#544 That never-ending wait

 That never-ending wait

Image Source : Generated by GROK2.0

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

When your waiting period is brief,

Result makes you elated.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

You’re visualizing of its end,

That makes you ecstatic.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Still hopeful that something

Will turn out to be favorable.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Like the dark clouds in the sky,

Just about to bring rain.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Those dark clouds are dispelled away,

And sun rays make their way.

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Assuring yourself that when it ends,

It will be the best part.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Sometimes questioning your faith,

And your mind surrenders to high powers.

 

You wait for something,

Never knowing when it will end,

Universe rewards you with bonus,

For waiting with patience and hope!

 

Now you look back at the journey,

And connect the dots to realize,

Waiting was just a process to test your patience,

And the journey never looked the same.

 

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

10.09.2024

P.S: Through this poem , I've tried to portray various stages of wait and how a human mind navigates through it. Sometimes, it assures that everything will be fine when this waiting period gets over , while sometimes our self-doubts seem to get multiplied. We must remember waiting is a process designed by the Universe to test our patience and when it is over, we're able to find the missing pieces of that big puzzle called life.

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#543 Death of dreams

 Death of Dreams

Image Source: Generated by GROK 2.0

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

The white coat she dreamed about,

As a child adorning a toy stethoscope,

How could she become a doctor,

By parents’ meager earnings?

 

Father stitched clothes all day long,

While mother working as domestic help,

Sacrificed a lot, every penny they saved,

Daugther’s dream became their own.

 

Society said “Only rich can be doctors,

While poor can never”, her relentless toil,

Made her shine out from the crowd,

No, her fate wasn’t like that of a beggar.

 

Her hardwork made her pass every

Exam with flying colours, schooling

Got over, time to advance a step

Closer to her childhood ambition.

 

Biology she opted, sacrificing Maths,

Determined was she to crack exam,

Her dreams were limitless,

So was her love for parents.

 

Result came again in her favour,

As she knew fortune favours the brave,

Government college was what she got,

In the counseling, making expenses bearable.

 

5 years went by then she graduated,

Hunger for knowledge wasn’t satiated,

Decided to study further, prepared and

Appeared in the exam for Masters.

 

Result came again in her favour,

As she knew fortune favours the brave,

Government college was what she got,

In the counseling, making expenses bearable.

 

She knew that she could change

The condition of her family,

Made parents come out of

The vicious cycle of poverty.

 

Each morning she affirmed to

Work in reputed hospitals,

And her nights were filled with

Rounds around patients at the hospital.

 

She was dutiful and charming,

Her ambitions drove her each morning,

Left her home that day, a fateful day,

For a night duty.

 

Completed her rounds, celebrated

Niraj’s win at the Olympics, had a very late dinner,

Was exhausted, so went for a nap,

After finding an empty conference room.

 

There came a strong hand, chocking her neck,

She resisted with all her might,

That devil, drunk, overpowered her trials,

Cut her wings forever; silenced her!

 

Not just she left this world,

But her dreams died due to a demon,

Waited to show his patriarchy, a false male ego.

Who has been excused over and over again.

 

With her died dreams of many young

Women who aspire to be independent,

And live a life of dignity and respect by

Normalizing their existence just like that of men.

 

Saddened and outraged got people,

Once this news came out,

It has been over a month since

That dreadful incident happened.

 

How many Nirbhayas will sacrifice themselves

To correct the law and order?

Why does justice always appear

To be a far-fetched dream for us?

 

We’re not independent, when women

Fear to pursue their dreams,

Fear to be noticed by such demons,

Walking freely on this planet.

 

When will the time come,

When God will incarnated himself

To descend to our planet to

Destroy such demons forever?

 

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

09.09.2024

 You can support my work through Buy Me A Coffee.

#542 Being a creator at 𝕏

Being a creator at 𝕏

Image Source: Generated by Grok 2.0

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

𝕏, formerly known as Twitter, has become a go-to platform for people these days. With Elon Musk taking charge of this platform, many changes have been introduced. A visionary and supporter of free speech, Elon Musk is influencing people positively. According to his latest tweet, “Almost a billion people used 𝕏 last month.” Such is the popularity of 𝕏.

 

Screenshot : Elon Musk's profile on X

Ever since Elon Musk announced monetization of the accounts based on certain criteria, more and more people have decided to be creators on this platform. These criteria are not so easy to satisfy. Even though one may gain 500 followers but that’s not enough, one has to achieve an impression of 5 million in 3 months, which is nothing sort of a milestone. Impressions are the views on your posts and replies which are both considered as content on this platform.

 

I joined 𝕏, it was called Twitter then, in Dec 2021 to document my #100DaysofX journey. I was then doing #100DaysOfWriting, #100DaysOfCode, #100DaysOfReading and #100DaysOfMeditation. I dropped out of #100DaysOfMeditation soon but continued with the other three and completed them. I found users of Twitter very supportive and productive. I was inspired by their journey and got motivated to pursue my passion. I could interact with them and get suggestions and useful resources.

 

𝕏 got monetized from Feb,2023. By monetizing 𝕏, Elon Musk intelligently increased the activities on this platform by encouraging people not to consume but to engage with the posts of others. He wants people to voice their thoughts in the form of replies and make this platform more happening. That’s the reason why 𝕏 is gaining popularity so rapidly. With the inclusion of Grok2.0 for the Premium users, image generation has become just a cake walk.

 

From many creators on 𝕏, I got motivated to be a creator. I started my journey of being a creator from 24.07.2024 and got the Premium Membership on 30.07.2024. I resolved to be mindful about creating content or using the platform on a better way rather than just consuming content by doomscrolling throughout the day. This decision changed everything about the way I was using this platform before. I came in contact with some like-minded people who had similar goals as that of mine. I connected with them and learned the strategies to grow. I started applying the tips from 04.08.2024 and within a month, I gained an aggregate of 3 million impressions.

 

Growing on any social media needs a lot of consistency, focus, and strategy. 𝕏 is no different. It might look easier to grow on social media, but it is not. I’ve been dedicating 2-3 hours every day on an average for a month on 𝕏 and could attain 3 million impressions and 1700 followers. It’s a continuous process and one has to show up every day, no matter what! I enlisted all big accounts and turned on the notifications for them so that when they posted something, I would try to reply meaningfully at first. Some days, I was able to cross 100k impressions while other days, especially during weekends when I got engaged in some other tasks, I could hardly reach even half of it. Some days were rewarding while others seemed to be struggling. Isn’t that part of every game?

 

As a creator for almost a month, I realized that consistency is the key. One will get success only when he’s consistent every day. He has to show up every day, no matter what! I hope to receive my first payout from  𝕏 by the end of this month.

 

Image Source: Generated by GROK 2.0

All Rights Reserved!

Swati Sarangi

08.09.2024

 You can support my work through Buy Me A Coffee.

#541 Labyrinth of responsibilities

 Labyrinth of responsibilities

Image Source: Generated by Grok 2.0

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

The needle of the clock

Strikes five in the morning,

She gets up in a hurry

Racing against the time

With a strong sense of affirmation.

 

Veggies chopped and oil

Goes into the pan

With tempering of spices

Aroma fills up the kitchen

Preparation of lunch ends.

Packing lunch boxes for two,

She looks for the time

It’s half past six and she

Quickly gets ready with no time

Breakfast placed on the table.

 

Racing against the time,

Gulping her breakfast while

On the way, catching the bus

Thank God, she’s on time

And her journey begins.

 

Time to catch up with the calls

To family or friends or asking

About their well-being

Sometimes, she’s munching or

Indulged in Mantra Chanting.

 

How those thirty minutes passed

Time to catch the bus second,

Thanking God for making her get it

Relaxed she’s now and no more worries

As it takes her to the destination.

 

She reaches on time, settles down,

Still some minutes for the first meeting

All goes well, time to focus,

The work outside of her daily chores,

She enjoys the challenges.

 

Hustle bustle during lunchtime,

She joins the table shared by many

Aroma from her box; fills up the space

The first bite, Ah! Appeases her

Not just hungry stomach but soul

 

Back to the desk and glued to the

Monitor screen lying in front, shining

Browse through the calendar,

Awaits two more meetings,

A cup of coffee eases the typing.

 

The needles of the clock

Strikes five; it’s time to

Catch the bus and head to home,

Gets into the bus, music from

Earpods relaxes her mind

 

Bus drops her at the destination,

Just a kilometer to home,

Walks she being exhausted but gets

Energized by view of sunset

Little moments of joy.

 

Unlocks the door, drops the bag,

Exhales deeply for having finished

One part of the day, Lucky she was today

Now ready for another set of chores

Waiting for her.

 

Washes the dishes to prepare dinner,

Veggies chopped and oil

Goes into the pan

With tempering of spices

Aroma fills up the kitchen.

 

Dinner and conversation with hubby,

Clearing the table then cleaning the kitchen,

Some preparation for the next day,

The darkness of night deepens,

Being taken over by the slumber.

When clock strikes five the next morning,

Her day begins but she’s fighting with,

Some sort of a feverish pain,

Taking leave is not an option as she

Has an important meeting to attend.

 

Not every day is the same,

If yesterday went well, today

May not necessarily be favourable,

She races against the time,

Time that’s running so fast.

 

Sometimes she feels stuck

Between the labyrinth of responsibilities,

Those responsibilities that were given

To her for her gender and the price

Of not being single anymore.

 

Days, she wishes, she needs rest,

To be able to receive a portion of what she has

Been continuously doing ; since ages,

She dreams of reversing her responsibilities,

At least for a day, or at least for a moment!

 

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

06.09.2024

 

P.S: Through this poem, I’ve tried to portray a married woman's struggles, juggling between daily household chores and office work. A man returns home at night after work to relax whereas a woman is expected to prepare everything after she is back home. How many women can expect to get a cup of tea when she gets home? If a man is reaching the office at 9 a.m., he is just taking time for getting ready, if a woman is reaching the office at 9 a.m., remember that she has already got up at least 2 hours before her commute time to prepare meals. In other words, she must cross the labyrinth of responsibilities before her office work begins!

On average, a woman spends 5-6 hours daily in an Indian household performing household chores that go unpaid, unappreciated, or taken for granted. I wish men to be more empathetic about this situation and cooperate more to let women excel in their professional careers. 

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#540 Movie Review : Bawaal

 Movie Review: Bawaal

Image Source: Google Image

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

The lead character of this movie is Ajay Dixit from Lucknow who is very conscious of his image. He can go to any length to safeguard his image. He boasts all day long to create and maintain his fake image. He is the one who would be seen giving free advice to anyone he meets on the way. His family is aware of his behaviour for which he is despised deeply by his father while his mother has a soft corner for him.

 

Ajay Dixit aka Ajju Bhaiya, works as a history teacher in a school where he isn’t focussed on his teaching. He boasts about himself to students all day while teaching takes the backseat. To maintain his image, he gives good marks to students. While one of his colleagues tries to complain about his carelessness in teaching to the principal, he enacts teaching and escapes such allegations.

He gets married to Nisha, through an arranged marriage setup, who before the marriage revealed that she has a problem of fits but she hasn’t had any fits in the last 10 years. Nisha comes from a well-to-do family and has a good educational background. All these are enough for Ajay to add to Ajay’s image. On the day of marriage because of stress, she gets fits which upsets Ajay. Ever since that day, Ajay never behaves well with his wife because he believes Nisha’s getting fits in public will tamper his image.

 

One day, during his class, on being asked as question and not being able to answer, the student humiliated him and that made him slap him. Little did he know that he was the son of an MLA. As a consequence of this, he gets suspended. He carves a plan to go on a trip for 10 days to Europe to teach his students about WW-II. Nisha joins him unwillingly despite his opposition.


It was for the first time, Ajay and Nisha go out after their marriage. Their closeness increases with time, and they explore various places together. Ajay learns the importance of having a family and loved ones from holocaust stories of  WW-II and how many lives were lost during that time. He prepares the videos and sends them to his students who are very excited to learn about them.

 

MLA forces the principal of the school to set up a disciplinary committee against Ajay. Dissatisfied by the response of the principal, he decides to conduct a surprise test. To his surprise, most of the students perform well in it. The movie ends on a positive note both for Ajay’s personal and professional life.

 

My Review: It’s a must-watch movie. I don’t know why this movie didn’t receive much attention that it should’ve. The WW-II part has been enacted so well. The fact that I could connect well with the WW-II part because I was reading “The sisters of Auschwitz” at the same time. I was so happy to see Nisha has very supportive in-laws. People like Ajay do exist in real life, but this ending is a little unrealistic. Mostly in cases like that of Ajay where the husband doesn’t support his wife, it’s rare to get the support of in-laws. So, the woman suffers. It’s good that the movie ended on a positive note for Ajay; both for his personal and professional life. I wish such happy endings to happen in real life for all Nishas. My rating is 8/10.

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

03.09.2024

You can support my work through Buy Me A Coffee.

#539 Book Review : The Strange Library

 Book Review - The Strange Library

Image Source: My mobile

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024.

It was the 6^th book that I picked up to read this year which Haruki Murakami has written. It falls into the category of Fiction. I generally don’t prefer reading fiction unless I have other alternatives. I inaugurated my reading journey at a nearby public library through this book.

I picked up this book to read for several reasons. Firstly, it was a skinny book that appeared quite appealing to me. I wanted to finish reading it in one go. I loved the color of the cover of this book. Secondly, I wanted to motivate myself to read fiction as the English Section had only fiction books. Thirdly, I decided not to get the membership of the library just for burrowing books to create a mini library at home! This decision to not opt for the membership of the library will push me out of my apartment to go to the library and spend some time there.

Coming back to the book, it was a thin book to cover in a single sitting. It has some 50-60 pages with illustrations to supplement the story. It took me about 30 minutes to complete it. It was the first illustration book that I read. It's about a boy who went to the city library to get books related to the taxation regime of the Ottoman Empire. A thought related to this topic came to his mind and he recalled how his mother once suggested him to visit the library for any information. Little did he know that he would be imprisoned by the old man in the basement of the library where he would meet the sheepman and a mute girl. Through the sheepman, he gets to know that the old man likes to eat the brains of the boys like him who are knowledgeable. The old man finds a knowledgeable brain tastier. So, the old man provides all the books to the boy to cram word by word in the stipulated time frame. The sheepman who lives with that old man knows the secrets in getting out of that library and helps the boy in tracking the labyrinth until they get caught by the old man but the boy is successful in

It's a one-time read book of fiction and not for intense reading. I couldn’t understand the ending so well or the ending could’ve been written in a better way, I don’t know, but something felt incomplete to me. Children, who love to read fiction of suspense and thriller, would like it. My rating is 6/10.

Image Source : My mobile

 

All Rights Reserved!

Swati Sarangi

02.09.2024

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