What actions should HR and business leaders take to curb mental harassment at work? Share your thoughts.
2020 turned out to be quite the 'cursed' year for almost all humanity, but there are a few things that I am thankful for. What about you?
2020 turned out to be quite the ‘cursed’ year for almost all humanity, but there are a few things that I am thankful for. What about you?
The year that blurred our lives, brought the world to a screeching halt and gave us anxieties and heartburns day and night, I thank thee despite the damage you did to my people.
You did give nature a chance to recover from the human onslaught.
You showed me my true image in the mirror and I called it reality check. We the hoarders stopped in our tracks for a while to analyse what we really need. I bought only what I required and counted my blessings. For once greed was at bay.
Our essential service providers, who stayed on working “sans cess” through it all, were hitherto obscure. My gratitude to them for whatever they did. They kept oiling our rusty hinges to pull us through 2020 at great cost to their own comfort and safety.
The depression in the economy and our incomes dwindling with the loss of homes and jobs for our migrant workers was overwhelming. I was drained watching the news day and night. The only way to deal with my angst was to meditate and pray. I am thankful to our gurus and healers who kept up the online encouragement. I chanted, prayed and meditated like never before.
The exceedingly difficult year gave me an opportunity to skill up on technology. I couldn’t meet but thankfully I could connect to my friends and family through google meets, zoom, hangouts and so many other platforms. Kudos to my parents, uncles and aunties, all who learnt to socialize online and kept up the chitchat.
I did many online courses. I read and wrote a lot of poetry and short stories for anthologies. This kept my head and heart in the right place. I dabbled in a lot of painting too. I love acrylics and picked up various online tutorials to learn the art. Every time I did that, I thanked google and YouTube. They became my teachers in absence of human contact.
I lost 12 kgs of weight in this crazy year. I learnt to cook with online groups. Friendships blossomed over shared hobbies.
The husband was happy to get healthy food cooked by me. The son couldn’t believe it when he got home cooked butter chicken and naan. Mommy finally had her balancing act together.
I prayed, exercised, did house work and cooked too. I volunteered online classes on weekends for an under privileged group I am attached to.
Working from home for the first time in twenty-five years gave me a chance to sit and think. I am eternally grateful that I could donate the petrol money saved every month to the Gurudwaras, because they kept the ‘langars’ going to feed the hungry in spite of the lockdown.
The pollution and social distancing rules force me to work from home twice a week even after the lockdown. I connect to my plants. I bond with them. I grow flowers, garlic and spinach in pots. I now realise how hard it is to grow food. I thank the farmers, and pray for every single person to win in 2021 despite the Covid onslaught.
2020 you came and now you are ready to go, while I stand and try to wrap my head around what was and what will be. You taught me a lot. The biggest lesson I learnt is to be a bridge that connects hearts. We will get through the biggest challenge of our lifetime. The vaccine will come and the world will heal. We human beings are an adaptable and resilient lot.
So I will bid you good-bye soon, 2020.
I look forward to new beginnings. The song I’ll Be That Bridge by Elliott Yamin is my mantra for 2021.
Image source: paulnaude on Pixabay
Bindiya is a linguist and works for a diplomatic mission in New Delhi. She is a published author, reluctant poet, passionate bibliotherapist and a happiness harbinger. Her heart beats in her community-building volunteer organization - “ read more...
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I wanted to scream with excitement that my daughter chose to write about her ambition and aspirations over everything else first. To me, this was one of those parenting 'win' moments.
My daughter turned eight years old in January, and among the various gifts she received from friends and family was an absolutely beautiful personal journal for self-growth. A few days ago, she was exploring the pages when she found a section for writing a letter to her future self. She found this intriguing and began jotting down her thoughts animatedly.
My curiosity piqued and she could sense it immediately. She assured me that she would show me the letter soon, and lo behold, she kept her word.
I glanced at her words, expecting to see a mention of her parents in the first sentence. But, to my utter delight, the first thing she had written about was her AMBITION. Yes, the caps here are intentional because I want to scream with excitement that my daughter chose to write about her ambition and aspirations over everything else first. To me, this was one of those parenting ‘win’ moments.
Uorfi Javed has been making waves through social media, and is often the target of trolls. So who and what exactly is this intriguing young woman?
Uorfi Javed (no relation to Javed Akhtar) is a name that crops up in my news feeds every now and again. It is usually because she got trolled for being in some or other ‘daring’ outfit and then posting those images on social media. If I were asked, I would not be able to name a single other reason why she is famous. I am told that she is an actor but I would have no frankly no clue about her body of work (pun wholly unintended).
So is Urfi Javed (or Uorfi Javed as she prefers) famous only for being famous? How does she impact the cause of feminism by permitting herself to be objectified, trolled, reviled?
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