Life Goes On.

There's one special friend that everyone has. 
He's not your boyfriend, he's not your bestfriend and he isn't your brother. He's just..him. 
Someone you can fall back on, someone you call when the tears won't stop falling. Someone who will disgust you with unnecessary details of his life and you will do the same. Someone whose abuses mean more to you than foot-long promises of undying friendship.

This friend, he becomes a part of your life and a huge one at it, all of a sudden.
Out of nowhere, he's your comfort pillow, your gossip monger, your sorority sister and your confidante. 

Then one fine day, he shatters your heart.
It's astounding how just a couple of words strung together can wrench your heart.
Suddenly, you'll find yourself wondering who the hell the person on the other side of the phone is. You won't want to believe that this is the same person who you'd crouch in front of when the world failed you.
Then, you'll forgive and forget.
Until it happens again.

You'll cry a river again and yet again you'll forgive and forget.
How can you not? After all, you don't let go of a part of your life so easily.
But then, it'll happen again.

And you'll wonder.. "How much does he even know me?"
You'll look back and shed a tear on all happy, gay memories and you'll open your eyes to reality and shed several more for what it is today.

It's not the end of the world. Life goes on.

He wasn't your boyfriend. He wasn't your bestfriend. He wasn't the person you grew up with. He was just him. The person who left as abruptly as he had come.
You won't cry a river anymore. There's only a certain number of tears you can cry for a person. And you cried them dry.
You wake up the next day like it was a bad dream and get on with your life. Stronger, robust and empowered.
Life doesn't end when people leave, you carry their memories with you to your grave.
You smile when certain things you do remind you of them. You cry when you're shipwrecked and pick up the phone only to put it down again. You reach out, only to retreat.

You're a whirlwind of perplexity.
But you're not over. Life goes on.

Crumble.

When Miley Cyrus was young and clothed, she'd said "Life's a Climb, but the view is great."
Back then it was just another dialogue and I was busy drooling over Lucas Till. Today, five years later it all makes sense. 
When you can see the world around you crashing down and you don't know where to hide. 
When you can see the strongest of support systems buckling under the weight.
When you can feel the most bound ropes slip away.
When you think you've hit rock bottom. It feels like you're helpless and maybe you are, but what you aren't is someone who gives up easily. 
You're strong and you don't need me telling you that. You know it, deep down you know it but you're too afraid to say it out loud.

Life isn't a cookie. People are going to disappoint you at every turn. And believe me they will. You don't give in to those that lead you to believe you aren't good enough. You don't let them blindfold you and walk you to your doom.
You stand back up, dust it off and strut away into oblivion. That's what you do.
Cause you hold the reigns to your life, not somebody else. As much as you'd want to sit back and let someone else take control of your life, you can't. They can't.

The most trusted friends are going to turn their backs on you. You can't conquer a corner or weep to your pillow.
Ms. Perfect is going to thrust signs of imperfection in your face. You don't give up on love and become a loner. 

Your life is like the Castle of Cards. The swiftest of winds is going to blow you back to Square One. But if there is a Square One, there is also the Final Destination. And you'll get there. If you want to get there.
It seems like such an effort to build it back up after it's been destroyed time and again. But when you get there, when you finally do build it up, there's nothing that can make you more proud. Sheer effort and willpower is all it takes to build it up when it's been taken down.

Believe that you are much bigger a person than those who lust for your downfall. 

You've got one life. If you let someone else live it for you, is it really worth it? 

Live it up, or watch it crumble.

Dark Is Beautiful.

We live in an era of stereotypes. A society where judging others is the only way forward, where criticism is a must and taking one down, piece by piece is a practice.
I'm ashamed to belong to this era where condemning others is a trend that never really dies out. The whole "We v/s Them" concept is rather disgraceful to humanity.
Society outdid itself when it questioned Creationism and its being. Questioning the existence of the Creator, really, how far is that going to take us?

And then there's the belief that Fairness equals beauty. It's ridiculous how many companies are cashing in on this drift. We all went to school, we KNOW that your skin tone can only change temporarily and not to mention, hamper with your skin and cause it to age faster than natural. Yet, we're brainwashed by the dark skinned actresses who claim that Fairness Creams are part of your physiological needs and that only the possession of one will bring you success, fame, money and love. Pitiful? No, what's pitiful is the fact that the companies are minting money. What's the point of all those hours in Bio class now?

That women believe that beauty can be defined by a color. That's what is pitiful.
No matter how white your skin gets, if you're not happy in it, you'll never be pretty. 
Instead of fighting the practice of skin lightening, we have women lining up outside skin clinics and buying fairness creams to "fit in".
Why would anyone want to fit in? Whatever happened to standing out and being unique?
It's more of a social pressure than anything else. It's because there's discrimination of the dark skinned that they're pressurized to adopt these measures. 
Our society has progressed in terms of technology and economy but the mindset froze and has remained stagnant in the yesteryears.
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, not color of your skin.

Society hammers the minds of the consumers and influences them to believe that there's a list of norms which if not followed will result in rejection of the dark skinned, making them social outcasts.

We have to stop discriminating on the grounds of color. Rejecting a proposal because of color, secluding a fellow classmate because of his color, treating them like aliens, it all has to stop. 

This vicious wave has now caught on to the men as well. Fairer skin equals more girls, more lucrative offers, more success in life. Really? What age are we from? Stone Age?
There's a reason the "Tall-Dark-Handsome" is a cliche. There's a reason estrogen levels go for a toss at the sight of a T-D-H. Not White, Dark. 

One of my best friends is dark skinned and I believe she's one of the prettiest women I've met. Simply because she loves her skin, doesn't over-expose her photos or try to be what she isn't and instead takes pride in what she is. 
Being white doesn't make you pretty. But wanting to be white sure does make you not you. And that's the worst version of you.
Take pride in yourself. Your color doesn't define you. 
And even if it does, you're beautiful. Dark is beautiful.

                                                   

A Slice Of Life.

It's only the second week of the new year and the turnout at gyms has already taken a tumble. All the "I'm going to take my workout seriously this year" has drowned in the Tequilas and the Cokes.
So what's the big deal about this weight loss frenzy anyway?
It's Bollywood, which in turn caught this flu from Hollywood.
The whole must-have-perfect-figure-if-you-want-to-feel-beautiful disease started with the Firangs who barely nibble at their bread once a day. Now that it has caught on in a country like ours where we have the people worshiping food like their deity, it's raised some perfectly shaped eyebrows.

I'm 19. I live to eat.. and write, but mostly to eat. I don't believe that I must have zero fat to be at peace with myself. I eat to feel better. I tend to eat more when I'm under pressure or stress. Sue me.
 I'm not one of those who can starve to get the Kareena Kapoor figure, which by the way she didn't achieve by just "eating healthy". There's a lot more that goes into the process, but let's not get there. But since we took that road anyway, consider this.

 Were the yesteryear actresses any less beautiful than those today? Did they draw any less audience than those of today do? Were they any less fantasized about than the scenario today? They were a notch higher if not the same.
Same gender. Same field. Same profession. Same techniques. Almost the same audience.
What has changed? The mentality. The ridiculous concept of Size Zero has marred the way girls look at themselves. To find clothes of a size for people that actually eat has become a task.
The Indian woman is symbolized by her curves. What is she left with if you take that away from her? A flat stomach, sure. But what's different about her now? Nothing.

We're focus so much on looking good that we forget to feel good. I don't believe in the "look good to feel good" crap. Spare me.
We become so conscious about our extra inches here and there that we stop eating what we like, dressing how we want and living our life. We're so busy sucking our stomach in that we're ignoring all the fun things life has to offer. Like cheesecake.

Whilst saying this, I don't ask you to be fat. Work on your body, yes, strive to look good. But not so much so that you start worshiping your trainer and starve yourself.
It's okay to eat the occasional slice of cheesecake and scoop of ice cream.
Life just gets better when you're a foodie.



                                                                                            

New Year Resolutions.

Don't laugh, I'm actually going to make resolutions and live up to them.

1. Slap a woman on the train.
Too many women have left their heel marks on my feet or elbowed me in the face and gotten away with it. It's payback time! I swear to the smelly armpits and screaming salesmen, I will slap someone on a train.

2. Stop Swearing.
"If you continue to swear like that, nobody will ever marry you." My mother's ghastly response to me having said "Bloody Hell" has scarred me for life. I swear like a man, probably worse than one. I wonder if one will ever marry me. No chances taken, I must stop swearing.

3. Buy more clothes.
I've got to stop saying "I've got nothing to wear" every time I'm stepping out. New. Clothes. Needed.

4. Figure out why my phone dies ever so often.
I'm no engineer, but I'm crucially interested in knowing the math behind scaling to 66% from a 100% in a couple of minutes when it comes to my phone battery.

5. Write a decent Blog post.
When I look back and read all my blog posts, I feel like a child who was gifted a pen on his birthday and took the words "Write whatever you want" ever so seriously.

6. Lose weight.
This one is a permanent. It's been on all my resolution lists since I started writing them. Nevertheless, tradition is important. So I must lose weight.

7. Get a boyfriend.
No, seriously. Being single for so long almost makes me doubt my charisma. I'm pretty. And self deluded. Anywhichway, get a decent boyfriend who ain't got no swag. 

8. Become a doctor.
No, not literally. It's more of a "give them a taste of their own medicine.", but I'm smart, cool, innovative and umm self deluded. Either way, I hereby swear that I will tell everyone what I really think of them. I'm pretty sure I'm through with all the pretense and sweet nothings. Rise, devil in me, rise.

9. Watch Notting Hill a hundred more times.
It's my favorite movie of all times and I've watched it a thousand times and haven't got enough of it. Get me the DVD, someone!

10. Live a little.
I've spent most of 2013 being depressed about something or the other. It really is time to drop all the sob stories and live a little.

Live. Laugh. Love.

Every new year we make resolutions that are too godly to live up to. You probably quit smoking for a while but you can't really keep up with the pressure. Which is fine, really.
This new year, let's all resolve to make just one resolution and live by it forever. Be happy.
Your ultimate goal is happiness. So why take a detour? Take a direct hit. Be happy.
Live, laugh, love.

Kaleidoscopic Haze.

You see, life is a bunch of phases. One after the other, they take you on a roller coaster ride. One moment you're on the top of the world, carefree and screaming your lungs out of joy. Then there's the plunge downhill that fills your heart with immense fear. You hold on for dear life, fearing what will hit you next. And then there's the part where your in the pit of the ride, where you can't go further and you just want it to stop. Eventually it does. How do you feel then? Tired, relieved. That's the last phase of your life. You had a hell of a ride but then that's about how much you can handle. So you step out, allowing for others to take your seat and you walk away from it.
That's life for you. 
Every story has a hero and a villain. 
There has to be pain in order for you to feel the relief when it goes away. There is no happiness without the sadness.
When you've hit rock bottom, thank your stars, for the only way out there on is up.

What's a hero without a villain to defeat? How would you fall in love with the hero if you didn't have the villain to despise? Would the reconciliation of the hero and his leading lady be just as beautiful if the bad guy hadn't eloped with her earlier? No, it wouldn't. 

Similarly, your life wouldn't have been half as interesting had it not taken the occasional plunge.
Every phase teaches you a lesson. There's something you pick from every part of it, good, bad and the ugly. How boring would life be if you woke up every day and got through it without a single happy or a sad moment.
Every emotion you feel gives prominence to the one that follows. The relief you feel after fear having enveloped your heart wouldn't be the same without the fear itself. The happiness of seeing a person after ages wouldn't be half as delightful if sadness hadn't played its part when the person departed.

Learn to love every emotion, it only adds beauty to your life.
Don't be either here, there or nowhere. Don't be a Black and White person. Don't see life through two extreme perspectives. It's not always just a Black or White situation. Often, the Gray patches have more significance then either of the others would. It's a colorful life, don't put it in a box.
Expand your perspectives. Don't restrict yourself to the black, white and gray of life.
Cause life is just that, a kaleidoscope of ever changing colors and patterns. You never know what turn it will take and what design it will make.
Soak it up.

Body Armor!

It was just another Facebook morning for me. I was nonchalantly browsing through bitch fights and breakup posts and lovestruck photos when it caught my eye. Not everything you spot on social media makes you want to pause and take a second look, not for the right reasons anyway. But this did. Body Armor!

 Whoever could've thought of that! Us women, we love accesorizing, don't we? Right from earrings to toe rings, we wear them all. Or do we?

So when I got in touch with Anisha, she had a whole new perspective. It dazzled me. What was supposed to be a mere enquiry urged me into penning down my thoughts about this steep turn in the world of Fashion. So I decided to go all Journo on this one.

How often do you wear a dress and find it incomplete? The sort of piecemeal that a necklace or a pair of dangly earrings fail to do justice to. That's when you turn to this whole new definition given to accessories.

Tell me that doesn't excite you! Tell me it doesn't make you go "Oh shit I want that.. and that! AND THAATTTT!!"If you're a girl, no matter how old you are or what background you're from, this is bound to tug at your heart, ever so strongly.Here we have a 20 year old girl, almost threatening the careers of well established jewelry designers! 

"I'm frankly really bored of seeing people wear the same old accessories.. Hello!! You're forgetting the rest of your body!These accessories are made to enhance the feminine you...It's like a body armor. I have made every piece with a special reason... Every piece is

Anisha Bakshi, Creator.

a story I am trying to tell...You pick the piece that truly belongs to you.. Not because it looks good, but because its meant for you.. And because its going to give you the confidence to be yourself.Not a single design will be repeated.Every beauty deserves her own unique treasure.My jewelry appreciates the feminine parts.The beautiful round neck, the beautiful curvy back, our most precious bosoms, our beautiful waist, legs, hands, hips, everything!!! It's mysterious, it's traditional...It reflects the strong Indian beauty who is religiously rooted.It's something that reflects your mysteries..

It's your power."

You heard her. Loud and clear!

So what are you waiting for? Oh right. An official statement.

If you're a woman who loves her trinkets or a man who loves his woman, swing by in Feb 2014, pick up the latest fad in the world of jewelry! Watch this space for details.

Until then, polish that body to suit this armor!