Nomad Scholar

  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. ...

In this fast-paced world, we’re struggling to keep up. It is necessary to prove ourselves or else we’ll be judged. All relationships are fading away and friendship is one of them. True friendship is one of the purest forms of bonds. Friends know us better than ourselves. Friends are the ones who love us unconditionally and never judge us. A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.                                                                                           ...