Winters are here and so are the vacation!

We have got all friends staying out of the town for studies. But since its holiday time, everyone is home. Does anyone have the Christmas feeling?

Here are 10 ways to enjoy this vacation with your friends....

1. What will be more better than enjoying coffee with your friend and catching up on the lost time!

2. Food feels like heaven in winters. All the foodies out there savage the time and go out to hogg on with your friends.

3. Have a movie day in. Its chilly and windy out there. So why not get all the quilts out and watch a movie with your friends.

These 2 people are my inspiration for this article!

4. Barbeque and Born fire! Plan a terrace party and arrange for snacks to be grilled. Invite your friends over and enjoy good food, great company and fire to heat you up.

5. On christmas go out for midnight mass. Its an attractive festive feeling. There is christmas prayer, then you get christmas cake and hot coffee! 

Plan a party for new year and invite your families. Get lights, music and food.

6.Since it is not humid and hot outside, go and enjoy some outdoor sports like cricket, badminton.

7.Long drives and music! Just ditch in for petrol and go on a long drive with your friends, also don't forget to take along a good collection of songs. 

8. Donate old clothes to the needy. This winter collect your old winter clothes and ask your friends do the same and give it away to ones who need it.

9. Its a nice time to enjoy the sun so go out and explore your own city. It is also a good time to take all the selfies with no sweat to ruin the picture!

10. Plan a weekend gateaway with your friends. Its a good time to take a break from all the hustle-bustle and forget about work for some time.

How to love someone with Depression

If you have a partner or are close to someone who struggles with depression, you may not always know how to show love.

One day they are fine and the other day they are sad, distant and may push you away.

It can be a massive struggle just to make it through each day. One of the hardest things about depression is understanding it.

Depression is not a mood, understand this. It is a debilitating illness. Mental illness is as real as physical illness.

Your relationship may seen one-sided during these times but by helping your partner through this difficult phase, you are strengthening your relationship and healing their mental health in long term.

Identify when the person is falling into depression- Sorting out mails, cleaning the room or doing the laundry. All this seems the little chores of day to day life. But for a depressed person the life is slowing down, while the world is speeding up.

Be there for them- If they talk just listen, don’t give opinions or advice. Just really listen. They are not asking for help, they just need to be heard. This will reduce the risk of suicide.

Keep a check on the meals- Depression is a mental illness, but may change into a health problem.Depressed people often go so deep into their thoughts, they forget to eat or do not feel hungry at all. Fix them a hungry meal and make sure they eat properly.

Take them out- The benefits for a depressed person for getting outside is huge.Persuade the person to go out, trust me its going to be a task. They would prefer sitting inside the 4 walls of the house. Take them somewhere in nature, a picnic, a morning/ evening walk, mountain hiking.

Understand what they are feeling- If your partner is having difficulty in articulating what they are going through, have patience and ask them to help you understand what they are feeling.

Depression is like a dark tunnel, the more you try to drag them out of this tunnel, its more likely to make them curl up and hide than do any good.

 Reassure them that you can handle their feeling- Reassure them that you won’t scare away because they have an illness. At times, the person might feel worthless or angry. You might even find them curled up in one corner of the bathroom crying for no  reason. Go near them and stay.

Hug them – A sincere tight hug will elevate their mood, also it will make you feel good.Depressed people often don’t want to be touched but a hug can give him/her a lift.

Tell them you love them

“I am unlovable”

“I am a failure”

“I am worthless”

“I am ugly”

A depressed person’s mind can be a never ending loop of destructive thoughts. Change these thoughts into positive one.

Tell them

“I love You”

“You are not a failure, here are things you have accomplished”

“You are beautiful and worth everything.”

Know about it and take professional help- Read books, articles and blogs about depression. It can be helpful in understanding your partner better. They often shed light on treatments available.

Encourage your partner to visit a physician or psychologist, make sure they take medicines as prescribed.

Take care of yourself- Taking care of the Depressed person can take a toll on you too. You need to take care of yourself, before taking care of your loved one. Share about your day with them, this will also comfort them and make them feel good.

Some days its going to be hard for you to handle the situation. You will feel the need to hide your feelings from them. Get your stress out even if you have to rant about to your dog.

How staying away from Home was fun!

A lot of people especially students have the fear of leaving home and living independently. Surely, staying away from the secured embrace of parents can be tough.
Soon enough, the reality hits when you have to cook your own food, wash your own clothes and keep the room/house clean. Also keep a constant check on the expense list. Phew! I'm saying all this by experience. Due to college being too far, I'm not living with my parents.

But friends, I got a family away from my own home. My room-mate was my family, as much as I was for her. The first few days, we took time to decorate the one room flat, adjust to the new independence and also adjust to each other. It surely sounds fun to live with your college best friend, but few days you would surely fight or have mood swings. All in the feather of adjusting. Once you are well adjusted, have located the near by departmental stores, chemists, milk booths, eating hubs; start making plans for the weekend. It can be a movie day in, sleeping day, no-cooking day, cleaning day, movie in theatre, or lunch at a new restaurant.
The relationship between room mates is special bond unlike that of any other. They see you on a constant basis and probably more than anyone else in your life.
So if you are living away on your own and have amazing roomie/s. You'll be able to relate to following points. Enjoy!

1. Your room mate will never judge you! No matter how long you stay on phone, how dirty you keep your side of the bed. She will never complaint. But beware of the stern looks!

2. You get to share the wardrobe! Who doesn't want a double wardrobe? -.-

3. Have a person you can instantly hug. Had a bad day? Need a hug? Go and hug your room mate, may be she needs it too.

4. Be a 24*7 muncher and be taken care of.
I eat a lot! I mean it. Every 3 hours I'm hungry. I need something to munch on. My room mate always used to keep the cupboard and the fridge full of food or snacks.
Your room mate will also take care of you when you are not well. They make sure the medicines are available and you do not eat rubbish food. They are your family away from family.

5. There are times when your best friend might be busy and unable to attend your calls or texts. At times, during those hours you have something to share. Don't sulk away! Grab hold of your room mate's hand, make them sit face to face. Now you can squeal with delight or shed some tears. You have a listener and an advisor when your friends are busy.

6. Have a shopping partner, foodie partner, study partner all in one.

7. Your room mate is caught up on all your latest dramas, knows your quirks and tendencies and loves you as the person you truly are.

8. You cant even lie about your upset mood because they heard you fighting on phone. And eves dropping is allowed most of the times. Go ahead and tell her what happened in detail over a tub of ice-cream.

9. After the first few weeks, even changing clothes in front of each other is well acceptable. Sounds weird right? But its true!

10.They have seen you without make-up, in loose tracks and messy bun. And she must be in the same state as well.

11. Getting bored? Create dirtiest, silliest, craziest and creative abusive slangs.
For example. Tum aloo ho!
                     Tum kadoo ho!


12. Having memorable evenings, where  you do cooking experiments and enjoy the flavour of hard work in kitchen.

13. Some days, you do quarrel, avoid talking and stop making eye contacts. But for how long? May be a few hours till anyone of you have something to share.

14. You tend to hate every damn thing in the entire universe when you are PMSing. They have also seen you clutch your belly and weep buckets while you're at it!

15. Last but not the least. We all need our space and you love it when they're gone..but how much you miss them when they're gone.




All these are tits and bits of my experience with my room mate. I hope, when she reads this, she goes through the memory lane as well. I know, she must be smiling right now!

10 Ways to Explore Delhi

Dilli-dillwalon ki! The following 10 ways are the highlights from a delhite who is very fond of food!

1.Try dilli ki chat in Old delhi. also since you are there visit the first Giani's, Jama Masjid and have great food at Karim's.

2. Hear qawalis sung at Durgah of Nizzamudin Aulya.

3.Go crazy shopping in the lanes of Janpath and do try the momos in front of The Famous Book store and Depaul's cold coffee.

4. You may want to visit the Toilet Museum. Experience the Delhi metro by taking one till Dwarka sector 9(blue line).

5. Get lost in the streets of Hauz Khas. It is great blend of crumbling mughal tombs and tempting art, along with antique and fashion boutiques.

6. Browse the book stores at Khan Market and hang out at Big Chill Cafe for the tasty shakes!

7.For all the religious people, visit the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara and drool over the pure ghee halwa, given as the prashad. Just opposite the Gurudwara there is a Sacred  Heart Cathedral which has a beautiful architecture. One can feel the peace by just being in these 2 places.

8.Book a cab or plan out an evening with your friends and visit the India Gate at night. Be mesmerized by the lit up view of India Gate. You can enjoy the icre-cream being sold around the monument.

9.For all the people who love non-vegetarian food, visit Majnu ka Tilla (tibetan colony) for the tempting food being served there.

I recommended Ama restaurant for pocket friendly and mouth watering food.

10.Take out time in the evening, board a metro to Rajiv Chowk, exit through gate no.6, you will be greeted with the Indian Flag hoisted at Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi, is the largest national flag of India. You can sit there for hours and feel the overwhelming patriotism. Also, there are street vendors selling ram-ladoo, bhel puri and gol-gappas.

Delhi or Mini India- is all about diversity. here we have people from different parts of India along with the Tibetan refugees.

experience the capital and do share your story!

Bend The Rule

Something’s have the art of touching lives in a meaningful way. They may not speak or articulate through flowery words. Their mere presence touches life in an intense way. Animals are one such thing, a creation of the almighty- so powerful and charismatic that they change your life before you even know it.

While you sit comfortable and cozy in your home in front of your television, enjoying a cup of coffee, there are many street dogs scavenging the garbage for food. They sleep on the concrete foot paths, sweating the heat in summers and shivering in winters with really little food or none at all. That’s not all; they have to bare the tortures of inhuman behaviors of human too.

I just want you to change your perception towards dogs- considered to be man’s best friend. We humans share a special bond with them. They are like human babies, need to be taken care of and that is when an attachment grows and one cannot stay without them.

If it’s just the matter of love and bonding, then where does the question of breed comes from? It’s not necessary to buy a pedigree dog but one can always adopt a Indian breed…..A desi!

Pets are creatures that personify simplicity. They depend on us for very little and give us more than what we can imagine. They touch our lives and make us a better person in many different ways. All they do is love unconditionally and remain loyal to us for the kindness we shower upon them. And surely a wagging tail does bring a lot of happiness....

By giving shelter or helping the stray dogs we are not just changing our lives, but they are bringing a lot of change in us, as humans too.

DOGS ARE NOT OUR WHOLE LIFE, BUT THEY MAKE OUR LIVES WHOLE!

Change is another term for Adjustment?

Change…. It is often permanent. And once it is done you cannot go back to the past to re-enjoy it or redo it.

A child in a mother’s womb is safe and dependent. The child communicates through the mother. All its needs are fulfilled through the mother.

When the baby is born it enters a completely different environment. Child is exposed to the new surroundings and is no more in the safety of her mother’s womb. Everyone wants to take the baby in their hands. The child is now a little independent. She is eating her own food, trying to know the world on her own.

But that’s just the starting of understanding the term “adjustment” or “change”.  A girl has to go through a lot of adjustments and changes all through her life.

The girl grows and it’s time for her to go to school. The little girl holding her parent’s forefinger with her tiny little hands. She cries when they try to let go off on reaching the primary school. It’s her first day at school and she befriends a few more kids like her who are crying.

In her school life she realizes who are her true friends and who are to be called just “friends”. A girl is often tagged and trust me we are strong enough to deal with it as well. She doesn't really realize how she grew up into a young lady…leaving behind a lot in the process..

The 12^th class takes a toll on everyone.  The pressure, and tension. Our life revolves around the course books and tuition. All of us know that in that 3 month period we actually cut off from the world. It changes many equations of our life. And of course the pressure and tension pays off if we get into a good college or get a course of our own choice.

College life. Its not that easy. New people. New system. Expectations. New subjects.

Leaving behind friends with whom you have spent your entire school life.  The people you have grown up with. They know you like the back of their hand. In college she has entirely new set of people to deal with. Expectations to be fulfilled. Sometimes a girl travels a lot during her college time. And any city isn't safe for a girl. Specially if you do not belong to the same town.

Once she enters a professional life she has deadlines to be met. I m pursuing journalism, lets be very frank, journalism is a profession where there are no office timings. You can be called up at work any time of day or night. And there is family to be looked out for. How can someone ignore the society and their at times idiotic norms.

Its very parent’s dream to see their daughter settled and married before they leave. A marriage is not  just a bond between two individuals but two families. The girl leaves behind her family, her lifestyle and adjusts into new family….

and the circle of adjustment gets passed on like this to every generation.