The Unabridged Version of a Rational Emotional Mind

“One of my oldest memories of school is walking past the school library and wondering what the world inside looked like. You see, as a 3 rd grade student we had only newly acquired the privilege to stand in the school’s main assembly ground. Getting into the school library was a very far cry back then. During our library period, our librarian would bring certain comic books and magazines that she deemed fit for reading at our age. I must say, her choice wasn’t very imaginative. But it was probably the best way I could enter into the world of words and the puzzles that authors would create weaving one word into another. Grade 5 – I finally get to see the insides of the library. Back then it was on the second floor of the main block. Books piled high onto shelves ten times my size. I can still recall the loud gasp I let out, wondering how to reach that top shelf in the reference section that had that one encyclopedia on butterflies (and other insects) that I so badly wanted to see. ...

Lately I have been contemplating a lot about my past. Courtesy to all the free time during this pandemic! I came to realise that over the years I developed a lot of anger and resentment against people who chose to exit my life with or without a warning. My argument – how can someone choose to leave after I invested so much of my time and energy into them! Now I realise that I was acting like an investment banker who did not get the expected profits from a startup they helped stand on its feet. That sounds a little crude, doesn’t it? Yesterday while preparing for my final exams I came across a concept, it’s more like an idea that said – all human interaction is based on three underlying principles – to give, to receive and to repay. I guess my resentment came out of the belief that these humans who chose to leave never repaid for the love and care I gave them. So much for unconditional love right! But then, I came across this quote on a wallpaper that read – ‘Everyone’s love looks d...

Disclaimer: This piece might come out as a very unpopular opinion. But if you are reading this, please read it till the end. The title must have made it amply clear as to what I wish to talk about today- the killing of a 26 year woman in broad daylight by her husband with countless people in attendance doing absolutely nothing. I am sure most of us have been enraged by the act along with cluelessly wondering as to why no one came up to save the poor soul. I wish to answer part of our doubts with a psychological theory that states to explain why people don’t stand up to help in public. This is not the first time we are seeing public passiveness as a factor leading to avoidable deaths. Countless accident victims lose their lives every day just because no one had the courage to help them- fearing the consequences and worrying about the hassle. Well this happens due to something called ‘diffusion of responsibility’. In simple terms, envision a huge crowd in an auditorium, when asked ...

For everyone born after 1996, Pokémon has been a quintessential childhood memory that has moulded our psyches down to the very core. I got the opportunity to re-watch the series with my little cousins after almost a decade today. When we re-watch something after ages, especially after having grown out of the obsessive phase, we see the whole thing with a fresh perspective. I learnt a lesson today – all thanks to Bulbasaur, the cute grass type Pokémon that Ash owns since season 1 of the series. In episode 51 of the first season, we see Bulbasaur come face to face with a fleet of Ivysaur (the evolved version of Bulbasaur) and a Venusaur (Final Evolution Stage of Bulbasaur) upset at the former for not evolving. The whole episode maps out a tussle between the more evolved species trying to persuade Bulbasaur to grow up and not delay the process. By the end of the episode, Bulbasaur manages to convince them through his act of saving them from Team Rocket that he doesn’t have to grow up ...

I am somebody who always uses this phrase as freely as I can. Some say it trivializes the emotion. I say it personalizes it. The meaning of the ‘I love you’ I say to my best friend is different from the ‘I love you’ I say to my mother. Sometimes the ‘I love you’s we say to the same person may mean a thousand different things. I remember, before I finally moved out of my house last month, the ‘I love you’ my best friend said to me was a little prayer wishing me well and a hope to meet again soon someday. But then, sometimes we meet these people that we love and adore sooo much, but are drastically afraid to utter this phrase to, only because we fear we will ruin the bond we share. We may show the emotion in a thousand different ways. By pulling their legs as far as we can, by yelling at them for not hydrating enough, by shooting daggers at them periodically or by simply drooling over their presence. Today I write this to tell you that if you have such people in your life, that you...