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Do we feel the need to mask our true selves when we go out and apply makeup as a kind of war paint to help us deal with everything life throws at us?
“Ma, does everyone wear makeup once they grow up?” asked my eight year old; watching me apply makeup in preparation for an outing.
As I looked into her eyes, shining with innocence and naiveté, I was transported back in time to when I had been but six years old and had asked my mother a similar question. My mother had unhesitatingly replied in the negative saying, no baby! Only grown-up women wear makeup. Of course, back then she had been talking about cosmetics.
However, when my daughter asked me the same question, it made me reflect on where the human race had reached. For, have we not reached a point wherein, we are all wearing makeup? Wearing makeup to conceal our true intentions and to hide behind layers of deception in order to mask our true persona? Are we not today unable to wear our emotions on our sleeve for fear of being ridiculed? Do we not wear indifference as a cloak and masquerade a bravado that we rarely feel? Do we not screen every bit of information received for hidden meanings? Are we not constantly trying to read between the lines? Are we today, not suspicious of random acts of kindness?
Although, I answered my child in much the same vein as my mother had answered me, yet, for a moment I had been tempted to answer her in the affirmative. I had been tempted to introduce her to the harsh reality of life which makes us insecure as we grow up. It makes us insecure to the point wherein we all sink into the mire of lies and deceit; and from wherein we start deriving our chief comfort. It makes us start to mask our true emotions and makes us cloak our inner innocence in layers of concealment.
I wonder – would it be so difficult to learn to trust once again in the simple things that life has to offer? Would it be so difficult now to accept a helping hand or respond to a warm smile or assist a stranger in distress, every once in a while?
What would it take? Let’s evaluate. It would probably take opening our heart not just to love and warmth but also to spontaneity and spunk. It would probably take indulging in another’s joy and partaking in another’s sorrow. It would definitely take being more trustful and less suspicious of others’ intentions. More than anything else, it would take changing ourselves; changing ourselves to become more receptive. More receptive to the goodness that life has to offer. It would also take adapting ourselves to the changes that occur lest we endanger our changes to extinction.
However, the question still remains – can we do it?
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Sonal is a multiple award winning blogger and writer and the founder of a women-centric manpower search firm - www.rianplacements.com. Her first book, a volume of poetry - Islands in the stream - is slated read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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