FEMINISM- a necessity or a drama (PART-1)

The word FEMINISM comes from the word FEMININE which means “being a woman”. How is it that out of over a million words in the English language this particular word has created an uproar in the recent times with each woman becoming a “Feminist” proclaiming about her rights under this word and is criticized by others who think this is all a show of gaining attention , popularity and superiority. Read this blog completely to understand what actually caused to the popularity of the word , its implication in Indian terms and how has it helped women.

Feminism

FEMINISM refers to social , political and economic equality to women with respect to the males. Since God has given a woman the power to create life and nurture it , she automatically has a greater emotional quotient and her motherly attributes of being considerate, polite, loving , emotional is taken to be her weakness. Further since she has the organs to produce a human being , she is termed as “delicate” or in real words “WEAK”. WEAK is the term which has led the males believe that they are stronger and more capable and this has led to them ruling a woman since ages. The irony of the situation is that it is not just the males but also few women who thinks the entire woman race to be a subordinate to men and is born just to be a frustration box for the males.

So feminism in simpler words can be termed as a movement which was started to get women equal rights in education, property and employment matters and travelled as far as to the emotional treatment a woman has to suffer. It defines that a woman should be judged on the basis of her mental strength, her capabilities, her behavior rather than being judged for just being a WOMAN. It stands for women standing up to the male dominating world to fight for their self respect .

History of Feminism

The first instance of feminism which was the earliest reported one darts all the way back to 3rd century BCE in Rome where Roman women filled the Capitoline Hill and blocked every entrance to the Forum when consul Marcus Porcius Cato resisted attempts to repeal laws limiting women’s use of expensive goods. Cato’s words “If they are victorious now, what will they not attempt? As soon as they begin to be your equals, they will have become your superiors” proves that he somewhere believed women to be capable of exceeding men and it was this fear of letting that race which was suppressed since ages to be set free without any illogical restrictions bounding them which will make them realise their worth and will subsequently be no longer a personal robotic toy for men.

There was a time when the entire world was suppressing women. Women in each part of the world were denied the rights which would ensure her success instead she was just being treated as a caged animal. Until 19th century Europe did not give the women the right to inherit their father’s property which generally goes to the first child . In the absence of mail heir the property would go to a male relative however distant or evil he maybe. Jane Austen’s novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is the best example to this point where the Bennet family which consisted of all females had no right to their ancestral property .

While there were many other rules for women such as they had to step out covering their head as a mark of respect for the “SUPERIOR MALES”, had no right to vote or hold an elective office, cannot participate in any sort of buisness and went as far as to a man getting right to sell of his wife in many parts of the world. These actions proved that women were treated to be a non living enity with no feelings whatsoever.

After several protests, letters addressing women concerns being published, criticism the cause faced by the chauvinists , the woman were granted their rightful rights in many places in the world but the battle is till to be won. Many countries specially the ones in Asia still are treated as the object of male plight and fury.

With different culture the take and views on feminism chnages, let us see what brought about the changes for Indian women though the Feminism here was partly inspired by the west but its meanings and implications are different for the Indian women.

Feminism in India

Women in India are oppressed not only by the males but more by the fellow females. It is like a sort of inheritance being passed from one generation to the other where a girl is told by all the females in her family be it grandmother, mother or aunts that she should always keep all the males in her family above her and sort of idolise them and they are led to believe that if something wrong happens with them then it is the result of their own actions. This is the reason that many women silently suffer all kinds of domestic violence till their last breaths because this was what they had been taught since their birth.

Feminism in India can be divided into broadly three phases.

The first phase was witnessed in mid 19th century when several reforms in education and customs involving women were introduced. Sati, a practice which involved a woman setting herself on the fire by sitting on her husband’s pyre incase he expires before her, was abolished by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in the British Rule. This till date is considered as a biggest step in encouraging a woman where she was told she is much more than being a wife and her life does not ends with her husbands. Rani Lakshmi Bai the woman who fought Britishers with her infant son tied on her back after her husband’s death to save her kingdom from their clutches still continues to be an inspiration for many.
The second phase was witnessed from 1915 till India gained its independence and it started with Mahatma Gandhi incorporating women into his non cooperation movement , a first open political gathering where females were included. After this movement there were various Independent female groups created to fight for the Independence which managed to be off radar and continue their contribution in secrecy as Britishers had no hope that Indian women can step out of their domestic roles.
The third phase was witnessed after independence where women were included in the formation of the world’s largest democracy, has the power to vote and hold an elective office ,get educated and be independent. This phase continues till date and has witnessed many changes along the way. From it becoming normal for girls to get educated and work, to the extension of minimum age of marriage for a girl till 18 years by the Constitution of India to prenatal sex determination and Female Infanticide being considered as a criminal offence with severe punishment it may seem that India has come a long way and the women here are treated with equality and respect which they deserve but sadly this is not the case. Though the upper surface appears to be cleared there are still many horrible trenches inside.

Present Condition of Women in India

Feminism and plight of women in India cannot be sumarised under a single term. The heterogenity of Indian cultures bring with it multiple patriarchies and multiple feminist movements but the basic plight remains the same.

India is a highly patriarchal society where even today in 2021 people claim to be modern and “allowing their women” to have privileges same as that of men but the small privileges of getting educated , working comes at a price. Price of still not be able to take stand when she is wronged , the reason being a woman is pointed every time she becomes a victim while in some case she may act to be a victim hence committing a grievance sin but this minority is turned into making independent decision taking woman being regarded as “too bold” or “unfit” for the society by the chauvinist groups.

****Since even the basic points regarding the topic are indefinitely extended and talked about, it is difficult to make all the basic points in one blog and there will be a continuation to this blog soon.

I would conclude this blog here by stating that feminism is not the superiority of females over the males rather it is about them being treated equally both physically and mentally without any prejudice about them being a woman. It takes a lot to be a woman and to every woman out there be proud of what you are!

Types of Attacks

The following are the four general types of attacks:

Interruption
Interception
Modification
Fabrication

Interruption

A system asset is destroyed, made unavailable, or made useless. To put it another way, a network service is degraded or made unavailable for lawful purposes.

They are attacks against the availability of the network.

Examples of Interruption Attacks:

Overburdening a server host to the point that it is unable to reply.
Severing a chain of communication
Overloading an intermediary network or network device to prevent access to a service.
Requests are being redirected to invalid locations.
There is a risk of software or hardware theft or destruction.
File management systems are disabled.

Mitigate the attack:

Firewalls can be used to allow or reject protocols, ports, or IP addresses. Modern stateful firewalls, such as the Check Point FW1 NGX and Cisco PIX, have the capacity to distinguish between legitimate traffic and DoS attack traffic.
Maintaining appropriate backups of system configuration data.
Replication.

Interception

An asset is accessed by an unauthorized person. A human, software, or a computer might be an unauthorized party. To put it another way, an unauthorized person obtains access to confidential or private data.

They are the attacks against the confidentiality objective of the CIA Triad.

Examples of Interception Attacks:

Eavesdropping in on conversations.
Telecommunications networks are being wiretapped.
Copying files or programs without permission.
Obtaining copies of messages in order to replay them later.
To capture data from a computer system or network, packet-sniffing and keylogging are used.

Mitigate the attack:

Encrypting the flow of information from source to destination – SSL, VPN, 3DES, and BPI+ are used to encrypt the flow of information from source to destination so that if someone is able to eavesdrop on the traffic, all they will see is ciphered text.
Traffic Padding is a function that generates ciphertext output endlessly, even when plain text is not available. A random data stream is created endlessly. The plaintext is encrypted and sent when it is available. When there is no plaintext in the input, the random data is encrypted and delivered. As a result, an attacker will be unable to discriminate between tree data flow and noise, and hence will be unable to estimate the quantity of traffic.

Modification

An unauthorized person not only obtains access to an asset but also tampers with it.

This is an attack against the integrity of the information.

Basically, there are three types of modifications:

Change: Make a change to the information that already exists. The information was previously available, but it was wrong. Change attacks can be used to target either sensitive or public information.
Insertion: When an insertion attack is carried out, data that did not exist earlier is inserted. This attack might be used against historical data or data that hasn’t been acted on yet.
Deletion: Deletion is the process of removing data from a system.

Examples of Modification Attacks:

Modifying the contents of network communications.
Changing data files and their contents.
Changing programs to make them function better.
System hardware or network topologies are being reconfigured.

Mitigate the attack:

Intrusion detection systems (IDS) were introduced, which could check for various signatures that indicate an attack.
Encryption methods are used.
Padding for traffic
Backing up your data
Use checksums, sequence numbers, digests, and authentication codes as communications methods.

Fabrication

Counterfeit items are inserted into the system by an unauthorized entity. Simply said, a person introduces false information, resources, or services into a network.

This is an attack against authenticity.

Examples of Fabrication Attack:

Using the identity of another person to send communications across the network.
Replaying communications that were previously intercepted.
The act of impersonating a website or other network service.
Taking another host’s or service’s address and effectively-becoming that host or service.

Mitigate the attack:

Authentication and authorization methods are used.
Putting Firewalls to Work
Use Digital Signatures – A digital signature method is a mathematical scheme for proving a digital message or document’s authenticity.

Short and Long form content: Their relevance

The terms short and long-form content gets thrown around a lot in the realm of the internet but if we were to clearly define and differentiate both type of content. Then it becomes much harder to discern between the two.

For instance, if we were to describe, how many word counts define long-form content. Then we will notice that there is no particular amount of words that will fulfill those criteria. For some content creators, 1000 words might be long and for some, it may be short. This same principle can be applied to the viewers as well. Due to these many experts consider long-form and short-form as more of beliefs rather than any specific word count. The word count can also vary according to the type of content and subject.

Now let us transition into the social media platforms instead to understand this phenomenon better. In a nutshell, the rise of short-form of content and marketing sounds likes a great deal but we have to look at the underlying challenges and opportunities that come with it. Tik-Tok, Instagram, and many other platforms have become quite popular but somehow YouTube still manages to be relevant. Why is that?

One of the biggest strengths of YouTube and its encouragement of long-form of content is the higher level of engagement. Long-form of content is easier to monetize, instead of one ad banner in a one-minute video a creator can add multiple advertisement banners in a 20-minute video. Advertisers prefer that and so does the platform, this also incentivizes the content creator to make long-form content. In the advent of the pandemic, many platforms that focused on short-form content have suffered. An example of this is ‘Quibi’, which started as a Netflix alternative on the go, and many people were not traveling and restricted to their homes due to the restriction and lockdowns. The relevance of Quibi shifted to a very volatile situation. Because when a person is at home, he/she prefer to watch a full episode instead of a brief version of that content. We cannot determine the exact failure of Quibi but it’s certainly one of the major contributors to this.

When does short content Work?

This is not to say that short-form content does not work, because the popularity of platforms that cater to short-form content is thriving especially when it comes to images and short videos. This means that it’s very crucial to determine the target audience. Although Tik-Tok and Instagram might not have the original content and monetization possibilities as compared to YouTube. They are still the go-to platforms for many new creators and numerous advertisers.

But things are a little different when the content is in written form. It’s also essential to understand when the short-form content works and when it does not. For instance, Buzzfeed focuses on large volumes of shorter content. Another thing to keep in mind is that multimedia is an integral part of Buzzfeed content and sometimes the content only acts as a supplementary shell for their multimodal content.

Due to a busy work-life balance, people tend to have less time to spare, and short-form content seems like the right choice. It also works well on mobile application platforms. Applications like ‘inshorts’ and ‘dailyhunt’ have perfected the short-form content delivery. While working on short-form content, there are a few more prerequisites that are necessary. For example, the content needs to be on point and needs to convey the whole story succinctly. To keep the engagement the need for multimedia inputs also becomes more important. Due to the digital transformation of the news, the time cycle of news has become compressed, readers demand any kind of news instantly and news is now consumed in binges.

Things to keep in mind and is it good or bad?

Short-form content also requires short-form marketing. This is a challenging area where advertisers are trying to keep the users engaged but they also have to ensure to not annoy them with on the face and bombastic ads. This is one area that is still not well received by the consumers.

There is no particular answer to the question if the rise of short-form content is good or bad. This all depends on the context of the problem. While designing and creating the content, the writer will have to determine the target audience. This essentially solves half the problem. There is a demand for short-form content but this is more relevant concerning video and photo content sharing. Written short-form content needs to be accompanied by multimedia to make it enticing. While the heading needs to be attractive but overly clickbaity headings should be avoided. The epidemic of fake news in instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp has left a sour taste in people’s mouths.

Many predicted that desktops will be wiped out as smartphones arrive but desktops are still relevant and even though a mobile-first strategy is preferential, almost every major website still offers a desktop equivalent to their mobile counterparts. The reason is simple, less bounce and significantly higher average time on the site.

The same can be applied to the long-form content, with long-form content there are more possibilities compared to short-form content. There can be additional content and features like good or bad, or pros and cons, just like I’m doing here! Various examples, references, graphs, etc can be complimented to the content. It also becomes easier to organize content with numerous subheadings to make content much more intelligible. This is not to say that the longer the content is necessarily better because sometimes long-form content results in a point of diminishing returns. In many cases, the topic and subject are much more important than the form of content. Content relevance, internal linking structure, User Experience design, pictures, videos, and the quality of a website or application are very important as well.

In conclusion, we can say that both short-form and long-form of content are relevant, the only catch is to determine which type of content applicable in that particular situation. Short-form content platforms have seen a huge surge of popularity but on the contrary, marketing and monetizing of short-form has their own sets of problems that are needed to be addressed.

KEEP HUSTLING

You are closer to your goal than you think!

Do you ever open your social media and feel like everyone is progressing but you? Do you get that sinking feeling? and often takes over every other emotion and all that is left is dismay. We often hear things like “don’t be fooled by social media” or “everyone shows their success not their failure” but in the end one still ends up thinking about how lucky those people are without knowing what they have been through. That is the power social media has over our minds and emotions.

Thinking about what’s wrong with our lives and not realizing how better off we are than most people makes us an ungrateful human being. Instead of thinking what goes on in other people’s lives wouldn’t it be more beneficial if we just focused on our own. Well it definitely would be but it is easier said than done. Every night we go to sleep thinking that tomorrow I will get my life together and the next morning if even a single things doesn’t go by our plan, we abandon the plan all together. If this keeps happening we slip in a phase where there is only one thought “why aren’t good things happening for me”. Well let me tell you this, if you keep waiting around for things to magically happen, you will be waiting forever. All you have to do to make things happen is HUSTLE.

Again, it is easier said than done but we all have to start somewhere. Let’s begin with adopting a positive mindset. In order to do so we must accept that everything that happens, good or bad happens for a reason and the outcome will only make us stronger. If we proceed towards our goal thinking about the joy and satisfaction it would bring us then maybe we won’t have to struggle so much to begin. Next, we must not procrastinate. Procrastination is the mother of all problems. Try to finish your tasks when you receive them. This will give you the sense of accomplishment you so desire. Put everything you got in the task. Give it your best shot and let your work speak for itself. Another thing to keep in mind is to never let a third party discourage you. A lot of people desire what you have and they will try to stop you from going further. You must never let anyone come between you and your goal. Keep going until you know you are there.

Hustling is a part of life. You have to constantly work on yourself to reach where you want to go. Nothing in life comes easy. If everything was that easy you wouldn’t be feeling so dejected all the time. When you do all the work and see the results yourself, let me tell you there is no greater satisfaction than that. As they say “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. It takes time for great things to happen and if you keep going they eventually workout. So, don’t be fooled by those posts on social media because you need to know that even they worked hard to get there and who knows how many failures they have faced even though they don’t show it. All you need is a new perspective towards your life and it is a smooth sail from thereon.

Bollywood and Fashion

Bollywood and fashion go hand in hand. Come to think of it, they both have massively influenced each other. Fashion has always given the characters of Bollywood a distinguished definition, and Bollywood has inspired many fashion trends; be it wedding attires or casual outfits and has been doing so since forever. The audiences have looked up to actors for fashion and personal inspirations. While certain fashion trends are evergreen, the other tends to repeat itself every 10 years, which is why Anarkalis are still an ongoing trend. The trendsetters often visit the past to revive the old idea with a little modern twist.

Bollywood has been influencing fashion since its early days. While the 50s was about the dapper suits and sarees with pearl necklaces, the 60s was about vibrant colors, winked eyeliners and fringes.

1. Mughal-E-Azam:

One of the most iconic movies of all times gave us one of the most iconic trends which seem is here to stay. Mughal-E-Azam, the epic Indian historical love story between the price and court dancer gave the fashion industry the most iconic ethnic wear. Anarkali (Madhubala), the talented dancer, wore the outfit in the song Jab Pyaar Kiya toh Darna Kya justifying the name of the outfit after the character.

2. Waqt:

Sadhana’s hugging Churidar in the movie got popular amongst the young generation and is praised till date. Ladies enjoy wearing the evergreen Churidar of all the colors flaunting their body curves, and why not?

3. Brahmachari:

The one and only Mumtaz inspire the great retro look that we create for parties. In her song Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke, she transformed the way of wrapping saree and creating her fashion. The song and the saree were sensational and unstoppable.

4. Hare Rama Hare Krishna:

Zeenat Aman is known in Bollywood for her boldness. So there would have been no better than her to introduce the hippie culture and bell bottom pants to the industry. Hare Rama Hare Krishna, directed and starring Dev Anand, is a story about brother-sister duo and a tale of a modern family. Zeenat Aman’s character Jasbir is grown by in Montreal, hence bringing the western look in Indian cinema and breaking the stereotype.

5. Bobby:

Polka Dots are one of those evergreen trends that can be pulled off at every occasion. However, it would be difficult to pin down, how polka dots came into the limelight. It was through Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor’s Bobby, a modern-day Romeo Juliet with a twist and a different ending. Unlike the 60s, the 70s was more about crop tops and miniskirts, and we have Dimple Kapadia to thank for that. Her polka dots top and skirt were trendy then and are trendy now!

6. Shaan:

Parveen Babi brought glitter to fashion with her stunning outfit in Pyaar Karne wale from Shaan. In the title track, she wore shimmer gown, which immediately became the light of every party.

7. Chandni:

Sridevi and her exemplary style in Chandni won hearts all over the country. It was her who brought in the love for chiffon sarees and continued the same in Mr. India as well. Chandni was an epic love story of sacrifice which resonated with masses as did Sridevi’s style. After the movie, the demand for chiffon sarees was at the peak and seen around a lot.

8. Maine Pyaar Kiya:

The brought back the polka dots as Bhagyashree wore it as a skirt. The famous “Friends” cap and the leather jacket worn by Salman Khan got accessible from the movie.

9. Hum Aapke Hai Kaun:

The very stylish Madhuri Dixit wore the backless blouse in the film with a saree. Alongside her, starring Salman Khan, who not only did wore the suspenders differently but the three-piece suit caught everyone’s attention as well. The pair set a revolution in motion in terms of fashion and dance.

10. Rangeela:

The 90s college girls were solely inspired by Urmila’s fashion in Rangeela. Her Denim shirts with skirts or colorful pants created a sporty look for the girls to be comfortable in. Rangeela had an impact on the crowd, storywise as well as fashion-wise. The fashion trend set by the movie was hard to beat.

11. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:

Jumpsuits, Bob cuts, body tight polo t-shirts, and colorful friendship bands are to name a few trends that were seen being adopted by masses after the movie. KKHH was a sensational movie that connected with the audience so much that the country replicated every fashion possible from the film.

12. Mohabbatein:

The dynamic duo of very talented Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were paired in the movie. SRK, the trendsetter who is a professor in the film, has a nerdy look. The high-neck polo sweaters over the shirts with specks made the girls go gaga! While beautiful Aishwarya brought back the chiffon sarees in pastel colors. A pastel version of Chandni, perhaps?

13. Dil Chahta Hai:

Dil Chahta Hai did not only highlight the Goa trip we all want to go on with our friends, but also made Leather pants a hype. The movie inspired the crazy party clothing for the clubs in early 2000. It was all about the urban chic fashion and contemporary art, which was the highlight of the 2000s.

14. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham:

Pooh’s backless or Pooja’s Sharara, take a pick! K3G, was a classic family drama movie with so many fashion tips. The traditional heavy Sarees or the Band Gala suit worn by Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in the movie caught everyone’s eyes. We all know, magic happens when Manish and Karan work together.

15. Bunty Aur Babli:

Do a collared kurta, Patiala and a jhola ring a bell? Well, it should! Rani Mukherjee, in her mischievous love story with Abhishek Bachchan, wore the attire only so every single girl could adopt it. Her non-dupatta look got famous real quick real soon.

16. Parineeta:

Vidya Balan’s very first movie was one of the classiest trendsetters. Based on the novel written in 1914, Parineeta had picked up a few fashion trends from the era and created a beautiful fusion with modern fashion. Sticking to the authenticity, Balan wore full-selves blouses and suits which were later adopted by the ladies keeping it simple and beautiful.

17. Jab We Met (2007): T-shirts with Patiala salwar pants:

This was not long ago when Kareena’s dialogues got famous as well as her Patiala Salwar pants with Tshirts. The casual attire got so prominent that every college girl was seen wearing one. Moreover, Kareena’s outfit in the song, Nagada was another traditional hit. She was the first to wear, a suit-salwar with no matching color combinations, which was a fashion statement of its own.

18. Dostana:

Karan Johar’s magic is visible in the movie even though he just produced the movie. Dostana, the romantic comedy movie was way ahead of its time and trying to break the stereotypes. The film was excellent in terms of fashion. Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s no jewelry look was iconic and hard not to follow, but more than that, the song ‘Desi Girl’ got the low-waist golden saree the appreciation it deserved. One of the highlights of the 2000s fashion.

19. Wake up Sid:

Laidback lazy Ranbir Kapoor’s portrayal of Sid was probably the most relatable character for any college going student. His fashion resonated with the audience so much that everyone made an extra effort to look for perfect graphic t-shirts to wear to college.

20. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani:

One of the best onscreen pair is undoubtedly Ranbir and Deepika. In the movie, they followed different styles, given the film leaps forward a few years. In the first half of the movie yeh jawaani hai deewani, Ranbir’s Leather Jacket caught everyone’s attention. And during the second half, Deepika’s dark blue chiffon Saree became a party trend.

HOW MUCH ‘INSPIRATION’ DO WE NEED?

“THE PESSIMIST SEES DIFFICULTY IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY. THE OPTIMIST SEES OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY DIFFICULTY.” – Winston Churchill

EFFECTS OF INSPIRATION

The word “Inspiration” rings out many bells in one’s mind. It suggests many feelings such as promise and self-confidence which further charges up the other emotions to move forward in whatever domain one want to. Inspiration is a highly effective dose to bring out all the hidden personalities and characters in one’s disposition, which helps him or her to comprehend the potential and attain the set goals.

IT IS OMNIPRESENT

All the renowned and celebrated people who have made a mark in their life have been inspired and motivated at some or the other point of their life. We can take examples of people in the field of Art, Music and Medicine’ or in the field of Technology. Even politicians and great saints cannot be ruled out. One can get inspired in countless ways, it can be verbal, written or may be through some of the work done or an example set by the person they kind of became role models. When you carry a deep feeling for a person, you start trusting and have a blind faith in his thinking and philosophy and just start following the tracks without even being sure of that.

WE ALL NEED A MENTOR

The person you are impressed with or whom you ae following becomes your counsellor and you have to consider him like your ‘leader’. Only then, benefits can be gained and dreams can be appreciated. If we turn the pages of history Arjuna got so inspired after Lord Krishna’s sermons and he realized that if he did not listen to Lord Krishna at that time, then he will not be able to fight and protect Dharma’, as by that time he was totally influenced.

A TRUE LEADER ENKINDLES OUR FAITH IN THE ACTION

There are many saints who have earned name and fame in people’ s heart by simply following their ‘expert’ for an inspiration in life. So, an inspiration coming from the right person helps us to internalize our goals and we attain our mission Sometimes when we are depressed and are literally down in the junkyards, at that time a Comforting sentence or a gentle hand on the head gives us much required and desirable confidence and assurance. Such motivation goes a long way.

SUPPORT INSPIRATION

Therefore, one can work hard only if there is moral support and inspiration. As the saying goes that there can be perspiration only if there is an inspiration.

The Henna Artist – Book Review

The Henna Artist is Alka Joshi‘s debut novel that was published in early 2020. It instantly became a NY best seller, a Reese Witherspoon book club pick and currently being developed into a TV series. Furthermore, it was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Why may The Henna Artist be worth your time?

The Henna Artist is a captivating, engrossing and beautifully written historical fiction set in India in the 1950s.

The story follows Lakshmi, a strong-willed and decisive young woman who ran away from her marriage and family to the pink city Jaipur to become the talk of the town henna artist, herbalist and confidante for the elite circle of Jaipur ladies. Lakshmi’s talent, together with her determination and focus, rewarded her with the security, freedom and independence she strived for. A major life event takes place in Lakshmi’s personal life that forces on her new circumstances requiring tough decisions. Later on, we realize that this turning point was actually the catalyst for Lakshmi to reevaluate her priorities, free herself from the limitation of attachments and become closer to her true self and her real purpose.

Shedding light on social issues

This is a story abouy struggle, freedom, women’s choices, prostitution, abortion, ethical codes, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, perseverance, resilience, self-worth and forgiveness. It is a story about womanhood.

The Henna Artist is a compelling story with vivid rich descriptions that has the power of transporting the reader to that era written in a way that triggers all senses to truly enable the reader to picture the events and feel with the characters. The book is packed with cultural details such as henna art, natural and herbal medicine, Indian cuisine and family customs and traditions.

Closure

I truly enjoyed reading this novel and it made me think a lot more about my roots. Moreover, I am eagerly looking forward to reading the recently published sequel ‘The Secret Keeper of Jaipur’.

Comment down below your review of the book or suggestions for my next read!

How to maintain your credit profile

Due to the pandemic, Income saving and consumption patterns have changed. Consumers are delaying high ticket size commitments like home loans, auto loans, lot of discretionary expenses like vacations etc.

The positive thing is that a lot of consumers are monitoring their credit profile and are becoming credit conscious. People are becoming more and more aware of the importance of maintaining their credit profile and keeping a check on their credit score. Nowadays, before a loan is granted, the bank or financial institutions assess the credit profile of the candidate to ensure that they are capable of paying it back and have a clean record.

As credit becomes easily available with time especially since credit cards gained popularity, many of us tend to procrastinate or delay the repayments according to our convenience but what many of us don’t know is that it impacts our credit profile and score.

Therefore, it is important to keep a track on our credit record and maintain a good credit score.

How to check your credit score?

One can check the credit score via a credit bureau such as TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax etc. TransUnion CIBIL is arguably the most popular provider of credit score in India. You can access the latest credit report by paying the prescribed fee on CIBIL website.

Credit score usually ranges from 300 and 850. A fair score is between 550 to 700 and a very good credit one ranges from 700 to 900. The higher the credit score, the higher will be your creditworthiness.

Let’s understand some credit basics.

CIBIL SCORE VS CIBIL RANK

A Cibil Score is a 3-digit numeric summary of a credit profile. Data of past 24 months of any kind of loan or credit card that has been taken by an individual in the past is compiled and using algorithms a number is generated. It lies between 300-900. The higher the score, the better.

For businesses there is Cibil Rank. It is derived from company credit report. Ranges from 10-1 and 1 is the best rank an entity can get. A lot of government schemes are dependent on cibil ranks. Quicker loan approvals and lower interest rates are provided by banks based on it as well.

Government is providing relief with schemes like Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan, Moratorium Scheme by RBI etc. A lot of institutions are also directly educating consumers to encourage them to have a healthy repayment profile.
Moratorium scheme- Moratorium is the time period (earlier it was 3 months, now it is 6 months) where consumers will have an option to defer their payments for a future period. This is not a waiver it is a deferral with an interest. Hence, it is recommended to opt for it only if you truly need it as it will have an impact in the long run. Pay outstanding as soon as moratorium period ends so your credit score and report is clean.

How to stay Credit conscious?

Making timely payments to have a high credit score.
Save to Pay back
Continue to maintain the credit utilisation expense. Once lockdown opens, apply for new credit and moderation.
Monitoring the credit profile monthly to track any changes or frauds happening in your name or account using the alert facility.

Desertion of Lost artists in the Novella – The Artists of Disappearance by Anita Desai

Artists who create the magnificent form of artwork usually portray their inner personality in there all forms of art. They represent who they are, and how their psyche is. The creators of extraordinary art live a life of incompleteness, dullness, and hollowness within themselves.

Their creativity glorifies their inner self and how miserable their life is. All legendary wizards of art contribute incredible work despite having and living a horrible life. Whether it is Shakespeare who lost her 8yr old daughter, or whether it is Franz Kafka who had a fractured/failed relationship with his own father, or whether it is J.K. Rowling who had lived a miserable life striving between her failed career and failed family life while being a single mother, these all examples are basically the real lives of these great writers who imprinted their skills and printed their hands in the history of literature forever.

There are serval times when artists fail living in a complicated society when they are being judged and due to several cultural mishaps, which affect their lives. Likewise, The Novella “Artists of Disappearance” is one among them.

Artists of Disappearance – A Novella about unsuccessful Artists

This is a Novella, which is only one of its kind in its own way because this novel which has 3 novellas within it talks about what happens when the artists fail to satisfy their piece of art? How can an artist fail in his forte? For a writer/ or an artist the art is the reason why they survive in this uncanny world where there is a bridge between the writer and the injustices held against them, which ultimately oppose a writer to create their art! Readers will experience some kind of queries in their heads if they read these stories written by Anita Desai.

The writer had beautifully written these stories especially for the contemporary readers who are bustling their life and don’t have much time to read. But this Novella is amazing as all the 3 stories are somewhere relatable to readers of all ages.

“The Museum of Final Journey” –

This is the first novella of this book which is narrated by an unnamed Government bureaucrat who wanted to be a writer but unfortunately had to suppress his long writing career due to his father’s dream and expectation of his son to follow his footsteps and become a govt bureaucrat. As the story moves forward, we see that in the later years of the life of the narrator when he was a junior official and was posted into one of the remote areas, he describes his past experience as a flashback to the readers.

His experience was something which brought him in a state of apathy when one day an old man who was the caretaker of the “Mukherjee estates” came to the office for a favor to rescue the treasures of the states as some people were stealing it and disrespecting those precious things by exporting it to other countries. The Museum, which was now an abandoned museum for the residents living there, still had authentic elements present in it.

As the narrator quotes that: “While others dreamt dreams and lived lives of imagination and adventure, my role was only to take care of the mess left by them.” When the official comes in counter with the museum, he realizes the art and his life, his life is rusty and mundane like the dust-covered on the treasure’s museum, even if he tries to save the estate the art will be auctioned by other greedy people. When the artist dies, the art is never protected rather it becomes a means for greedy people to fulfill their needs.

The narrator finds himself and the Museum similar and ended his story by having this grief that he should have followed his dream, yet he was a failed writer whose life was hollowed and gloomy.

“Translator, Translated” –

Another story of a journey of a Failed writer, who is the protagonist of the story, named “Prema”, whose life was miserable and uncertain. She lived a mundane life as an English professor in a girl’s school where her own students mocked her and criticized her due to her appearance and her age. She didn’t have any goal and she always compared and envied her life with others, especially with one of her school acquaintances “Tara” who was now an editor head in a feminist publishing company.

When these 2 characters collide in one of the school programs, Tara allowed her to do a translating job. Initially, Prema’s journey as a translator was like a “Carousel”, but things fall apart when she tried to translate an Oriya book written by Suvarna Devi into English which later on ended her writer career ultimately.

Translating is a form of art that depends on how the translator deals with the language and brings the best piece of all. It becomes a sentimental concern if the translated work is not satisfied by the readers. This is what happened in the end, as her translated book didn’t receive much appreciation and in the end, Prema lost her dream to become an eminent writer and went back to her mundane life of being an English professor.

Her failure proves to us that, as the art fairs, the artists die! As the artist in Prema was dead when the art didn’t flourish. Her ability to write was dead when she drained by her own skills and failed with her own existence as an artist.

“The Artist of Disappearance” –

This is the title story of the novella with a protagonist named “Ravi” who had an unfortunate life who had been adopted at a very young age by a very wealthy couple. Even living in a mansion which was located at the foothills of the Himalayas, he never loved his life as his life was not peaceful like the other kids of his age. He had neglected parents who used to beat him up and used to leave him and traveled to Europe without having any concern for their son.

He was always caged in the house and what he always wanted is “Freedom”. This is what every artist wants to be free from the clutches of society, to think freely and exploring themselves.

In a fire accident when he lost his parents, he became to be with himself away from the social life and created much great artwork in his own house. His artwork was so much amazing that people who were filming near the village wanted to expose his work but he denied it and wanted to live an isolated life with his art.

The last story of Ravi proves that an artist is always attached to his work and never wants to leave it. Whether they fail or flourish, art is the reason which keeps them alive.

Though unnamed official, Prema and Ravi failed, their failures in there art form kept them alive from this undeserving world where they are not accepted for their art and yet these artists choose a life living in uncertainty with a certainty of hope hidden in their hearts and that surely one day they will reach their destination.

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

BOOK REVIEW

Honestly, I am always tempted to define this novel as “The love story of Pride and Prejudice.”, but I’m afraid this does not do justice to it’s universality. Read further to know why.

The book was written by Jane Austen (1775-1817) and published in 1813. Austen is majorly known for her commentary upon the landed gentry towards the end of 18th century England in her novels. The prominent themes of her novel revolve around women and their dependence on marriage in pursuit of better life. The opening line “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”, establishes marriage motif of the novel. The story revolves around the character development of Elizabeth Bennet- the second daughter of Bennet family. We learn the repercussions of hasty judgements through Elizabeth in the mean course of novel.

The setting and language give proper English feel. The obligation of girls in general to marry in a wealthy family as described in the novel, regardless of love gives the taste of realism. Realism however comes with the twist of romance. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingely who are wealthy and socially respectable figures, fall in love with girls from lower gentry and a series of events takes place. Although the novel was majorly predictable, it was a sort of catchy. Writing style can be one of the main reasons for the same. One must note Jane Austen is the first female writer to write in the genre of comedy; in addition to the wit, the writing becomes all the more interesting.

The words pride and prejudice however must not be made limited as the metaphors for the main characters Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth because every character in the novel possess these traits to some degree.

My personal favorite is Mr. Bennet, the head of Bennet family, a middle aged landed gentleman. He was different from the rest of the family members; quiet, witty, sarcastic and broad minded. His taking Elizabeth’s side for not marrying someone she did not approve of made him stand out from rest of the people. He liked Elizabeth the most because of her different temperament.

“Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic
humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of
three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his
wife understand his character.”

The whole novel is centered around family, prestige, vanity, society and wealth. Being more inclined towards the modern and post-modern novels these themes feel mundane but surprisingly this book proved to be relaxing; like watching K-drama!

History Of C Language

There are many programming languages in use today, one of which is C. There are many offshoots of the C programming language, including Objective-C, C++, and C#. None of these are the same language.
THE BEGINNING:
The C programming language came out of Bell Labs in the early 1970s. According to the Bell Labs paper The Development of the C Language by Dennis Ritchie, “The C programming language was devised in the early 1970s as a system implementation language for the nascent Unix operating system. Derived from the typeless language BCPL, it evolved a type structure; created on a tiny machine as a tool to improve a meager programming environment.” Originally, Ken Thompson, a Bell Labs employee, desired to make a programming language for the new Unix platform. Thompson modified the BCPL system language and created B. However, not many utilities were ever written in B due to its slow nature and inability to take advantage of PDP-11 features in the operating system. This led to Ritchie improving on B, and thus creating C.

The development of C was to become the basis for Unix. According to the Bell Labs paper, “By early 1973, the essentials of modern C were complete. The language and compiler were strong enough to permit us to rewrite the Unix kernel for the PDP-11 in C during the summer of the year.” This now meant that C was becoming a strong language that could, and would be, implemented across many systems. By the middle of the 1970s, the C-based Unix was used in many projects within the Bell System as well as “a small group of research-oriented industrial, academic, and government organizations outside [Bell Labs]”. In 1978, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie published The C Programming Language, which would serve as the language reference until a formal standard was adopted. Five years later, the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) formed the committee, X3J11, to establish the formal standard of C. The C standard was ratified as ANSI X3.159-1989 “Programming Language C”. This was the first formal standard of C. Currently, we are on the fourth standard of C, known as C18 as it was published in June of 2018

Over time, C began to be used in personal computers for developing software applications and other purposes.
The first change (even if only a little) came when the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) formed a committee in 1983 to standardize C. After a review of the language, they modified it a little so that it was also compatible with other programs that preceded C. So the new ANSI standard came into being in 1989, and is known as ANSI C or C89. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has also contributed to the standardization of C.
Over time, C has evolved as it has added some significant features like memory management, functions, classes and libraries to its rich feature set. C is being used in some of the biggest and most prominent projects and products in the world.
C has also influenced the development of numerous languages such as AMPL, AWK, csh, C++, C–, C#, Objective-C, Bit C, D, Go, Java, JavaScript, Julia, Limbo, LPC, Perl, PHP, Pike, Processing, Python, Rust, Seed7, Vala and Verilog.
USES TODAY :
According to Toptal, UNIX operating systems are written in C and most of Linux is also in C. Also databases such as Oracle Database, MySQL, MS SQL Server, and PostgresSQL are at least partially written in C. C is the basis of many system kernels. Other programming languages, like Python and Perl, use compilers or interpreters that are written in C.
C has changed over the years and is still a common language to use in lower level programs, like kernels. But it is also used for many applications ranging from device drivers to other programming languages’ compilers or interpreters. The language also made way for C++, Objective-C, C#, and many more C-based languages that each have their own speciality.

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

The “Solar system”

There are many planetary systems like ours in the universe, with planets orbiting a host star. Our planetary system is named the “solar” system because our Sun is named Sol, after the Latin word for Sun, “solis,” and anything related to the Sun we call “solar.”

Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity — the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, dwarf planets such as Pluto, dozens of moons and millions of asteroids, comets and meteoroids. Beyond our own solar system, we have discovered thousands of planetary systems orbiting other stars in the Milky Way.

10 Need-to-Know Things About the Solar System

1>ONE OF BILLIONS

Our solar system is made up of a star, eight planets and countless smaller bodies such as dwarf planets, asteroids and comets.

2>MEET ME IN THE ORION ARM

Our solar system orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph). We’re in one of the galaxy’s four spiral arms.

3>A LONG WAY ROUND

It takes our solar system about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

4>SPIRALING THROUGH SPACE

There are three general kinds of galaxies: elliptical, spiral and irregular. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.

5>GOOD ATMOSPHERE(S)

Our solar system is a region of space. It has no atmosphere. But it contains many worlds—including Earth—with many kinds of atmospheres.

6>MANY MOONS

The planets of our solar system—and even some asteroids—hold more than 150 moons in their orbits.

7>RING WORLDS

The four giant planets—and at least one asteroid—have rings. None are as spectacular as Saturn’s gorgeous rings.

8>LEAVING THE CRADLE

More than 300 robotic spacecraft have explored destinations beyond Earth orbit, including 24 astronauts who orbited the moon.

9>LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

Our solar system is the only one known to support life. So far, we only know of life on Earth, but we’re looking for more everywhere we can.

10>FAR-RANGING ROBOTS

NASA’s Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft so far to leave our solar system. Four other spacecraft will eventually hit interstellar space.

Spacecraft are Headed into Interstellar Space:-

Five spacecraft have achieved enough velocity to eventually travel beyond the boundaries of our solar system. Two of them reached the unexplored space between the stars after several decades in space.

Voyager 1 went interstellar in 2012 and voyager 2 joined it in 2018. Both spacecraft are still in communication with Earth. Both spacecraft launched in 1977.
NASA’s new horizons spacecraft—currently exploring the an icy region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt—eventually will leave our solar system.
Pioneer 10 and pioner 11 also will ultimately travel silently among the stars. The spacecraft used up their power supplies decades ago.

The Eastern Ghats

Unlike Western Ghats,Eastern Ghats is a discontinuous and irregular one.It is dissected at many places by the rivers,which drain into the Bay of Bengal.Its height ranges from 1,100 to 1,600 m.These hills separate the Kalrayan,Kollimalai and Pachamalai are the major hills of the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu and are located in Northern districts of the state.

Javadhu Hills

Javadhu Hills are an extension of the Eastern Ghats spread across parts of Vellore and Tirunelveli districts and seprates these two districts.Many peaks with the height of 1,100-1,150metres are located in this range.Melapattu is its highest peak.The Vainu Bappu Observatory(VBO) Kavalur,which began operationa in 1967,is located on theses hills.Many parts of this range are covered with bluish grey granites.It is noted for its fruit bearing trees,medicinal herbs and Sandalwoods.Due to illegal logging, Sandalwood trees are disappeared now.

Kalvarayan Hills

The name ‘Kalvarayan’ comes from the word ‘Karalar’,the ancient name of the present tribes .It is another major range of hills in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu.This range ,along with the Pachamalai,Aralvaimalai,Javadhu and Servarayan hills,Seprates the river basins of cauvery and palar.The height of this hill range from 600 to 1,220 metres.These hills have two sections.The northern section is referred as the chinna Kalvarayan and the southern one the Periya Kalvarayan. The average height of Chinna Kalvarayan is 825 metres and the Periya Kalvarayan is 1,220 metres.

Servarayan Hills

Peaks in Eastern Ghats

Shervarayan temple-1,623m

Major hills in Tamil Nadu(Districts and hills)

Coimbatore-Maruthamalai,Velliangiri and Anaimalai
Dharmapuri-Theertha malai,Chitteri and Vathamalai
Dindigul-Pazhamalai and Kodaikanal
Erode- Chennai hills and Sivan hills
Vellore- Javadhu,Yelagiri and Rathinamalai hills
Namakkal-kolli hills
Salem-Servarayan ,Kanjamalai and Chalk hills
Villupuram-Kalvarayan and Gingee hils
Perambalur-pachaimalai
Kanyakumari-Marunthuvazhmalai
Tirunelveli-Mahendragiri and Agasthiyamalai
The Niligris-Nilgiri hills

It is a mountain range located nera the Salem city the height ranging from 1,200 to 1,620 metres. The name of the range comes from a local deity , Servarayan.The highest peak in the Southern part of the Eastern Ghats is located in this range. The peak is Solaikaradu and its height is 1,620 metres.The hill Station Yercaud,which is known as poor man’s Ooty,is located on this range.Servarayan temple is it’s highest point(1623m).

Kolli Hills

It is a small mountain range located in Namakkal district.It covers an area of about 2,800 sq.km.It rises up to 1300 metres.This is a mountain range that runs almost parallel to the east coast of South India.Arpaleeswarar temple located on this range is an important pilgrim centre.It has the largest cover of evergreen or shola forest when compared to other parts of the Eastern Ghats.Several coffee plantations, fruits,flowers and silver-oak estates are found in this region

Pachaimalai

It is the lowest hill range,spreads over the districts of Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli and Salem.In Tamil Language,Pachai means green.The vegetation in this range is greener than the vegetative cover of the other hills in this region.Hence it is named as ‘pachai malai’.Jackfruit is a popular seasonal agricultural product of this hills.

ONE FINE DAY

My eyes are not willing to close. The clock needle seems fixed. No the time is not running. Oh my god, earth please start your ride. I want my tomorrow. Hello sleep take me. Yes… Still 8 hrs, oh come on please tomorrow come on. My heart says oh my boy I can’t leave you to take sleep,go go go a deep visit in your past.

Yes I remember, she says it happens in a day and that day is tomorrow. Fine I’ll paste my eyes and set time on alarm. Very good night to meet a welcoming tomorrow. Yes! Hurray the day has come, it’s today. Ufff, now I have to get up like a men. My god where’s my another socks, it’s ok to go without socks. Bye my house! You believe it’s today……

I have parked my bike under a orange flavoured tree and take a look on my watch. Suddenly a violin plays, my nose gets sense with a smell, awww a chill breeze, when I take my head up…. Yes she is, it’s her. My girl. Oh man what a kerala saree l, how can God sends angels down here. My mouth gets shuttered. Words affixed in my tongue. My girl starts, hello da nice to meet you. You’re looking great in this shirt. My mind voice be thanks to the man who tailored this pretty one.

My eyes never blinked off her. She sat near me and takes my hand. Hey, you’re my love and you’re my life, you’re my heart and you’re my beat in it. I want you wholeheartedly. Will you take me with you….? My heart stops suddenly and tears filled in my eyes. For the first time my mouth opens. Baby I don’t believe that gods can talk but right now I believe God can even come with us. You’re love of my life, I never promised in my life but today I’m giving you a word, I don’t know about your past but I assure you that your future will be lovely with me. There are about millions andmillions of people in the earth,thanks for choosing me. She slowly take an advantage and draw a sign on his cheeks through his lips.we both talked and laughed in a beautiful red sunset .

Tring tring!!!!! Alarm beeps. I just open my eyes and got shocked oh god that was a beautiful dream I ever gone through. Please make my day as ditto as yesterday . With full of confidence he dressed like her man and leaves his home to see her. Whatever it was, the day came and it was his ONE FINE DAY.

Month: July 2021

FEMINISM- a necessity or a drama (PART-1)

Feminism

History of Feminism

Feminism in India

Present Condition of Women in India

Top Reads for Teenagers!

Types of Attacks

Short and Long form content: Their relevance

When does short content Work?

Things to keep in mind and is it good or bad?

KEEP HUSTLING

You are closer to your goal than you think!

Bollywood and Fashion

HOW MUCH ‘INSPIRATION’ DO WE NEED?

The Henna Artist – Book Review

How to maintain your credit profile

How to check your credit score?

How to stay Credit conscious?

Desertion of Lost artists in the Novella – The Artists of Disappearance by Anita Desai

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

BOOK REVIEW

History Of C Language

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

The Eastern Ghats

Javadhu Hills

Kalvarayan Hills

Servarayan Hills

Kolli Hills

Pachaimalai

ONE FINE DAY

Feminism

History of Feminism

Feminism in India

Present Condition of Women in India

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When does short content Work?

Things to keep in mind and is it good or bad?

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You are closer to your goal than you think!

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How to check your credit score?

How to stay Credit conscious?

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BOOK REVIEW

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Javadhu Hills

Kalvarayan Hills

Servarayan Hills

Kolli Hills

Pachaimalai

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