My Blog

This is with reference to Niyati Seth's and Apoorva Bama's How cultural rites and rituals are impacting Yamuna's water quality, (December, 30). I fully agree with the author. Industrialization and urbanization have already deteriorated the water quality of rivers and lakes in India. Another emerging factor contributing to the degradation is the cultural activities. There are many other tributaries and rivers that flow across India, but we, the inhabitants of New Delhi, rely mostly on river Yamuna for our household, agricultural requirements and owing to its holiness, Yamuna is the site for carrying out rites and rituals. The quality of Yamuna's water is mostly degraded by the discharge of industrial wastes and sewage, but cultural activities add insult to injury and exacerbate the problem. The immersion of idols made of POP, paints, plastic, flowers, polyethylene bags, decorations all compromise on the water quality. The white froth-like foam on the Y...

The twist/tweak in Cadbury’s Iconic advertisement - The Gender swap One day, when I was watching some videos on YouTube with my family, there was an advertisement launched by Cadbury where a women could be seen playing cricket, hitting a six and her partner/brother cheering for her. After seeing this, my mother showed me a similar advertisement that was launched by Cadbury in 1994. At that time, a woman was  seen cheering her partner while he played cricket and hit a six. During that era, women were mostly seen playing the role of mother, daughter or sister, taking care of the joint family, being in the background and never getting the role of the protagonist. Cadbury has won the hearts of many, by bringing a very minor, yet impactful change to the iconic advertisement. This time, it's the man who is cheering his partner while she plays cricket and hits a six. The advertisement very rightly portrays how the times are changing (for the better) and so are the gender norms where...

The famous Manyavar advertisement – ‘Tradition wahi, soch nayi’ featuring Alia Bhatt depicts the feelings and restrictions a bride experiences while getting married. It rightfully questions the age-old tradition of giving away girls at weddings as a part of a ritual called ‘Kanya-Daan’ .  In the commercial, Alia recalls her grandmother telling her as a youngster – ‘ When you’ll go to YOUR home, I'll miss you loads' - to which Alia asks herself – ‘Isn’t THIS home mine?’ When taking a selfie with her father, she gets nostalgic about how he used to always pamper her and fulfill all her wishes. Some people often adviced her father to 'not spoil Paraya Dhan' , however he never paid attention to it.  While her father never paid heed to these naysayers who thought so poorly, neither did he ever refute and correct them, that his daughter was neither 'Paraya' nor 'Dhan'.   Never did he ever tell them that she was a rightful and equal member of the society and n...

This is with reference to Shashi Shekhar's 2021: For India, a year of mixed fortunes (straightforward, December 27). I fully agree with the author. This year has been a real rollercoaster with frequent highs as well as lows. The rise in Covid deaths, emergence of a new variant, increased economic inequality, standoff between India and China, return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, firing of the Nagas and the sad demise of the First chief of defense staff and 12 others have left us stunned and horrified. Every Indian is hoping to never witness such a year again. However, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, the unfortunate happenings have  brought with it lots of glory for India. The exemplary performance of the sportspersons at the Tokyo Olympics, victory of Kamala Harris as the first women vice president of the US and the significant mark of India in the world-class companies like Google, Twitter, Microsoft, have stood as an in...

This is with reference to Madhu Mehra's Raising the marriage age is not the solution (December 24). I fully agree with the author. The child marriage laws, have existed for a long time and have Infact led to declining of child marriage to some extent, but (I am sorry to say), child marriage still persists and is quite popular in the SC and ST groups. The bill about increasing the minimum age of marriage is very unlikely to end this practice and can in a way aggravate it further. The only way, as rightly expressed by the author, is to make education mandatory till a certain age and to provide affordable, quality education with hygienic conditions and safety mandates. 

Sikkim , A place as beautiful as it sounds! Nestling in the Himalayan mountains, it is known for its magnificent beauty, mountainous terrain and rich diversified culture. It is a charming state of the Indian Union, which is certain to bewitch anyone. We can witness a continuously changing panorama and unique foliage with lofty trees, rugged mountains, grassy plains, shades of blue, crimson and brown dotted with white, animal species, dolphins frolicing in rivulets and reptiles awaiting in the beautiful lakes. All these are the forces of nature, something so subtle to look at. Something so appealing to the eyes. Sikkim is at all times bustling but at the same time it is calm. Known for its historical heritages, wide range of rituals and simplicity - Sikkim has it all! From the indescribable beauty of the silk route, the popular food in Gangtok, the sacred lake - Gurudongmar Lake, the attractive dances to the 3rd highest mountain in the world, Kanchenjunga. Communities, cultures, relig...