They say the world is a Spectrum, More than infinite shades that fit in between Violet and Red. Mix them all up to get White, Their absence stains Black. But in this world of non binaries and, multiple mixed colors; Don't we find stark contrasts? Like Black and White derived from the spectrum. Like the poor that call slums their home and the privileged living within glass doors. Like politicians that call the Amazon their own, dissecting the planet's very lungs, corrupting it with mines, mills and more. And in contrast the people that fight for their forests to live; Sheltering the flora...

“On campus, boys used to creep up behind us when we weren’t looking, and undo our bra clasps for kicks. In the bus, we couldn’t tell where our bodies stopped and where their hands began.” My whole life, I feel as though I’ve heard a constant commentary on the rapidly approaching change on our horizon. How the horrors of past centuries are behind us. How things are going to get better. “My friend was assaulted by one of our teachers. She never reported it though. She was terrified that her parents would pull her out of college.” My mother, reflecting on her former college life in Delhi, is...

I was quiet because I didn't really know what it meant. Since my childhood my parents and my teachers have been saying 'he has a lot potential and if he works hard that'll be really good for him'. So according to me potential is something that tells you how capable you are to do that thing. But am I right? According to Google: Potential means the qualities or abilities that somebody/something has but that may not be fully developed yet. What do you think? How can someone see how much potential we have? Does it show on our faces? I don't think so because then everyone would know about how much...

Do you remember the last time you went through an emotional breakdown? Whose face popped into your mind when you felt like reaching out? Was it that of your parents? For many - certainly not. A child’s well-being can be influenced by many factors, but the parent-child relationship is undoubtedly the most significant aspect governing it. Adverse childhood experiences, different parenting styles and a parent’s own mental health define the mental growth and development of the child in early years but the manner in which the conversation takes place between the parent and child continues to shape...

It was around 10:30 in the night when this girl, around 14 or 15 years of age, came and stood next to me in a market place. She had a pen and a notebook in one hand and her little brother, in the other. She told me how she didn’t like to beg but her mother forced her to do it every day. She asked if I could get her something to eat which she could take home for all her siblings. She had tables and alphabets written in her notebook. She doesn’t go to school. There is someone who comes to a nearby Metro Station every day to teach her a few basics. She was upset because she couldn’t understand...

Democracy is the basic fundamental right of an individual. The strength of nations lies in democracy. Democracy allows the people to elect their representatives and form government. The general idea is that Democracy is of the people, for the people and by the people. We never thought of how our democracy could be in danger. There are various incidents that have taken place all around the globe, which are the prove that democracies can die if the people living in democracy do not identify the cause of its collapse and also not taking necessary actions to protect it. Whether it is America...

Sometimes in life you come across a book which has answers to all your unasked questions. Interestingly, that book is the one which you bought in a hurry from the bookstore because your parents were being impatient as you are taking so long to purchase “that one perfect book”. But, once you start reading that book which you bought under pressure, you realise that it is not the book which you should keep aside and allow the dust particles to make their new home on the cover-page. Instead, you realise that it is the kind of book which would help you in understanding what an enigma life is. So, I...

Who knew that 2019 would be the last year when we would actually experience touch? Who knew that in 2020, touch would become such a negative verb? Who knew that something which used to calm us a year ago, would become the reason for millions of deaths? Well, a lot has changed since 2019, and sometimes it feels like the time from 2020 onwards is a completely different era; not a good one though. We all would agree, that touch is one of the major sense organs, and without it, humans wouldn’t get any sense of emotions, right? But, were we prepared for the time when a day would come when we wouldn...

I think about the peace we had Sitting calmly seeing the sky Cherishing beautiful movements And things we learnt in school But now it is not like that! Someone asked me- Are you having peace of mind and I said Only a piece of mind is left to be alive. Can we even sit in class? Hearing the ambulance roaming can we even continue to survive? Seeing friends losing their parents There is conflict happening inside Strange, unknown, and confused I pray for peace, security and A solution that exists

Biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth, including the 8 million plant and animal species on the planet, the ecosystems that house them, and the genetic diversity among them. Biodiversity is the foundation that supports all life on land and below water. It affects every aspect of human health, providing clean air and water, nutritious foods, scientific understanding and medicine sources, natural disease resistance, and climate change mitigation. Human activities have significantly changed three quarters of land surface and two thirds of ocean area. Between 2010 and 2015 alone, 32...

Colours are one of the best ways to represent ones emotions. By colours I am also referring to the act of drawing or painting using colours. Emotions refer to a person’s state of mind, or simply how the person is feeling at any point in time. For example anger is best represented by the colour red. But this example is a very simple presentation of the link between colours and emotions. Are emotions always so simple? Some emotions are way too complex to be described in words. Sometimes you may feel a mixture of feelings like anger and sadness when you have not been able to perform well in a...

If I were a school student today I would advise myself to worry less. In my school days I used to worry too much over various matters and now, based on my practical experience, I have realised that everything will not always go according to my plan but if I work hard with full sincerity then I will be able to achieve all my goals. I would also advise myself to participate in more extracurricular activities. In school I was always trying to do better in my studies and neglected my extracurricular activities a bit. Now I think that I should have given activities like painting and swimming more...

Forests play a highly significant role on earth. For centuries, they are generating, preserving, and regulating many forms of life. Even for our daily activities, we are highly dependent upon forests and forest products. Whether it may be food, wood, medicine, paper, herbs, oil extracts or recreational activities, it has become an indistinguishable part of our life. It is a home for indigenous communities and several species of animals, plants, and insects. They are also important to combat challenges like, water scarcity, soil erosion and climate change. It is true that even after so many...

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. ~ Maya Angelou (Still I rise) Yes! You can rise above everything, and fulfill your goals, especially if you are a woman! In a society that’s mostly hegemonized by men, a woman’s true potential is often underemphasized, at times to the extent of looking down upon it. The need for her education and enlightenment was considered outlandish until about six decades ago, and is regretfully so in many places around the world even till now. However, despite all the...

READING – what’s the very first thing that comes to our mind on hearing this word? Being able to comprehend what a penman wants to convey? Or just having the flair to spell out a word precisely without delving deep into its message? In taking into account either of these, we often tend to disregard the fact that reading is not as facile as it seems to be. There are tens of millions of people in the world, especially in developing countries like India where this fundamentally basic human right (more specifically education) is still considered to be a privilege. Although the central authorities...

I sit by the Silent Sea as the day drowns in the dusk I sit on the land of you and me with a tornado of grief among all of us I listen to the Silent Sea as she begins to weep I listen the mothers' cry with heads on their sons' bare wounded chest I see the Silent Sea as she is turning red at the shore I see my brothers being buried and their corpses bathed in blood I touch the Silent Sea as I feel anger and screams in her silence I touch the war marks on my arm no more giving me pride but only grief I am a victor in the war but a loser here of course the human in me is not letting me breathe...

Education is one of the basic needs that any human should possess, irrespective of race, gender, and economic background. Education today, all over the world has become an important scale to measure one's wisdom. Each and every organization considers a common examination or a clearing test as a qualification criterion. Having the exams in common, all the students who gained a high standard of education compete with the average and the bellow average category. It´s very unfair for an organisation to conduct such an unacceptable and biased examination. However, they do not have any other choice...

"I love the view of sunset. The skin on my skeleton likes to feel the warmth of it. The first thing I like to see is the sight of birds sitting on a mahogany tree just outside my window. They love to wake me up on Sunday mornings. Their chirping is an alarm to my ears. I love the sound that the leaves of a tree make when it's windy. I like to sit on the terrace in the evening when it's about to rain and feel the air rushing against my body, when it tries to push my hair to the other side. I love the fragrance of soil after it rains, petrichor is what it's called, isn't it? I love to go to the...

You might be in your room right now underneath your blanket, watching Netflix, chilling, eating the stock you're having right now and if you are empty you went to the only shop opened near your area, unfortunately, I was doing the same but after I came out of the ration shop I saw two hungry children, I was having many packets of snacks so I decided to give one to them. But during the time I was searching for the packet in my bag I saw four more children coming, asking me to give them rice and wheat. I can afford to give two of them but not six, and I am sorry for that. They were screaming...

The Covid 19 pandemic is taking a toll – not just on the world economic operations and markets, but also on our mental health. As administrations across the globe rush to shut down activities in order to contain further infections, many of us are left all by ourselves, locked up inside our own homes, virtual communication being the only feasibility. Although many are engaging a lot more with various social media sites, others reading or maybe learning new languages or skills in order to keep their minds occupied, yet there are several suffering from bouts of anxiety, that’s ultimately having...