Why is it difficult to say those three words?

It is seven o' clock, a wintery Sunday morning. I couldn't have thought of writing this article any other time but now. And so instead of beating around the bush and coming directly to the question, "Why is it so difficult to express those three words?" 

I always wondered 'Love' being such a beautiful feeling, a feeling that brings people close to each other is something we fear expressing the most. "There is nothing more artistic than telling people you love them" said Van Gogh.

 So why? 

We all know hatred tears us apart and love brings us all together. We never hesitate to bad mouth about something or someone then why do we fear telling someone that we love them? We never think twice before picking a fight with someone then why does it take us so many rehearsals to pop up that 'Question'?

You know how amazing it feels when our friends or parents say they love us or when students come up to me and say they love me, it makes me feel special. So what happens when it comes to that 'special one'? Is it because we fear to get hurt after hearing a 'No'? So what if the person says no?

But imagine what will happen if the person says Yes! It will bring the both of you together! The world would be a happy place.  

That one fear would equal to a lifetime of regret of not having asked that question.  

So keeping it short this time and concluding it with a cheesy poem I stumbled upon, I would like to advice in one word, CONFESS.

"You're so down to earth

  And I'm up in the stars,

  So show me the sea

  And I'll take you to Mars"

                                 -Anonymous

  

When the Unknown becomes your family

Hesitant at first but slowly after a few hours or may be a few days one naturally gets used to the people around oneself. No sooner do you start sharing your thoughts, feelings, ideas, problems, beliefs. 

I don't say this when we move to a new apartment or a new city. But if you may have observed it happens in our day to day lives too. 

India being a populous country, you always have to stand in a queue wherever you go. Be it at the station to get a ticket, or at McDonalds, or even at a wedding to meet the bride and groom. You always have to queue up. And when you are standing alone you are bound to start a conversation with the person standing in front of you or at the back. To begin with, you exchange smiles. Ten minutes into the queue and now you initiate a conversation, discuss random topics from how hot is it today to how long is the person at the counter taking time to punch tickets, or how long is the photographer taking time to click photos of the bride and the groom, or about the photographer at your cousin's wedding. Another hour in the queue (if it hasn't moved ahead and you are still chatting with the person) you find out you have mutual friends, or you are distant relatives, funny, isn't it?

To give you another instance, and probably you may have experienced this yourself, you catch the same train every single day, you see the same people everyday, don't you get used to the same faces? You barely know these people but one day you don't see even one face from that bunch and it seems as if someone is missing. You may probably feel less comfortable that day while travelling. But you see the same bunch the next day and you feel content. You slowly exchange smiles. They slowly reserve a place for you. You slowly start talking about your life. And they share theirs.You slowly start talking about your family. And so do they. You know each other's daily routine by now. You miss the train and that day's small talk is left untold. I would like to quote "5.45 Andheri Local" by Arundhati Subramaniam, 

"In the women’s compartment
of a Bombay local
we search 
for no personal epiphanies.
Like metal licked by relentless acetylene
we are welded –
dreams, disasters, 
germs, destinies,
flesh and organza,odours and ovaries [...]"
                         
The poem wholly justifies my sentiments, how people are 'welded' and by the time you realize they are now a part of your extended family.   

Everybody has their own extended family. As far as my my extended family is concerned, two years ago when I moved to a new city, I was hesitant myself at first to share my stories with the landlord who lived downstairs. Little did I know, they were my biggest support during those two years. From renting their place to me to sharing lunch and dinner with them was not what I had imagined. And so did the lady who cooked food for me. She never forgot to give me an extra roti in the lunchbox. That was what I considered her unspoken love. These are the people I will cherish for the rest of my life. These are the people to be remembered. 

Let me tell you, the best things in life are the people you love, the people who love you back, the places you go, the memories you make, the memories you share, the stories you tell...

Why you shouldn't criticize your government

Have you ever tried controlling a class of 50 mischievous students? Or tried managing your house all by yourself one day without taking any help from mother? Or have you ever dealt with problems of people coming from different social classes? If you have tried all of this, you will understand how difficult it is to do these tasks. If not, try doing one of them one day. Now imagine doing the same for a country with a population 1,3 billion people coming from different strata of the Indian society!

On the other hand, have you also tried something new in your life and experienced an immediate disapproval from someone? You know how disappointing it is, isn't it? But don't you like it when someone appreciates your work? Have you thought even for once of doing the same for your country's government?

Why do we criticize our government so much? Because it is a constant letdown to your needs? And what are your needs? A clean and green, corruption free, pollution free country? Yes, I agree the country could be less corrupt. It could be more pollution-free than it is right now. Yes, it could also be much cleaner and greener. But how many of you have never bribed a Pandu (a typical Indian term for a policeman)? Or how many amongst you have ever participated in plantation or cleanliness drives? I am sure I will have more readers of this article who have done the exact opposite of the aforementioned. Can't we plant at least one tree on our birthday or try watering the existing plants around us? Why is the government responsible for watering the plants? Is it that only the government employees breathe oxygen and you don't? Or is it just they who enjoy the beaches and the hill stations and you sit at home. Why can't charity begin at home and we become responsible citizens? What do we do otherwise, sign petitions to the PM of India, America & France for girl education rights, cleanliness, global warming to gain free tickets for a concert. What after that? How many of you will go back to the Global Citizen website and take initiatives, sign petitions or tweet to the ministers?

Nevertheless, tell me how many vacations have you taken in India and tried to explore the interiors parts of India? Well, I have traveled quite a few places and it always the "Laal Dabba" (the red buses) that has to come my rescue in the interiors and not any Ola or Uber. It is then when I realized the connectivity of our roadways. There are places which you have never ever even heard about, where the population of the village is only of about 10 people but the government has tried to reach out to those people too. So that they could go to work, see the world, like you wish to do. It also frustrates us when the trains are running late and it hardly takes us seconds to tweet about it or update a status on Facebook but have we ever thanked the motormen or the bus drivers when they are on time? The government tries its best so that you could reach on time. But sometimes they fail too. So what? Don't YOU ever run late?  It frustrates us when there is electricity cut off even for a day, but try to imagine those homes who have never seen a bulb lit at their homes for years together. And that is why the government cuts off the electricity. Can't we spare a day without electricity and water? Are we THAT addicted to our gadgets?

All I can say is we are frustrated citizens not looking or not wanting to look at the beauty around us. We do not want to appreciate what the government has by far done for us. There are countries still struggling with third world problems.(Yes, I know we are amongst them). But why are we amongst them? Because all of us want to go to the US or Australia or the UK and develop their nations. So what and how are we giving back to our nation? What is left with our country is a class of poor, uncivilized people. It is very easy to criticize your government sitting in some other clean, green and developed country.

Do you know how far have we come up from our problems? Do you know what is the Modi government doing for us, citizens? No. And thus I will take this opportunity to update you with our country's development. Firstly, the Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA). Our Prime Minister, Mr. Modi has taken 20,726 pledges under SBA act and has already completed about 14,592 of them.  Secondly, The Make In India initiative launched in September 2014 envisages to transform India globally in the business sector. To know more about this program click on this link: http://www.makeinindia.com/about . Mr. Modi has given a global recognition to India by visiting countries, by attending global summits which has helped us now during our recent Uri attacks. On the contrary, it took us a few minutes to mock him and criticize him on his international visits. Indians are writing letters to him from all across the world as if he is the superhero. It is just not him but his cabinet ministers too. The Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis, the Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, the former supreme court lawyer and current Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj. Do you know the popularity of his ministers? Did you know the earlier cabinet of ministers ? I certainly think the Modi wave has touched us all. No, I am not a Modi bhakt.

But I sincerely believe we should start appreciating what the government has done for us.