Scarlet Writes

When I was in school, I was insecure about a lot of things. I used to have a lot of pimples. Well, I still have a lot of them. My hair never looked right. My uniform was never of the right shade. The skirt was one shade lighter and shirts were always an inch or two shorter. I was always an average student. I never really participated in any extracurricular activities and/or sports. I was just an insecure, completely normal teenage girl, giggling all the time. At that point of time, I thought, I’d always be an insignificant, average, random girl in life. As I stand on my 27 th year of life, I look back at all my insecurities and wonder how and when it transformed into my strengths and when did I actually become so oblivious of my insecurities. Not that my pimples don’t bother me anymore! They do. They just don’t alter my life in anyway, anymore. With time and age, I have simply learnt to overcome my insecurities and accept my flaws and not be so harsh and mean on myself. So...

Earlier this week, I had to deal with four students of Grade VII, who were found cheating during their second terminal exams. Two of them were repeat offenders so it made the situation worse. Physical punishment is seen as a way to correct children's behavior. In this case, I knew it wasn’t going to work. In our society, the sight of a mother spanking her kid and teachers carrying a cane to the classroom isn’t such an uncommon sight. Ask a mother or a teacher who follows such practice, the answer will be that our kids need a spanking or a two to control their behavior. In my recent visit to a public school, I was bemused to see a teacher walking around the class with a stick long enough to hit the child sitting in the corner of a bench. In another school I visited, a child was expelled for failing to follow the norms of the school of speaking English. Many teachers and parents feel the need of controlling children’s behavior through various punishment mechanisms. The ...

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...