Nomad Scholar

  We are artists. Some of us are painters, some writers, some singers or dancers, some calligraphers and some of us just like to scribble in the last pages of our notebooks. As artists, we are different. We were born with an urge to express ourselves. Those who say that we’re the same as the rest of the world doesn’t know our perspectives. We have an opinion about everything we see or feel. Whatever can be perceived by the senses is an inspiration to us. We involuntarily take into account every small detail around us. We hold on to the silliest of memories and like to relive them in our consciences. We find ambiguity in the simplest of circumstances and contemplate every other possibility. Sometimes, it’s a boon- an advantage we have over the rest of the world. We have the ability to critically analyze every event. No doubt, most of the innovators in history and in present had an artistic side. And sometimes, being an artist is more of a curse than a blessing. We feel that it’s...

  Sleeping on an empty stomach, Eviction notice; Waking with a sore back, Not knowing what the reason is. Dragging myself to work, Putting on a happy face; Living where the shadows lurk, The world is a haze. Vague were the promises Of joy and prosperity. Vague were the wise words Of abundance and fertility. Predictions of growth, Promises of development; All lies... I'm done with the manipulation; Done with the campaigns; Done with your sick tactics Once and for all. No matter how you roll the dice, I know One day we'll rise. You divide us; General, SC, ST, OBC. That day We'll write our own odyssey. We'll shout from the Himalayas; The oceans will rumble. The world will know us For the great nation we are. We'll be the resistance And you can do nothing about it.

  Autism in childhood, adult conditions such are anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and dementia in old age are all examples of mental illness. According to WHO, mental illness makes up for 15% of the total diseases in the world. An estimate says that from 1990 to 2017, every 1 in 7 Indians has suffered from some kind of mental illness be it anxiety, depression or severe conditions like schizophrenia or dyslexia. It would not be an overstatement to say that India is going through a mental health epidemic. This situation is no less than the COVID-19 pandemic currently raging through the world. Lack of mental health awareness among Indians is one of the most important reasons for the unprecedented outbreak of mental diseases most of which majority are psychiatric problems. Pick up any random Indian and they would know the difference between an oncologist and cardiologist but they won’t be able to tell a psychiatrist from a psychologist or a neurologist. As we Bengalis love to say...

  People going hungry is a classic case of ecological overload. In any ecosystem, the carrying capacity is limited and if the population exceeds the capacity, imbalance creeps in. The excess population will either immigrate to a different place or will die out. But we humans do things differently. We don’t expel people from our community or let them die so easily. The scientists have taken it upon themselves to bend the laws of nature and make sure the ever-growing population stays fed. However, they have their limitations and can increase the produce only so much. The population is increasing rapidly and upsetting the delicate balance of nature. A large part of the produce gets spoilt during transportation or fails to reach the market due to the under-developed market facilities. If the natural reasons were not enough, some of us decided to stock up agricultural produce and sell them at higher prices when demand goes up. We can tweak our approach a bit to make sure that lesse...

  We live in the age of technology and information. At one click, we have more information available at our fingertips than ten libraries put together. With information, comes a burden and for us, it is the overwhelming plethora of choices. Indians had only neem twigs to use as brushes back in the day but today we have innumerable brands and different price ranges to choose from, not to mention the variety in toothpaste. The privilege of choices has both good and bad aspects and a conspicuous gray zone which seems to be quite troubling. As humans, we’re programmed to look for choices as that allows us to filter the best. With only one option, we’re not allowed to compare thus resulting in lesser satisfaction. Earlier the administration used to be led only by the monarch but today we have democracy and hence parties to choose from. In this case, choice is obviously a good thing. Today, we have a wide variety of dishes to choose from and that’s obviously a treat to our taste buds. ...

 India is undergoing rapid westernization and that includes a drastic change in our dress code. We might call ourselves 'modern' and we might actually be but our responsibility doesn't end there. Most of us still stick to our hackneyed thoughts and beliefs and it's our responsibility to show them the light. As offending as it might sound, India has many traditions and beliefs that don't make any sense and contradict each other. On one hand, we don't let girls or women on their periods enter holy places and on the other, we call traditional dresses ('dhoti-kurta'/Saree) obsolete. Since Independence, India has become more civilized and educated. We've achieved milestones in fields of education, technology and economy. As we connected with the rest of the world, we took up their dressing style particularly Western fashion. We're more comfortable in denims nowadays. IS IT GOOD? It's absolutely necessary to keep up with the world and accordingly m...

A car hits you and you die…What next? Do heaven and hell really exist? If so, what is it like there? Numerous questions like this crowd our minds. Finding a definite answer to these questions as we’ve never been able to interview a dead person. However, religious texts speak extensively of afterlife and some people claim to have been to the other side and returned to life. Based on their descriptions, we can put together a rough sketch of how things after death might look like. Someone gets hit hard on the head, suffers a stroke or sustains considerable injury in a crash. He feels like he’s disconnected from the world and passes through a gate or tunnel. He is guided through realms and comes across things more ‘real’ than this reality. These realms are both familiar and strange, possessing a music that’s not quite music and a light brighter than any other light. There are different descriptions of the afterlife in which people come across their close ones, historical characters a...

“Good morning, Sir!” “Good morning, students. Take your seats.” “Thank you, Sir!” “I’ll take your attendance now. Please respond. Roll number 1?” “Yes Sir!” (that’s me) Being the topper of the class might still be a dream to most of you but believe me, it’s not as ideal as it seems. Currently, I feel like being the first boy of the class might be the worst mistake I’ve made till date. The toughest question of the class always comes to me and if I can’t answer that, not only will the teacher be disappointed but also my classmates will talk behind my back. “Hey, Savina! Santapan is getting worse in his studies now.” “Really?” “Shh! Don’t tell this to anyone but he can’t answer a single question in Physics class.” “Oh! This reminded me that I saw him carrying chits to the exam last time.” Rumours often get worse than this and though it might be nothing more than a little joke but it hurts me a lot. I will take this one upon myself because I’m touched way too easily. ...

Oxford dictionary defines sport as ‘an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment’. According to the conventional definition, video games don’t fulfill the criteria for being a sport. There is already a section of critics that despises video games. Video games are said to make people lethargic and dumb and that is true to some extent. But if we look behind all the negative effects of video games, there are a lot of bright prospects of gaming. Indeed, the need for physical exertion can’t be fulfilled by video games. Otherwise, gaming provides all the opportunities any other sport does. Since we’re talking about video game competition, it is safe to say that we’re considering online games only. While collaborating with other players in a match, teamwork is necessary. Getting to the top of any game includes a lot of strategy and dedication. Winning any game boosts confidence and encourages t...

Picture credits: playbuzz.com The idea that all people should have the same size mocks on the wisdom of the human race. While it is imperative that maintaining a good physique is recommended, having a ‘hot bod’ is not necessary. People can have several valid problems for not being able to maintain their physique but that doesn’t give anyone the right to undermine them. Having abs is cool but being very thin or pot-bellied is not a reason for body-shaming. The height of people is also sometimes a reason for their embarrassment. Especially in case of boys, if they’re short, they’re called dwarfs and always made fun of. In case of short girls, it’s still acceptable. They’re considered ‘cute’. When it comes to tall people, the situation is not much different. They’re often asked questions like, “What did you eat to get so tall?” . In this case, girls face more problems than boys. Tall girls are often told that they’ll never find a boy because of their height. These insults might n...

Does Social Media lead to the Rise in Depression Cases? Introduction Before going into the details, I believe you’ll admit that social media has changed the way you interact with your surroundings. Social media was meant to enable people to reach out to a wider audience and keep in touch with relatives and friends. Initially, it was used for sharing ideas with a limited audience but with technological advancements, social media has become an inseparable part of our daily life. Everything we do is on social media. “Facebook knows everything” is almost true today. Today, the tech-savvy youth relies on social media networks for news and doesn’t bother reading newspapers and magazines. Social media has made the world smaller but the cons of this are becoming clearer every day. Depression is one of the gravest impacts of social media. What is Depression? To know how social media triggers depression, it is necessary to know what the word means. Everyone is sad sometimes and that is n...