Pratima Shah

  After the pandemic struck the world, things changed drastically around every human being. The men and children were at home free from their office work and school work respectively. Working women were confined to their homes but with double workload. The ubiquitous fear of the pandemic compelled everyone to be indoors. The working woman who fulfilled both the duties of her workplace and the home front now had to focus over the household chores. It was only when work from home was introduced that she began juggling with her work and home chores. Every home had a woman but barely did anyone notice her as usual. I say ‘as usual’ because that is what happens in the Indian scenario. It is expected of a woman to be submissive, meek and docile and to suffer and work silently. During the lockdown too, women proved their grit by managing the house without the help of maids / cooks / any kind of domestic help. There were rare places where the men in the house helped the women in doing the home

Why do humans seek the tingly excitement in pursuing the unattainable? Why do humans crave for that which is forbidden? Rightly said by Mark Twain, " There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable." By breaking the rules we have a sense of self - control and a taste of freedom. We enjoy the freedom that we gain by doing the forbidden. This feeling tempts us to break the barriers and go for that shot of adrenaline.  Some find this adrenaline rush in doing things like shouting on roads / drugs / drinking / having an extra-marital affair / eating unhealthy / cheating on your diet plan / doing things that are risky. We are all curious to do something that is forbidden since our childhood and this behaviour persists even when we are mature adults. This behaviour initiates when we are in the adolescence stage because this is the stage when we seek to reaffirm our persona by marking our space and fields of authority. Every person wants to be recognized in h

All of us have this problem in varying intensities: Either you are a person who can let go easily and refuse to stay in there, or you are a person who holds on and feels incapable of letting go. We are accustomed to holding on to situations, relationships, resentment and dreams. Many of us face situations wherein we require to make a decision - of staying where you are or letting go. Should I stay in this relation or get out of it? Should I look for a new job or remain stuck in the current job? Should I move on from someone / something or should I give it another chance? These are the questions that pop in our minds and trouble us until we make a decision. Life gives you signals to take charge of the situation. Say for example - it is expected of you to sacrifice your personal beliefs or become someone you are really not. You are unable to recall the time this made you smile. The situation / person made you feel depressed, broken and frustrated. When your trust is continuously broken;

 Forgiving a person who has hurt you is a very challenging task. One needs to forgive others for personal freedom, for releasing oneself from the burden of the emotions and live a happy life. But these statements are sugar coated. Forgiving someone is a mammoth task like every other challenging task that a person undertakes. There must be one reason why you want to seek freedom from these toxic emotions. One must comprehend what is at stake and why forgiveness is important for you, your peace of mind and for a happy life. Have we ever paid heed to the consequences of not forgiving? Most of the time people feel a resistance that keeps them from being willing to forgive. They have a misperception about the idea of forgiving and because of this they hold themselves back.  What Forgiveness is not - Forgiveness is not reconciliation with the one who hurt you. It is not living in denial of the actions of the person. It is not allowing the person to repeat the same behaviour over and over aga

 There is a huge population which is under the impression that surrendering at the feet of a guruji / a baba / a mataji or attending self - coaching classes would turn them into self - realized humans. An important aspect is to be awake internally and become conscious of every thought and action of yours. The key word is 'internal' because without 'internal will' nothing can make you realize the power within you.  Any success that you achieved in life always began by fighting the internal demons. After conquering these you took up the humongous task of conquering the external demons to achieve success. The internal demons include - fears, lack of confidence / self esteem/ worries / temptations / failures and your past experiences. The list could go on depending on what internal demons one possesses.  Have you ever taken into account the preponderance of '-ins' on the path of self - realization?  Why do we say in - trospect and not outer -rospect, in - tuition

   We all are born different and have a variety of idiosyncrasies. Due to these idiosyncrasies we have different perspectives. The difference in perspectives leads to clashes between people when they are with one another - at home / at the workplace / any situation where there are 2 or more than 2 persons. Things can get horrendously chaotic when there is a clash of perspectives. At the home front there is no peace and harmony between the family members. At the workplace it is highly stressful to work with colleagues / bosses who do not empathise and try to understand your perspective.    Perspective is what one individual feels about something. My perspective is my reality because I have programmed myself to believe a particular thing in a particular way / situation. It is my personal way of thinking which has been ingrained in me due to the kind of life experiences I have had. My values, my state of mind and the assumptions that I have for a certain issue / situation - all thes

   In the professional world one comes across people who are into the habit of projecting themselves as more successful and competent than their peers. This is the driving force behind the public relations business that is omnipresent in every field. The sad truth is that most of us are driven by sadistic instincts wherein we derive sadistic pleasure by belittling others / projecting others as nothing / playing the dirty games of the trade.     Like every other field there is a rat race here too. Everyone wants to show off and make others envious. People talk about luxuries / foreign trips / expensive accessories / jewelry but no one really "TALKS" to one another. Those living in the family are not aware what the members of the family feel / go through. All the years since I began working I never engaged in this race of creating my PR business. Whenever I meet the so called stalwarts of my field and notice their frivolity I make it a point to stand before that person with a s