Tag: thoughts

A piece of mind

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Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or be weeds.

– William Wordsworth

Mind, as psychology defines is broadly, all intellectual and psychological phenomena of an organism, encompassing motivational, affective, behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive systems; that is, the organized totality of an organism’s mental and psychic processes and the structural and functional cognitive components on which they depend. In simple words, our mind is what we are and what we perceive. All of our actions and reactions are the result of what our mind thinks is the best to do being in a particular situation. Our mind is no doubt an indispensable part of our body and no human being on the face of earth can function properly without being in the “correct/ right state of mind”, as said by many.

Every single person present on the surface of the earth has a mind of his own. People think differently, talk differently, react to a same thing differently and so on. Everything we do differs from the other person. It is all because we have different minds. For example, some people like to listen slow songs whereas some prefer upbeat songs, some like to watch football whereas others watch cricket and the list goes on. Even while being in the midst of a discussion, we find many different opinions and ideas from the people present in the discussion. This is how different and varied our thoughts or our minds are. It is not that we are not aware of this fact that all people have a mind of their own and it is hard for any two people to be totally alike in their thoughts and perceptions, but still here we are fighting for the superiority of our thoughts and beliefs.

This blog is not about staying quiet even if you see something very wrong happening or someone with wrong beliefs imposing himself on you/ others. This blog is about what actually we should fight for. These days it is very clear from the ongoing scenarios that how fragile our minds have become and how we live in the constant fear that someone might come at us telling that our thoughts are wrong, because we all believe that our beliefs are free from any flaws. We get angered by small disruptions in our thoughts and vent in out on anyone who differs with our opinion. These all may seem very complicated to understand and anyone reading it must feel this to be some sort of rubbish. But all I ask of you is to take a moment and sit quietly for a moment, put our egos aside and retrospect what we are fighting for. Let’s put ourselves in the place of the other person and think why he/she feels that they are correct and what would we have done being in their place. It is very easy to point fingers at others and do our level best in proving someone wrong just to get the euphoria of being correct but it is very difficult to get to the mind of the other person and understand his thoughts and beliefs. I am not saying this justifies the crimes committed by a criminal or it justifies the actions of any violent protester burning the vehicles in road just to prove that what they believe in is true in all forms and there should be no debate about it. What I want to convey with this is know what you are fighting for, ask yourselves whether it is worth arguing others, ask yourselves what you will gain from proving yourselves correct and try to understand the other’s point of view before jumping into an argument. I know it I not easy to understand someone, but what I know is being patient will help a lot in this regard. It will take a lot of time to be able to actually put ourselves in someone’s shoes. But it is not impossible to do. Although it will take some time, I hope we all grow up from the constraints of our thoughts and be the one in command of our mind.

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The One Thing I Do Every Day

It can be the smallest thing, even if it’s just sending an email or taking a bathroom break. If you feel like your life is starting to take over, take a break and be alone for a minute. These extra 15 minutes will help you reduce morning stress and help you have a more organized, productive day.

Every morning, make a “I’ll do one thing today” to-do list and get it done before you get distracted by non-essential things. Think about your goals, break them down into small steps, and take one step a day. It would be nice to do at least one little thing every day to make your life better. Start with very simple actions, with things that are at hand.

These 10 things, if done regularly, will be the foundation and foundation that will make you feel “good” even when you’re struggling. Will he keep working or will he do the job I hate the most just because I know I have to. Sometimes it’ll just be about not texting the fucking guy, or watching an extra hour of TV, or spending money on things I don’t need.

As for my [career, finances, leisure, learning, relationships and health], what is the only thing I can do [today, this week, this quarter, this year, over the next 5 years] in such a way that, doing things differently would be easier or useless. Just because it’s called THE ONLY ONE doesn’t mean you have to do the same thing for the rest of your life. It’s all about being persistent with just one task that helps lighten the rest of the day or automatically cross items off your to-do list.

Feel free to make a short list of other goals, but you’ll find this big goal becomes the cornerstone of all actions you take along the way. Everyone will be different and will achieve their great things in different ways. When you settle for one thing, it usually comes at the cost of creating an endless list of things you think you need to do.

There may be times in your life when wasting time is exactly what you need to do. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that the ultimate goal of all the hard work and torture we go through every day is to sit down and relax. There are some things that I think you need to do every day (or at least start trying) to be happy.

There are a few small things you can do every day to keep your life happy, productive, and successful, and they are different for everyone. In this episode, I’ll share with you my list of 25 things I don’t do every day so you can watch how you spend your time and energy and make a different choice or build on the choices you’re already making. When you wake up this morning, the first thought that comes to mind is probably your to-do list for the day.

Let me tell you right now, there will be days when you won’t want to sit down and do it. But if you can get through those days and even take a few small steps within the time allotted to you, you will feel fulfilled and move closer to achieving your big goal. If there’s one thing in the world that I don’t lose sight of every single day, it will be that.

I do this several times during the day, but I need it and I’ve learned to really embrace it. One of the things I do every day that makes me feel happier is to incorporate more feelings into my routine. Incorporating more of our senses into our homes and daily activities can change how much joy we experience in our surroundings. Of course, decor can make a home beautiful, but the words around us can change, inspire, and inspire us.

This will help you appreciate all the bright people and things that you have in your life. Simple things like this allow us to appreciate our blessings and teach us what really matters in life. So, if you’re having a hard time seeing the bright side right now, just think about things you probably don’t know about and be grateful for.

I don’t have a long journaling process and I don’t meditate, but I do write three things I’m grateful for every night I keep in my gratitude journal. I spend a day and a half thinking about when I should start writing, and when I think a writing career isn’t for me, I draw inspiration from a seven-year-old magazine in the corner of the house. my wardrobe. It often shocks me how everyday things can lead to great things.

As for me, I intend to do one thing a day, and this has changed the situation. Complete a task from your to-do list. If you only complete one task during the day, the day was well spent.

Creating this daily ritual with your ONE Thing is critical to achieving your goal, not just for the finished product, but for believing in your ability to create. If you persist for a week, you will start to enjoy doing it regularly.

If you’ve always wanted to lose weight, eat one slice of bread or one less pizza each day. Planning time. Conduct a daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly review to check what you have and make sure you are gearing up for success. If you identify, notice, and publicize one thing, it will help set the stage for achieving your goals by breaking them down into daily blocks of time.

By journaling every day, you start good habits that change every area of ​​your life. If you want to feel the kick, now is the perfect time to start your daily mental workout. This inspiring magazine offers a quote and advice or activity for every day of the year to help you expand your knowledge of yourself and stretch your brain with words, numbers and optical puzzles. This diary will help you appreciate the places, people, and experiences that bring peace of mind, comfort to your body, and meaning to your life.

From the radio on the way home to your favorite podcast, it stimulates your brain and makes you think about different things. After a day of work and chores, it’s important to feel like your day is important and meaningful — and one of the easiest ways to do that is to sit down with someone interesting and chew some fat.

Death as a lesson

Most would agree with me when I say, Steve Jobs was one of the most brilliant people, who went on to become an innovator and entrepreneur and a co-founder of Apple then worked for Pixar too.

Today, for the first time, I watched a motivating speech given by him.

What he said, and how he said is no doubt invaluable. But the points he made is what makes it so great, making it an inspiring array of words aimed for people from all walks of life.

Perhaps that is the reason, this video on YouTube had more than 1.3 crore views. And this was not even the original one, it had been edited to create a story. But the lessons he has learnt and the three stories he told made all the difference.

We all know the successful reviews of Apple company from their over priced gadgets which no doubt never fail to deliver what they promise. But the penance behind it’s creation is perhaps more interesting to know and yet many are not aware of it.

From what I understood, Jobs talked of circumstances that lead you to a place. The dots that you can connect months, years or sometimes even decades. He also talked of failure as a teacher, and the lessons it teaches.

Now all of these were a good expressions of wisdom, because most of would have heard of it or have been told about while growing up. In some cases, you must have felt them to be true as well.

But the last one, the quote that he read at the age of 17, which impacted him for the next 33 years when he gave the speech and probably till his death 5 years later.

“If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”

-unknown

He questioned himself every morning, if he was going to do the things he would be doing if it were his last?

And facing yourself in the mirror when you answer. Because everything we do daily has an impact for the rest of our lives.

Living our life as a boon, living each moment as if it is the last will no doubt make us more happy if not more successful. Because then you are free of all the chains that bind your potential. The fears and thoughts that hinder your growth.

You are not only less self conscious (as you have few hours left to live) but you become an outgoing individual. You grab the chances, even the unseen opportunities that come your way.

You live the day to its fullest.

Carpe Diem becomes your mantra. Keeps you going through the ups and downs.

Just look at what Jobs managed to do all by himself. There are countless other people who have managed to become great personalities despite the troubles they had to live through.

And that my friend is how you can unlock your true potential. Wishing you all the very best all of your life’s endeavours.

Image source : Google

Thoughts Are Yours But Not YOU

Thoughts do not define you.


Isn’t it sounding dumb? Let’s introduce you to a new perspective.

Most of the humans inhabit in themselves a computer which runs in accordance to the instructions. It goes without saying which part of a human it is. It is none other than our brain. The reasons behind our race’s excelling heights but also the main culprit behind its sadness. But it does not define us

How? Still unanswered!

Because the brain is hard to control. Why do you think a person requires a psychiatrist or a psychologist or a therapist to understand their thoughts, reactions and behaviours?

And also…why do you think you want to keep a part of YOU under control?

Because it is not you. And applause to those who become aware of it and consult the right person.

But how do I justify what I just explained?

The subconscious brain acts in accordance to the our thoughts/perspectives and how it usually makes us react to a particular kind of situation.
For example: We may have a habit of getting angry out of nowhere when someone intimidates us . That’s our usual way of thinking in such situation. Fight back!

•Or,we may get worried when smallest of things are left undone. Maybe because our thoughts murmur all possible negative consequences the undone tasks may have

•Or,We may get frustrated when something does not go our way because our thoughts might just block out any possible scope of understanding.

How many times do we end up crying or saying to ourselves “This was not me. I didn’t meant to do it” to ourselves or to the person concerned?

What is similar in these three examples?

Guilt. Surprise. Cluelessness. Breakdown. All of which takes place after we have reacted. But why?

Because it induces toxicity in us. We do not want to react that way but we feel imprisoned.

The kind of thoughts which we nurture towards a certain situation(negative thoughts)stimulate such reactions and when the reaction is delivered, it makes us feel terrible. We end up questioning, why did we act like that?

The answer is, because of our own perspective!
The way in which we usually perceive a situation gets registered deep inside our subconscious mind and its so deeply registered that mostly, we cannot stop ourselves from perceiving things the same way in every situation.
The subconscious mind has observed you thinking one particular way and it has understood how to think thereafter.

Then how do we change the instructions which we gave to this computer?

Be aware of the instructions you give to it. Being aware is the key to controlling your thoughts.
Be aware of the development of this habit of thinking negatively. Be aware of your perspective and how it is controlling you.

Every situation is neutral. We are not really controlled by a situation but by our thoughts regarding the situation.
A positive mindset diverts our mind to the brighter side of the situation. To the goodness present in it. Such a mindset gives us happiness and makes us humble.

A negative mindset is rather cynical. It makes us feel terrible about the situation and thus,we end up acting terribly.
In such a situation we do not control our thoughts but it controls us.

A negative mindset attracts negative vibes, things and sometimes negative self proclaimed prophecies may end up becoming our reality.

But how do we control it?

•Consult a psychiatrist or a therapist. I put it the first because it is important too. The fact about getting medical assistance for mental health is talked about so rarely that I decided to put it as a possible and probably one of the best ways to control your thoughts. Speak it out to them.

•Meditation. Changing your thoughts require you to calm yourself down the first. Meditation gives you an understanding of the true nature of your thoughts by making you calm and relaxed. When calm, you can question your thoughts and be crystal clear about the reason behind its existence. Delete the instructions from the computer by questioning its importance.
Be calm to hear the voices in you

•Engage in positive activities. After deleting the old instructions which your computer was habituated to, you require a set of improved instructions.
Meditation can be the best instruction because it teaches us how to control our thoughts and get a clear understanding of our emotions. Reading self help books help further in understanding your subconscious mind and therefore, helping you understand how to instruct it and get control over it. Yoga helps you to stay active, healthy and can greatly control the stimulation of anger and frustration by assisting you in controlling your thoughts. Pursue new habits. Keeping yourself busy with habits which add up to your growth and development can do wonders to your perspective.
Drinking enough water can equally boost your thoughts. Water absorbs energy and when you surround yourself with positive activities, habits and people, it absorbs the best. Remember, more than half of your body is water. Travelling is an all time favorite therapy for most. Its benefits goes without saying. Go somewhere far and spend time with YOU. YOU and your soul deserves attention.
Practice helping and humility. You can never ever absorb the N of NEGATIVITY in you when your soul is open for all.

At the end of it all, if you are confused between thoughts and emotions, let me explain my take on it.

Thoughts stimulate emotions which in turn stimulate reaction.
Understand your emotions and control your thoughts. The lock is the subconscious mind and awareness is the key.


Memories – The unforgettable demons

Memories are reminders of what you have lost. They remind you of a good time in a bad way. They are out there challenging you to face them, to remember them and to be devastated by them. They hurt you sometimes and sometimes they don’t. You can’t control them. Nobody can. They break your heart, they hurt you in a way nobody does and probably nobody can and you don’t even know it. They remind you of what you can’t have anymore. They make you suffer. They remind you of what happened. Or they silently accuse you of what you did to lose it all. They cover you in so much guilt that you can never get out of it. They hurt you in more ways than you can imagine. They attract you with the hope of remembering everything in a beautiful way. Instead they set you up for hurt, for betrayal, for lies. Lies you didn’t know were not true. And you fall into their trap, thinking there is still hope for something good.

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They make you addicted to them in such a way that you can’t stay away from them ever. They bind you with such a strong rope of expectations that maybe someday you can have it all back, even if it is all in your head. For a long time or maybe forever, they haunt you, they never leave your back, never let you go off them. You are forever bound to them whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not. You always come looking back for them, for more good times, for happy moments, even if you suffer even more. They make you believe that maybe you can live with the idea of what could have happened.

Memories are the unforgettable demons living in our minds. They don’t go away. They eat you alive and let your mind rot. They are like the uninvited guest in your house. They live rent free in your mind and create chaos to remind you of everything. They clog your mind with the thoughts of the past and that hinders your thinking for the future. They don’t let you live in the moment, in the present. Memories force you to regret your bad deeds when all you want is to let them go. When you try to move on from something, memories come back rushing and fill your mind. Don’t let them overpower you. Don’t let them control your thoughts. Control yourself from walking straight into their trap hole. They will suck you right into the past and will hold on to you for eternity. You don’t hold onto memories instead the memories hold onto you. You want to let go but they have such a strong hold on you that you can’t find the strength to run away from them.

They will always and forever be with you no matter what. But this is not in a good way. They will never let you out of that hole you fell in. Sometimes they will not let you live in the present or think about your future, without having to deal with your past. Just don’t let them ruin you. Try to take control of yourself as much as you can.

Three Sources of Negative thought

“YOU CANNOT HAVE A POSTIEVE LIFE WITH NEGATIVE MIND . SO TURN ALL THE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS INTO POSITEVE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN “

BK SHIVANI

We all have days when negative or self-centered thoughts enter our mind. It’s normal. However, what we do with them is another matter.

I’m one of those people who gets a bad idea in my mind and stays there for a few business days. I worry too much about them all the time, think too much and analyze too much. Why did I have such a thought? Where did it come from? What does it mean? How can I prevent myself from going to that dark place again? How can I control my thoughts?

How long can a person stay without food? 2 days, 5 days? How can they support themselves without sleep or water? How many days? They can only stretch for a few days. After that, it will start to affect our bodies. Similarly, how many days can we live with fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts? If we do not fix it now, it will begin to affect our minds.

Let’s not make emotional scars. When we are affected, it will affect our families and loved ones and that is not what we want. Focus and focus on the foundation (mind). In order to make this foundation strong we must definitely give this one hour to us as well. Because when the mind is strong, our thoughts will be right and the right thoughts will bring happiness and health.

What are the sources of our thoughts? The source of our thoughts is created in our minds.

Here are three sources of negative thoughts: –

  1. THE SYSTEM OF OUR BELIEFS
    Many of our thoughts and beliefs have a negative connotation. Distortion of the mind is much more common than we think. They can be the cause of mental disorders such as depression or anxiety. They can also cause relationship problems. It is important to begin by identifying our wrong attitudes. Once we have identified the distortions we often use, it becomes easier to deal with them.

2.PAST TRAUMA
Emotional and psychological trauma are the result of extreme stress that disrupts your sense of security, making you feel worthless in a dangerous world. Depression can leave you struggling with irritating emotions, memories, and worries that will not go away. It can leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and distrustful of others.

3.DIET
Our diet can affect our brain. Some foods can help us feel better. Mediterranean-style foods (high in vegetables, seafood, fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, grains and whole grains) supplemented with fish oil can reduce symptoms of stress . Unhealthy foods reduce our ability to think.

It takes time to change your thinking from bad to good, especially if you have lived this way for the rest of your life and that is all you know. But with hard work, practice and patience, you can live a happy, happy and happy life. You just have to choose it. You have the power to change your life and your attitude toward it.

Happy Thinking!

Beginning of Life

Life is a way that begins and ends. Any physician, particularly the person who works extra at these edges, must play a very clear role when a human life begins to develop. The ethical acceptability of some of the clinical ends depends on the definition of these periods is very significant.


The students have special opinions on the time of the beginning of human life in special fields of education. Although there is no longer much concern about “humanity” of a newborn, the ethical reputation of embryos and foetus is still discussed without marginal philosophers. Since it is a count of ethical decisions for the identification of the beginning and the end of creation, the concept of human life is defined in terms of the social sciences in order to examine how it starts.

Life, in particular simple ways, emerges randomly and very easily from non-living counting in short intervals of time, these days as in the past.


Life is coeternal with confidence and has no beginning; creation has come to Earth at the time of the Earth’s beginning, or quickly afterwards. Life was born on the early Earth in a series of groundbreaking chemical reactions.

“Every moment is a fresh start.” “It’s never too late to be who you want to be. I hope you’re living a life that you’re proud of, and if you notice that you’re not, I hope you have the power to start over.”

Taking new decisions which benefits you is the beginning of life, the life which bring prosperity and positiveness.

I’m thinking of ending things…

Author – Iain Reid

Page count – 224 (hardback) 130 (eBook)

Genre – Suspense, psychological thriller

The story is about a young woman and her boyfriend. A girl has no name (high five if you GoT (again) that reference). Jake is her boyfriend. We find them driving to his parents house in the country and then back home. Its just that. But you won’t believe how much happens in that time frame. The conversation between the couple makes you think. They have these deep talk about childhood and other stuff.

The name of the book is such because the girl keeps thinking of ending things with this boyfriend all this time and this is important.

Recently made into a Netflix movie this book is what I wish I had heard about earlier. I strongly recommend thriller novel fans to give it a read. Moreover it’s short. You could finish it within a day or two. Haven’t seen the movie yet but I will check it out after I finish writing this. I really want to see the difference between how I pictured it and how the movie is portrayed. I do that with every book based movie.

It’s been a while since a read a good book. This one kept me hooked. One of those un-put-downable. The suspense it creates. You know there’s something wrong about it but you cannot pin point what it is. There’s this one crazy page and the next page is normal but you turn to the next page and it’s crazier than the first. You’ll make yourself comfortable with the surrounding, the character and the scene changes out of the blue. The last few pages are so confusing makes you feel anxious unless you read it all.

It has a 3.5/5 rating on Goodreads. I would rate it 4/5.

P.s. Suggest me some good thriller novels please.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

Out of sight out of mind

The world has so much problem with the waste production and dumping and landfills. We need more space. Why not send it to outer space? You know take some amount of trash at a time and send it to space and let it go. Sounds easy but turns out it isn’t that easy.

First of all it costs a LOT to send a spaceship into the space. We would need a large number of rocket launches to actually get rid of the insane amount of garbage the world produces(1.2 trillion kg). That way, the rise in air pollution… unimaginable. Also, complex infrastructure requirements! We need a lot more launch pads.

Suppose we do find a way to manage the costs and send a rocket filled with trash to be thrown out in the space. Imagine if some technical issue occurs and it blasts. It would rain burning plastic. Not good for the environment.

Even if we throw it out, the accumulation would make our atmosphere so dense that it would be a toxic world to live in. Also we couldn’t use satellites plus space travel would be tough. What if it comes floating back. Gross sight.

There’s another thing we could do. Burn the trash in the volcanoes. Trash incinerators have filters to filter out poisonous gases. In case of volcanoes filtering is not possible so again toxic world. Besides throwing something in the lava, disturbing the surface, would instantly trigger a chain reaction leading to an explosion. So not an option.

Guess we have to find other sources to convert the trash into some kind of energy. Maybe some day. Till then we need to manage our trash and follow the three R’s. (Reuse, Recycle, Reduce)

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

Hunger Games of the government…

The government holds too much power. This is very well portrayed in the Hunger Games a book trilogy written by American author Suzanne Collins later made into a science fiction dystopian film series. The story is basically how the government has too much power over the lives of common man, how and why it is so wrong. The story is takes place in the fictional country that goes by the name of Panem. It consists of 12 districts that have been assigned various disciplines under which the people of the district work. Naming a few, district 3 specializes in technology, district 11 in agriculture, district 12 in coal mining. District 12 being the smallest and the poorest. All these districts are forced to produce the assigned goods and no have no freedom. The Capitol is the government who enjoy all the riches and luxury while the other districts starve to death. The Capitol, for the sole purpose of entertainment, organises this game annually where two teenagers- a male and a female are forced to participate, locked in an area and have to fight each other to death. The one who survives is declared the winner.

On the big screen we may find it interesting but more interestingly the series is the best depiction of communism. We know that our government always wants to suppress us and gain full control over our lives. Hence this book or the movie series is a good way to give us some lesson in an entertaining manner.

The government’s control over the goods production in a district and no freedom of their own reminds us of the real world example of North and South Korea. Everyone is aware of the situation here. People in North Korea have no freedom it is only the governmental control over their lives and henceforth people are starving. On the contrary, South Korea is thriving. Former Soviet Union couldn’t find a permanent position due to the same reasons. It had too much control over the people and the people suffered. A government cannot work without the cooperation of its people. History holds records of how such controlling government led to their own decline. Panem government violates its people’s basic rights resulting in poverty and starvation and later a rebellion.

The Hunger Games also shows how the upper class lives in luxury in contrast to the middle class lives. It shows how the people of district 1 enjoy all the facilities and live a posh life. They do not have to wait in lines for hours to manage some food for the family. This demonstrates real life situation where the rich are getting richer and the poor even poorer. The government might show us false hope but it is the lower class people who are the fools. The horrors of communism in this book/movie is a good way to let the younger generation realise the truth about the world. Also teach us lessons to be smarter.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

Let the words take you on a journey

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies” – George R.R Martin.

I remember, I was on Mangalore station with my family, waiting for our train to arrive ; we were returning to Mumbai. I didn’t have a phone at that time, and the thought of spending 24hrs in train without having anything to do troubled my brain. So my dad decided to buy me a book, luckily of my choice or else I would have ended up reading a book on some random sport or some religious book I have no interest in. That was my first book ever, I was enthusiastic as holding the novel in my hand instantly made me feel like an adult. Sounds stupid but for a 11years old, it made sense.

When you sit down with readers and ask them about their childhood memories of reading a book; they will always tell you there was a book they loved that introduced them to the love of reading, or they had a book they loved and lost it along the way. They will be so emotional while telling you this because those books had an enormous effect in their lives. They will pay top dollar to read it again or they would love their children to read it too. So, why not save the day and buy these special books for your loved ones?Don’t you agree that books are the best thing to gift someone? And also to receive? Or a best thing in general?
I know it sounds vague but you have lived with your loved ones and you know what their interests are and what they want to achieve in their lives, help them accelerate the process by buying them books in that area. For example, your friend loves to cook, and you see them on you tube everyday trying new cooking classes. Even if they do not read, they will appreciate and read a special cook book that will enhance their love for cooking.
Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading. This custom is so deeply ingrained in the culture that it is the reason for the Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” when the majority of books in Iceland are sold between September and December in preparation for Christmas giving.

Exchanging books with a friend, or buying second hand book is a whole different experience as a reader. When you open a second hand book and notice the markings, random sentences underlined by the previous reader, little notes ; you can feel the ghost of all the previous readers while reading that book. Sharing books feels like sharing a piece of yourself with someone and isn’t that a beautiful feeling? Unless that person isn’t a book person, goodness that’s like a knife being twisted in your chest.
While reading a second hand book or an exchanged book, you can almost feel the previous readers’ soul imprinted on the book just like an old flower inside a book. Also to mention, we need to be aware of this weird, dangerous breed of people out there : people who don’t return our books. They’ll soon be decalred ‘vicious’.

From reading tinkle as a kid in school to reading book thief during lectures in college ; reading while in local train is a different reading experience in itself because 98% of the time the person next to you is reading with you even if they understand nothing. I am glad they don’t turn the page themselves or else one day am sure I’ll end up making the compartment a WWE ring. (which it already is) Let’s not forget about books as a companion. They make you travel without even moving you in 3D.

So grab a book and how about a trip during this quarantine? 

Languages in India

Language can be defined as Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols India is known for its diversity; diversity of religion, culture, tradition, languages, dialect etc.

Eighth schedule of the constitution of India recognizes as many as 22 languages. G A Grierson made the first linguistic survey of India and made a list of 544 dialects and 179 languages, despite of the fact that many linguists don’t accepted Grierson’s survey. But by any estimate, more than 500 dialects are spoken in India and out of them; around 25 languages are spoken by around 97 of Indian population.

All the languages are classified into four main language families :

• Austro-Asiatic or Nishad

• Sino-Tibetan or Kirat

• Dravidian or Dravid

• Indo-Aryan or Aryan

Among the above mentioned language, Nishad and Kirat are almost entirely tribal languages. Aryan family is the largest one constituting 73 percent of the languages spoken in India. Khasi, Santhali, Nicobari etc are part of Nishad family. Ladakhi, Manipuri and Ahom belong to the Kirat group. Dravidian family includes Telugu, Tamil, Kannad and Malayalam. Aryan is the largest family and includes Punjabi, Sindhi, Awadhi, Chhattisgarhi, Marathi, Konkani, Garhwali, Rajasthani, Guajarati, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya etc. 

Even before the independence, reorganization of provinces on the basis of language was one of the Congress demand and after independence, Andhra Pradesh was the first state created on linguistic basis and Telugu was its official language and later many states were carved on linguistic basis like almost all North Eastern states, Gujarat, Kerala etc. The linguistic diversity noticed in the macro-structure of the country is also reflected in its regional and micro-structure, i.e. in the constituent States. Even though the State boundaries are carved on the basis of dominant languages, the States are multi-lingual. 

The minority languages in the States of course vary from province to province. When one surveys the linguistic scenario of the country it appears India is a country of linguistic minorities. All the States have their dominant languages, yet they also have certain numbers of minority languages. Even States, like Arunanchal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram etc. have minority languages. 

The Indian constitution binds the whole country irrespective of linguistic and cultural variations. Articles 343 to 351 of the Constitution deal with the language situation in India. Articles 29 and 30 and 347 have been devised to safeguard the interest of speakers of minority languages. Article 350 (B) envisages the appointment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities Languages in India occupy an important place in country’s social, cultural and political identity.

In fact many cultures are known by their language only for instance, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, Gujrati, Assamese, Marathi, Kannada and many more. Most distinguished feature of these cultures, apart from dance, music, dress is language and script. Languages are an important instrument in establishing identity of an individual, state and Nation. For that matter when India was conceiving an idea of making Hindi the National language of the country, Dravidian family vehemently opposed the idea and no national language was chosen. During pre as well as post independence years, country has witnessed many linguistic movements in the country few of them demanding reorganization of states on linguistic basis. 

Among the linguistic movements witnessed by independent India, Pure Tamil Movement was most successful to agitate the nation at large. Here nation realized that whenever a linguistic movement starts due to some specific reason, it put forth the religious, social, political and caste divisions prevalent in the society. 

In 1986, Indian Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the “National Education Policy”. This education policy provided for setting up Navodaya Schools, where the DMK claimed teaching of Hindi would be compulsory. The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) led by M. G. Ramachandran (which had split from the DMK in 1972), was in power in Tamil Nadu and the DMK was the main opposition party. Karunanidhi announced an agitation against the opening of Navodaya Schools in Tamil Nadu. 

In Bengal and other non-Hindi agitation was not as vehement as in Tamil Nadu but even there the perceived attempt to impose Hindi is strongly resented. In Maharashtra, although the issues were much simpler, again an agitation had to be carried out to achieve the division of the province into Gujarat and Maharashtra on linguistic basis. Even there, the problem of a Marathi-speaking area, Belgium, being left in Karnataka rather than being merged into Maharashtra still continues. In other parts of the country too, there are still ‘boundary’ disputes and other problems relating to linguistic issues. 

Recently, after much agitation on the issue and in order to mollify the Muslim electorate, Urdu has been accorded the status of secondary official language, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is recognized as a regional language in Andhra Pradesh also. Language is primarily the business of the people and linguistic integration has to be achieved at the popular rather than official level. Indeed this is one of the significant findings of the monumental ‘Peoples of India’ study carried out by the Anthropological Survey of India. 

The study of nearly 4000 communities that constitute India has found that, traditionally as well as now a very large number for them is bilingual, using one language for internal communication and the other for interacting with neighboring ‘communities’. In fact this could have been the only way of survival in the multi-ethnic plurality of India.

In India, it has been seen that languages are not merely the modes of communalism but are also systems of misunderstanding and therefore the linguistic problem has to be addressed at various levels : inters-group, inter-group; as elements of discourse and as barriers in social-cultural interaction.