Scarlet Writes

Stop anticipating for better days. Live in this moment.  Be happy with what you have and pursue all that you want! A month ago, I could define happiness. It meant a new pair of shoes. I was immensely h appy with my new purchase. For a week! A month later, happiness means a bag which is on my wish list. The cycle of material happiness is brutal and I seem to find no way to come out of it as there is always something or the other that I need to buy. But at the same time, I have also come to learn and understand that we can’t wait for something to work out or come our way to make us happy. Happiness is in this moment of life and love! It is in the warmth of the sun in a cold December morning. It is in the cup of our favorite drink. It is in the Saturdays we spend with our friends and family. It is in the movies which make us laugh or cry. Happiness is in the moment of being alive and breathing and dreaming. We know it already. We’ll never have everything we need...

Having lost a close relative to cancer recently, my family members have been moved, stunned and saddened by the demise. She was a fighter. They say she was hopeful even until her last few days. I remember meeting her about a month before she passed away. She didn’t speak much but she had a smile on her face. She looked calm and composed. It was around 3a.m. when my parents knocked on my door and said they had to rush to the hospital. I could guess the reason. The next morning, my father called me to ask if I would like to come to Pashupati to pay my last tributes. I wasn’t sure. I had never before gone to Aryaghat. I decided to go. Upon arrival at Pashupati Aryaghat, I got the chills, goose bumps and before I even realized, I was crying. I heard my cousin sister wailing for the mother she had lost. I saw my nieces weeping silently and consoling their mother. I saw the men putting up a bold face and doing what had to be done to carry out the funeral rites.  My heart felt heavy...

                                                                                                                                          May your everyday be filled with happiness, fun and play, Not a moment of sadness and despair. May you run so far and aim so high, Learn the magic of stars, moon and sky. May you discover the power of words, music and rhyme, Love, dream and live with no fear. May you have wisdom, truth and knowledge, To seek the path you desire for a brighter future. May you wake up every day to laugh, sing and dance, Soar high, climb mountains and cross the miles. May you be the sunshine, ray of hope and...

Not long ago, if I had experienced something I did today, I would have almost had a breakdown. Today it gives me strength and a reason to work harder and stay focused. Who says we can only be inspired by what’s positive and encouraging! I have realized that I am most aggravated to perform better when someone mocks at me or says what I do isn’t too important or good enough.   It is not to prove anything to anyone but just to tell myself that I have no limitations. That sky is actually the limit. Imagine, if only we could transform everything negative, said and done, into something positive. Imagine, if we could turn all bitter experiences into a better learning lesson. Lately, I have been trying to focus more on what is more important for me to do and less on what people think I should do. We’ve been thinking a lot on how we should celebrate Food for Education’s one year anniversary, where and when to do the celebrations, who to invite and how much to spend and what to of...

There comes a time in our life when we are given choices. We are uncertain, reluctant and in doubt.   We are afraid to take that one step. It could be about taking up that new job, getting into a relationship, moving to a new city.   It could be anything that requires us to give up what we know for what we might know. More often such choices occur in between “what we should do” and “what we want to do”. Usually when we are in such situations, we count on our experiences, talk to our friends and family and then, make that choice.   Sometimes we are happy with our choices and there are times when we wish to go back in time and undo the damage we might have caused ourselves. Nonetheless, life goes on and we have no way to find out what could have happened if we hadn't made that choice. We all have made such choices. Yes, we have. And today I am writing this blog to reflect upon some of the choices I’ve made, instinctively. As I write this, I realize tha...

"You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes well you might find You get what you need" - The Rolling Stones   Well, it happens to all of us. A break up. Career mishap.  Loss of a loved one. We don’t always get what we want.   When I broke up with my boyfriend in my second year of college, I was devastated. I thought it was the end of my life. I kept plotting ways to win him back and couldn't imagine my life without him. I was beleaguered for months and I couldn’t find a way out of my unending sufferings. I burnt pictures of us together. I would curse him one day and try to coax him back into relation, the next day. I prayed. I cried. I spent sleepless nights. I searched for answers. Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong? Why couldn’t it work out? Series of my friends’ counseling and intervention didn’t work either. And just like that, he walked out of my thoughts and memories eventually.   After my return to Kathm...

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” - ―  Desmond Tutu There is so much hatred, negativities, pain and sufferings in the world that it's difficult to stay positive and hopeful. Every day we read about killings, violence, rape, sickness, death, disaster and about events that are so distressing. Yet, we ought to wake up every morning, go to work, perform our best and anticipate a good result. When we initiated Food for Education as a fundraising campaign on Facebook, we were uncertain as to whether we would be able to provide for six children even for one academic session. However, we were overwhelmed with the response we got from our friends, family members and never-met before friends on our Facebook.  It was just the beginning of a beautiful, unpredicted journey. I have come to understand that we need to have faith in the goodness within us and in the world around us and remai...

One of the many things that make me immensely happy is traveling. I love being on the road. I love the sound and feel of wind. I love to listen to my favorite songs and reminiscing good old days while I am on the road. I love eating fried fish and drinking tea in roadside cheap, local restaurants. The journey, the travel companions, the destination. I love every bit of it. Every day I wish I was travelling. I am most envious of people who travel a lot. On days when I am tired of my routine and the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu city, I remind myself of my travel plans. I have recently started my vacation savings fund too. One of the many plus sides of earning is to be able to travel every once in a while to your favorite destination, explore new places, be with your friends and family- away from the daily commitments. This I write as I am quite thrilled about my short holiday trip that starts tomorrow.  I am my happiest self when I am traveling. So, I thought I...

“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.”  Edward Everett I had such an exciting day at work today. The first cohort of six children being supported by Food for Education passed in their final examination with flying colors. The eldest of six, Sarswoti and Divya have been promoted to Grade IV, Laxmi has been promoted to Grade III, Sameer has been promoted to Grade I and Sagar and Deepa have been promoted to Grade U.K.G. Deepa scored the highest in her class. It was a moment of sheer pride and happiness. Their parents were exceedingly happy and so were their teachers Rasila Ma’am and Pabitra Ma’am of Teresa Academy. Children happily posing with their report cards. When the first batch of eight children graduated from Prayas’s drop-in-center and joined a formal school, we were skeptical about them being consistent in their studies and attendance. Unfortunately, two from the group dropped out of school in the first quarter of the academic sessi...

“If you're young and talented, it's like you have wings.”  - Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running One of the biggest fears, during my schools days, was being called in front of the class to show my talent. This was a ritual, particularly during the last and first days of school. The reason for my fear was I had no talent, whatsoever. I could neither sing nor dance. I was bad at telling jokes or mimicry or doing anything that could gain even the slightest attention and appreciation of my fellow classmates and teachers. I vividly remember singing “Ashare Mahina ma” at one of such occasions while I was in Grade IX. I was embarrassed, mocked at and I wished I never had to do it again.  The other day at work, we asked the children to either sing or dance. This wasn’t a planned activity so we really had to persuade them to give it a try. We had to convince them that they were not being judged and they could do whatever they liked. These ch...

When somebody asks me about my profession, I have a very complicated answer. I am a teacher, also working as a Radio Jockey and I also spend a few hours of my everyday trying to bring awareness on drug abuse and I am also running a fundraising campaign to provide a one- time meal to economically less- fortunate children. Every bit of my work defines me and in some ways, my work doesn't really say who I am. I am not what I do. I am what I believe in.  In the year 2013, when I was trying to find a new job for myself, I had forwarded my resume to a friend's colleague hoping he would help me find a suitable job. He had an interesting thing to say about my resume. I still don't know if he was being sarcastic or just passing a non-judgmental remark. He said, "Oh!You've done so much in so many places." I don't know what he really meant with that.  I have come across many people who insist that I should take up a full-time, permanent job (I seriously don...