Our day to day life activities involve many mysterious things that we experience but have no idea why do they affect us. Here are some facts about the way our mind reacts to some things:

• Music changes perception

If you listen to an upbeat music, your mood boosts up instantly. While when listening to a sad song you feel low.

Hence, when you workout or go for jogging, good music makes you feel more energetic.

An experiment was conducted in 2011 to observe if music can affect the way you perceive your environment. People were told to identify happy and sad faces while songs were played in the background. It was observed that they had difficulty in identifying the happy faces while listening to a sad song and vice versa.

This is because of Perceptual Expectations. When you hear something through your ear your brain automatically makes you expect to see something similar through your eyes.

• Foreign language logic

Almost all of us know at least 2 languages. One is our mother tongue and other is our second or foreign language. It has been observed that people take decisions more logically or practically when they take it in their second language.

This is because our reasoning skills are divided into two parts viz.

1. Systematic and Logical

2. Unconscious and emotional

Our mother tongue mostly influences the emotional part and brings our emotions in the middle while we make a decision. But our second language is not affected by emotions hence, when you want to take a logical decision, think about it or frame it in a different language.

• Singing reduces anxiety

Endorphins and dopamine when released in the brain, decrease the stress and feeling of pain.

When we sing, these hormones are released in large amount and therefore, the feeling of nervousness or sadness almost goes away when you sing. So next time when you feel low or nervous, sing your heart out.

• Rejection feels like punch

Our brain is designed to release same chemicals in the same areas when we feel emotional or physical pain.

Hence, sometimes when someone emotionally hurts you, you feel the same pain that you feel when you are hurt physically.

• Canonical perspective

Whenever we look at a thing or object, we see it from the side and slightly above.

For example, if I tell you to draw a glass of water, what are you going to draw?

We draw the 2nd image that is the side view of the glass, the same vantage points that we see.

• Negativity gene

A 2013 study showed that the negative thinkers don’t think negative by their own will. It’s inbuilt in them since the time they are born. It’s genetically transferred to them.

• Power of Sunlight

Sunlight has vitamin D that acts in the body as mood stabilizer and releases pleasurable hormones. The places with low sunlight or no sunlight have more stressed out people than the places with good sunlight.

So whenever you feel stressed, step out in Sunlight for 10 minutes and your mood will lighten up.

• Over sleeping

After sleeping for 10-12 hours or more than that, how do you feel? Do you feel more sleepy or tired?

It is because sleeping too much is similar to not sleeping at all and that is why you feel tired. It’s the biological schedule of sleep that gets disturbed.

Hence, the perfect amount of sleep that is maximum 8 hours is necessary to feel energetic and not tired.

• The colour Red

Ever wondered why the ‘decline’ options are always in the red colour? It is because the color red is associated with negativity.

• Mood sickness

Mood sickness doesn’t only affects our mind but it also affects our body. The working of our brain and body are tied together. Therefore, when one suffers, the other is also prone to suffering. So, if you are in a bad mood for a long time then you are more likely to fall sick.

• Butter and cheese relax mind

When we are stressed, our body and the nervous system feel exhausted and tired. This causes an increase in the tension. The calcium that cheese contains, acts as a relaxant and improves nerve function. While butter contains proteins and also provides healthy fats which balance the level of sugar which is very necessary for your good emotional state.

There are many more psychological facts that can surprise you and make you wait and think about them. For now think about these and apply them in your day to day life.

I never thought I would be writing this but today I am forced to do this because I can’t hold back my emotions any longer.

It has been more than three days since the news of your demise came out but still I’m not able to get over it and I don’t know why the death of a person whom I have just seen on the screen is affecting me so much or may be it’s affecting everyone who ever admired your performance and personality. To be honest I have never been a staunch fan of any actor but your death has disturbed me beyond words. Your acting was no doubt one of the finest acting I have ever seen. Your realistic portrayal of the character in the front of the camera was a treat to watch but look at the irony that we will never see that cheerful face on the big screen again. The characters you portrayed never looked like the character but always like you yourself was the character. Whether it be Ishaan from Kai Po Che, Dhoni from M.S Dhoni, Anni from Chichhore , Sarfaraz from P.K, Lakhna from Sonchiriya, Raghu from Suddha Desi Romance, Mansoor Khan from Kedarnath, Jillian and Shiv from Raabta, Samar from Drive and Byomkesh from Byomkesh Bakshi your performance never failed to mesmerise your viewers.

No one would have even imagined that a person with such an infectious smile was going through such deep shit and was forced to take the drastic step of ending his life on such a sad note. It’s hard to believe that people around you didn’t paid attention to the huge behaviour difference you were showing in the last six months or may be they have noticed and they have just ignored it but now when you are gone they are feeling guilty. I want to ask such people why feel guilty why huh when he needed you the most you didn’t came to help him but now when he is not there you are showing fake sympathy towards him.

Is this world that level selfish and hypocrite that they can’t help you out when you are alive but pray for your soul when you depart for heaven. I feel the phrase that says that it takes your life for the world to notice you. As long as you are alive people will not give a damn about you and as soon as you die they will start recognising that you existed.

I know the world including me as well is extremely egocentric but your life was much precious than that, you should have trusted at least a single person to tell what all you have going through. My heart aches when I write that you preferred dying over living because you didn’t find even a single human being on earth reliable enough to understand your suffering.

I understand that you didn’t received the massive acknowledgement which you deserved from the audience, and as a audience I would like to apologise for that because in the era filled with nepotism and favouritism a guy from a non filmy background with no godfather in the film industry carved a niche for himself just with his hard work and perseverance.
You always fought for the things that you really wanted in life so why you gave up this time . You left the battle in between, I didn’t expected this from a fighter like you, you would have been a clear winner if you would have fought this battle with depression. You would have told stories about how you fought with depression, that there is nothing to panic about but you didn’t do that you chose death over life instead. Not done SSR not done.

It was because of you so many young artists got inspired, it was because of you so many people got the opportunity to pursue their dreams. You gave people strength and courage to fight for their dreams, you taught them that a person who dares to dream can achieve them and no matter what your background is with ultimate will and perseverance you can achieve big things. Your journey from Patna to Mumbai was an inspirational story for many and all of a sudden you left all, you didn’t thought about that if you will die many people won’t be able to fulfil their dreams as they will get demotivated. Many parents will not allow their children to go in film industry many will force their children to leave what that they like and join other profession as one would want their child to die and they will cite your death as an example.

It was because of you so many got the opportunity to live their dreams and it will be because of you so many will be denied of that opportunity and I’m sure you must be feeling very bad after knowing this.

You underestimated your worth it was much more than your assessment . This swallow world didn’t gave you anything in return except pain and suffering. You deserve a life much better than this and I wish and pray that you get one soon where you and your talents get appreciation as much they deserve.

Your fans love you and always will

Much Love ❤

See you on the other side

A staunch fan of your’s

Students play a very important role in removing illiteracy. … This is because the students are responsible for ensuring they themselves are engaged in the learning process and in ensuring that they become enlightened to be able to help others on coming out illiteracy. In this modern age there are several ways to ensure you don’t miss out on education and end up in poverty.
Without students being available and ready to learn, teacher would be wasting their time and at the end of the day they would not have someone to teach.
It is very unfortunate some students cannot access education due to poverty or other life situations that hinder them from participating in the education process. But one thing that is important to note that for there to be eradication of illiteracy the students themselves must be willing and available to partake of this treasure. The thirst for education or for learning is what is required for one or a nation to eradicate illiteracy.
This means that even that are in poverty, they need to be willing to learn even from their counterparts that have access to education. This means that access to education is readily available in this contemporary world is readily available.
Therefore from this alone one is able to understand that students play a very important role in eradicating poverty.   
Students can play an imperative part in expelling lack of education as they have a lot of time.In summer vacations they can give several hours to instruct the uneducated people in regions or towns close to their residence. They can stir the uneducated people in living aptitudes, appropriate cleanliness, childcare, and sustenance. Additionally, they can evacuate particularly the social wrongs from the psyche of ignorant people like visually impaired faith in superstitions, religious bias, communalism and limited – mindedness.

They can educate about the significance of being illiterate.They can get to different plans of the administration for their inspiration and growth. they can render it better with the assistance of educational organizations, National Literacy Mission, NGOs and social gatherings.

A country wants to achieve the goal of 100% literacy, it will have to involve the students in the literacy programmes.

Each one teach one is a famous historical proverb that originated in America before the declaration of the Emancipation Declaration. The black people did not have privileges to education. Thus, this campaign ‘each one teach one’ was launched to educate the colored people. The few educated black people taught as many uneducated people as was possible.

In the classic and unforgettable song, ‘Ebony and Ivory’, written by Paul McCartney and sung in duet in McCartney and Stevie Wonder, an extremely sensitive question is put in the forefront: if ebony and ivory, the black and white reeds can coexist in piano keyboard “in harmony” why doesn’t it happen in our case? The song became public in 1982 but the question remains a nagging one in human civilization even today. Why do we play the superior-inferior game on the basis of the colour of skin? It is especially intriguing. Science has proved beyond doubt that it is not caused by anything else but by the varying degree of melanin in our skin. Those who among us have lightly pigmented skin types possess approximately half as much epidermal melanin than those most darkly pigmented. There is no better or worse DNA involved to make one group inherently superior at the cost of another.

But societal ideas defy scientific rules. Nowhere perhaps it is more evident than in the distinction between black and white. The US just recently has witnessed the eruption of protests following the killing of George Floyd, a middle aged Afro American, by a white policeman. When he cried and appealed to the policeman who had his knee on Floyd’s neck, saying “”I cannot breathe”, it fell into deaf ears. Within a couple of days after this horrific incident another black man was shot and killed by a white officer in Atlanta. President Trump seeks to solve the problem on his own style by promising some revisions of policing standards. But everyone knows that the solution is too superficial to tackle the problem. The roots of the problem lie much deeper into our minds and it is engraved in society and in our everyday life.

One need not romanticize the black cause. But as the leading slogan of the recent protests asserts “Black Lives Matter”. In fact, any life matters. It is also good to see the number of white participants in the protests, who are equally conscious of the terrible outcome of such distinction based on colour. South Africa had long been a warning to the world in having practiced apartheid. One can even argue that the world got a great leader like Gandhi, partly due to the fact that he was thrown out of a train in that country despite being a ticket holder but daring to travel in upper class. Officially apartheid is no longer there in South Africa after the blacks gained power. But in most parts of the world the same attitude remain unofficially. In various European countries too, like America, which are otherwise admired for proclaiming liberty, freedom, rights and equality for all, behind the constitutional provisions such discriminations remain. More  alarming is the latent racist bias. The skin colour plays a vital role in determining the degree of opportunities, social and economic positions and status in society. The fight must go on. Martin Luther King, Jr., the iconic leader of civil rights movement in the US and a disciple of Gandhi, made this remark: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

An Indian cannot rest assured that we are far removed from such incidents. Any Indian committed to the welfare of our society also know that we are not immune from the same disease. Recently, in West Bengal one headmistress and one teacher of a government-aided school were suspended for teaching from a textbook which has the picture of a black man as ‘ugly’ and a white man as ‘uncle’. We all know that ‘colour sensitivity’ is a pan Indian phenomenon. Despite the fact that our skin colour in general gains the white tag many of us are extremely obsessed with being fair at least. Fairness creams and solutions have a wide market. Despite being banned from advertising proxy advertising goes on unabated. The horrific television commercials of a girl using such cream before the first date or before facing the interview board may be a thing of the past thanks to large scale protests by social activists. But our perception of ‘fair is beautiful’ has hardly changed. The matrimonial columns of all newspapers prove the colour obsession of Indians of all varieties.

It is not a crime to be black. Nor is it a crime to be white. The gravest crime is to assess human beings on the basis of colour. Rightly the piano provides a valuable guide in this regard.

Over the period of time, the idea of prison has evolved from just punishment to rehabilitation of criminals. The reason behind the rehabilitation was to prevent the convicts from repeating the crime.

One such attempt was made in 1787 when a group of influential Philadelphians met at the house of Benjamin Franklin. They considered that the environment of a shared cell by male, female, children and prisoners convicted of heinous crime resulted in bad influence on each other. Thus, they came with an innovative idea of creating an environment that supported repentance by the convicts.

They built Eastern State Prison, in which each prisoner was offered a separate cell containing a flush-toilet, central heating and an outdoor exercise yard covered by a 10 feet wall. The skylit room and the hallway that resembled the church like appearance, made the prison a perfect place for spiritual repentance. The prisoners would be left in silence and solitude to reflect upon their mistake. The Eastern state building was usually referred to as Penitentiary because the criminals were expected to become penitent during their stay in that building.

But when the convicts were brought to this building they experienced a different realm. Charles Dickens, an English author, upon his visit to the Eastern State Prison says the following in his travel journal, chapter seven titled “Philadelphia and its Solitary Prison:”

“In its intention I am well convinced that it is kind, humane, and meant for reformation; but I am persuaded that those who designed this system of Prison Discipline, and those benevolent gentleman who carry it into execution, do not know what it is that they are doing….I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye,… and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret punishment in which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay.”

Most of the inmates in the cell expressed anxiety and despair about their solitude. They were pushed to the limits of solitude in that cell where they hardly heard or saw anyone except the guard. The guards too don socks over their shoes to dampen the sound and even the slightest of sounds from adjacent cells were barred by the cell architecture. This solitude was never met remorse rather considered as mental torture that killed all the hope of living for a prisoner. The prison which was supposed to give back a better person to society, was sending soulless corpses instead. Another excerpt from Charles travel journal says the following,

“Better to have hanged him in the beginning than bring him to this pass, and send him forth to mingle with his kind, who are his kind no more”

The above words reflect the reflection of prisoners witnessed by Charles Dickens. The inmates usually lost all their hope for a prospective living before leaving the Penitentiary. It is hard for us to expect them to adapt to the outside world after spending years with their only companion which never provoked or got provoked by them. When Charles Dickens asks his companion about the prisoners conduct of themselves when they are going out of the prison while hinting his presumption about trembling , he says the following,

“Well, it’s not so much a trembling,”

“though they do quiver — as a complete derangement of the nervous system. They can’t sign their names to the book; sometimes can’t even hold the pen; look about ’em without appearing to know why, or where they are; and sometimes get up and sit down again, twenty times in a minute. This is when they’re in the office, where they are taken with the hood on, as they were brought in. When they get outside the gate, they stop, and look first one way and then the other; not knowing which to take. Sometimes they stagger as if they were drunk, and sometimes are forced to lean against the fence, they’re so bad: — but they clear off in course of time.” 

This explains the extent of mental distress the inmates might have experienced during their stay in the penitentiary. What is more shocking is that representatives of many countries around the world flocked to witness the penitentiary only to adopt this model later in their country. Though this penitentiary, after its commissioning in 1829 was closed in 1971 for the reasons of overcrowding. The painstricken screams of the inmates which never crossed their mouth can still be witnessed by the words of Charles Dickens.

But the modern world prisons have got rid of those systems for imprisonment and use them only as punishment. The fear of this type of punishment helps the guards to maintain the social behaviour of inmates. 

Source:- 1. Charles Dickens excerpt. 2. Eastern state prison

Although an acute awareness has started emerging after years and decades of negligence in discussing mental health and mental illness as one of the prime subjects in today’sworld, mental illness in children still seems to belong to a narrow lane behind a shadow which most people are completely unaware of.

Over 40% children from this generation face developmental disorders including anxiety disorder, depression along with other mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders so on and so forth. Since it is very normal for children to have a fickle mindset due to which the common symptoms of these disorders are generally ignored by their teachers, parents and other elders.
The best possible way to detect whether a child is suffering from any of these disorders or not is to get them to talk. A psychotherapist who has sufficient knowledge in child psychology may be appointed to get in touch with the child and proceed with the process which may or may not include medication.

However, ignoring these symptoms in children may lead to life fracturing impacts in their characteristics which will eventually refrain them from having a normal and sound personal and professional life. Therefore, mental health in children should be discussed as a prime subject and should never be neglected or ignored by the elders for the children to have a successful professional and personal life in their future.
There have been many instances where mild to severe symptoms have been neglected which has caused alcoholism and depression in future. A recent study shows depression takes place at a rate about 4-5% in children and upto 20% during adolescence and most of them need to be clinically diagnosed with proper medication, otherwise, it leaves life and scars in an emotional and psychological sphere.

Autism spectrum disorder is another illness that can cause lifelong impact on children if not diagnosed in a proper way since the beginning. Kids with autism require special care and treatment in order to lead a normal life further.

Various studies show 1 out of 10 children from our generation tends to suffer from mental disorder that in most cases goes unnoticed. These children tend to be nervous most of the time due to their lack of ‘normalcy’ that they are very much aware of. Bullying in high school and its contemporary institutions makes it worse for many. They suffer in silence which affects their mental health in a huge way.
Ignorance towards these things can lead to long term as well as short term consequences which include but are not limited to changes in sleeping and eating habits, abuse of drug and alchohol, gaining/losing weight, hypertension and depression.
Although many people tend to consider medication to be the only treatment available today but in many cases mere psychotherapy sessions work magically. A few excercises are supposedly recommended to those suffering that works really well and medicines are recommended only in crucial conditions.

Henceforth, even mild symptoms should never be ignored by the elders for it may leave life long physical and mental scars that would make their lives highly threatening.

– Suvasree Bandyopadhyay.

It is often said that while success has several suitors, failure has none.

Nepotism might be an alien term for many but for some this is a cause of depression or on a higher scale cause of death. Favouritism or special attention granted to close friends and relatives by the people in power is called nepotism and we all face this in one way or the other. No matter which field you are working in, nepotism is everywhere. It is like a disease that has already made the world hollow and is still mushrooming. It is all about power, the damn chair! We all are part of it, sometimes as a victim and the other times as the sinner. The tragedy is we all believe that we are victims and we do nothing bad. The truth is, we all are trapped in this materialism knowingly or unknowingly and it doesn’t matter because we are too weak to come out.  What do you think was the reason Voldemort chose the dark art and attacked Hogwarts or Kaleen Bhai wanted his two men to be killed by his son in Mirzapur, all of these to not let the other one powerful than you because we can’t stand someone being more powerful than us. Be it reel or real nepotism is everywhere. We want the other person to respect us. Nobody wants to give up their power and let the other rule, even if the other person is better than them.

All of this has become the part of a dynasty. The biggest example of this is the glamorous industry BOLLYWOOD, hollow and shabby from inside. Many normal people with big dreams go to Mumbai to fulfil their wishes. But the most appealing has its own secrets, its flaws. As soon as an outsider start making progress, making fame after working hard. These big names ban them, ignore them, boycott them and what not. Everybody has its own way to handle it but not everyone can handle it properly.

A child may be a victim of depression too. But hardly have we cared. As for us nothing like this exists. Talking about mental health is a taboo because we don’t know how this society will treat us. That’s why to most of us it doesn’t even exist. All we get from such people is a one liner- EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY, DO NOT OVERTHINK.

This is the most irritating line when you are in pain and going through a lot. Nobody needs advice at that time. That entire person with depression need is to be heard, your support without you being judgemental. But the cruelty of society doesn’t let it help people without judging them. Life is all about helping each other in the time of need. It doesn’t matter much If you cannot be with someone in their happy times, at least try to be with them in their time of need, and stop using others for your selfish interests.

In the end you will definitely get what you have planted. Plant your destiny well. Spread love. Karma spares no-one.

We all just need to be patient time heal wounds. Your life matters the most. Nobody will get affected more than your parents and your loved ones. Think about them before taking detrimental steps.