Can I ask, why?

Learn from your past, do not regret it; do what makes you happy today; plan your future - Thoughts. Many philosophers, teachers, counselors and even many parents teach these ‘important rules’ of life. In the era of this techno-freak and socio-freak world these important rules are also seen on social networking sites as posts of people or pages followed.

But, thoughts are always far from reality. A bridge has to be made to link both – again a thought. When it comes to put them in practical life, it becomes difficult. Difficulties move a level up for girls who belong to middle class Indian families, families which are stuck between traditions and western culture. It becomes very difficult to be modern and at the same time not hurting traditional sentiment of parents.

I was born and brought up in capital of India. Life for girls, for me in the society I live in, meant to do your schooling then complete your graduation or any further studies you wish to do but get married by the age of 25 years and after that, if, in-laws do not mind you can continue with your education and job. Life with such set of rules become meaningless. Why is it so compulsory to get married by 25 years when all she want to do is to study and be successful in her live? And why does nobody see if she is happy? Question any number of people about her happiness; answer will be same ‘Oh! Look at her, do not you see her smile… she looks so happy’. And from here, definition of happiness change for her.

What exactly happiness is? Psychologists may define it many ways but in simple words, is it not something you get when your dreams come true? Dreams are not always suppose to be big. Little dreams or little moments of life also give happiness, do not they?

People say; professionally opt for the field which you love so that you do not have to work any day of your life because you will do what makes you happy. My cousin found happiness in dance but she was not allowed to do it. It was not like that her parents were against it but they did not find any benefit of dancing in her life. They believed that one day she has to get married and for that she has to complete her education as soon as possible, dancing will take all the time she could spend on her studies. They assumed she will be happy after settling down. She is happy but she was not able to fulfill her dream which somewhere deep inside her heart makes her sad.

My parents, my relatives always tell me to plan my future, to decide what I want to do, what I want to achieve. I said I want to be a teacher. Response from everybody was different. Few said it’s a good job, you have to work for half-day, you will be back to home before dark and most of the colleagues will be females. I really doubt if this was an appreciation. Why am I suppose to get back home before dark? Why cannot I stay out late? Why cannot I work with male colleagues? I was discouraged already! And then discouragement went like: it’s a great responsibility to handle children, you have to deal with parents and they do not pay well. I wonder if there is any type of job having no or less responsibility. Is there any work where you are not answerable to someone?

Later, I said I want to go in the field of mass communications. Again, discouragement was hidden behind appreciation. Why was I discouraged every time I had a plan for my future? Is it because I am a girl? My brothers were never stopped like this. Why me? If we girls are not suppose to get any encouragement in any type of decisions we make, then why they say to plan future?

Why they talk about thoughts when they are so meaningless for our lives? Why they talk about damn equality when we are not suppose to attend late night parties; when we are asked to take admission in girls college; when we are not suppose to be ‘just friends’ with boys; when we get a scolding if we are not able to cook nicely. I doubt if they really understand the meaning of ‘equality’.

We just want to live like our brothers live, with no restrictions. But why cannot we? WHY?

Opposites attract

Deepak and Prarthna, our gorgeous couple, are getting married really soon. Our bride-to-be is Dilli ki Kudi and our groom-to-be is Mumbai ka Hero. Our dear princess always dreamt about her prince charming and she finally found her prince in Deepak.

As we all know, life is full of ups and down; so was the life of Prarthna and Deepak and the journey of their love. Let us see how from being complete strangers they fall madly and deeply in love with each other. Come and have a look at their journey.

All this began on the Christmas Eve of 2016. Saddi Kudi was in Church when her father called to inform her that he has sent a picture of our Hero to her. Kudi was not only nervous but prayed to save her from all this as she did not want to get married any soon. As she had the tag of school topper she wanted to be really successful before getting married. She always had and still has dreams of doing certain things for her family. On the other side, our Hero was also confused about the marriage. He wanted to please the family because for him his family is above all but he didn’t like the picture of the Kudi that much. He wanted to be with someone who was into fashion but our Kudi is simple and decent in her “presence”.

They both somehow managed to calm their parents down. But how could they shut up the society they live in. And society’s demand is directly proportional to parents’ demands. What could our Kudi and Hero do? Should they give each other a chance? Well, that is the only option they had. Initial chats had to be awkward and formal. Little did they know they both were made for each other. When our Hero got to know about the dreams of our Kudi, he said, “I don’t want you to stop living your life the way you want to just because you’re getting married. In fact, I want you to live your dreams and do whatever you want. We have a long way to go and if you’re not happy, we can’t be happy.”

These words were enough to melt our Kudi’s heart and Kudi’s love for family was enough to melt our Hero’s heart. Little by little their chats became longer. Voice calls turned into video calls. They both knew this was more than just a friendship. Without their notice, they both fell for each other. A simple saying, “opposites attract” became their story.

19^th April, the date they both cannot ever forget. That is the day when they both confessed their feelings. “Hey! Listen. I want to tell you something. I wish that I was there, with you, on my knees with a ring saying I love you. Will you love me back? I want to be your better half. Will you be my better half?” – These were the words of our Hero. What else our Kudi do but blush. Without any delay, she said, “Yes, yes, yes I will”.

Another date that cannot be forgotten is 31^st May 2017. That was the day when they met each other for the first time. Delhi welcomed them with unexpected rain in the month of May. Sky poured love for them. Our Hero came with a surprise. He wanted to claim our Kudi on the same day. He came with a ring. It has to be the happiest day of their lives. They got engaged. How can they ever forget the feeling of being with their soul mates for the first time? There are no words that can ever express the feeling of peeping through the door to steal looks. For other people, the engagement news was a shock but destiny has its own plans.

But like every tale, there was drama in this story as well. That is the main ingredient of every tale, isn’t it? Situations arose that could almost break the relation. Both families were rooted in their traditions and it was hard for them to leave it. But the bond of our couple was strong enough to face any situation. They fought. They made their families understand their love. There was nothing that could break their commitment. Their love finally won. As the months passed their love became stronger. They spent a gala time on their birthdays. Hero started to come to Delhi to spend his special days with our Kudi. Who else could he celebrate with except her? It was hard for them to wait for the day when they will be united and spend every second with each other.

I hope you all loved to read the story as much as I loved writing it. Our couple has faced a lot and is now finally getting married in the heart of India on the same day that they confessed their love for each other. 19^th April 2018. Mark the date and bless them with all the happiness and love. 

I can happily brief the story as:

They were different. One was calm and collected and the other was reckless and wild.

This combination would have failed. But what to do when this is what you have in your life?

Find more about them:
http://deepakprarthnawedding.nishaclinic.com/

Dextra - For all hidden artists

As a child, we are always told that everyone is blessed with his own unique talent. After hearing this, we start exploring various forms of art. We play ‘doctor-doctor’, we ask for toy piano as our birthday gift, we sing and dance feeling like professionals. We do all such things in a hope that it might be our hidden-talent. And finally, a day comes when we realize what our gift is. Now, we want to get attention. We want audiences. We want fans. But, we are not able to get a good platform to showcase our ability. Whatever platforms are available requires either a huge amount of investment or time and hard work. Not all are capable of spending money and time.

Will it not be like a miracle to get a platform which requires no investment of any kind? Dextra is this miracle to all such hidden artists out there. Dextra is a social platform which allows you to create your own project, get in contact with other artists and share it with your friends and family. It helps your talent to reach audiences throughout the globe.

You can easily download Dextra app on your android devices through Play Store. It lets you create your profile in just few minutes. After this you can upload files from YouTube, SoundCloud, gallery and browser. You are done! In just three simple steps you have given the chance to the whole world to know you.

Dextra is a new ecosystem coming up. Be an early adapter. Join now, post your projects and grow with it. It is a chance which you cannot afford to miss. No cost involved; no efforts to put. New features like messaging, notification and others will come soon in the app. It will be available for iOS users as well in short time

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCpOEJ4IVRk

Know more about it at: http://www.dextra.xyz/

Contact us and know more: hi@dextra.xyz

Look for us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dextra.xyz/

Download the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.dextra.app

Dextra welcomes every artist to its world.

A bus stop!

“I told you, everything happens for something good”, I messaged back.

He was very disturbed by a person who cheated upon him. All his friends stood beside him and always tried to keep his mind diverted. This time we were discussing about how he met his long lost friend.

My phone pinged again. Not caring about what I said, he narrated an incident which he came across to just an hour back.

He said, “You know, just an hour ago when I was de-boarding a bus at my stop, a boy of fifteen years or so tried to pick my pocket. I felt his touch and looked at him angrily. He got frightened. We board down the bus at same stop and also crossed the road together. After this, he started to go opposite to my direction.”

“He must have gone away then.” I thought inwardly.

He continued, “I called him back.” I was surprised and little afraid too.

“He came back and calling me brother he asked why he has been called. I advised him that since he was calling me ‘brother’, he should not do such deeds. To this, he acted as innocent. I told that we both know what had happened. I offered him little amount of money and said that I come to this stop everyday; if he is in need of money, I can always help him with it. He declined at first but took it after some time and went away.”

I had nothing to say on this. I was sad and happy at the same time. This is the reality of many children and instead of providing them with counseling, many people treat them very badly. However, there are few good people who help and understand them.

My faith will not change. Everything happens for something good. The boy, who tried to pick the pocket of my friend, must have realized his fault and hopefully will look for a good way to earn. Till the time our society does not understand the reason behind every wrong, situations will not improve.

Shadows

We walk by numerous things in a day. They might get our attention or might not. Our attention is caught by things which are relevant to us. However, relevance does not always lead us to correct meanings of those things.  We observe a new leaf on a plant, or a wall besides it. We observe a child and his clothing. We observe a pole and its dullness. But, what we do not observe is their shadows and what they say. Do shadows speak in real? It depends whether we try to hear them or not.

Today, a wall came into my notice. The originally white wall was now ugly-red. “Stop you humans, stop spitting on me”, it said screaming while I stared at its shadow ignoring the wall. “I am not your public toilet or a spitting-spot; I also want my beauty back”, it continued. It was becoming intolerable for me since I had no answers. I started walking around and I saw another shadow waiting for me. He was a child of 8 or 9 years, wearing torn and dull clothes, carrying a garbage bag on his shoulders which seemed very light to him. We both had a huge financial gap; on the contrary, he looked happier than me. He was very cheerful. His smile had something which caught my sight. Behind that smile was a gloomy shadow of him which was living in dreams of a meaningful life. His shadow resembled the future of our country.

Moving on by many such grief-stricken shadows, there stood a shadow besides them even though it was not one of them. He was a well educated man of our society. Sharing the sorrow of sorrowful, cheering with cheerful he played with his mouth organ. I have heard about him before through the news. He was “metro’s melody man”, who after his daily routine makes the heart of everyone smile with the melody of his instrument. I captured him in my camera, smiled and continued my every day journey in a hope that others too may notice these shadows.

~StoryTeller

Last good bye

We never feel like growing up and see the world with a matured vision. Always living in a protective shield of parents, became a way to live our lives. We keep the reality far from our reach. However, reality runs behind us.

One day, you wake up in the morning thinking it would be an ordinary morning but it ends up as an unexpected one. The person, whom you always ignored and never cared about, leaves you. All you see is a motionless body of him and all you hear are the voices of his loved ones crying. But suddenly you feel depressed and your view gets blurred. The moments lived with him come to your mind taking you away from truth and his voice hit your ears making you deaf to the cries of people around you. But the truth does not stay neglected for long. He went away just like that, without having said a last good bye. You wish you could travel against the time to see him again, to apologise for everything you did that gave him pain. You wish you could see his charming smile again.

Looking at him with aching heart, you accept the responsibilities of life. You see through the shield provided by your parents. You stand facing the truth. And all of a sudden, you feel old.

~StoryTeller

The last moment

It was like living a dream, beautiful dream which was not meant to last long.

It feels like you were here by my side a second ago and in the next moment you are not.

You left me behind and now I am broken. I am shattered.

I relive the moments spent with you and it kills me. Your absence kills me.

I cry aloud!

No one listens. No one cares. You were the one for me.

I go out. I walk on streets. All I see is happy faces.

But I am alone. I don’t have anyone whose hand I can hold and smile.

And when stars come up, I go numb. My heart races with my breaths.

All I think about is you, your promises.

Were they all a lie, a joke?

I want to tell you how much I loved you. I want to tell you what you meant for me.

Being with you was paradise for me.

Oh! You are here…Holding my hands… No don’t go, stop!

I scream. I wake up.

All I see is my dark room.

That was a dream again. I am broken again.

-Best friend’s feelings

~StoryTeller