The Eternal Thing

I’ve thought about it more than once — what I’d do if I ever got a raise. People say, “Don’t settle. Ask for more. You’re worth more.” It’s become a mantra in today’s world, especially in the corporate space. Negotiation is considered self-respect. Hustle is a badge. More money means more success. But I don’t feel proud thinking about it. I feel something else. I feel uneasy. It’s not that I lack ambition. It’s not that I don’t want comfort. It’s that, somewhere deep inside, a question keeps echoing: “Why am I earning this much when so many others earn nothing at all?” And if I ask for more — if I negotiate — what am I doing, really? I know it’s not wrong to want fair pay.  But what is fair in a world that’s anything but? I see delivery workers biking through heat and rain, risking their lives just to deliver my food. I see sanitation workers cleaning up after us while we barely offer them a glance. I see parents in villages sending their kids to school with half-f...

  One pays EMI for a second car, One prays their rent doesn’t go too far. One signs deals in air-conditioned towers, One stands in queue for overtime hours. One upgrades leather seats with ease, One eats last night’s rice and peas. One clicks “Buy” with a platinum card, One skips meals, life running hard. One posts pics of home by the lake, One breaks their back for a one-room stake. One books retreats to cleanse the soul, One counts coins to meet the toll. Two EMIs. One for comfort. One for breath. Two EMIs. One chases luxury, One escapes death. One frets about taxes and stocks that dip, One clutches loan papers with a bleeding grip. One complains about fuel price hikes, One walks five miles on broken bikes. One buys homes for a future unborn, One begs the landlord to stretch the month long. One has a spare room just for art, One has three jobs and a heavy heart. Two EMIs. One for granite floors and view, One for leaking roofs and school dues. Two EMIs. One cushions dreams, One bu...

There are days I wish I could just leave my job. But I don’t do it. Because I need to pay my rent. I need to eat. I don’t have any other income. I am afraid that I am not alone in this. I see people who are smart and talented - doing things they don’t love. They settle. Not out of choice, but out of fear. The fear of being homeless, being hungry. They live in a world that demands payment of bills more than anything. That brings a simple, maybe naive thought: What if food and shelter were guaranteed for everyone? What if one need not be working just to survive? Is it wild to wish for these? Are these not the basic human rights… If the basic needs were covered, what could we become? Artists, teachers, thinkers, healers - they are made out of passion. People can volunteer more, care for the elderly, innovate better, or take time and get a chance to do things slower… The working class would not have to burn themselves to keep the lights on. The poor wouldn’t have to beg.  What if peopl...

 The healthcare - which is supposed to be a basic human right, is no longer one?  If someone falls sick, the system would hold them and restore their health - it should be that simple. It seems that it’s not that simple. Getting treated, now a days, feels like entering a marketplace. It’s as if, staying alive is something tougher than death. TV commercials, Hospital posters, insurance agents and social media-they all scream the same thing: “Thank God he took insurance.” But the question is: “Why he had to take the insurance in the first place?” The fear of being sick is not easy to deal with. Reading stories about families who lost their lifetime savings overnight. Hearing people who ended up in debt trap for getting treatment. Combined with the altogether different story of many people living too remote places to even access to the basic health care. Then comes the insurance. Even if we have insurance, will it be enough? What if the bill crosses the coverage limit? What if th...

  There are things that I wanted in life - deeply, silently and stubbornly. An elder sister. Not too old. Just someone a little ahead of me. Someone who'd guide me. Who'd fight me. Laugh with me. Pull me up when I slipped. But I was born a single child. And for years, I searched for that sister elsewhere. In friendships. In passing bonds. Hoping someone would see me that way - and stay. But it did not happen like that. I think now... that it's time to let that dream go. Not with anger. Just with a kind of tired sadness. And it's not just this. There are more. I wanted to study further. To sit in a quiet library again, surrounded by notebooks and possibility. To feel like life hadn't already passed me by. But life had other plans. I once thought I'd marry the girl I loved. The one who felt like home. But she did not choose me. And that chapter closed - silently, painfully - while my heart was still wide open. And so many dreams - of a sportsperson, activist, lawy...

 I don’t want to have kids. And I don’t say that with hate, but with a quiet thought. When I look around - especially in cities -  I wonder what kind of world children are being born into. There’s pollution in the air before they even learn to breathe deeply. Noise in their ears before they learn what silence feels like. Screens in front of their eyes before they can see a full sky. What kind of childhood is this? It’s more like - something they never deserved it. Parents are expected to give everything. The extent they had to go to give a good future for their kid. Or kids. The school fees? They’re so high that it feels nonsense and unreal. Entire salaries vanish just for access to education that may not even teach them to be kind. Meanwhile, the planet is getting hotter. Water is becoming rarer. Cities are suffocating. Why would I bring a child into this? I am not exactly afraid of commitment. I am afraid of watching someone I love suffer in a world that’s already too hard. ...

Many people believe in God - and idea that the God shall protect the good, punish the wrong and guide the lost. For many, God is the foundation, support. It’s the guiding spirit. Or anything. The idea of God is not something explainable in such a simple terms. But my belief of God, being someone who is watching and all powerful is beginning to deteriorate. The planet is burning. Our children are starving. People are sleeping hungry while food is thrown away. Wars. Floods. Abuse. Injustice. Still, we are praying? The thing is - everything I see - good and bad - is stemming from humans. People are saving each other. People are hurting each other. God.. is just there watching? Can we say “God will help?” I wonder at people who ask “How will you explain this miracle?” I want to ask them - Even if that is God, why only that miracle?  Why not stop countless tragedies happening round the clock? Why not use power to feed every child, bring water and end the pointless suffering? If the God ...