Introvert, Thinker, Prankster, Non-judgemental, and Kindness Practitioner
A past tumor in my spinal cord and a failed business are two things I wear with pride on my sleeves. Proud, not because I failed- but because I have come out stronger and happier on the other side.
Hi! I am Lipika Sahu. I am 24-year-old(that’s what I always feel), though the strands of grey within my mane might reveal my real calendar age of 40- wait, 39, because I did not get to use 2020. I am not counting that.
I am an engineer by education but pursued banking as a profession. I did my management studies and…
A small lesson my father taught me
As tears flowed down silently down my cheeks, I held my father tight, as he rode the scooter to my school. I couldn’t bear to see people turning around and staring at me, pointing at me. I just wanted to vanish into thin air. I prayed that my father did not stop the scooter at any point. Please God, let this nightmare be over.
I was dressed in rags, an old saree( traditional attire of Indian women) deliberately torn at places. An artificial filthy wig of more white than black stuck to my head. …
And why should children be kept away from such fairy tales
When I was a kid, I had to participate in a fancy dress competition. Like my other girlfriends, I too wanted a fairy tale princess attire for myself. But as luck would have it, by the time we reached the shop, all the costumes were sold out. The shop-owner held a mucky wig in his hand saying that is what is left. And my father, who is never to call it quits, took it and I participated in the event as a sweeper!
I hated all the princesses from that day on.
And all the protagonists of the many fairy…
Screen. Screen. And more screen. Are you in the same plight?
“My life is full of passwords!”
This is what my 8-year-old nephew exclaimed with a sigh, while he waited for granny to unlock her phone for him to play Roblox.
With the advent of Corona and children being confined indoors, the digital presence in their lives is seeing new heights. Armed with the guilt the parents are feeling about their predicament, children have, so far, manipulated us really well.
One look around the house and you can see a multitude of gadgets. Television. Tablet. Mobile. Laptop. ( I am discounting the Kindle because the sheer length of the list scares…
A short quiz to assess where you stand and a deliberate mistake in the story for you to hunt.
Imagine yourself sitting on the terrace of your house enjoying the clear blue sky, the light breeze, the chirping of the birds, and the rustling of the leaves.
Just then you hear the sound of a creaking door. Abrupt and
Doesn’t gel with the present serene environment, right? It distracts you from enjoying the beauty around you.
However beautiful your story might be, these innocuous grammatical errors are quite irksome to editors of the publishing houses.
Surprisingly, many of these extremely common. I have come across various stories with these mistakes scattered here and there. …
I would have had a better start and saved a lot of time
When you embark on a new journey, it’s a cocktail of emotions: excitement, hope, awe, pride, and self-doubt. When I began my journey as a writer, I was no different. I encountered all these emotions within me. But as time passed, I felt the weight of self-doubt more on me.
Am I good enough?
Will I be able to achieve what others have?
Am I doing it the right way?
These questions haunted me, provoked me to give up. On some occasions, I have given up. I did restart again(else, I wouldn’t be writing this). But at a cost —…
What does it hold for you?
Letting go — is it a sign of weakness or dominance, of fear or pureplay laziness?
Or a judicious decision to avoid unnecessary expense of energy.
Our body is an amalgamation of emotions and energy. This is why, for the same situation, various people have various reactions. It lies in the fact that the same situation is interpreted and processed differently by different minds. Hence, a single situation can produce various reactions.
Letting go is a type of reaction to a situation.
So, does it mean that letting go is the best policy? Maybe.
There has never been an absolute…
“AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?” MODERN PARENT CONTEST
In these abnormal times
This post is an entry in Modern Parent’s “Am I Doing This Right?” writing contest.
“Mama, can I please watch for some time?”, goes the question again. I look at my 10-year-old daughter and suppress the sudden urge to say no. I look at her and think.
She has already exhausted her watch-time. How long will she watch? As it is, all the classes are online. What about her eyes? And all that I have read about the adverse effects of excessive watching. But it is not her fault — Corona. She is bound inside the house. Sticking to schedules…
A small conversation I had with my Aunt
She was a darling. Even today I feel she is somewhere near me, within me. We all called her a queen.
One day, we were watching television about some treasure that had been discovered in some temple in India. I blurted out, “ I would be a queen if I had such wealth.”
She looked at me and said:
“ Silly, being a queen is not about having more, it is about giving more.”
As I look back and remember her, I see that she lived the life of a queen. Not that she was surrounded by wealth and riches…
Your words mean much more than what you tell
Would you buy a toothpaste that gives a 95% guarantee that you would have no tooth problems? Or would you buy a toothpaste that states there is a 5% chance of having tooth problems after using it?
Statistically, both claims are identical, but the difference lies in what is being offered.
People don’t choose between things; they choose between descriptions of things.
Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate psychologist
Everyone uses words. Nothing great about it. The greatness lies in how one uses those words to express the feelings intended. …
