Where do I start? What would be the perfect word, the perfect sentence, that phrase which fits, to start writing this letter? I can’t seem to find an answer. Just like I can’t seem to find an answer to so many questions right now? Why did you leave us? Why so suddenly? For the last 31 years, when I was lost like this, it was you, baba, who gave me answers. Now who do I ask these questions? Whenever something good or bad happened, you were my first call. Whenever I was ecstatic, you gently brought me to reality and calm. When sadness filled my heart, you rushed to my rescue and cheered me up ..read more

Present His hands were shaking from within but he kept them firm. He did not want her to slip, twist a small muscle, did she even have muscles, he thought. He was in a completely overprotective and defensive mood, but hey!, to be fair - he was holding a newborn baby for the first time. And this baby was his. He did not know how to feel. Just a few minutes ago, he had seen his baby come into this world. That visual scared him. Not the medical aspect of it, but the future that was attached to it. That moment had made him father - officially. That moment for which he awaited for over eight and a ..read more

Most of us live every minute of our short life to survive. Between our careers, friends, family and amusing us with some form of entertainment, we do not realize that few actors of democracy & anti-democracy cuff us to maintain power. "India, the world's most populous democracy dropped from Free to Partly Free status in Freedom In The World 2021." When I saw this headline, my curiosity peaked as to what entailed in the article and who was behind the report that smacked my home country in the face with a subtle future-authoritarian or fascist tag. But truthfully, the events Indians have ex ..read more

Friday, October 2 marked one of the most significant days since the world learned the concept of pandemic. As if the fear, uncertainty, and chaos were not enough, the world woke up to news of POTUS and FLOTUS being tested positive with COVID-19. The messages with mixed reactions from over the world started pouring in. Best wishes, prayers for quick recovery came from allies like NATO countries, India. In comparison, some top-level officials from countries like Iran and China mocked Trump’s handling of the pandemic and repeatedly called it a hoax and a Chinese virus.  Since then, a lot has ..read more

,One more day, one more shooting, few more protests, few more arguments in media – today, that is just a regular American day. (Image by James Rajaste) As an ambitious kid from India, I have fancied about the American dream more than I should have. Growing up, America was the country to be in – be it for studying, working or just living a full life (…if that is a thing these days). The portrayal of a beautiful America in a sell-out media, from the high-roaring buildings or the lush green countryside, never created even a shred amount of doubts in our developing country mindsets. After living ..read more

(Photo by Chris A. Tweten on Unsplash) After hours of discussion, back and forth, we gathered the courage to go out for an ice-cream in the evening. It was our anniversary. Last five years, we had always celebrated the anniversary in Florida (except 2019, where we took a trip about a few hundred miles further south to Cancun). This year leaving Toronto was out of the question. But we thought we could at least go out for dessert instead of celebrating on the sofa. We can trust our government that much (Ontario had opened up patio dining for restaurants, a few days earlier). We assumed it would ..read more

Ajinkya Satish Dharane Aryan was sweating from every inch of his body. He was only five minutes in his hike but was already partially regretting his decision. To be fair, he had received information that the distance would be only one and a half miles to his campsite. But the restrictions due to COVID-19 meant he had to park a mile away from the start of his trail. That unintentionally added more than a mile to his hike. He was carrying over ten pounds over his shoulders and walking relentlessly through empty campsites. There was no site of other humans in these dense woods. After walking for ..read more

If there was any doubt in prioritizing a customer convenience, this pandemic has clarified that. Most of the businesses have learned it the hard way. If they do not have an infrastructure to deliver your services and products at the consumer location, they are on the verge of becoming irrelevant. Thanks to lockdown, even those loyal customers who strictly bought local products, were forced to turn to global chains like Amazon, Walmart, Costco. Why were the big chains not affected, or even some of them thrived in the global crisis? Why were small local stores forced to shut down? The reason wa ..read more

The world is preparing to open step by step after coronavirus shut it down in March 2020. The global pandemic has made everyone realize the value they bring in this world. Some have experienced their value rise exponentially, but most of the population has seen their price go down. The world of the future looks considerably distinct from the World we closed two months back. The fear of becoming obsolete is growing amongst some of the large scale industries. The global trends keep changing every few years, so whatever changes we will see were probably on the cards. The pandemic has merely acce ..read more

There is not a single person who is not affected by the pandemic. You might argue Jeff Bezos might be the one with Amazon stocks growing about 20% in the last one month. But I am not talking about a few gainers. I am talking about the majority of us who have been stuck at home, feeling paralyzed about the situation. Some of us want to go and help solve the issues the world is facing. Some of us want their routine back. But all of us have been building up a reserve of energy consisting of frustration, sadness, and helplessness. I am not a psychology expert but have been going through the same ..read more