Soulful Ramblings

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page" was stated by St. Augustine and I believe it to be true. I am a travel enthusiast. As often as possible, I try to get away because I know travelling can be a powerful tool for personal development. It tends to magnify all human emotions. One of the principal values of travelling is that it breaks the monotony of life and work. Life is a mad rush for most people. In this process, people tend to forget who they are. Travelling is a time when people get a chance to relax and reflect. All of us tend to take things for granted. Some of these things include food, electricity, transport, heating and safety. Going to a country where these basics are not always available is a real eye opener. Certainly, travel can enlighten us about many other things like environment, attitudes of people, quality of food, cultural behaviour, differences in fashion and much more. It has a great informative value. For example,...

A final year medical student of Manipal University hailing from Kerala was abducted on June 20, near MCOPS building, by three persons who came in an autorickshaw and later gang-raped her. The medical student, who had suffered a fracture in her leg received treatment at the Kasturba Hospital in Manipal and was discharged on July 4. This incident triggered massive protests by commoners, students and political authorities alike. A week after the abduction and gang-rape, the police cracked the case and arrested all three accused. The accused were Yogesh Poojary (30), Hariprasad Poojary (27) and Anand Panara (28). Yogesh and Hariprasad are autorickshaw drivers, while Anand does not have any permanent occupation. Two more persons, Balachandra, brother of Yogesh, and Harindra, brother of Hariprasad, who tried to destroy evidence in the case were also taken into custody. The girl had initially refused to give a statement to the police as she was worried about being shunned by the societ...

India has always been touted as a culturally rich nation. Inspite of all the prevalent variations, it has come out strong and proved to be an insuperable country. The most vibrant form of India can be seen during festivals. No other country has as many festivals as India. The streets bustle with energy and people get in a celebratory mood. India is one such nation where festivity galore happens all year round. Tiffs and squabbles are forgotten. People come together and share their joys. All the good things in life like eating, drinking, dancing and making merry are inseparable parts of festival celebration. Everyone thoroughly enjoys festival season as this is the best time to give and receive gifts. Each festival brings with it innumerable lovely memories. Hardly a day passes without a festival taking place somewhere in India. They range from small functions to week long celebrations. All festivals are mainly cultural in nature. They can also be sub-categorized as national, ...

"And I think to myself what a wonderful world". I woke up this morning with Louis Armstrong’s heartening song playing in my head. I looked outside as I could hear rain hitting my window. It looked magical. I instantly sensed a feeling of completeness, like I always belonged here. Somehow I felt I was in the right place finally. This small town had opened its arms and welcomed me gleefully and I was glad to be a part of it. After living for 23 years in the ever enterprising Mumbai, shifting permanently to the small temple town of Udupi was a big move. Having been born and raised in Mumbai I was a complete Mumbaikar at heart. I was a city girl. Relocation was a big deal. Taking this step meant a complete lifestyle change. One has to begin things from scratch. Was I ready to do this? As I sat there thinking about the last few months and all the pandemonium that followed - the most lucid question to ask was if the move was worth it. The answer was indubitably yes. Moving ...

I live in a country where women are thought of as objects; whose primary duties are to stay within the four walls of her house, take care of her family and work in the kitchen. It is infuriating to live everyday worrying about what kind of harassment I may have to suffer today. Crimes against women have always been happening in India but in recent times there has been a shocking surge in such incidents. It makes me wonder what has suddenly gone wrong with the mentality of the men in India. Why is it so difficult to keep your thing in your pants? It’s absolutely sickening to see hypocritical sex-crazed men worship goddesses at home and then go out and rape women. What surprises me more is men who have ladies in their family and still do not feel any shame in going out and raping other women. What is it that has drastically gone wrong in mindset of men that makes them believe that women are objects and they can be treated like trash on the road? All those gender biased statemen...