AnythingUnderTheSun

It's that time of the year again, time to indulge in some Holi'er than thou preachings. Waterless Holi & Crackerless Diwali. For a very short span of time, my folks were in Jaunpur, a small town near Varanasi. I think in all the places I have ever lived, UP has the worst monsoon season. Rains only a little, just high humidity to remind you of the season you are in. It is also the season of insects of all sorts, and not just your average mosquitoes. Usually during Diwali, it begins to get colder (it is always windy and your workout of the day is achieved by running in and out to light the diyas). But it's not cold enough to kill all those insects. Back to Jaunpur, on the day after Diwali, we are treated to a green carpet on our verandah. The fumes from the mustard oil and the crackers ends the season of insects. I have lived in Bangalore at a time when you could call it a city. Back then although it was a cosmopolitan city, the IT invasion had yet to happen. We used ...

It is the season of awards. The biggest of them all, the Academy Awards, is right around the corner. Over the past few years some stars have used these functions to lend voices to issues they hold dear. If this year's Golden Globes & Grammy are any indication, we can fairly guess this year's theme. Donald Trump. Specifically Trump bashing. The worst thing about Trump presidency isn't just Trump himself, it's also the never ending news cycle around him. No escaping it. Everyone, literally & figuratively, left, right & centre are milking this cow. His farts are treated nothing less than bomb explosions by the media. When I think of Trump win in 2016 elections, Humpty Dumpty comes to my mind. "All the king's horses & all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again." Anyone who was anybody was team Clinton. Almost everyone in Hollywood, except for maybe Clint Eastwood, endorsed Hillary. The might of the celebrity kingdom, in all ...

Unsolicited Tip for the day: If you want to make a buzzzzzz in SM, write or say something controversial. Make sure there's an existing deep divide over that topic. In no time random people will be abusing you and each other. In pop media, feminists have often been portrayed as men hating women with dorky glasses and probably a stache too. Why not, since men were creating/writing these characters. They must have been like I'm going to make the pretty ones dumb (she has got to be dumb for she has to love dbags) and not so pretty ones as intelligent and men hating creatures. Also add some annoying characteristic like a high pitch voice to the intelligent one. #foreveralonehenceafeminist The feminist brand has been diluted, some on purpose and some accidental, to the extent that there's a negative connotation to it. The league of uber urban feminists are partly responsible for it with their frivolous issues. Free the nipples, glitter unshaved pits, sexual empowerment not ...

Congratulations, you made it through the first week of this year. In not so other great news, you probably are already slipping in your New Year resolutions. Judging by several internet posts you are not alone. Whose idea was it to make these resolutions, sometimes the same one year after year? Lose weight, eat healthy, sleep early, read more, blog more, find a job? Mine probably haven't changed for what feels like an eternity now. And now I have come to the conclusion, most of us know this deep down inside too, that resolutions just don't work. We're only humans and under normal circumstances generally weak willed. Obviously not talking about type A personality folks here. Since resolutions have failed me all my life, it is time to try something new. I like the idea of challenges. 30 day challenges are immensely popular (although never done one of my own though). I don't know the challenges yet, but succeeding at least 50% of my challenges would be one of the challe...

Dear Brain,  This is the very first time we're having this formal conversation. I am bad at understanding abstract concepts, and a letter from the heart to the brain sounds like the mothership of abstractness. Am I writing to you or is it you tricking me into thinking that I have the controls? Whatever it is, you are pretty awesome. ( Now that should clearly give an indication of who's in control) I don't remember having too many major conflicts with you, that probably is also you're doing. Who knows what you've locked behind those shut doors. Now that I concentrate enough I can remember a few. But I also know that you have my best interests. Maybe we should do this more often and then we'll have more to talk. Love Heart PS: This activity was part of the expressive writing workshop.

A picture can be a photo on your desk, a painting on your wall or maybe a movie to watch with friends. It can also be an image or an impression drawn with inks in our head. A picture can evoke emotions or stir memories, remind you of ones you longer know. It can be a time capsule of an era bygone or just a few moments ago. A picture my dear friends speaks a thousand words and still some more. This otherwise nondescript wall seems to convey the world of opposites as we know them - the dilapidated and the new! Photo: Streets of Udaipur #latergram #udaipur #Rajasthan #streetsofindia #_soi #travelgram #instatravel #travel #india #indiatravel #incredibleindia #streets #old #new #igers_india #ig_India #ig_indiashots #igers #igersrajasthan #travelstoke #travelling #nikon #nikonp610 #nikonphotography #HaveFeetWillTravel A photo posted by Elita (@nomadicthunker) on Sep 13, 2015 at 10:32am PDT At the Expressive Writing workshop, we were each handed out a pic and were ask...

A week ago, a friend asked me if I wanted to attend a workshop on writing and I agreed. Yeap, I am that adventurous; no details required, just sign me up! The way I look at it is, at least I get to meet some new people. Win win for me as I also get to wear some nice clothes (something apart from my usual all day bedtime clothing). Soon details started trickling in. The 1st shocker was it's not creative writing! What the fish, that's the only type I have heard of. But then the name expressive writing sounded so promising and intense. Isn't most of what we write an expression of us in that moment, even if it's in the form of OMGs or the dancing ladies. Normally I would have googled the hell out of this, but not this week. I'm happy that I didn't. Sometimes it's good to go in all blind. Without expectations it's easier not to be disappointed. After all the workshop was on a Saturday afternoon for 6hours! I would be lying if I said the 6 hours flew by ...