SIMRUN KNOWS BEST

  2020, the moment I utter the digits, those in front of me utter promptly, "Ugh". There is no denying the fact that 2020, indeed was a challenging year, full of ups and downs, actually, mostly downs.  Let us go back 12 months, to December'2019 when everyone around the world, be it in Mumbai or Manhattan, was out for shopping Christmas presents and decorations, celebrating thanksgiving with their loved ones, meeting up with friends for new years or just chugging on beer cans. All of this sounds so nostalgic, to me, it seems like the last time I made such plans was in my past life. No one, including myself, ever thought that we will ever have to face something like a pandemic, in fact, most of us didn't know what the word 'pandemic' meant in the first place making it the most searched for word on Google in 2020. I'm sure that many of us were already familiar with the epidemics that have taken place across the globe from time to time but a disease or sicknes...

  It has been around seven months since educational institutions in India; Schools and colleges were ordered to shut until further notice. As a student, I very much understand how ineffective online education can be. Trying to adjust to the new normal, I would say was no piece of cake.  At that time I was faced with two options. I could either blame the pandemic and the situation for the large hole that was about be dug in my education or make the most of this time to hone my existing skills and learn new ones, shaping me as a professional.  I chose the latter option. I started out as a fresher into the job market with no experience or understanding of how the professional world works. Let me tell you, as a college student with no prior experience, landing an internship opportunity was very often disappointing. Nowadays, companies prefer hiring candidates with prior work experience or skills.   HOW IT ALL STARTED? While my university was still finding a way to educat...

  With more than 26 million cases, the COVID-19 pandemic has grappled the world and there is no sign of it getting better. The future of students is on hold and people are being laid off. Economies are sinking and industries collapsing.  It has almost been six months since a nationwide lockdown was imposed in our country due to which schools, colleges and offices were ordered to shut. Students were told to educate themselves through online lectures and employees, asked to work from home.  While the working class is still trying to adjust to the new routine called 'work from home' (as exciting as it sounds) it has had its own implications. When you work from home, your employer in most cases, naturally assumes that since you are at the comfort of your home, you can easily and effectively do the work that is given to you.  Raised employer expectations often have employees overworking themselves, sometimes without breaks in front of a screen. The pressure to look and so...

  Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death and Kangana Ranaut’s claim on ‘favouritism’ in the Indian Film Industry has driven the audience into a   frenzy and sparked a wide debate on the existence of nepotism in Bollywood. I have had plenty of time to retrospect in this matter and hence am bringing my personal opinion to you.  The 'Nepotism debate' as netizens call it has had successful film directors like Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt and Ekta Kapoor under the spotlight. They have become victims of bullying and social media harassment because according to the popular public opinion they practice nepotism i.e. They prefer star kids over individuals who do not have strong contacts in the film industry. Even talented actors like Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan have become victims of bullying to an extent that the only option that remained with them was to disable the comment section on their social media handles.   In simp...

Before I begin to preach about what I am about to preach about, allow me to tell you how I came up with such a dramatic title. I have a light, a neon lamp basically which spells ‘Love’, I motioned the lamp in a wave and captured this deep ( only if you see it) photograph. Kudos to my camera! Love is a feeling that we are supposed to hold for others if we are conditioned that way. Just like a wave, our feelings including love experience high tides and low tides. Here, I will not talk about love, the one that is being shared between two subjects ( assuming that love can happen not only in humans but animals as well ), but the one that you hold within yourself for yourself. Talking about ‘Self Love’, how many of you would name you when asked about a list of things and people you love? You’d call your insecurities out, your imperfections, you’re a human after all. But have you ever imagined what happens when you start loving yourself? To this, my younger version would say “ Me neither, pas...

The ' Surajkund Mela' or the Surajkund international crafts fair is an event that is organised every year by the Haryana tourism department at Faridabad, Haryana.  This was the 34th version of 'Surajkund Mela' which lasted for a fortnight starting from February 1st '2020 and wrapping up on February 16th'2020. More than a million visitors attend this annual fair and crafts festival where painters, weavers, sculptors and craftsmen from every nook and corner of the country and the world display their hand at extraordinary craftsmanship that can be made out from the intricate details on their pieces.  The ticket for this extravagant fair costs around Rs.120. However, if you are a student or a senior citizen you may as well enjoy a 50% discount, reducing the cost to Rs. 60. The fair boasted an impressive entrance with a colourful gate and top-notch security.   As you enter you may spot food stalls serving mouth-watering Indian delicacies like 'Panipuri' and i...

Feminist protestors (source-History.com) In one of my previous articles, “Feminism, Pseudo Feminism and Misandry”, I emphasised on the difference between the three words and how often they end up getting mixed. I also wrote about how due to pseudo feminism the actual motive of the  #Metoo  movement has lost momentum. In the following article, I will talk about why in the progressive 21st-century feminism is still needed. Recently on Instagram, we came across a “humanitarian” ( you know her), who in her videos makes only partial sense and goes on saying controversial things without the potentiality of welcoming constructive criticism. In a video, she says ” gareeb se gareeb ghar ki ladki bhi IAS officer banne a sapna dekh sakti hai” ( a girl belonging to an impecunious household is ‘allowed’ to dream of becoming an IAS officer), that is rightly said but my question is that can a destitute girl with prevailing social, cultural and economic factors actually turn that dream into...