Standalone fantasy to binge-read.

The Night Circus: Erin Morgenstern.

The circus shows up unexpectedly. There are no announcements before to it. It’s just there now, where it wasn’t yesterday. An totally unique experience full of spectacular amazements awaits you within the black-and-white striped canvas tents. The name of the show is Le Cirque des Rêves, and it’s only open at night.Behind the scenes, however, a furious struggle is raging—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been educated since childhood by their erratic masters just for this reason. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one person can survive, and the circus is only the backdrop for a magnificent fight of imagination and willpower.Celia and Marco, despite themselves, fall deeply into love—a deep, magical love that causes the lights to flicker and the room to warm if they even touch hands.Whether true love exists or not, the game must go on, and the lives of everyone involved, from the cast of exceptional circus artists to the audience, hang in the balance as perilously as the daring acrobats above.

Descendant of The Crane: Joan He.

The circus appears out of nowhere. There are no previous announcements. It’s just there today, where it wasn’t the day before. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents, you will have a completely unique experience full with magnificent amazements. Le Cirque des Rêves is the name of the show, and it is only open at night.Behind the scenes, however, a fierce battle rages—a conflict between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood by their unpredictable masters just for this purpose. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one person can win, and the circus is only the stage for a spectacular battle of imagination and resolve.

Circe: Madeline Miller

A daughter is born at the home of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans. Circe, on the other hand, is an odd kid, neither strong like her father nor fiercely alluring like her mother. She seeks company among mortals and realises that she possesses power – witchcraft power, which may turn opponents into monsters and even the gods themselves.When she is threatened, Zeus banishes her to a secluded island, where she hones her occult skills, tames wild creatures, and meets many of mythology’s most famous characters, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his fatal son Icarus, the wicked Medea, and, of course, the crafty Odysseus.Circe unknowingly earns the fury of both mankind and gods, and she eventually finds herself faced against one of the most terrible and angry of the Olympians. Circe must muster all her power and decide once and for all whether she belongs with the gods she was born from or the mortals she has learned to love in order to safeguard what she loves most.

The Priory Of The Orange Tree: Samantha Shannon.

A world in disarray. A dynasty without a successor. An old foe resurfaces.For a thousand years, the House of Berethnet has controlled Inys. Queen Sabran the Ninth, still unmarried, has to have a daughter to save her kingdom from ruin — but assassins are closing in on her.At court, Ead Duryan is an outsider. Despite her advancement to lady-in-waiting, she remains faithful to a secret organisation of wizards. Ead keeps a close check on Sabran and uses prohibited magic to keep her safe.Tané has been training to be a dragonrider since she was a kid across the black sea, but she is forced to make a decision that might destroy her life.Meanwhile, the split East and West are refusing to talk to each other.

Good Omens: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

‘You know, Armageddon only happens once. They won’t let you go around unless you get it right the first time.’People have been forecasting the end of the world virtually since the beginning of time, so it’s reasonable to be sceptical when a new date for Judgement Day is announced. But what if the prophecies are correct, and the apocalypse is set to strike next Saturday, immediately after tea?You may drown your sorrows, give up all your belongings in preparation for the rapture, or laugh it off as (hopefully) just another hoax in the time left. Alternatively, you may simply try to do something about it.Aziraphale, a fastidious angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, have found themselves in a situation. They’ve been among Earth’s inhabitants since The Beginning and, truth be told, have become pretty fond of the way of life and, to be honest, aren’t looking forward to the approaching Apocalypse.Then there’s the problem of the Antichrist, who appears to have gone missing.

YA books with Enemies to Lovers trope.

The Wrath and the Dawn: Renée Andieh. (Series)

Each morning brings misery to a new family in a kingdom controlled by a bloodthirsty boy-king. Khalid, Khorasan’s eighteen-year-old Caliph, is a monster. He takes a new wife every night, only to have a silk chain tied around her throat the next morning. When Shahrzad’s sixteen-year-old best friend is murdered by Khalid, he swears revenge and offers to be his next wife. Shahrzad is determined not just to survive, but also to put a stop to the caliph’s reign of terror. Shahrzad seduces Khalid night after night, telling him enthralling stories and securing her survival, despite the fact that she knows each morning may be her last. But then something unexpected happens: Khalid turns out to be nothing like she had imagined him to be. This monster is a young boy who has a broken heart. Surprisingly, Shahrzad finds herself in love. What gives that this is possible? It’s a heinous act of treachery. Even nevertheless, Shahrzad has come to realise that not everything in this marble and stone mansion is as it appears. She vows to find whatever secrets are hidden and, despite her love for him, to kill Khalid in retaliation for the numerous lives he has stolen. Is their love strong enough to last in this world?

We Hunt The Flame: Hafsah Faizal. (Series)

Because she murdered, people lived. People perished as a result of his existence.

When Zafira braves the terrible forest of the Arz to feed her people, she disguises herself as a man. Nasir is the Prince of Death, and he assassinates anyone who resist his dictatorial father, the Sultan. All of Zafira’s achievements would be discarded if she was discovered to be a female; if Nasir showed compassion, his father would punish him harshly. In the country of Arawiya, both Zafira and Nasir are legends, but neither wants to be.The Arz is closing in on the land, smothering everything in shade with each passing day. When Zafira sets out on a quest to find a forgotten item that would restore magic to her suffering planet and put an end to the Arz, the Sultan sends Nasir on a similar expedition to retrieve the artefact and kill the Hunter. However, as their trip progresses, an ancient evil stirs, and the prize they seek may represent a threat bigger than any of them can conceive.

Serpent and Dove: Shelby Mahurin. (Series)

Louise le Blanc ran away from her coven two years ago and found refuge in Cesarine, giving up all magic and living off what she could take. Witches like Lou are persecuted there. They are regarded as dangerous. They’re also charred.Reid Diggory, a Chasseur sworn to the Church, has lived his life by one rule: thou must not allow a witch to survive. His path was never supposed to intersect with Lou’s, but a cruel stunt compels them to marry in an inconceivable way—holy marriage. Lou’s most fearsome adversaries deliver a destiny worse than fire in the ancient fight between witches and the Church. A decision must be made since she is unable to ignore her increasing sentiments and helpless to change who she is.

Tweet Cute: Emma Lord

Pepper is a swim team captain, a chronic overachiever, and a perfectionist in general. Her family may be disintegrating, but their big fast-food franchise is thriving, due in large part to Pepper, who is barely juggling real life while covertly administering Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.Jack, the class clown and a perennial thorn in Pepper’s side, enters the picture. He works at his family’s deli when he isn’t trying to avoid his obscenely popular twin’s shadow. He may have a love/hate relationship with the company that controls his future, but when Big League Burger steals his grandmother’s famous grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to bring them down, one tweet at a time.Everything is fair in love and cheese until Pepper and Jack’s feud becomes a viral Twitter fight. They have no idea that while they’re publicly squabbling over caustic memes and retweet wars, they’re simultaneously falling in love in real life on an anonymous chat app Jack created.People on the internet are shipping them as their relationship grows and their online hijinks escalate? Their rivalry becomes increasingly personal, until even these two adversaries can’t deny that they were meant for an unexpected, uncomfortable, all-the-feels relationship that none of them expected.

The Shadow Between Us: Tricia Levenseller (Series)

Alessandra is fed up with being neglected, so she devised a strategy to obtain power:1) Make the Shadow King swoon.
2) Get married to him.
3) Assassinate him and seize his empire.

No one knows how powerful the newly crowned Shadow King is. Some believe he has the ability to control the shadows that swirl about him. Others claim they communicate with him, whispering his adversaries’ ideas. Whatever the case may be, Alessandra knows what she deserves and will do everything she can to obtain it.However, Alessandra isn’t the only one attempting to assassinate the king. As assassination attempts are made on his life, she finds herself attempting to keep him alive long enough for him to crown her queen—

How will Covid-19 Pandemic Affect Online Marketing?

The COVID-19 had wreaked havoc all around the globe. The lockdown crisis had drastically impacted the world economy. All the sectors are facing a downfall that will have major implications down the decade. However, the aftermath of the crisis could be minimized with the master invention of humans, i.e., the internet. It is not wrong to predict that the online marketing trend would witness a change due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To minimize the drastic effects and maintain the subsequent sales and responses, some trends and tactics have been adopted and practised by online marketers.

The Change in the Trend of Online Marketing

Online marketing is witnessing a shift in trend due to the pandemic. The demands of customers have been changing. Therefore, to adapt to the changing demands and be flexible, variant brands and businesses are adopting different measures. Bulk-buying and online shopping has been some of the changing behaviours observed in shoppers amid the crisis. Online marketing has been preferred because:

  • Many physical stores had been shut down(lockdown)
  • The fear and restrictions on public gathering
  • Research claimed that there is a possibility of destruction of the virus via shipping as it takes a few days to reach the consumer and is exposed to different physical conditions.

Retail Impact

Consumers all across the world had been focusing on essential and thus, demand for luxury goods retailers and manufacturers are seeing reduced demands and hence, downfall. The unusual purchasing patterns are affecting both supply and consumption chains. The uncertainty of the time is attracting more consumers online. The online grocery stores in the US observed a 300% rise in order after the declaration of a pandemic.

Many businesses are adapting to the changing times to provide a stable medium for providing essentials. About 60-70% of customers are opting for online deliveries for household and essentials and there is a shift from traditional to online marketing.

The Significance of Online Marketing During Pandemic

The Covid-19 crisis had made online marketing our saviour.

Small Business and Firms

The online marketing has helped many small businesses and firms due to its increased connectivity and convenient advertising options. It has enabled them to be in operation despite not being able to operate their physical stores. The silver lining is the cutting down of expenses by several industries on their campaigns as most of them are now opting for internet advertisement.

Approach to E-mails

E-mails have always been a powerful and cost-effective tool for the outreach of different types of consumers. In the present scenario, the business owners and marketers are overwhelmed with the responses to e-mail benefits. A good e-mail campaign can effectively deal with the present pandemic.

The Beginner’s Ultimate Frostpunk Guide: 5 Essential Tips to Survive and Thrive

Set in an alternate universe in 1886, the survival city building, resource management game compels you to take intractable and complex decisions for your city to survive and thrive. The challenging yet amazing game presented by Polish Indie developers, the 11-bit studio put you in charge of a community where you are responsible for keeping them warm, fed, healthy and happy at a freezing temperature where the crops have failed and they all are homeless. What would you do first? Try to keep the community warm? Fetch food, gather or hunt? Erect buildings but of what kind? Or develop technologies? Make stringent laws for keeping the peace?

Sounds too much right? Don’t fret. We are here with our ultimate beginner’s frost punk guide!

Observe and Gather

Observe and watch out for resources in the initial stage by pausing the game. Assign every worker to gather. You can add 30 on coal, 30 on wood and 5 on steel. Make sure none of your workers remain idle during working hours. Watch out if they have reached their working capacity and accordingly change their positions. In the initial stages have a keen eye on everything.

Build and Provide

Start building early and build as many workshops as you can (you do get a speed bonus for every new building: upgrade your tech). Furnish your community with food and shelter firstly to increase their survival chances. Building a medical post, cookhouse and hunter’s hut should be your priority as they are the key to survival.

Technology Tree

The technology tree is concerned with increasing technological advancements, functioning and efficiency of your community. It is divided into 4 categories. Work on completing the first level of research so that extractive buildings can be unlocked. In a gilded city, the main concern is to keep it warm, so, therefore, initially unlock ‘heater’s technology and work on hunter’s efficiency.

Law and Order


Now, here comes the tricky part, introducing laws! Remember it shows your approach to community, morals and tolerance and control. Some laws might increase discontent while providing you with other needs as food. Apply laws with caution and be certain of your approach. Some laws are selected like ‘child labour’ and ‘radical therapy’. ‘Double rations’ and ‘fighting arena’ might increase content and welfare. Be cautious of some laws like the ‘duelling law’.

Scout and Experiment

One of the most important and underrated pieces of advice in the frost punk guide is to scout as often as possible and never be afraid to experiment. There is a lot to find out in the grim yet grand land of frost punk. The more you scout, the better you find and increase the chances of your survival.

Apart from the essentials don’t forget to upgrade, manually look into things, find alternatives and most importantly enjoy. Relish while playing this adventurous game that will keep you on your toes.The game is popular among people who love building and experimenting. So, set on the adventurous journey with our ultimate frost punk guide!

Top Free Video Conferencing Tools

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the world is in quandary regarding different adaptation methods relating to work culture. To bolster the growing needs of people from different walks of life there had been introduced several alternatives. The most effective so far had been video conferencing tools. It is essential to communicate to run a business or to even convey an idea. The video conferencing tools fulfil the requisites either it is of an online marketer or a student. To ensure the safety of the workers as well as not to limit productivity, there are top free video conferencing tools.

Zoom

The free video conferencing app empowers employees’ flexibility, working remotely from home. Features:   

  • User-friendly: The app is easy to use for meetings of decent duration. It also offers messaging solutions.
  • Affordable: The free-tier app broadens its variant users. It is convenient for both workers as well as students.
  • Supports a large number of participants: The free video conferencing tool can supports 100 members at the same time. It is suitable for large gatherings.

Therefore, the zoom app is highly recommendable owing to its scalable features and quick and easy set-up.

Google Meet

One of the widely preferred apps when it comes to top free video conferencing tools. Google meeting had now been advanced as per the needs of the people all around the world.

  • Free-tier: The google meet is now free for people having Gmail accounts. It has been improved as per the increasing needs.
  • Supports large participants: It now allows 100 participants on the video call at once.
  • Secured: Google meet is reliable because of its security assurance.

Skype

Skype has widened its parochial option which allowed only to stay connected with friend and family. It supports business meetings as well, allowing up to 50 participants at once.

  • Live subtitles: The app allows live subtitles during the meeting.
  • Can be opened in a web browser: Invitations to people can be sent via email, allowing them to join the meeting without being the app installed.
  • Affordable: Skype is a free video-conferencing app. However, Skype for business is a low-paid upgrade.

Free-Conference

The FreeConference tool is apt for International video calls. It is suitable for small businesses meeting, allowing only 5 members at once.

  • International dial-up: It allows International meetings dial-up for small, private meetings.
  • User-friendly: It is easy to use with chat and recording options available. It is easy to customize and use.
  • Budget-friendly: The powerful free version of the app serves several purposes.

Cisco Webex Meetings

The free version of Cisco Webex Meetings do not disappoint its users with its high degree security and available features.

  • Supports substantial users: Cisco WebEx meetings allows Hd video conferencing with 100 participants at one go.
  • 1GB cloud storage: The free version of the app provides 1GB cloud storage with unlimited meetings for endless time.

UberConference

The free version of the app is convenient as well because of the scalable feature provided.

  • Screen and document sharing: The app allows screen and document sharing. It allows 10 participants at once to attend the meeting.
  • Unlimited conferences with decent duration: The free version allows unlimited conference meetings with a duration of 45 minutes.
  • Call recording: Apart from providing Hd audio, it enables call recording feature as well.

LifeSize Go

The free version provides decent features. It is ideal for remote workers and small business groups.

  • Screen sharing: The app allows screen sharing and is available for up to 8 participants.
  • Unlimited video time: There is no restriction on the time length of video meetings.

Slack Video Calls

Slack Video calls are user-friendly and ideal for small meeting groups.

  • Message: The app provides messenger and supports up to 15 members.
  • Individual calls: Individual calls adds icing on the cake to the SlackVideo Calls.

Instagram, Facebook and Youtube live options have also gained relevant popularity owing to its variant options and user-friendly mode.

‘Work from home’ trend and ‘online classes’ are being practised widely in present times. The top free video conferencing tools make the task convenient for the users all around the globe.

It’s about Economy-Union Budget

The term Budget can be explained as an annual statement of the government’s estimations of income and expenditure. The Constitution of India does not use the world Budget, instead, it uses the term Annual Financial Statement.

Under Art.112 of the Constitution, the President shall in respect of every financial year (April 1 to March 31 in India) cause Annual Financial Statement to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament.

The budget not only presents the estimation of revenue and expenditure of the government but also lays down the targets and policies of the government for the growth and development of the overall economy and society as a whole.

Every budget has generally two parts :

  • Part A: Review of the economy in the previous year. The basis of review is the Economic Survey which is brought out by the Ministry of Finance
  • Part B: Proposal for the coming year i.e. revenue and expenditure estimates for the coming financial year.

Every budget gives the figures for the 3 years i.e.

  • 1. Actual figures for the preceding year.
  • 2.Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for the current year.
  • 3.Budget Estimates for the coming year.

Facebook rebrands to Meta. What has changed, what hasn’t

Zuckerberg said the new name reflected its work investing in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference to announce the rebrand of Facebook as Meta. (Reuters Photo)

Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has said his company will henceforth be known as Meta Platforms Inc, or Meta for short, to reflect its commitment to developing the immersive digital world known as the metaverse.

Zuckerberg, speaking at the company’s live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, said the new name reflected its work investing in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service. “We’ve learned a lot from struggling with social issues and living under closed platforms, and now it is time to take everything that we’ve learned and help build the next chapter,” Zuckerberg said.

“I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta. Our mission remains the same, still about bringing people together, our apps and their brands, they’re not changing,” he added.

Zuckerberg said the name Facebook no longer encompasses everything the company does. “Today we are seen as a social media company,” Zuckerberg said. “But in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people.”

SIX THINKING HATS

Edward Charles Francis Publius de Bono, a Maltese physician, psychologist, philosopher and consultant, scripted the book ‘ Six Thinking Hats’. The conceptualization of this book has helped many organizations to boost their firm’s productivity by dividing the job profiles of the employees based on their styles of thinking. Each person takes up the role of a hat ensuring that all viewpoints and styles are covered efficiently. Accordingly, people can cohesively pool in their thoughts based on their area of interpretation. Often, firms arrange for activities wherein employees are divided into teams of different hat colours and are asked to speak about the firm’s newly launched product or idea based on the colour of their hat. This provides stimulus for gathering opinions.

WHITE HAT – It is also called as the Factual Hat. The white hat is associated with facts and information. It represents gathering of information. Discussions related to information available, information needed, missing facts, source of information are conducted. It deals with knowledge and insights at the beginning or end of a session.

GREEN HAT – It is also known as the Creative Thinking Hat. It represents growth and movement in an organisation. Lateral thinkers metaphorically wear this hat to show that they are looking for new ideas and solutions. It deals with openness to ideas, proposals, suggestions, ways to solve difficulties, and other alternative opinions.

BLUE HAT – It is also known as the Director’s Hat. It symbolizes limitless performance, calmness and control over oneself. It is generally worn by the facilitators during a discussion. It deals with management and organization. The blue hat wearers ask for summaries, decisions, conclusions and are the ideal people to set the agenda of thinking. Therefore, analyzing the information and reaching a logical conclusion is the central idea of this hat.

RED HAT – It is also known as the Hat for the Heart. It represents feelings, emotions, and instincts rather than logical reasoning. When one is involved in this arena of though process, he may express his feelings without having to give a logical reason behind it. It is a complete opposite of the White Hat which is entirely fact based. While working, employees do experience intuitions about another colleague as disloyal to the firm. The red hat allows a person to voice such sixth sense emotions with an appropriate label.

YELLOW HAT – It is also known as the Optimist’s Hat. Yellow hat thinkers reflect positive attitudes and scope for new opportunities. Such thinkers assess a plan and notice the benefits in it. Entrepreneurs and risk taking employees are involved in the group of yellow hat thinkers. The hat focuses on value, benefits and the positive speculation of why a venture may work.

BLACK HAT – It is also known as The Hat of Caution. It prevents an individual from indulging into immoral, illegal or unprofitable ventures. Employing a critical judgement to assess the risks involved in a plan is the task of black hat holders. It is often regarded as the most powerful hat because it assists in spotting shortcomings, giving reasons as to why a plan may not workout and giving out suggestions to overcome the drawbacks.

The concept of Six Thinking Hats developed by Edward de Bono, can be used as a powerful tool for inculcating the ideas of being more productive, focused and mindfully involved in the working of an organization. This tool can help an organization, to develop leadership skills, creative thinking, critical analysis and improve the overall performance of the establishment.

THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Man is not born with the latent ability of oration, it is developed over a significant period of time with experience and practice. The act of speaking face to face with a live audience is included in oratory practices. It is one of the most essential skills that an individual must imbibe within himself. Public speakers do have the potential to bring about a revolution in a society. Speakers from various places across the globe have played a crucial role in motivating their audiences in dark times. It can be called as an art that is used for teaching, persuasion or entertainment of listeners. Speakers who communicate with audiences to teach them something, often make use of jargons and anecdotes which will boost the learning ability and performance of the audience. Whereas speakers who wish to persuade their niche audience into doing something, put hyperbole, metaphors and persuasive literary tools into their speech.

Fortunate ones are immune to the fear of public speaking, but there are people with poised personalities and good literary skills and are yet low on confidence if made to face an audience. One need not feel worried about how to tackle the anxiety that builds up while delivering a speech. There are certainly a few tips and tricks that one can carry up his sleeve.

KNOW YOUR NICHE AUDIENCE BEFOREHAND

One needs to use alternative speaking styles while interacting with listeners belonging to different age groups, genders, societal strata, etc. Crafting the speech based on the type of audience which will be attending the session, will certainly help to maintain cordiality and smoothness in the oration.

FOR INSTANCE – While delivering a speech for a formal session, with businessmen and industrial expertise as the audience, one does not make use of comical references or satirical expressions.

USE OF APPROPRIATE GESTURES

Making sure that your bodily gestures do not portray that you are anxious from within, is important. Clasping of hands, standing in the same stance for a longer time, rubbing of palms, tapping of feet should be avoided. Standing in an erect stance, with an amiable expression and making eye to eye contact with the audience present is essential. Simple confident hand gestures and displaying counting of points on fingertips from time to time, will attract the audience to follow along. An appropriate body language helps the speaker to engage well with the audience.

FOR INSTANCE – Distracting hand gesture such as fidgeting prevents the audience from absorbing what the speakers is trying to explain.

VOCABULARY BUILDING

To attain a sufficient level of mastery in usage of words and arranging them into sentences, reading does play a major role. Getting your hands on various genres of write-ups, hunting for meanings of less comprehensible words and jotting down those words on flashcards or sticky notes is one of the techniques to improvise on your vocabulary. Attempting to communicate with people possessing admirable literary skills, will help one to carefully pay attention to pronunciation of a plethora of words. Not everybody gets the privilege of interacting with literary expertise, but one can definitely listen to podcasts, songs, speeches and other audio visual means of learning.

FOR INSTANCE – Glancing through the Thesaurus such as the Oxford Dictionary on a regular basis, is beneficial to improve the vocabulary.

ENDLESS HOURS OF PRACTICE

We have all come across the quote, “Practice makes a man perfect.” One does not necessarily require an audience to practice public speaking. Many present day orators must have practiced their speeches in front of the mirror as newbies. Including personal experiences, explanation of real life stories, subtle humour can be used to craft a speech. After the script has been finalized, beginners can practice speaking against the mirror or a small group and record what is being spoken. But, one must not constantly make use of the mirror as a tool because the concept of public speaking in itself states that a speech has to be delivered in front of an audience. Hence, a mirror cannot create an audience like impact for the speaker. Thus, regular practice will help one to analyse his/her shortcomings and can make alterations accordingly.

FOR INSTANCE – Practicing in front of a mirror, will help an individual to focus on his gestures and he can thereby try to eliminate under confident bodily motions.

Man cannot gain absolute perfection in all the tasks throughout his journey of life. But one can definitely attempt to minimize the flaws or shortcomings within oneself. This blog strives to highlight the methods through which one can build up spoken skills and the confidence required to conquer the fear of Public Speaking.

SHE COULD BE

She Could Be…

She could be the biggest weapon, if you have you can conquer the world,

She could be the greatest achievement if you’ve her you’ve got almost everything,

She could be the biggest loss, if you lose her you’ve lost everything,

She could be the healing while you’re injured,

She could be the peace while you’re lacking some,

She could the happiness you’ve been wandering for,

She could be the reason why you’ve been that way for so long,

ALSO, SHE COULD UNDOUBTEDBLY BE THE OPPOSITE OF ALL OF THESE if you never know how to treat.

  • Treat her like a living being.
  • Treat her as if she has a life too.
  • Treat her more than a trophy.
  • Treat her with dignity & stop objectifying her.
  • Treat her with the love she deserves.
  • Treat her with the respect she owes.

Treat her the way you want yourself to be & then you see, you’ll receive more than you’ve done for her.

PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN INDIAN MEDIA

Media plays such a major role in the lives of human beings. Over the last decade, media has become a powerful tool that mirrors social life of commoners and celebrities. However, the role that media plays in portraying gender democracy is still a matter of debate. Media has a significant impact on how social and cultural norms relating to women form and evolve. Over the past couple of decades audiences have been exposed to women in strong and independent roles in the media. This propagates the sense that western modernity and increased presence of free market promotes gender equality in a India.

PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN DAILY SOAPS

  • It does seem a little bizarre to see contemporary TV serials and soaps projecting women more as models of expensive costumes, jewellery or heavy sarees. 
  • Moreover, the stereotypes used such as a wronged wife, a dominating mother-in-law, bitter relationships between sister-in-laws, portray women in conflicting roles.
  •  Also, daily soaps fail to include all the career options that are now being taken up by Indian women, new modes of lifestyle being adopted and remain stuck up in certain deep-rooted notions that are hard to be erased.
Mother-in-laws are often portrayed as ill wishers of the daughter-in-laws

PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS

PAST SCENARIOPRESENT SCENARIO
1. In the past, women were portrayed as subjects of mockery and were allotted with submissive roles in television commercials. 1. In the present scenario, women are often shown playing lead roles in television commercials.
2. Women were deliberately depicted subordinate to their male counterparts. 2. Males and females are equally portrayed in brand endorsements.
3. The looks of a women were made use of, to endorse a product. Hence, females were said to be openly objectified in advertisements. 3. Women are rarely seen doing stereotypical roles, instead they are shown as heads of a family, position holders at workplace, achievers of glory in sports and ultimately independent.
TVC IN THE PAST ‘Stereotypical role’
CURRENT TVC – ‘Portrayal of gender equality’

PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN MOVIES

  • Bollywood has shaped and expressed the changing scenarios of modern India.
  • It has influenced the way in which people perceive various aspects of the society. 
  •  Despite the progress that bollywood films have made and the, things haven not changed much for Indian women, as objectification of women still continues in most of the Indian movies.
  • In many movies of present times, female characters are needlessly under represented. Also, publisizing vulgar lyrics and dances in the name of item songs is very derogatory for women.
  •  Women are shown as helpless victims or cunning villains. Generally, the lead hero is the one who solves everyone’s including heroine’s problems.
  • Movies depict actresses as unrealistically beautiful. This causes a lot of trauma and insecurity in the female audience. Laymen are generally unaware about the number of beautification surgeries and make up procedures which the actresses undergo to look perfect.
  • In movies, stalking and eve-teasing is depicted as love in Indian movies. In many movies, female characters are attracted towards these abusers. Due to this, several young men indulge into harassing women in the name of love.
Stalking and eve teasing is often normalized in Bollywood movies

In conclusion, we can say that media has successfully stereotyped women in a negative way. It is true that women’s participation and presentation has advanced in various dimensions of social and political life but we still have a long way to go. It is high time that we learn to voice our disapproval against such practices and stand up for positive portrayals of women. The real women inspirations of India shall be depicted on all such platforms.

The admirable women of India

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

Let us know about the national security council. The Security Council bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

  • It is designed to be UN’s only action agency and is often described as the enforcement wing of the UN.
  • The Security Council originally consisted of eleven members but expanded to fifteen in 1965. Security Council comprises of five permanent members namely, China, France, Russia, UK and USA and a 10 non-permanent memberss elected for a term of 2 years by a two-third majority of the General Assembly. Five non-permanent members retire every year. Retiring members cannot be re-elected immediately.
  • The permanent members have the power to VETO any move. If a permanent members abstains, it is not considered as VETO.
  • The presidency of security council is held in turn by the members of the security council in the English alphabetical order of thier names. Each president holds office for one calenderv month.
  • Decision on procedural as well as substantive matters are taken by an affirmative vote of 9 members. On substantive mattes involving action by member nation, all permanent members must vote in the affirmative. A single VETO can prevent the proposals from being accepted.

EVILS OF BULLYING

All of us may have been a part of or may have experienced subtle or extreme bullying in our lives. Now, what exactly is the idea or thought process behind bullying ? It is the use of force, psychological abuse, threats or aggressive domination on another person, mostly the vulnerable ones. It involves a hostile intent of a person over a period of time. This can impact a person negatively, taking a toll on their mental, emotional or physical health. It may be done by a single person or a mob. Such a culture generally develops at school, workplace or in a neighborhood. Several types of Bullying are prevalent in the society.

PHYSICAL BULLYING

It is one of the most common methods of bullying. It involves usage of physical actions which are disliked and highly unappreciated by the victim. Use of actions such as hitting, pinching, shoving, pushing, or causing damage to the property of an individual comes under Physical Bullying. The attacker, better known as the bully is in a dominating position, thus the victim remains vulnerable in such cases.

VERBAL BULLYING

It does not involve any physical contact or harm, but the scars of physical bullying are deeper and generally go unnoticed. Use of verbal techniques such as speaking or displaying a demeaning body language is a part of Verbal Bullying. Victims are made to face threats, rude tone of voice, mockery of oneself, insults, slurs, or constant criticism. According to a study, females are more likely to bully an individual verbally, in order to display superiority.

CYBER BULLYING

This new era method of bullying is coming into the spotlight day by day. Laymen are well informed with the term Online Bullying. Using Internet as a tool to harass somebody has become a typical behavior among the teenagers. Lack of courage to let out derogatory remarks about somebody, pulls these people towards devices which can aid to bully someone. The culture of Cyber Bullying involves spread of rumours, stalking, hate speech, defamation through leaking of audio or video clips without permission or shaming.

AFTERMATH OF BULLYING ON THE LIFE OF AN INDIVIDUAL

  • Mental disorders such as anxiety, inferiority complex or depression that creeps gradually into adulthood
  • Low academic performance among students
  • An individual may indulge into alcohol /smoking / drugs to escape from the negative reality of life
  • Persons who have been victims of bullying skip school or workdays and prefer confiding themselves within their homes
  • Emotional turmoil leading to low self esteem and loneliness
  • Isolation of oneself from peers or even family members
  • Experience of physical problems such as muscle aches, nausea, head aches
  • Extreme experience of bullying may ultimately even lead to self harm or suicidal attempts

We can conclude by stating that bullying must not go unnoticed. Anti-bullying related values must be imparted from the grass root levels. Schools must employ specialized counsellors and mental health professionals to combat the evils of bullying. Moral values of harmony, team building and co-existence must be advocated at all times.

All about self care: Therapy by yourself(bonus motivation!)

Self care, A topic most ignore amidst the hustle-bustle of their worlds is a vital part of your life, whether you know it or not. There are astonishingly few people in the globe that understand how vital it is, and ironically, the cruelly competitive GEN-Z, get it the most. Otherwise, the beings of other generations have daily routines that do not involve any time for themselves. Its all Work, Family, and more work, a worn drill. However busy your routine is, you need to provide justice to yourself and your mind. should you not, lest you’ll go mad. seriously. it is important to understand how much your body gives you, how much your body tries to not burn yourself in this society of lunacy. Your mind is the one of the most important organs of your body, it functions all the other organs including itself, WITHOUT A BREAK. you at least could steady it with some specific activities. For exactly that, I am here to guide you through the process of rejuvenating yourself.

So let’s get straight to the point, we all know that life is an endless cycle of goals and desires, but to calm our agile mind, we can do some simple activities for an hour or even a handful of minutes per day and we’ll get so much clarity in our spry intellect. Meditation, art, affirmations, dance, music, reading, journaling, talking to people, doodling, even scribbling can calm your mind. there are unfathomable options. You just need to find your thing, and live in it. Believe in it. But remember, it is something that cannot be forced. you will have to have full faith in yourself that it will work, it will make you better. Better in life, better in mind.

Dance is personally, the best for me. grooving to the beat, jiving to the music is just my thing. If you are anything like me, just do it. Feel your body make beauty, make art. tap to every beat, jump to every song, close your eyes and just dance. swing your leg, twirl your hip, create stars in the air, and just dance.

Art, is something I have seen as a therapy for most of the people I know, I am trying it too! And you know what, it works magically. Though I am still a newbie and have a lot to learn about it, I can say that whether my drawing is beautiful or miserable, no matter what the result it, the process through it calms me beyond words.

journaling is just writing your thoughts to your best friend, informally and honestly, without striving for the ‘appropriate’ or fancy words. Write just as if you’re talking to your most favorite person in the world, fantasy or reality. describe your thoughts without hesitation and insecurity. make a diary and start journaling every night before bed. Describe the perils and chronicles of your day, slander if you want to, just relieve your brain of all those flurry contemplations out of your head. let it breathe. deeply.

My personal and most common advice to you would be to just take a break. you do enough. believe that. you are enough. see who you are, set your limits and work upon yourself. this is your life, and only you can decide how to live it. no one else will do it for you, know that. No angel is going to come to make your life all unicorns and rainbows unless you believe that there is a future of hope and light. Until you live for it, Until you thrive for it. Just go on, take an hour out of your day just for yourself, do nothing. Absolutely nothing. sit idle, concentrate on that tired thing inside you. let it rest, after a good long sleep, wake it up, give it motivation, give it confidence, give it courage, and say, get up. get up, get up, get up. You can do this, you are confident, valiant and breathtakingly strong. GET UP. You are made to be you, to be unique. it’s okay to have breaks, it’s okay to rest, but do not give up. never give up. No matter how much you are shattered, how much of you are just tape and glue. own it. Hang in there. everything’s temporary. Just smile and do what you love. I assure you, it is going to be okay.