Dear neighbour,

Before you discard the letter with the sight of my name, let me assure you that this isn’t a request for you to come back into my life. I promise that I will not even question your whereabouts because it might make you feel obliged to reply. I hope you are doing good.

Today, when I was just peeping out of my window and watching the rain pour heavily, I unintentionally walked back to the monsoons with you. The hearty laughs under the old banyan tree hurt my lungs but I never laughed the same without you. I still have the tiny marbles we use to fight for but this time you never came to fight for them. That little cave between the mosque and the temple still glitters in my eyes even though I haven’t seen it for seventy years.

Seventy two years passed and not even once did we put efforts in coming together. Seventy two years of declared and undeclared wars between us, yet we remain neighbours. It is difficult to forget that day, this same day before seventy-two years when we broke the promise of staying together at all odds. Amidst the violence, only you were visible to my shiny eyes that dark night.

Never again did we talk, laugh or play together. I want you to know that the partition did distance you from me but not your memories. May be the bitterness between the countries made us apart but trust me, I always love you.

I am a proud Indian but that doesn’t make me love you less!

With love,

Your Indian sister

Protagonist – The Antagonist

In the past few months, I have been attempting to pen down innumerable thoughts but this one holds special. This weekend, I just re-watched a recent movie depicting the life of a late actress. Watching a movie for a second or third time is generally not my cup of tea yet this biopic was something different. When I generally ask my friends about any movie, they rate it in a single word or a sentence.However, when I asked them about this one, every single person expressed that this was unique and it was something that can not be rated.

The biopic is of a legendary actress who was known for excellence in her professional life and philanthropy in her personal front. In short life spanning forty-five years, she experienced everything from poverty to luxury, being loved to being hated and respect to humiliation. Being born in extreme poverty, she achieved success with her talent and hard work. She had constant support from her family. She amazed even the most experienced actors with her acting skills. Being a quick and keen learner, she learnt many arts with perfection. Her twenty year bond with her family was torn into pieces when the marriage she had hidden under wraps came to light. She put them in dark about marrying a person who has not yet divorced his previous wives and was not loyal enough in any marriage. Twenty years later she was shattered when she found out her husband’s other extra-marital affairs. From her view, she was cheated but twenty years back she did the same to her husband’s first wife. It is indeed strange how she broke many with one relation and the same relation left her heartbroken. From childhood, she was known for helping others and with her success this attitude reached zenith. She would feed hundreds of needy and help them in every way possible. Before she could get over the heartbreak, she lost her entire wealth being cheated by her managers and making disastrous financial decisions. Many just closed the doors behind her, however some people offered small roles in movies to help her out of this condition. Her health deteriorated completely as she never paid attention to it. During her final stages, she went into coma for eighteen months and later breathed her last.

This entire story makes us realise that fate is a result of our own actions. We learn the significance of financial knowledge and physical fitness. Her fame is the resemblance of hard work and dedication. The story also emphasises on how every single choice designs our life. Trusting someone more than the necessity and leaving behind those who trust us immensely are more or less the same kind of mistakes. The movie was not to be rated because a life can never be judged, we just need to absorb every single thing it teaches us. Millions of lives teach us fairly the same. We read biographies, autobiographies and also watch biopics yet we fail to learn from them. Every choice we make and every deed we commit shape our lives like the two hands shape a pot. At least a pot can be remade but life can never be. A protagonist is the antagonist of their own story.

With love

Sahithya Duvvuru

“You or Family” vs “You and Family”

“Can you guys stay back for the audit?” I immediately rushed to call my mother and inform. While it is pretty essential to keep your family updated about your whereabouts, some decisions require your heart’s say. How hard is it to satisfy family while prioritising your passions and dreams?

I am gifted with a wonderful family who let me follow my dreams and stood as a pillar of support at the hardest of times. Now, this must never encourage me to ignore their suggestions and live “my life, my rules”. In the contrast, I know few people who are pursuing their life blindly for the happiness of their families. Unintentionally, they fail to create their individuality. Both these extremes affect our lives dreadfully.

Until a few days back, I was unable to contact my little cousin brother for a long time due to family differences. My parents never stopped from meeting him, yet things were too cold. I was left with two choices – forget about him and continue my life or break the ice with him and get back to happy times. Trust me, deciding among the choices took me fours long years due to the immense confusion in my mind among few other factors. Though my parents never stopped me, deep down I was imagining that they might be unhappy with my decision. At the same time, losing my cousin was never easy for me considering the emotional attachment we shared. Finally, I broke the ice with my brother and am very proud about it.

This incident opened my eyes on how much we misunderstand the family influence while making decisions. Discussing with your family about life is of immense vitality, but taking decisions on your own considering all those suggestions is equally significant. While no parent wants their child to suffer, it is quite natural for everyone to make mistakes. Sacrificing you choices or giving up your passion just to pursue a course of their choice will never help both in the long run.You can never be yourself. A proper conversation to convince and ensure them your success and happiness will help anyone overcome such problems.

Surviving in an era where talking to google assistant for psychological help is preferred over sharing the problems with real humans, emotional attachment between a parent and a child has reduced drastically leading to many complications. A child always backs out from being open with parents.The best solution is to talk. As a parent, they will be worried and it should not be mistaken for ignorance.Open up and convince them about your decision.Do not give up.

The right balance between individuality and family can make any person happy and successful in the long run. Regretting after ages for not paying heed to advice or for not choosing yourself over your family can be of little or no help to your mental health.

With love

Sahithya

A True Friend

“I have booked the tickets, coming to meet you soon!” screamed Leena from the other side of the call. I wondered how she was willing to make it despite having too many fish to fry. This girl has never failed to amaze me with the extent she goes to keep our friendship intact. No relationship works effortless.

I met Leena as a classmate before six years. I have the least memory of how we became friends and reached a stage of never parting. Both being single children played a significant role to get us closer. Like Rome, this was not built in a day. Six years back, I did not know how exactly a best friend is? I was never able to understand it when my peers were boasting about one. Today, six years later, I sit down wondering how we made it up till here.What makes her stand out from others is the ability to stand up for me when I am right and the courage to stop me when I am wrong. She never speaks out about being available at the eleventh hour but her actions do. She always poured out her mind without reservations when she felt I was taking a wrong turn. Being poles apart in many aspects never hindered the relationship. The best part is that she has a big hand in making me a better person.

Years passed, distance grew, Unending daily conversations were defeated by the To-do lists but the friendship was never affected. Life always gets busier effortlessly but the bonds don’t get stronger without efforts. We still talk about everything and everyone under the sun. We never distanced ourselves emotionally from each other. Every conversation that started with tears, ended with laughter after the long soothing talk.

It is true that some people brighten up the sunshine in your life. They stand throughout the rollercoaster ride of your life to become an inseparable part your family. Thank you Leena, for being a true friend before being a best friend.

With love

Sahithya Duvvuru

Feminist vs Feminazi

Coming across an excerpt from my graduation text where a famous man said “Women are not weaker sex”, it made me wonder how often people misinterpret feminism. When the text read “not weaker” it meant “equal” which many of us replace with “stronger”. The dictionary meaning of feminism clearly emphasizes on equality which is often ignored by the pseudo feminists. Being a feminist, I clearly do not want an upper hand on the opposite sex. “All men are rapists” is a perfect example of feminazi. When you as a human and woman do not wish to be treated low, the same principle implies to a man. Before being a man or a woman, one is firstly a human. It surprises me to see how often we ignore this fact.

When a woman raised with equal opportunities to that of a man claims reservations in various areas, the concept of feminism is defeated. Equal rights come from equal efforts not with the extra letters in the gender. All the women looking down at men, deserve to be treated like a male chauvinist. In the process of deepening my knowledge in this issue, I read various articles which added to my enthusiasm to address this issue. A woman is being trolled for choosing to be a homemaker. But why? As an individual she possess the right to choose her own path. She knows the aspects that are in the best interests of her individuality. The reason for being a homemaker is not always due to oppression. Sometimes, it is a personal choice.

Similarly, your excuse to commit a crime should never be “Men also do it”. A crime is an offence irrespective of your gender. The sexual abuse against men always takes a backstage due to ignorance of this basic concept. The sexual exploitation of men is not considered as a serious issue in many countries. Why? Because people do not understand how a “HE” can be exploited. Any activity without an individual’s consent is termed as exploitation. So it can happen to all the genders.

My long thoughts cut short, every individual is equal. They need to be given equal opportunities and every law should be applicable equally. No feminist believes to look down upon the other gender. Those who consider themselves superior are not feminists, they are feminazis/pseudo feminists/female chauvinists.

With love,

Sahithya

A Broken Promise

The tiny toes restricted and those glittery eyes frightened,

Blood gushing through her genitals.No, not her period.

It is a token of cruelty by few of her “Bhaiyyas”

Every metal bar in sight made way to her intestines

Laughters echoed as she lay lifeless in a pond of blood

The nation gathered with its entire might ,

To witness another broken promise to her earlier “NIRBHAYAS”.

The mother who chanted “NO SHORT CLOTHES” ,

Found this girl with floor length clothes.

For the father who restricts his daughter to home,

This girl was picked up from a “SAFE HOME”.

That mantri who swore “Better nation”,

Fulfilled it by helping the accused.

The nation marched only to forget it like the previous one.

It was never a lesson, only an incident.

Those “Bhaiyyas” who claimed her life returned

Claiming to be promising future citizens

While we leave this nation in such “SAFE HANDS”

    – Sahithya

Sorry

Oh sorry, I do not have a penis,

I am worth being tortured.

Sorry, I have a breast,

It distracts your attention.

Sorry, I have a hymen,

Its calls for your manhood.

Sorry, I wore a skirt,

It represents my character.

Sorry, its dark and I am on road,

It invites you to abuse.

Sorry, I work late nights,

It is your basic right to judge.

Sorry, I am your wife,

I found my happiness in yours.

Sorry, I am your sister,

I have cared too much for you.

Sorry, I am your mother,

I have carried you for nine months.

Sorry, I am a girl,

The reason for human birth.