The Celebrity Crushes We All Had


Everyone has had that one celebrity who makes their heart beat faster and whose photo can instantly bring a smile to your face. Even when we leave our teenage years behind, we keep up with these celebrities and cherish them in our hearts. For my father, it is Madhubala and my mom’s most recent celebrity crush is surely Chris Evans. 

While talking to my friends, I realised that our celebrity crushes were not that different. The origin of my friendship with half of my closest friends was due to our mutual love for One Direction, we jammed to their songs, bought their merchandise and cried together when they broke up. And this experience gave me some friends I’ll have for my entire life. Thus, celebrity crushes are important. 

There are some celebrities who were loved by all those born between 1999 and 2003. The ones who top the list are:

• Shah Rukh Khan

Nobody can win a heart as fast as Shah Rukh Khan. He is the King of Bollywood and one of the most charismatic actors of all time. From his success story to all the roles he has played, he is the absolute favourite of one and all. Growing up watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein, Kal Ho Na Ho and so many more iconic movies taught us all some life lessons and had us drooling over SRK.

• Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik started his career as a member of one of the most famous boybands, One Direction (1D). As part-Asian, he has a major fan-following from India and was the hearth-rob of all teenagers a few years ago. Apart from being a great singer, he is sweeter than strawberries with his fans who are extremely loyal to him. Even when he left One Direction, his fans didn’t leave him. 

• Robert Pattinson

Reading and watching the Twilight series, written by Stephanie Mayor, was one of my favourite past times. The primary reason why I sat through all 4 movies was Robert Pattinson, playing the role of Edward Cullen and the secondary was Taylor Lautner. Losing myself in the fantasy land of vampires and werewolves was how I spent my breaks in school and at home. 

• Zac Efron

The most famous teenage movie, High School Musical was watched by basically every school-goer in the late 2000s. That’s where our journey of love for Zac Efron began. The sequels of High School Musical were loved by all. All of us have supported and admired him from his first movie to the most recent ones, like Baywatch and The Greatest Showman. We have a special connection with him because it felt like we grew up with him. 

• Hrithik Roshan

His dance moves and amazing chemistry with all his co-stars always leave us wanting more. The diversity of the roles he has played in the past 20 years is astonishing. Watching his movies, from Koi Mil Gaya and Dhoom2 to Jodhaa Akbar, in theatres and then gushing all about them with our friends brightened our childhoods. 

Every year, if not every month, we find a new celebrity and fall head over heels for them. But the most impactful are the ones we love in our teenage life. Let’s revisit these memories and cherish them for life. 

Best vacation places in India

India is the best example for the proverb unity in diversity. India has vast number of religions, speaks vast number of languages. Every state is different from its religion, language, culture, food, etc. So, every Indian will have a desire to make a trip to different states and explore everything there. Now, let us see some of the best amo g the best vacation places in India.

Alleppey

Alleppey is located in Kerala. Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India. Kerala has different nicknames-God’s Own Country, Spice garden of India, Land of Coconuts, land of Trees, etc. Kerala is the beautiful state and the Alleppey of Kerala is the most beautiful. It is the highly recommended vacation place in India. One thing that can be assured for sure is no one will be disappointed by Alleppey.

Coorg

Coorg is located in Karnataka. Karnataka must be the favourite for everyone. The state is full of greenery. Irrespective of the season, the state will always be raining. We can have more fun in Coorg. The places we can visit there are – Abbi falls, Madikeri, Omkareshwara Temple and list continues like this. The Madikeri Hill Station in Coorg, Karnataka is known as the Kashmir of South India. If you plan for a trip then Coorg is recommended to be first in your list.

Dharamshala

Dharamshala, city in Himachal Pradesh, is the simple and peaceful city. It will be the best vacation place for peace and nature lovers. There are several places in the city to explore. Some of them are -Tsuglagkhang Complex, Masrur, McLeod Ganj, Kareri Lake, etc. There are lot more adventures can be done in Dharamshala especially in Kareri lake.

Nainital

A trip without being visited Nainital won’t be a complete trip for sure. Nainital is located in Uttrakhand. It is the most loveable place for everyone. Moreover, it is the famous hill station in Uttrakhand. There are several places that Nainital serves you to explore and enjoy. Naini Lake, Nainital ropeway, Naini Devi, etc. We can enjoy boating in Naini Lake.

Manali

Manali is one of the coldest places of India. There are some states in India in which summer is unbearable. Manali would be the best vacation place for those tests. It is a peaceful city. There are several activities can be done and enjoy in Manali, River Rafting, Paragliding, Hadimba Devi Temple, Skiing, Trekking, etc. So, Manali is best for adventures. It would be the best vacation place to visit with friends.

Shimla

shimla is a cold place, located in Himachal Pradesh. There shall mostly be no limit to explain the beauty of Shimla. Shimla is famous Hill station in Himachal Pradesh. There are several places to visit in Shimla – The Ridge, Jakhoo Hill, Mall Road, Kalka–Shimla Railway, Christ Church, etc.

Darjeeling

Darjeeling is such a beautiful city about which introduction can’t be done with small words. It is the famous and popular Hill stations of India. The climate in Darjeeling will be almost same in all seasons. We will love visiting Darjeeling any time. The best places to be visited in Darjeeling are Tiger Hill, Batasia Loop, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park, Himalayan Railway Station, Nightingale Park, Tinchuley, Chowrasta and so on.

This list will go on like this. Some of the places in India can’t be explained in words. So explore India.

India is a rich in religions country. The beauty of this country is enormous. The unity among Indians can’t be explained in words. There is a lotto explore and enjoy in India.

Contemporary International Relations

International relations have been a subject of fascination for most of us, the subject brings us into the different kinds of relations countries shared across the world. But have we ever stopped to think, why we should learn about international relations? Not really. International relations is a vast subjects, its main focus is on the relations shared between the different countries.

Its primary focus is to maintain peace and prosperity across the world. In international relations, peace is indivisible. The core objective of International Relation is to minimize the causes of war and create conditions for peace. We all are human beings, it is in the nature of human beings to share different and radical perspectives on the same thing, but what we should all focus is the need to eradicate a condition that can be a threat to our peace and prosperity.

An important objective introduced in the International Relations is the ‘Logic of Deterrence’. This logic was put into act during the cold war time. The time after World War II saw a lot of changes in the international system. There was an existence of two super powers, US and USSR.  There was tension between these countries and it has led to many proxy wars in other countries. But US and USSR never waged a war against each other, this was due to the logic of deterrence, both of the countries know that they have enough weapons to harm each other, and that there will no winner left standing. It could result in a lot of deaths without having a purpose and so they avoided a civil war at any cost, but it never stopped them from involving with other countries.

 The League of Nations was replaced by United Nations after 1945. This was because it couldn’t prevent the second world II. The UN was established with the motive of preventing any more world wars and in spreading conditions of peace and tranquility. The UN had five main members – US, USSR, France, UK and China. They were known as the big five and are the permanent members of the UN, while the others members of UN are temporary.  The landscape of International Relations has changed across the times, from the disintegration of Soviet Union to globalization paved its way.

Contemporary shape of the international relations has been a collective result of the following three factors. Firstly, with the disintegration of the soviet union, there was only one super power, it was the US. Times after was the US Hegemony, other countries and states were afraid of US. Countries who were not even part of the both the alliances were also very careful to keep themselves out of the way of US.

Second reason was the widespread ideology of liberalism. With communism out of the match, liberalism was seen as a better ideology across the world. Now countries were close to each other for economic reasons rather than political or cultural reasons. One of the example is the Look East Policy by the countries of South East Asia. Sometimes countries are forced into being slaves, not as colonies but in a new term called as neo-colonialism.

And finally, with an increase in the connections across the countries, it has put into effect a set of undesirable changes. Some countries had problems of their own and soon that become problems of other nations too, like terrorism, environmental issues etc. Globalization has set into motion a chain irreversible change. As globalization has set in, it gave a lot of opportunities as well as challenges too. It has become so much important to study about these in our day to day lives.

What Exactly is Adrenaline??

Ever heard of the term ‘adrenaline pumped through my veins’ in the stories and novels?What does this ‘adrenaline’ mean? What exactly does this fluid do? Well, carry on!

  • What Is Adrenaline

Basically, adrenaline is a hormone which is secreted by your body from the adrenal glands. What is a hormone?  Simply explaining a hormone is a ‘regulatory substance’ made by any living being and is taken towards the blood or other fluids to balance out specific cells or many tissues ‘into action.Where are the adrenal glands situated?The adrenal glands are situated just above our kidneys. The hormone pumps through our veins, when  we are anxious, filled with fear,  nervous, or in major danger. Adrenaline is our body’s response to danger. Adrenaline does not have any addictive property. Adrenaline is a condition when our body has to do something in which we feel strong emotions like excitement , fear, anxiety, nervousness and when you face some difficult and life threatening emotions.  Which means that this hormone helps us to react to these emotions  in a better and quicker way.The chemical formula of adrenaline is C9H13NO3.This hormone contains something called adrenergic receptors. The adrenal gland not only secretes adrenaline,but also many hormones like aldosterone(steroid- regulation of salt and water which effects blood pressure hormone),cortisole (stress hormone)and noradrenaline( with adrenaline, these both incrwase the blood pressure and the heart rate). The glands are actually controlled  by another gland named the pituitary gland. You might have heard in dramas when surgeons shout to give a dose of Epinepherine. Yes, that’s right, it’s only the an other name of adrenaline itself. Adrenaline is a hormone. It is released when we are only granted with two options, either fight, or run.

Photo By Leon Macapagal

  • Why are they secreted?

What is the reason of the secretion of this hormone though? So the initial reason for adrenaline rush is,Suppose you are facing a wild animal, let it be a tiger. What possible options do you have? 1. Either run so hard that, keeping in mind to not leave any trails.  2. Tackle the tiger.

This situation is called fight or flee situation. Adrenaline triggers this response. When the fluid pumps through your brain, the reaction makes the following changes in your body. Your body sweats up as well, just one of the things adrenaline rush does:

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto 

i) Makes or triggers the blood vessel’s contraction and sort of  makes it so that the blood vessels redirect themselves towards the muscle region. 

ii) The blood vessels also reorientation itself towards the lungs and heart

iii) Naturally, this results in an increased heart rate.

iv) What is the purpose of our heart? To circulate blood, right? So when adrenaline pump increases your heart rate, it will also double your blood flow.

v)When adrenaline is released, the body’s pain sensory receptors also get decreased.

vi) Makes it so that, your awareness level increases.

vii) Your pupils get dilated and you have a better sense of vision

viii) Improves your memory.

Photo by Wojtek Pacześ from Pexels

Adrenaline makes us survive through life threatening situations, where we are supposed to make rapid and immediate decision and even that decision should be utterly perfect.

The adrenaline rush uses sugar, kind of like a fuel to run the body with these functions. But keep in mind, this only happens till there is the effect of adrenaline in your body. Research says that the effect can stay upto about 1 hour

  • How does one experiences adrenalinal rush?

Your brain is classified into three parts. a) The thinking brain. b) The emotional brain. c)The action brain. Brain is a very interesting concept to study. Unfortunately though, for now we are only interested in the emotional brain .( aww, don’t worry, I’ll work up to let you know more about our brain in the future articles!) The emotional brain is known as amygdala. It is the only reason why you feel various emotions like guilt, happiness etc. ( Me: I hate you, amygdala for wrecking my thinking with all these complex emotions!!

Amygdala: Great! The feelings are mutual.

Me: Come here you little peice of- )

Anyways, the when you are in one of the strong emotions (with reference to the second paragraph of the article) ,the signals are sent to the amygdala, and amygdala transfers these signals to another part of the brain, called the hypothalamus ( commanding system or the action brain – communicates through the nervous system) signals the adrenal glands, making these glands release the hormones(adrenaline) into our blood flow. Many other changes occur in the body due to adrenaline.These ‘bodily changes’ make the movements of our body faster. According to a site, this process happens very fast.

  • How is Adrenaline used as a medication

Epinephrine or adrenalin is another term for adrenaline. Epinephrine is injected into your body. The supplement works similar to the natural process. It is contained in a liquid form. The liquid is initially, to be injected into the muscles. The injection is used for allergic reaction, slow heart rate. Epinephrine is strictly to be injected as per needs. Any more or any less is extremely dangerous. Do not use Epinephrine is you do not have proper knowledge about it (seriously, don’t). But if Epinephrine is dangerous, as a medication, is our  (constant) natural adrenaline rush dangerous? No…..right?

Excessive adrenaline rush is not good for your health.  Therefore we are always advised to not take a lot of load on our heads at once. This results in complex emotions, adrenaline rushes and the process occurs. Thankfully though, our body is very smart. As fast as the adrenaline is secreted, it is also naturally deaminated by our body. But really, hold on right there,go somewhere where you can get fresh air, and BREATHE!  You’ve done a great work until now! 

Fact- The detailed understanding of these hormones is really complex. Infact, it has its own branch of science- Endocrinology

FREELANCING (PROS & CONS)

Nobody likes the taunt of boss, getting suited up eveyday, handling workloads and facing the office politics. So is there any other option ? Yes, freelancing flexible working hours, probably working from the comfort of home, no extra workload, being your own boss, no formals on weekdays, no hectic schedule these are all benefits which come along with freelancing. So the next question hits in mind is what does it take to be a freelancer? A HIGH DEMAND SKILL that’s all. Bring on your laptop or desktop and start earning. ?..well that’s not that easy getting success as a freelancer requires a degree of patience, hard work and perseverance now these words are easy to read but following them is very tough.

As a freelancer you are not going to get projects and contracts from day 11.as a beginner you will not have a strong network of potential clients who will give you business on a regular basis. Well many businesses hire freelancer according to their need and requirements. So what are the skills that can make you a freelancer? Checkout below.

  1. Web&andriod development
  2. Graphics designing
  3. Digital marketing
  4. Customer support service
  5. Data entry
  6. Accounting
  7. Virtual assistant
  8. Legal advising
  9. Content and copywriting

and other skills which are required by any business can be useful in freelance career. Many freelancers master more than one skills.

ADVANTAGES

  1. Flexible working hours
  2. Being your own boss
  3. No extra workload
  4. Freedom
  5. Personal life balance
  6. No office politics

DISADVANTAGES

  1. Lack of stability
  2. Deadlines
  3. Marketing yourself
  4. No professional life
  5. No weekly offs
  6. No job allowanes

Women Empowerment – SERIOUSLY?

You speak too much,does not suit you as a woman. Oh! the length of your skirt,way too small.You being too frank with men,let me judge you first. You are so ambitious, doesen’t meet my MALE EGO. Come back early,it is not SAFE or maybe because you are a WOMAN. Bla!Bla!Bla! And oh, this society talks about WOMEN EMPOWERMENT. Where a woman can still not make her own choices, Where she still does not get the same oppurtunity as men for education.Where a woman is objectified. Her body is objectified. Where a woman can not say NO! Where her place is still in the kitchen . And they will empower her ? HUMOROUS.

This male dominated society is still not okay with women reaching heights. I don’t say all of them ,but a majority of them. A husband can still not digest the fact that his wife is earning more. Or the education of a boy still remains Important for most of the societies. The safety level is still 0 . I don’t blame the fathers who are still afraid to send their daughters alone for a night out. Because, they are just being protective. Their heart gets frightened and this is all because of the increase in women assault,molestation and rape news that we daily hear and read. From a 6 month infant to a 96 year old lady .NOBODY IS SAFE. And no laws are able to provide Women the amount of safety they need.

A society in which Domestic Violence is at it’s worst . Especially ,during the pandemic where the cases of domestic violence has risen at 10 year high during the lockdown. Women are brutally beaten by their husbands and bruised. Some raise their voices but other just swallow their anger and rage,because they are helpless on their part. There are times when a woman is employed and assaulted by the boss. Even in the film industry,where the word “CASTING COUCH” is very famous.

There is no more of dowry system,is just a myth. There are still a lot of families where dowry still exists. Love marraige is still a myth for a girl to do or for that sake live in relationships. They worship goddess Lakshmi,but they forget to respect their mothers, wives,their daughters, their female friends or colleagues.

Men tend to forget there is no society without a woman. A house is called a “HOME” when a woman makes it one. Respect women .

The new syllabus will be taught from 2022 : PM

“Marksheet has become ‘Prestige Sheet’, New Education Policy will get children out of the race of marks.”

Amid preparations for implementation of the National Education Policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 11th September, 2020 made it clear that from the year 2022, the students will be studying from the curriculum being prepared under the new education policy. Referring to the current problems of the education system, the PM said that a big problem is that instead of learning based education in our country, the education system with marks and marksheets dominates. The truth is that the marksheet has now become the mental pressure sheet and the family’s prestige sheet, that is, it has become a question of prestige. In a virtual address to the two-day conference of teachers associated with school education in the 21st century, the Prime Minister said that removing children from the stress of education is one of the main objectives of the National Education Policy. He said that the exam should be done in such a way that students do not have to be unnecessarily pressurized. At the same time, efforts should also be made not to evaluate the students from one examination only, but to have different aspects of their development. This is the reason why the National Education Policy has proposed a report card covering all aspects of students in place of marksheet, which will include the student’s specific ability, capability, attitude, talent, skill, overall efficiency etc. “When we celebrate the completion of 75 years of independence, students will move towards a new future with a new curriculum.” This course will be visionary, futuristic and scientific. At the same time, the PM also replied to those who questioned the language and said that here we need to understand that language is the medium of education. Finally, the Government has taken a great step for taking forward the country’s education system.

Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told- Why we had to bring a new education policy

During this time, the PM also explained the reason behind the National Education Policy. He said that every region of the world has changed in the last three decades, every system has changed. There is hardly any aspect of life in these three decades that is the same as before. But what had not changed was our education system. It was running on the old pattern. Changing the old education system was as important as changing a spoiled black board.

A punished victim : Medusa

Since the days of early Western civilization, when myths were forged in fire and stone, society has been fascinated with the ancient Greek imagination. Tales of gods, Titans, and giants fill children’s fairy tales, while a variety of mythological monsters have captivated viewers on the big screen. No female character, however, is perhaps as popular as Medusa, the monster who could turn men to stone with a single glance.

Some versions of the story claim that Medusa went from being a beautiful woman into the famous monster, whose eyes sparkled with light that, when you looked at them, they turned you into stone. It was all due to Athena’s anger; she was a warrior goddess with the gifts of strategy, wisdom, and ability.

Medusa’s beauty dazzled Poseidon, who then seduced her. But when he saw that his interest was not reciprocated, the god of the sea attacked her and raped her inside a temple devoted to Athena, which awakened her anger. After that offense, Athena punished Medusa and turned her into a heartless monster, with snakes instead of hair, and gave her the curse of turning into stone whoever looked at her.

Medusa was exiled and sent to live in the hyperborean lands, where she discovered that she was pregnant after Poseidon’s attack. This situation fueled Athena’s anger, who immediately asked for Medusa to be killed.

Perseus, son of Zeus and the mortal Danae, was in charge of making Athena’s order come true. Wearing a pair of winged sandals given to him by Hermes and a bright shield, he waited for Medusa to fall asleep. With the help of his winged sandals, he hovered over Medusa and cut off her head. When Medusa was decapitated, the giant Crisaor and the winged horse Pegasus came out of her neck; they were the offspring that resulted from Poseidon’s rape.

Unlike other figures of Greek mythology, most of us know Medusa—even if we can’t recall the details of her myth. A quick character sketch might well include snakes, deadly eyes, and a taste for destruction.

The patriarchal tendency to punish the victim of rape rather than the perpetrator has, as we can see in the myth of Medusa, ancient origins.

One of the messages in the myth, the real story of Medusa, is her powerlessness as a woman. In neither her rape or its consequences does she have any agency. She has no choice but to submit to the hand of fate.

Medusa is silent in the myth.

She’s blamed for the sexual violence dispensed to her. There is no mention of her suffering, no discourse on her trauma. This reflects the true experience of many women forced to submit to sexual violence. Many women report feelings of self-hatred and self-blame after the experience of rape, and that they cannot, dare not, speak out against their aggressors.

What’s clear from the changing faces of Medusa is that there is no universal truth to her myth. Beautiful victim, monstrous villain, powerful deity—she’s all of those things, and more besides. Perhaps it’s that mercurial nature that makes her an endless source of fascination. She is, in a sense, a site for our collective projections of both fear and desire: simultaneously a symbol of women’s rage and a figure sexualized by the very patriarchal forces she is seeking vengeance against.

Fashion Forecasting…

Fashion trends are influenced by several factors including political, economical, social and technological. There are aristocratic fashions, film-style fashions, peasant class fashions and a kind of fashion known as maverick fashion. Naturally, fashion is related to dress and manners. Fashion changes with winds of time very fast. This can be seen from vast difference between how people used to dress before and now. In earlier days, it used to be very different in metros and small towns due to the growth of social media, online shopping facilities, mall culture etc. We have adopted fashion in each step of our life. It is our nature to adopt new and beautiful things because old things have lost their importance. Just like this, we adopt new fashion with the change of time.

WGSN (World Global Style Network) is a trend forecasting company. Its trend forecasting service includes what’s new and next in apparel, beauty, colour, marketing, retail and wearables.

https://www.wgsn.com/en/

Fashion Forecasting

This is the important part of fashion scenario because when any new garment is designed by the designer and worn, it will not create fashion by itself. It needs the media to spread fashion and this media which spread fashion and gets the fame and name to the designers is Fashion Forecasting. Fashion Forecasting is done through many communicating media such as cinema, fashion shows, press, magazines, newspapers and window display.

It includes following

•Gather cultural and social insights

Fashion Forecasting relies on a wealth of social and cultural information to make to make predictions about where consumer tastes will head. To cover all the bases, fashion forecasters often bring together groups of professionals from various backgrounds for brainstorming sessions.

•Market surveys and consumer research

By asking consumers directly what they would buy, how much they would pay and where they look to find fashion direction, forecasters can better gauge the marketplace for fashion buyers.

•Track social media and internet action Forecasters spend a considerable amount of time tracking what’s being looked at online and who’s doing the looking.

•Fast fashion to satisfy consumer desires

Fashion shows and the latest trends are widely available yo the public via multiple mass media platforms. That’s why consumers demand the latest runway designs immediately after viewing them.

In response to this desire for instant gratification, fashion manufacturers have developed a strategy called ‘fast fashion’. Fashion Forecasting is done where crowd is formed on such occasion, so that it can create fashion.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

A temporary peace

After a long period of worsening tensions on the contested Himalayan border, the countries India and China have surprised everyone by announcing that their troops are to quickly extricate.

A marathon meeting between Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow has been followed by this announcement. It came despite the regular eloquence between the nuclear-armed neighbors, that had suggested increasing bitterness.

Earlier, in this week, China’s state-run Global Times had said Chinese troops would “quickly deal a heavy blow to Indian troops, and they will be all annihilated” if Delhi provoked a war.

India also had upped the ante, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saying “there should be no doubt” about the country’s resolve to protect its territorial integrity.

The statements reflected the reality on the ground : a hostile face-off between troops.

In June they fought a deadly clash in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley with clubs and stones leaving 20 soldiers dead. Both countries still have a huge development in the region where they have overlapping territorial claims ; and overcoming their differences will not be easy.

‘Ice breaker’ envoy

Many observers, including Michael Kugelman, deputy director at the Wilson Center think-tank, believe that both countries were ready for a confrontation, but they also realised that a war even a limited one , was not an option.

It would have been catastrophic for both countries and the wider region. The economic stakes were too high to risk a war,” he said.

The fact that Mr Jaishankar served as ambassador in Beijing for many years and is known to share good relations with Chinese diplomats appears to have helped.

It did break the ice, Mr Kugelman says, adding that personal relations often play a role in crucial diplomatic negotiations.

India-China border dispute explained in 400 words
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Weather, an unlikely factor, may have also played a role. The higher ridges of the Galwan Valley become inhospitable in winters.

Lieutenant General (retired) Vinod Bhatia, who served in the Indian army, says troops are used to operating in harsh conditions, but “given a chance, both armies would want to avoid that”.

Reports also suggest that Indian troops recently occupied some ridges overlooking Chinese posts. Neither country has officially confirmed the reports.

“India may have used this advantage as a bargaining chip,” Lt-Gen Bhatia adds.

Both countries also have many other crises to deal with. India’s Covid-19 caseload continues to rise at an alarming rate and its economy is suffering. Any armed confrontation would affect the country’s ability to overcome these issues.

China, meanwhile, has tensions with the US and a host of other countries to deal with, as well as global condemnation of its controversial security law in Hong Kong.

How soon could peace be restored?

Yun Sun, director of the China Programme at the Stimson Center think-tank in Washington, says the joint declaration lacks details.

Firstly, it doesn’t mention the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary separating the countries.

“Several points along the LAC are contentious where troops are still stationed, so there is no clarity on the resolution of these issues,” she says.
De-escalation takes time, says Lt-Gen Bhatia, and it will take longer in the current scenario.

“The area is too big and it will take time for commanders to come to an understanding. The military-level talks will happen when tensions are still high and emotions are raw,” he says.

Both countries want to maintain the status quo. And that is tricky, says Ms Yun, because the two sides define the status quo differently.

“Chinese troops have gone deep into the territory India claims, and there is no clarity if they will vacate those positions.”

What caused the escalation will also determine how quickly disengagement can happen. A major factor cited as a source of tension is a new road that connects Indian army stations in the region to a forward air base.

But Ms Yun believes the road can’t be the only source because its construction took 20 years and “it wasn’t a secret”.
She believes many factors, including India’s controversial decision to revoke a law that gave special status to the region and Washington’s improving relations with Delhi, played a role.

“Beijing felt punishing India will give a warning to Delhi and Washington at the same time. But what they did not calculate was that India will refuse to back down,” she says.

China has been in diplomatic confrontation with a number of countries since US officials accused it of not controlling the coronavirus outbreak effectively
So, they became more aggressive, she says, adding that this was reflected in the statements of Beijing officials in recent days. Aggression has been a key factor in China’s foreign policy – particularly in recent months. And Chinese state media often remind the country’s neighbours of its superior military might.

This happened during the stand-off with India as well – but only in the past few days.

Officials in Delhi and Beijing were largely restrained in their comments in June and July, even after the Galwan clash that left the Indian soldiers dead.

Mr Kugleman says this was because they didn’t want to undo PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts in improving relations. The two have met 18 times since Mr Modi came to power in 2014.

“But it all came undone in recent days, and now it will be interesting to see how China and India sell the announcement to their people,” he says.

Ms Yun says China will find it tricky to reverse the rhetoric because “it can’t come across as weak or bullied by India”.

Resolving these core issues, including unsettled disputes going back decades, along the LAC that stretches for 3,440km (2,100 miles), will not be resolved in a few days.

“So, it’s a good start,” Mr Kugleman says. “Talks are better than no talks, but we just have to be cautiously optimistic.”

Communist China & Democratic India: Both are Now Equally Powerful

This is wonderful news that “China and India have pledged to enhance mutual trust to ensure peace along their disputed borders in their first formal agreement since June, with Beijing saying the two nations were not a threat to each other. The pledge came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met for the first time since their border stand-off turned deadly in June, leaving 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unknown number of casualties on the Chinese side” (South China Morning Post, 11/9/2020). Also as per news item, “the two foreign ministers agreed that the stand-off was “not in the interest of either side,” according to a joint statement released following their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Moscow”.

No rational person in the world desires war as war causes mass destruction, loss of human lives etc. Anyway China is unpredictable as 1962 incident no Indians can forget. Pt. Nehru’s hands of friendship they repaid through war by killing many Indian soldiers. I feel China is dominated by Han (more than 90 percent) and not like Indian society which is totally pluralistic society. I feel so much diversity, as observed in India, in no country can be seen. Anyway, communist leaders of China never tolerate any criticism which many Chinese persons told me when I visited China. Against the back drop, Indian society is different, more liberal and fully democratic. For instance, Indian Communist leader, Late Jyoti   Basu immediately after the 1962 war, proclaimed publicly at a rally “China cannot be the aggressor” which cannot be from a leader.  Jyoti Basu was the son of a physician, and enjoyed an affluent childhood. He studied in Calcutta (now Kolkata), at St. Xavier’s School and Presidency College, before moving to London in 1935 to complete his law education. His only son is a big businessman. 

   Now the leaders of China should understand by their imperialist attitude many countries are against them “the United States Department of Commerce blacklisted 24 Chinese state-owned companies, including five CCCC dredging subsidiaries, for their roles in helping the Communist Party “militarise” outposts in the contested South China Sea” ( South China Morning Post, 31/8/2020).

The horrible behaviour of Chinese leaders towards Muslims of Uyghurs /Uigurs is known to all in the world. It is pertinent to mention that the Uyghurs are native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. They are one of China’s 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities. According to the website, http://www.wbur.org/ uighur-muslims-china-human-rights/15 July 2020, “The Trump administration imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party over the alleged treatment of Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority”. “The U.S. State Department estimates at least 1 million Uighurs have been detained and forced to work in internment camps. There are also allegations that detained Uighurs are being forced to make products that U.S. consumers are buying, including 13 tons of human hair for weaves and wigs that were seized earlier this month”.

In present days we have been observing different Communist China, presently international community blaming China because of COVID-19, economy of China is in recession stage, unemployment has been scaling up etc. To justify the same, few lines from the newspaper, South China Morning Post (SCMP, 20/2/2020) are presented here,  “Coronavirus costs keep mounting for manufacturers, who are facing huge losses in sales and struggling to ramp up production. If such losses take place then there will be negative effect in the economy and poor Multiplier Effect meaning more unemployment, less purchasing power of the people, and finally a sort of “Vicious Circle of Poverty” qualitatively may operate”. 

Hope good sense will prevail among the leaders of China. And they will follow the theory of Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai.

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

Rainwater Harvesting : A Technique of great help to Indian Farmers

Article by – Shishir Tripathi
Intern at Hariyali Foundation
In collaboration with
Educational News

The Indian economy is basically an ‘Agrarian Economy’ that implies that most of the country’s working population depend upon agriculture for their livelihood. Relying upon the figures, it’s noticeable that almost 60-65% of the Indian workforce is engaged in agriculture. Being an occupation for such a large group of people in the country, agriculture in India still has a lot of problems and challenges in it.


The primary problem is the problem of irrigation. The villages and farms located near river banks and big canals are the ones who hardly face this problem of irrigation. As of June 25, 2019, nearly 65% of the country’s reservoirs were running dry. One of the worst affected areas has been the west-central state of Maharashtra, where six of the 17 reservoirs are dried out.


There are not just big farmers in the country of India. Here in India, there are tenants who work on the farms of others and those farmers too who have just a very small patch of land which they cultivate for their livelihood. Small farmers in India don’t have financial resources to get access to techniques like Drip Irrigation, availability of own tube wells, etc. Many a times, it happens that the farmers have to either take loans from moneylenders at high rates or just leave the farms parched.

The partial solution to the problem of water scarcity and the irrigation is Rainwater Harvesting. Rainwater Harvesting is simply the process of collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off freely into drains. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer or a reservoir with percolation.


Now moving ahead from the ideal definition stated from Wikipedia, in reality people just have to go for a roof like system above their houses and the roofs of their dried tube wells. In this system of Rainwater harvesting, the water from the first rain showers is drained of and the rest of the water is collected. The water gets collected in a big tank throughout the rainy season and is used afterwards.


The rainwater being the purest form of water can even be used for purposes of drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. Some people collect the rainwater in underground built tanks of depth 10 -12 feet and in hotter regions like Rajasthan people collect rainwater in big rooms adjacent to the living rooms. As the water filled tanks (rooms) are just attached to the normal living rooms, it gets so cooler and pleasant in hot summers. Big tanks can be built later in future after seeing the amount of rain in the first year of trying rainwater harvesting. Farmers can use the same water for irrigation purposes too.

Though, some crops require more water but the technique of rainwater harvesting will really help the farmers to a very great extent. Government should think about providing some subsidies to the poor farmers for building some tanks like this for saving the precious rain water.

First of all it will be an ecofriendly technique and secondly a cost saving technique too.
People living in the regions of North – East have adopted the similar technique for saving water. There are pipes built from bamboo that are used to supply water from one place to another. The tanks are built at the bottom of the hills; these are community tanks built by all the villagers together. The walls and the floors of the tanks are plastered with paddy husk to avoid seepage of water and later whenever the tank gets empty the soil and the silt at the base is used as manure by the farmers.


Similar Environment friendly techniques are needed to be promoted and implemented in other parts of India so that the farmers should not suffer from problems like scarcity of water. And also there should be techniques for the storage of water that gets logged in towns and villages. The same water should be treated and used for recharging the ground water resources which are getting empty by each passing day.


Therefore, the shift towards eco-friendly techniques like Rainwater Harvesting will give sustained prosperity in the field of Agriculture.

Non Cooperation Movement

On 5 September 1920 Mahatma Gandhi began a non-cooperation movement to gain sovereignty and complete independence, with the withdrawal of the Indian National Congress (INC) for British reforms after the Rowlatt Act of 20 March 1919 and the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh of 13 April 1919.

In March 1919, the Rowlatt Act abolished the defendant’s rights in the course of sedition proceedings, was regarded by Indians as “a national revolution” and by the British as a “threat.” Though Gandhi had only a couple of years later never been quoted and declared void, it led him to think of the concept of satyagraha (truth), which he considered to be synonyms of freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru, for whom the massacre also shared “the conviction that nothing less than freedom is appropriate,” approved this idea in the following month.

Planning Gandhi’s anti-cooperation movement was that all Indians, including the UK industry and education institutions, should be convinced to withhold their labour from any practises that “sustained the British government and the economy in India.” Besides the “self-reliance,” the Gandhi movement demanded the restoration in Turkey of Khilafat and an end to its intouchability by spinning Khadi, the purchase of Indian-made products only and the abolition of English clothing. The public held meetings and protests, and on 6 December 1921, Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru, his aunt, were first arrested.

As Nehru described in his autobiography, it ended “suddenly” in February of 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident, one of the movements of Indian independence from British rule. The Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement preceded independence movements.

The movement for non-cooperation was a response to British Indian government repressive actions, such as the Rowlatt Act and the Amritsar massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. There had come a huge crowd to protest at the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and of Dr. Satyapal in Jallianwala Bagh, near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The people were shot by soldiers under Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer and thousands of protestors were killed and wounded. Thousands of troubles and further deaths were triggered by the police by the uproar of the slaughter. In India, the massacre became Britain’s most notorious occurrence.

The uprising has stunned British authorities and has inspired millions of Indian nationalists to do so massively. Unity has been integrated and many Indian colleges and schools have been created. Indian commodities have been promoted. In Chauri Khaura, the small city of Gorakhpur District , Uttar Pradesh, a massacre took place on 4 February 1922. Some volunteers picketing a liquor store were targeted by a police officer. There went to the chowky police a whole crowd of farmers gathered there. The mob shot the police showki, and inside it about 22 police men.

Gandhi thought the rebellion was turning away and frustrated that the rebellion had lost its non-violent form. He did not want the protest to degenerate into a brutality contest, with police and wrathful groups fighting one another, victimising civilians amongst them. The Indian public was appealed by Gandhi to resist, spent 3 weeks and rejected the campaign against cooperation. He thought that there should be a resting time after a period of hardship in which they could regain their strength and grow stronger and stronger. This argument, though not stated, was withdrawn after a year or two from any movement led by Gandhi.

Owing to the Chauri Chaura incident, the non-cooperation campaign was withdrawn. Although the national uprising was stopped by himself, Gandhi was arrested on 10 March 1922. On 18 March 1922, for publishing seditious material, he was imprisoned for six years. This caused the movement to be suppressed and its leaders imprisoned.

Cartoons: a pleasant memory of childhood

Cartoons are essential part of every childhood. They are, certainly, the most popular entertainment for children, but also much more than that.Since the emergence of cartoon films over a century ago, several generations of children have grown up watching animated films. A multitude of girls have fantasized about being princesses and boys have imagined themselves to be valiant knights after watching classic animated tales . Cartoons end up bringing our minds at peace. There have been many amazing cartoon shows that we all have grown up watching since childhood, ranging from “The Simpsons” to “Oswald” to present day’s “Motu Patlu” .With the help of cartoons kids can learn about the world around us, about new emotions, life issues and other important things.

Younger children learn new sounds, shapes and colours with the help of cartoons; they also get in contact with music in a different way.As children grow up, we use cartoons to show them how things function in real life, explain them more about feelings and relationships in a way they can understand. We also show them how to deal with certain situations and people. Cartoons contain some valuable life lessons. 

Millions of adults around the globe are still watching cartoons, as it is the best way to avoid the stress of everyday life. This phenomenon is called “kidult” (kid+adult), which refers to adults who have habits of consumption of teenagers. Before, being a kidult was frowne upon, but now it’s seen as something fun.

Generally, if an adult watches a cartoon, he is laughed at by his family or friends and asked if he is a kid. Society deems adults who watch cartoons as childish and immature but cartoons are the best stress reliever. If you are completely stressed out, switch on your TV and watch some Tom and Jerry. Within a matter of minutes, you will feel relaxed.

Even some of the studies show that watching cartoons are also good for your brain which releases endorphins while laughing.
Laughter is a good stress buster and a confidence builder. It also boosts immunity and causes the release of endorphins that cause us to have positive feelings.Being an adult implies having responsibilities and sometimes it is good to watch a cartoon that entertains and make us laugh. In a cartoon, everything is possible, therefore everything is more fun. In addition, there are many cartoons that surprise and leave wise teachings to their followers, like the Japanese anime Dragon Ball Z which invites their fans to conquer their own fears in the face of adversity. The anime was created to instill in the children moral values that will serve them for a lifetime. At present, Dragon Ball Z has millions of followers around the world, who appreciate every teaching they receive.Cartoons can be energizing along with being entertaining. You watch an episode of The Powerpuff Girls and tell me you don’t feel like going out to kick some ass and take names.

When an adult watches cartoons, he feels that he regains his childhood, being able to relive the best moments. Sometimes because he had a beautiful childhood or because he has a difficult childhood. Either way, he wants to go back in time. When one is a child, one identifies with the characters of the cartoons. 

These cartoons makes us laugh and the tension is relieved within no time. Unknowingly the smile appears on our face releasing all the tensed muscles and cheers our moods.Cartoons are the stress busters.They are watched and enjoyed by all ages. In the present days of stand up comedies where we forcibly laugh or TRP based news broadcasts, unfruitful panel discussions, these cartoons which are as old as 50 years keeps us happy no matter what is the age.

It’s okay to be not okay sometimes!…


I was scrolling on my Instagram page and I received a message from a follower. He was a complete stranger to me. He started with a hi and then asked how are you. I straight out bashed him saying why are you asking me this. I don’t even know you. I shouted at him for no reason. Later I felt bad myself and apologised him. This continued with me all day long. Whenever my friend or family tries to talk with me, I was just shouting on them. Later my girl asked me what happened to me. But I replied with nothing. She kept on asking me again and again and it ended up I shouting and fighting with her. Later I went to my room, locked myself and I started crying. I didn’t even know why I was feeling so frustrated but I was feeling very low.
Have you guys ever felt like that? I bet most of you must’ve gone through this. As a human, there are always plenty of thoughts wandering in our mind. It might be positive or negative. But our brain keeps on doing its job of thinking and thus feelings like happiness or sadness grow in us. Sometimes so many things are going on in the back of our mind and the funny thing is we don’t even realise how they are affecting our regular emotions. It’s the time when we feel low without any reason. We keep on searching for a reason but fail to find one. This thing makes us more frustrated and then we shout and fight with our closed ones for no reason. Even we feel that we are doing wrong but our brain doesn’t help us in this.
So what to do in such case? Just give yourself some time. Sit back and relax. Now there and many techniques we can apply to get out of it. It’s up to you which applies to you and which not. We should go and sit in a silent and peaceful place. Some might find an isolated room and meditate there. Mediation could be the key 9 out of 10 times. Whenever we feel like surrounded by negatives thoughts, just meditate. You may not find any good results at first but if we continue it for long, we’ll definitely find good results. Another thing we can do is do what you love to do the most. Yes, I’m talking about your hobbies. Hobbies are one of the best stressbusters. Make time for your hobbies in such case. Draw a sketch, sing a song, write a poem, dance on your favourite song. Do whatever which will help you burst your stress. Another thing we can do is talk to kids. It’s my personal favourite. Kids are simply the angels sent by god. Talk to them, play with them. You won’t remember you were sad after a few minutes.
Actually we humans have so many emotions such as anger, love, hate, smiles, fear and many more. Usually, our mind forgets good things easily. But bad memories are preserved by it. These bad memories or the moments where we got hurt by our loved ones keep on playing in the back of our mind. This finally leads to the feeling of not feeling okay. Give it back to them at the only moment. If you’re angry with someone, go fight them, do whatever but sort it out. If somebody hurts you badly, go tell them. Tell them what they mean to you and how they hurt you. If you’ve some bad memories with someone in the past or you feel guilty, just forgive yourself and let it go. It’s the fact that we cannot undo things that happened in the past, maybe good or bad. Then, why do we need to carry the baggage for our life? Let it go. Don’t let things bothering you occupy your headspace. Make space for things which helps you grow, which will keep you happy and maintain peace. But we keep on searching for the cause and get only frustration in return. But if we divert ourselves with the above measures, we can be back to the actual okay state.