Padmaja's

If people ask me this question for a million times my answer will still be the same. To write or not to write is never the question. The real question is how. For me, writing is not just to get recognition or feel productive but it is my life. Writers write because it compels them to write. You don’t decide if you want to be a writer. It chooses you. It is like a breeze that flows past you and it’s up to you if want to hold on it or forget. In the same way when I was 14, this power of writing struck me. This breeze wanted to manifest in me as a journalism piece that leads to change. I had never really thought that I wanted to be a journalist before that breeze hit me while I was on my way to school. After a lot of chaos and pain, I realized to write or not to write was never the question. It was always within me and I choose not to ignore it. Writing is like an antibiotic or a remedy. If you take it in proper doses it has the potential to cure every form of imaginary il...

Everything starts with a big push. Things that are not easy but are essential for a better tomorrow need that gigantic push. Most of us have this habit of procrastinating. The tomorrow that we keep referring to every day never comes. Our mind is often muddled with unnecessary thoughts and most of the time we are unable to break the shackles. Then the time comes when not taking a step in the right direction can be detrimental to own well-being. When one reaches rock bottom, there is only one route left: to rise up. It is only when you reach the bottom of the pool you can push yourself up. However, in the meantime , you keep trying. The same thing happened with me. One Sunday morning, something inside me kicked me out of the bed. I wanted to survive and at that   point , nothing else mattered. The idea of changing two autos and trains were not strong enough to deter me from my goal. It   was post   demonetization and I just had 300 rupees worth of legal tender. I have...

You are so near yet so far away And it is strange how my mind refuses to give you up There was a start and lot of ends But somehow we kept moving on I did know from the start that you were not supposed to be mine However, over some things we don't have any control of My life has moved  on and I am not 17 anymore But for you I will always remain a 17 year old Thank you for making me the woman who may cry at small things but who will not stop My hatred towards you fuels my ambition as I struggle every day to survive Yes i want to succeed and because of that I am here The second reason why I don't feel going home is  you

Weekends are  normally not lazy for me, but once in blue moon I find myself too lazy to even move out of my bed. Moreover, going out also means spending money. So, this weekend I wanted to remain confined within Ghatkopar or my apartment to be precise. So here  goes the list of things one can do on a lazy weekend. Read- This is always going to be my number one thing to do on a weekend. On a busy weekend, I catch up on some reading as I wait for the local train to arrive or  when travelling from one place to another. Whereas, on a lazy weekends one can curl up with a book. The presence of snacks near your bedside can also make the reading experience far more superior. If you are more of an online person then there is a whole universe for you to explore. Newspapers' weekend supplements are also available online. Hence, go forward and pick a web page that suits you. An important point that should be mentioned here is that one should turn their notifications off, other...

 When someone asks me about my stay in Kerala, I always say that it was not pleasant at all. Two seconds later, I would be praising Kerala’s natural beauty and appam( a dosa like thing). When I look back, I feel Kerala was the best thing that ever happened to me.  It was my first time, I was staying outside home. Kottayam is not like Chennai, Delhi or Bangalore. It’s a town in southern Kerala where everyone is either addicted to studies or church.  Kerala made me way tougher than I could have possibly imagined. The language barrier, strict rules , hostel regulations , having no one close to give a call, made me independent. Transition from a city to a town is difficult to adapt and we girls had a hard time coping up to that. I don’t understand whether it was Kerala or because it was small town, locals were more interested in knowing what was going on in our lives.  We had to reach hostel even before sunset while our counter-parts in other IIMCs were havi...

Just a few days ago, our equities editor was describing us the Harshad Mehta scam and how it revolutionized the whole stock market. I have always believed that whatever happens happens for our own good. It makes sense too; to believe that everything happens for our good. This defense mechanism tricks our mind into seeing the good side of everything. In most cases, the good things do take a bit time to surface up. I wanted it to apply and see whether it is actually true or not. Does every cloud have a silver lining? To answer that , I started with my love life.  People say love happens only once but I have lost track of the number of times I fell in love. So starting with my first love, he was the kind of guy I thought I was meant to be with. He is a charming guy and had many friends whereas I was the loner. We hardly dated for five months but everything is still so vivid that sometimes it feels like yesterday. Seven years ago, he gave me something that remains with me: the ...

 Life gives us all the ingredients to go ahead. Everyday a new lesson and experience is in store. From all that we learn, we become what and who we want to be. But sometimes, this life can fall short of teaching us everything. That is when we go back to our roots, our family. Every family member have their own insights to offer. But few among them outshine in our heart and mind that we start to look up to them for every answer. They are the pillar to support us, to lean on at times. They are the ones who watch our back. They are the role models of our life. I should consider myself lucky to have 2 such inspiring persons, my grandparents. If it ever comes down to choosing, I can say that my grandmother has a larger share of contribution. From the time I can remember, she has always been my go-to person. Don't we all give in to the human tendency to ignore the ones who matter the most and devote our energy to the ones who neither deserve it nor has ever tried to earn it? Afte...