Pratima Shah

   If only each of us could ever anticipate the perils of opening up before someone!!! It would be a boon if we would all have the power to see through the other person and know if he  she were trustworthy or not. All of us pay a huge price when we trust a wrong person and vent out our darkest fears / sorrows / mistakes. We are taken away by the good looks, some behavior at a particular moment or some charisma that follows. Thus we end up risking our secrets to someone who is more troublesome than the worth they hold. There are people who 'sleep their way to the top' by using their charm, sex appeal or anything through which they achieve what they desire.Amidst all these wolves, thankfully we do have people who are our genuine friends and before whom we can open up without inhibitions and any risk. But the point is - the worst that we face when we open up before the wrong set of people. We are left with more troubles and immense pain that the betrayal has caused. The betrayal o

  When I look at women around me I witness the kind of issues that they all are struggling with. Everyone on this planet is fighting their own personal battles. But being the nurturer of the family it is highly imperative for women to take care of their mental and physical health. We all multitask and women are great multitaskers compared to men. In today’s age even though we find people getting vocal about mental health and its issues we need to understand that it is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many of those affected who have never dared to speak of it nor shared it with anyone. The reason that I can relate with is that despite all the drama of sisterhood / womanhood by the leading women / feminists around us women are unable to empathize with another. They behave and treat one another as rivals. When one woman confides in another woman it is the duty of that woman to empathize and understand rather than judging and labelling her. Such incidents always occur in everyone

The quality and efficiency of a decision can never be witnessed when you are the process of making a decision. One understands its impact only after a decision is taken. Not everyone is sane enough to understand the pros and cons of a decision. Many of us live life superficially and are not even aware of what goes within ourselves in the busy life. In such a state of mind it is difficult to understand whether a decision taken is right / wrong. It is only when you delve deep within you realize the consequences of the decision you have taken.  In the process of decision making a person is always surrounded by choices and picking up the right choice that shapes your life is the toughest decision to make. At times even though you have gauged the decision and weighed the good and bad of it you fail to take the right decision. In such cases think of it as an experience which God wanted you to have. Rather than remaining depressed and noisy about the decision taken think how you can make your

   An inadequacy that is very common in Generation X is low self esteem. This is more pronounced in cities where most of the city dwellers are rootless, faceless migrants; who all the time are busy pretending to be richer and better pedigreed than their neighbors. People are so inclined towards money making that they spend half of the life pretending that they hold better jobs, are very educated than they actually are and are far better endowed financially.     People with conscience very quickly get tired of this game and eventually lose belief in their self. These good ones are those with low self esteem because their honesty has thrown them out of the rat race as they were incapable of competing with the deceit of the rat pack. These honest people find it difficult to cope with the hype and hoopla of the strategies required to promote themselves. Be it a teacher, an aspiring writer, a struggling entrepreneur, a budding actor or a corporate executive all have to market themselves as

  Among all the feelings that every human being has the worst is the feeling of being unwanted. Being unwanted either at a place / situation / group / by a person. You feel crushed by the weight of this feeling and are depressed. Everyone longs to be loved, appreciated and feel secure in whatever situation he/she may be. This struggle is downright depressing and overwhelming. One is not in control of the self and cries / shouts / vents out in a wrong way. Some prefer to bear silence and gain strength through the struggle that makes one restless and uneasy. You seek solace and comfort through various measures but in reality there is no solace.  When this feeling of being unwanted comes from a person / circumstance / group where you least expected you find your self - worth crumbling and falling to pieces. What can be done in this tough situation? Either you pick yourself bravely and leave that person / situation / group or you put on a brave face and suffer. When you try to be brave and

  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