Saturdays With Shivani- I Am Just A Teacher “I am just a teacher working in a school. Not an expert like you.” This statement came when I requested someone not to address me as ma’am because I do like it when I’m referred to by my first name. I replied, “If it wasn’t for my school teachers, I wouldn’t be where I am.” I added, “Our country may not care much for teachers but that can’t take away their importance.”

Unconditional love- the first image that our mind conjures when we hear these words are a mother’s (parent’s) love for her (his) child. Parents are our one shot at this rare kind of love and we know that every child isn’t fortunate either to win the parent lottery. Yet so often I hear parents telling their children to do this and that or else they shall not talk to him/ her.  Fall in line… Behave or else… I know that

As the lockdown lifts and the number of cases rise, I can feel the heat closing in on me. Two friends messaged me that their loved ones tested positive and are battling COVID. There are a few more about whom I read on social media; someone’s cousin, parent, loved one suffering and sometimes losing to the virus. They are not statistics for me but real flesh and blood people. Naturally, this troubles me but as someone who has dealt with

I am an incorrigible optimist and my faith in people’s innate goodness is quite firm. Having said that, there have been times when I have questioned it as well but then along comes something or someone and those wispy clouds of doubt are dispelled. Like everyone else, COVID-19 outbreak has tested me severely. I have felt embittered and let down by people and questioned their right to be called human. Then there are people who go beyond their line of

In the present scenario when the whole world is surviving this pandemic at their own level, we all are doing our best to tackle the situation, but self-care is what most of us ignore. As the saying goes, we can only give what we have – we can love someone only if we have love in our hearts, so to care for our near and dear ones, we need to first take care of ourselves. We can do this by:

I am not ashamed to admit that I didn’t know how to cook. I picked up the skills on the way and can now proudly claim, I can cook to survive or may be a little better than that. I think everyone, and that means both genders, should learn to cook. You may not do it every day but it does give you the confidence that you can. And you never have to give in to the cook’s threats. This

Time is such a relative term. On one hand it seems that we’ve been under lock down forever. On the other hand, it seems just like yesterday when the second semester of my MFA started. Where did the twelve weeks go? This realization dawned on me when I was asked to submit my manifesto as a writer, on the last day of my classes. I have always been wary of comfort zones and the complacence they beget. My manifesto spoke

Two months ago, in February, when we had landed in Mumbai, COVID/ Corona were words that didn’t mean much. Unless you had someone, you know living in China or Hong Kong. As I look back, I realise how far we have come from those days of blissful ignorance. Two months ago, even a suggestion of a possible school closure drew sharp reactions from harried mums. They dreaded and worried for their sanity at the thought of having kids at home.

The week that went by, kept the media in a tizzy. They had finally something juicy to report, beyond the grim COVID numbers, that they could play in loop. The virus of the rich now had a religion too. Images were flashed with sinister music playing in the background. That’s the stuff journalists’ dreams are made of these days. They were back on familiar ground. Then there was news of health care workers (HCWs) getting manhandled and spat upon. Now

Last few weeks have been very disturbing not only for me but for a vast diaspora of people who still have their faith in humanity, who still believe that we all are equal beyond any barriers that separate us on the basis of colour, creed, caste, country, customs and cultures. These all dreaded words from C can only be cut out from the basic moral fabric of our society by Compassion. We all are way more than the attributes attached