On March 2020, the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change revised the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). In a situation we find ourselves in- a climate crisis- this might seem like a good move. ‘Revised’ usually and is supposed to mean ‘Improved” or the like. But this isn’t true. EIA 2020 is worse for the environment. 1. Environmental clearance is something like a permit given to anyone undertaking activities that interfere with the natural environment, from a large hydroelectric power-station to something as close to home like, well, homes. It makes sense to sta ..read more

Planning and organising can be a great boost to our productivity. They can help deal with our schedules in the ever-busy human world. Mostly, we plan things out when we focus on getting stuff done. For others, it's a way of life.  Being spontaneous, on the other hand, deals with getting stuff done. Spontaneity is very liberating provided we have developed our inner moral code to be set on default no matter what. Here's why letting the wind guide us is a great boost to our living: 1. Freedom. Being spontaneous is agreeing with our natural feeling without any external constraint ..read more

We've all heard people willing to motivate us say things like, "do whatever it is that makes you the happiest" or, "find happiness in everything you do." In the world where simple sorrows and hardships are glamorised to be taken way too seriously than how they need to be taken, is it implying that all of us must aim towards the ultimate goal of reaching happiness? Is this the ultimate goal? What is happiness? Psychology Today, "Happiness is an electrifying and elusive state. Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and even economists have long sought to define it. And since the 1990s ..read more

Homo sapiens have the privilege of bearing the weight of the most developed brain in all of evolution's story. But we keep using this perk of ours in ways that are anti-intelligent. Here's what humans have done as an effect of nurturing the myth that they are the most important things ever. 1. Environmental destruction.  The most pressing problem today is climate change. But are we going anywhere near solving this problem? It's one of those problems whose solutions are out there in the open but we've closed our minds into believing that it's impossible to find a cure just because th ..read more

Humans have done so much with the motive of "leaving behind their marks on Earth." One of them is the introduction and application of the concept of "countries" and therefore, borders. I remember those few moments of silence while the term "CAA" was mentioned. Not the guilty silence, but the silence fuelled with ignorance.  What is a country? According to Wikipedia, "The term country refers to a political state or nation or its territory." Why countries? -Humans have evolved as tribes with self-sufficient, complacent, and competitive lifestyles. This instinct holds true even ..read more

I'm a proud aesthete. I love art and how it lets the artist express themself and the viewer experience the art in their own way. But it's legitimacy never made practical sense in my mind. Here's why I'm an aesthete who criticizes the existence of the modern-day definition of art, which is more like a skill than a way of self-expression.  1. Anti: Rules. Arts have always been about self-expression. And not everyone is the same. But by setting rules and standards, it becomes more of something done for formality.  2. Pro: Expressive. True art that flows from the heart is more honest ..read more

Vin is my nickname and this makes me pronounce the word "winter" as it would sound with a "V." Also, winter is my favourite season as the chills promise a new start. It's a season of death. But death is not a bad thing at all. Death shouldn't be a taboo. It's just a change.  Winter is a season of change.  "Metanoia" also relates to change. Winter in the heart is metanoia. (It also rhymes with my name, though. But that's not the only reason) Guess I'm just very metathesiophilic. Change is a positive thing. The sense of vulnerability we feel when thinking that nothing is per ..read more

I knew I had to stop overthinking stuff happening in my life. So to compensate for all my extra thoughts, I almost totally stopped thinking. However close I could come to not thinking, anyways. And the experience was gooooooooood. Here's what I learned when I switched overthinking to underthinking unknowingly. 1. The impermanence of everything.  To stop overthinking, for me, is to not think about something that happened long ago. The incident then only exists to haunt us. But we don't have to as nothing is permanent. 2. Creativity outlets start to leak freely. Using art as an outlet i ..read more

Religion is equivalent to a moral compass for many. For some, it's an identity. But there are some toxic parts of present religious institutions that could pull oneself or a community down while maintaining the illusion of "enlightenment." Many religious people know what to take from the religion of their choice and use it as a guidebook. But sometimes most people only take the concrete part of religion and follow practices that almost no moral guide would recommend.  Here are the reasons why I think that present religious institutions could make you a worse person than what you might thi ..read more