#603 Cheapness has no levels!

                                 Cheapness Has No Levels

Experienced something disgusting a few days back

Image Courtesy: Google 

People often believe that human behavior can be placed on a scale. We classify actions as good or bad, noble or selfish, ethical or unethical. We imagine that even among dishonest people, there are degrees of dishonesty; even among manipulative people, there are limits they will not cross. Experience, however, teaches a harsher lesson: cheapness has no levels.

Deception as a way of life

When a person chooses deception as a way of life, every boundary becomes negotiable. Truth becomes optional. Accountability becomes inconvenient. Morality becomes a costume worn only when it serves a purpose.

One of the most disturbing aspects of human behavior is not the act of wrongdoing itself, but the extraordinary effort some people invest in protecting themselves from the consequences of their actions. They construct elaborate narratives, create alternate identities, manipulate facts, and present carefully curated versions of themselves to the world. The objective is simple: maintain a respectable image while operating in a completely different manner behind closed doors.

Influence of the Digital World

The modern digital world has made this easier than ever. A person can hide behind anonymous accounts, fake profiles, and fabricated stories. They can provoke, harass, intimidate, and emotionally manipulate others while preserving complete deniability. If confronted, they retreat behind a wall of carefully prepared explanations. If exposed, they become the victim. If questioned, they claim misunderstanding. If evidence appears, they question the motives of the person presenting it.

What makes such behavior particularly fascinating is the contradiction it reveals. The same individual who privately engages in questionable conduct may publicly advertise integrity, professionalism, and ethical standards. Some even go so far as to issue public declarations about their values, creating an image of innocence before anyone has even accused them. It is a remarkable strategy: build the shield first, then claim persecution whenever someone points to the cracks.

Cheapness

This is where cheapness reveals its true nature. It is not measured by money, status, education, or professional achievements. A person may hold prestigious degrees, occupy respected positions, and receive public admiration, yet still display astonishing moral poverty. Academic excellence cannot compensate for ethical failure. Professional success cannot erase personal misconduct. Intelligence does not automatically produce character.

Perhaps the cheapest act of all is the victim card. It requires no courage, no self-reflection, and no accountability. It merely demands the ability to reverse the narrative. Suddenly, the person who caused harm becomes the injured party. The individual seeking answers becomes the aggressor. Facts become attacks. Accountability becomes harassment. Truth becomes an inconvenience.

History is full of examples of people who spent more energy protecting their image than improving their character. Their greatest fear was never being wrong; it was being seen as wrong. As a result, they built fortresses of excuses, denials, and carefully crafted public relations exercises.

Yet there is a fundamental flaw in every strategy built on deception. It assumes that perception is more important than reality. It assumes that if enough people believe a story, the truth ceases to exist. But reality has a stubborn quality. It does not disappear simply because someone writes a declaration, creates a policy, or publishes a statement. Facts remain facts.

 

Levels of Cheapness

Cheapness has no levels because once integrity is abandoned, there is no natural stopping point. The person who lies to avoid embarrassment may later lie to avoid consequences. The person who manipulates perceptions may later manipulate people. The person who hides behind false identities may eventually hide behind false narratives. The behavior evolves, but the principle remains the same: self-preservation at any cost.

In the end, character is not revealed by public statements. It is revealed by private actions. It is not measured by titles, achievements, or declarations of virtue. It is measured by what a person does when no audience is watching and no applause is available.

The truly unfortunate reality is that some people spend years building impressive careers while neglecting the far more difficult task of building integrity. And when integrity is absent, no amount of prestige can conceal the cheapness beneath the surface.

                             Cheapness has no levels. It only has opportunities.

Sometimes I feel grateful for difficult experiences because they reveal truths that might otherwise remain hidden. Encounters with people who choose anonymity over honesty often provide valuable lessons about character, boundaries, and self-respect. Looking back, I can only be thankful that certain realities became visible before they had the opportunity to shape my future.

What I find most surprising is that some individuals who maintain respectable public images are willing to behave very differently when protected by anonymity. Social media has made it possible for people to conceal their identities while engaging in conduct they would likely never display openly. The contrast between public reputation and private behavior can be striking.

Over time, I have developed little patience for those who rely on pseudonyms, fake profiles, or hidden identities to communicate in ways they would not dare to under their real names. Accountability begins with transparency. When a person chooses concealment over honesty, it often says more about their character than any public achievement ever could.

An interesting pattern emerges when such behavior is questioned. Rather than addressing the concerns directly, some people prefer silence, avoidance, or the support of others to shield themselves from accountability.

While every person is entitled to their privacy, accountability ultimately remains a personal responsibility.

If the purpose of such conduct was to demonstrate success, influence, or superiority, it achieves precisely the opposite. Achievements, titles, and professional accomplishments are meaningful only when accompanied by integrity.

Without integrity, even the most impressive résumé appears incomplete.
I sincerely hope that anyone who engages in such conduct reflects upon the impact of their actions and chooses a better path. Respect, honesty, and accountability remain far more valuable than any temporary comfort provided by anonymity.

As for me, I believe that facts eventually speak for themselves. When necessary, appropriate channels exist to address misconduct, and evidence has a way of becoming relevant at the right time. Until then, I remain focused on truth, self-respect, and moving forward.

May God save them if they attempt to harass anyone next time. 

I hope to expose the truth one day, as I have retained ample evidence. If required, I will pursue the matter through the appropriate cybercrime and legal channels.

For now, continue to hide behind anonymity if you wish. A masked identity may conceal a face, but it cannot conceal responsibility forever.

I sincerely hope no other woman has to endure the same kind of behaviour in the future.
 

SWETA SARANGI

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

11-06-2026

#602 Some Realisations!!

Some Realisations

Sharing my experiences of a spiritual journey!

I am a spiritual person. I have been practicing spiritual modalities for the last few years, especially during the first lockdown in 2020. This may be because I felt completely lost and hopeless then, despite having everything in my life.

I was in my top-notch phase.

After COVID-19 hit and everyone started getting quarantined, reality hit hard. I started getting anxious about the future and started questioning my existence and the purpose of life.

A question was quite prominent, which occupied my mind for a long time: WHO AM I?

To find an answer to this question, I would watch multiple videos by preachers and spiritual gurus from different religions. In the end, I would never get a satisfactory answer because they used to answer from their perspective, which never matched mine.

In 2021, a series of events happened that broke me completely and transformed me into a different individual.

I never imagined that I would lose everything at one go: my career, health, peace of mind, and most importantly, my grandmother, with whom I was so deeply attached.

I went into isolation, and this seemed to be a spiral loop of what-ifs, buts, and innumerable questions and scenarios that would haunt me badly at night and snatch away my sleeping hours.

The wound of betrayal and grief was so deep that it would leave me perplexed. I was numb emotionally. It was really strange for me to find that no amount of anything would make me happy then. I was the same girl who would be happy over small things in my childhood days. This continued for days, and later turned to months.

I had no option and left with no energy to cope with these negative thoughts. I managed to come out of the spiral loop after a few months.

When I think about those days, I feel grateful for people who stood beside me unconditionally.

Fast-forwarded to 2026,

I am in my healing journey and path of rediscovery. I joined a program called Inner Engineering on February 15 (during Mahashivratri) by Sadhguru of the Isha Foundation, Coimbatore, in an online mode. I always wanted to attend this program.

I came across the videos of Sadhguru during my M.Tech. days in 2017. I was always drawn to his ideologies, which target the youth of the nation by discussing ideas rationally.

Recently, I have been attending the modules of the courses through lecture videos from the official website. I am going to share my experiences from the program, though I have not completed all the 6 steps.

Realisation 1

In one module, Sadhguru asked the participants to do meditation by closing his/her eyes. Then he instructed them to chant, “I am not my body. I am not my mind” for a few minutes repeatedly.

I started feeling a sense of detachment. If I am neither my body nor my mind, why should I feel anxious or negative about anything? Nothing should bother me at all, not people, society, or situation. It is a better practice to feel calm during a tough time.

Realisation 2

In another module, Sadhguru has asked the participants to close their eyes and be grateful for a few things in their lives. He started giving instructions accordingly.

·      3 most important people in life: Father, Mother, and Sister

·  3 People important to you from your neighbourhood: My paternal uncle, My neighbour Granny, and her cute little 4-year-old grandchild

·      3 People whom you have never met yet but have a positive effect on you: Person1, Person2, Person3

·      3 Animals for whom you feel connected and affectionate: Cows, kittens, and Pigens, whom I feed every morning.

·      3 Plants/Trees you are grateful for: Rose plant(I like red colour roses, which symbolise love), Banana plant of my courtyard, Coconut tree

·      3 non-living things: My laptop (my saviour), my fridge (for storing food), and the kitchen gas where I cook

·      3 Celestial bodies you are grateful for: Sun, Moon, and Earth

After practicing gratitude, I became calmer and more composed.

One realisation hit me very hard that the relatives, my bosses, and colleagues have no place in my life. They don’t even exist in the list of 21 things, which comprises both living and non-living beings. Why should I even keep them in my thoughts at all??

My world has really shrunk to a few people, and I am really grateful that I have meaningful people in my life.

No crowd, no dramas.

Some realisations hit late but hard enough to leave imprints in your heart forever.

Thank you, Sadhguru, for such amazing realisations, and I look forward to sharing more such experiences until I complete the program!!

 

Sweta Sarangi

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
27–03–2026

 

#601 I am an asset to myself!

I Am An Asset To Myself!!

I don’t need anyone’s approval!

 

What is an asset??

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an asset is a person or thing that is useful to someone or something.

Please read it again. The definition itself associates an asset with a person or thing.

Is it true always?

What if you are not accepted by someone? Will you still be considered an asset?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? If yes, you are not alone in this journey. If not, let’s explore what it exactly means.

Labels

As human beings, we often tag ourselves with certain labels. Those labels may be due to the remarks of your parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, boss, life partners, or anyone residing in your surroundings. Sometimes our past experiences, achievements, or current situations also create imaginary labels in our heads.

Those labels can be both positive and negative. How to check that?? Very easy. The remarks you get from your critics may not always be in your favour. Those can drain your energy, hence negative remarks. Some remarks can make you feel elevated and happy inside. Those are positive remarks.

What if you are not accepted by someone? Will you still be considered an asset?

My answer is YES.

No one is ever born on this earth without a purpose.

No one has the power to make you think that you don’t have any purpose in your life.

Most of the time, we as human beings seek validation in a relationship. The relationship does not always need to be romantic. It can be anything like parent-child, teacher-student, uncle-niece, and so on. When we are not seen, heard, or appreciated in that way, we feel devalued and not worthy of love.

When we try to attach our self-worth to another person’s perspective of us, we lose our originality. The authentic self is lost because it is dependent on someone else’s way of seeing you through their lens.

Apparently, we fall into the trap of appreciation and validation, which can sometimes be daunting as well. Of course, others’ perspective of framing opinion on you is neither in your control nor your responsibility to change.

What can we change then?

We can definitely change the way we think about ourselves, irrespective of others’ opinions. That’s what self-worth is. The more you are aware of your self-worth, the more you can remain calm and composed in any situation because you know that others’ opinions of you are not going to affect you or disturb your mental state in any way.

Working on yourself and your goal is the most difficult thing in the world because it comes with the acceptance that you acknowledge your flaws and you want to improve.

One thing I realise over the years: it requires a lot of patience and courage to change something within you that is stopping you from moving forward.

When you work on yourself with dedication, you start seeing the results. The results may not come overnight, but yes, it comes with some time.

Then confidence builds up within you, and you try to become aware of your self-worth. This awareness helps you set some boundaries between people in a healthy manner.

By following some healing modalities and manifestation rituals over the years, I feel calmness and stability within me. The courage to not accept the opinions of others about you is my takeaway from these daily practices.

Now, the reality has shifted for me, and I am starting to see the people the way they are.

No overthinking, no drama to change their perspective about me.

And this has given me the freedom to live my life on my own terms.

I’m embracing self-love.

I’m showing gratitude towards the adversities that happened in the past.

These compelled me to change something within me, and I could see the transformation.

I am in such a state of mind that I don’t really care whether I’m an asset or a liability in anyone’s life.

I’m an asset to myself. That’s enough for me to end my day.

 

SWETA SARANGI

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

26–05–2026 

#586 Gainthaa - The food that I loved as a child

 Gainthaa – The food I loved as a child

The pic has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

I belong to Odisha, a state that lies in the Eastern part of India.

I grew up eating and appreciating the simplicity of Odia cuisine, which is simple in terms of the availability of ingredients, easy to cook, and delicious.

I try to recreate Odia cuisines that my mother and grandmother prepared while living abroad, which was an instant cure to my homesickness.

As a child, I was too fond of Gainthaa. My mom would prepare Gaintha as afternoon snacks, and we, my sister and I, would enjoy every morsel of it, leaving the plate empty in a few minutes.

Gaintha {pronounced as ga(as ‘g’ in gospel)-in-thaa} are prepared from rice flour.

Rice flour is mixed in boiling water in a pan with some grated coconut and sugar(it’s optional), until it forms a soft dough. You have to keep the ladle moving in the pan.

Grease a plate, knead the dough a bit and prepare cylinder-shaped-Gainthaa (this is the most popular shape for Gainthaa).

Then steam these Gainthaa for about 15–20 minutes, untill your toothpick comes out clean when you put them in Gainthaa to check, if they’re fully cooked.

You can either eat them like that or prepare a liquid base from milk. You can add some aromatics in the milk like cardamom, saffron for colour, or dry fruits for the extra crunch.

I prefer eating hot Gainthaa dipped in aromatized milk.

I liked it as a child and an adult, too, even though I don’t prepare it so often.

When I visited my home a few weeks ago, my mom prepared Gainthaa for me, even without me asking her to make it.

Not realizing how much I was craving them and connecting with all my carefree childhood days.

Some foods are not just for your taste buds but act as concoctions for your weary soul.

What did you love to eat in your childhood? Share it in the comment section. I would love to read about them.

© All Rights reserved!
Swati Sarangi
17.06.2025

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 P.s: This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by blogchatter.

#585 Suffed Appes for evening snacks

 Stuffed Appes for Evening Snacks

Big satisfaction in small bites

Image has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

Do you feel hungry in the evening?

If your answer is Yes, how do you satisfy your hungry stomach?

I tried this recipe yesterday, which is easy, tasty, and filling.

This recipe needs to be done in stages to quickly complete it.

So, follow me along.

Take some fine Sooji(Samolina). Add salt , curd to it to make it a fine batter. You can add some cumin seeds to it, if you like. Keep this batter aside for about fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, boil some potatoes and remove their skins. Mashed them with salt, cumin powder, and chilly powder. Add a tempering of curry leaves and cumin seeds to this and make small balls out of it. You can refer to the following picture for the final result.

The image has been clicked by the Author from her kitchen

Take the batter that was kept for resting. Add some fruit salt like Eno to it and mix it for some time.

Grease an Appe Pan with oil. Put some batter in each section, then flatten small potato balls, put them in the batter as stuffing before covering the top portion of each section with another layer of batter.

The image has been clicked by the Author from her kitchen

Cover the Appe pan with a lid and cook Appes on a slow to medium flame.
Once one side of the Appes turn golden, flip them and cook them until they turn golden.

Serve them hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.

Let me know if you’ve tried anything new recently. I would love to hear about it in the comment section.

All Rights Reserved
Swati Sarangi
12.06.2025

You can support my work through Buy Me a Coffee.

P.s: This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by blogchatter.

 

 

#583 A healthy twist to Chaat

 A healthy twist to Chaat

The picture has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla

Recently, I had guests at my place and I wanted them to taste this delicious Chaat.

Chaat is an Indian appetizer or can be treated as a snack. This is usually taken before the main course to stimulate hunger.

As someone who spent her childhood in UP, Tikkis made out of boiled potatoes were the most sought-after Chaat served there. One would very easily find a lot of vendors in their carts selling Alu-Tikki Chaat during the evening.

The burst of variety of flavours like sweet, tangy, spicy, or savoury comes from the Chutneys, which are prepared either from tamarind, jaggery, mint, or coriander paste. Not to forget, spiced curd for extra tanginess, onion, peanuts, or seu for the extra crunch.

Generally, Tikkis are prepared from boiled potatoes mixed with spices, but I prepared the Tikkis from boiled and mashed kidney beans, potatoes, and some rice flour.

I soaked some fistfuls of kidney beans overnight, pressure-cooked them with potatoes for about 3–4 whistles. I added some boiled potatoes with rice flour and chopped coriander leaves with boiled kidney beans. I added some salt, cumin powder, and chilli powder before creating some Tikkis out of this mixture.

 

The picture has been clicked by the Author from her kitchen

I put these Tikkis on a flat pan with Ghee greased on both sides of them and let them cook on a slow flame for about 6–7 minutes on each side. I put a lid on the pan to make them cook a bit faster.

After they’re cooked properly, I flattened them a bit more and fried them on a high flame on the same pan until they turned crispy on both sides.

After they’re done, I served them with spiced curd mixture, sweet, sour, and spicy chutneys, chopped coriander, and onion.

Compliments from my guests validated my efforts, and surprisingly, these guests consisted mainly of kids under age five! So, this proved that the dish is kid-friendly.

Try it at your home and let me know in the comment section how it turned out!

All Rights Reserved
Swati Sarangi
09.06.2025

P.s: This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by blogchatter.

#576 HOUSING Vs HIRING

 Housing Vs Hiring

Source: BlogChatter

My Dual Search in Dutch Life

I have been living in the Netherlands for the last 11 months, and life has been great except for a few things that I was unaware of when I moved here.

You’ll be surprised to find that I have changed two temporary apartments before moving into the third temporary one(where I am living right now) in the last 11 months, and have been actively looking for another apartment to move into since October 2024.

The Netherlands is facing a serious housing crisis. There are more occupants than the number of apartments available. My story of house hunting must have given you clarity on the same.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Job hunting in the Netherlands …..

I’ve also been looking for job opportunities in nearby areas from where I live, and have been more fortunate in that than in my house hunting. I have appeared in 17 interviews so far, while making it to the final rounds of interviews with 5 companies. Due to the commuting time because of the distance, I have not accepted those offers. Due to some personal commitments, I can’t spend more than 2 hours/day commuting to my workplace.

House Hunting in the Netherlands….

On the contrary, my active search for an apartment could just give me two invitations for viewing in the last 5 months, out of which one was an open house visit. In an open house visit, the real estate agent doesn’t filter the applicants initially. Everyone is welcome to view the apartment.

I reached the venue 15 minutes before the scheduled time and found many people in the queue in front of the main entrance of the building. I was shocked to find there were already a lot of people inside the apartment when I went there, so much so that I couldn’t take pictures of the apartment to show them to my husband.

Then, we had to mail all required documents to the email ID shared with us, as the screening was done that day. A day later, I found that the apartment had been rented! My bad luck!

People said it is right that finding a job is much easier in the Netherlands than finding an apartment. My experience affirms the above statement strongly.

I am religiously putting all my efforts into finding an apartment here. Maybe it is relatively easier to find a shared apartment or a private apartment for the short term, but I am interested in neither of them. Having lived in three temporary apartments now, I want something for the long term so that I need not worry about finding another one, and enjoy living in this beautiful country as long as I get a chance.

I hope that my search for an apartment will end on a happy note soon!

Source: BlogChatter

© All Rights Reserved!

 Swati Sarangi 

15.12.2024 

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