an auto driver, rickshaw-puller a vegetable vendor, a cobbler and others for a fair deal . I, too, see a world beyond compromising on my wants, needs, desires with a hand-full budget. Let’s face the day when I grow rich—I would be worrying about the stock market. I would be worrying about my tax bracket. And worst, I would be worrying about how wine-drinking in India is an awfully ‘expensive’ game, just like how my rich buddies worry and talk most often. Gosh the mere thought of it is giving me jitters. How would I face all those biggies making a ‘sophisticated’ noise about almost everything? Guess I will be telling them to look hard for bargains, to look beyond big names and hefty price tags to discover some of the most impressive, yet affordable wines! Though it...

Need sound sleep (The Tribune) by Ravia Gupta SOUND sleep sounds great, but remember when you had it last time? Well, at least I don’t remember having enjoyed it in the past many years. May be the last time I did, I was in my mother’s lap, extremely protected and cushioned, no baggage of the day’s aftermath, without any plans for the next day, without any guilt, without any nightmares. Wondering if there is a way to get it back. How ever hard I try to get some ‘sound sleep’, each time, I fail miserably, and now I have quite given up on the idea. Even to get ordinary sleep, without any pills or liquor shots, is a blessing these days. Recently, after a long day’s work when I was trying hard to get some sleep, for once without solving my life’s puzzle with my “eyes closed”, I got a call from one of my friends, who recently got married and was struggling with her roles of being a 21st century career-oriented girl and oh-so 20th century home-maker. At that odd hour, well past midni...

Father's Day special for dad in The Tribune: A prayer to the doctor by Ravia Gupta “Doctor doctor I have a prayer, For all you have given, I thank you even before God. I thank you for making me accept things I couldn’t change. I thank you to have made me realize about my strength and courage. I thank you for all you have withheld, I am glad for all you have permitted. Doctor doctor I am thankful you were there… to show me the way to hardships, And adding to my pain.” Who says changing times has nothing to do with the way we offer our prayers? Except for God, which is now replaced by a doc. Everything is same, long queues, longing to be able to have the first glimpse, same wish to be able to stay for a minute more with God and above all the same trust and faith. Nothing, absolutely nothing has changed in the way we offer our prayers. A prayer to a doctor is perhaps as important as remembering God in times when your dear ones take to bed. For them, you don’t ...

Middle for editorial page in The Tribune It was just another regular sunny day. All the men in my area were ready for their work, all the ladies were running against time to “pack” and “pack well” for their husbands and kids, and not so happily the kids were pushing themselves to their schools. It was just the way I start my day looking at this race for life. I was out of my bed and even before my morning tea, I wanted to see it once, to hear its sound, to touch it so as to feel alive, but this time there was something unusual about its behaviour. It was not responding in the bright and contrasting manner like earlier. I was scared if my black and white nightmare of “losing a friend” was going to come true again this time. For once I wanted my sixth sense to be wrong, wanted the love-hate relationship that I have with luck to be by my side. But like always everything that I feared came true and my life came to a standstill again. I didn’t know what to do, and felt so helpless when ...

Love—centre of the universe. Don’t really know if I am right in saying that love is the centre of the universe or is it just that my world revolves around love. More complex and confuse you may get if you try to “understand” it and more simple it may become if you just “feel” it!!! As they say “There are three great things in the world--The first is for you to love someone. The second is for someone to love you back and the third greatest thing is for the first and the second thing to happen simultaneously.” And now imagine if you had all this in place and yet your love failed to take off?? Blame yourself or blame it on your destiny, certain things are just not so simple and trust me can turn out to be a huge set back for those who believe in something as simple and pure as love and yet fail to experience it for long. This is a true story of a girl who believed a lot in love and almost looked for love in every relationship in her life, be it with her mom and dad, brothers or then w...

What a pleasant surprise it is to get a “wake-up” call from an old friend, baring the long distance, finding time from busy schedules, forgetting about initiatives, and above all keeping you in mind and heart even while watching a movie is commendable. Hats-off to a dear friend, who is in Bangalore for “waking me up” from the deep slumber. It was a pleasant morning on the weekend, when almost the world around me was up and alive, but I was still dreaming….dreaming about the past few months when I had almost planned the rest of my near future, thinking about the whys and hows, having pleasure in feeling almost accomplished, I just didn’t want to get up to face the reality, which was no way near to my dream…pat I get a call, but fast asleep enjoying a virtual life in my dream I was in two minds to answer or not to answer the call. Thinking that the call must be to wish me New Year, to which I could always call back later, I wanted to dream on a bit more, but then since it was Soni, I ...