The Eclectic Impetus

When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be a doctor. Then I grew up, realized the hard-work required, not to mention the blood and gore that comes with the profession, and ended up in an entirely different field. A 17-year old girl committed suicide recently. The girl had dreams of being a doctor but she couldn't achieve her dreams because she couldn't clear the required cutoff in the medical entrance exam. The public is enraged with this. Everyone is enraged with the inability of the government to provide a means to help her achieve her dreams. A little Backstory The girl was from a backward community from rural area. She scored 98% in her 12 standard exams but got 12% in the entrance exam. The Central government introduced the entrance exam as the sole means of admissions to medical colleges. The State did not consider the entrance exam criteria until last year but this year it was made mandatory. The entrance exam consists of a syllabus that differs fro

I was talking to a dear friend after a long time. He is getting married and he wanted to know a convenient time to invite me in person. It's a trend to have two wedding invites, one for family and relatives, and another for friends and colleagues. He said he'd give me the one for family. I told him it wasn't necessary to be formal and that I didn't need an invitation. It would suffice if he just provided the address. The conversation progressed and we talked about other things and then the topic came again. He stressed on the point of the invite for family. I again said that I didn't mind either one. So he added that he is giving me the invite reserved for family because he considers me family. So I said I assumed that the first time he said it but I didn't want to be explicit about it. To that he replied that I have become manipulative and made him say the words out loud. This conversation got me thinking about myself and how I have changed over the y

One of my friends told me something that got me thinking. When I probed further, he said I should write something real that would make people talk about me.

It was another mundane day at office. Nothing cheerful or exciting could be expected out of it. Then I saw it while I was walking out. At first I didn't realise what it was but a few trips (unplanned, of course) later, my eyes figured out their colour and shape. I stopped in my track and saw them for what they are. Someone had decided to get a box of jalebis in a transparent container causing unwarranted salivation in the likes of me. At one point, I contemplated stealing as there was no one around. But my moral compass pointed me in the right direction and I walked away with my head held high. Turns out, it was the right thing to do. Later in the day, when I was immersed in my word and forgot about everything, my colleague placed the said box of jalebis on my desk and asked me to take one. I couldn't tell her the elation in my mind. Sometimes in life, you don't have to do anything. If it is meant to be, it will come to you. Otherwise, it's bett

Photo Credit: Margot Pandone So I learnt swimming today. It felt good to write that line as I have always wanted to be able to swim. It was more of a personal goal rather than a life-saving skill. My first stint at swimming was when I was about ten. My grandparents had a stream in their backyard and that was where I first developed my love for water. My cousins and I would go there to play on the sand and in water. So the time came for me to try my hand at swimming and I guess that was it. I don't remember the reasons for not pursuing swimming then but my cousins did help me try to learn. I guess my biggest fear was drifting away and never being able to return, since it was a flowing stream and the downstream of it was filled with rocks. Watching a lot of movies didn't help either. This time it was different. It was a pool, with clear blue water that was disinfected. I couldn't possibly drift away to oblivion. The pool had it's boundaries and I would be cont

Losing someone is always painful. Whether they move away or die, the loss is always unbearable and cannot be explained. I had the chance of experiencing death of someone close last week. One of our cats died after a week of suffering and pain. He was less than a year old and it pained me to see his life taken at a young age. I somehow knew it was his last day looking at his fragile body and abrupt chills. He was born in our home, with a litter mate. The two of them were very close and one would be upset if the other one wasn't available. It used to remind me of my camaraderie with my sister during our childhood. When they weren't playing, they would happily be asleep on our sofas and chairs and sometimes even beds. But we never stopped them. They were raised by their mother and we were mere spectators to their lives. He was a chirpy fellow. Unlike his brother, he didn't run away whenever we felt like carrying him in our laps. He had a deep voice and never shied