Youth Zone

 Her enchanting smile eases sorrows, Strength of Her divinity only grows. She rises like sun rising over dark, Her light ignites our heart’s Her blessings are our harness.Her gaze can soothe, and also stingIn Her presence, silence learns to sin..

 We build grand pandals to welcome a goddess who returns home, yet often forget to make the world safe for the women who walk among us. For every Bengali, Durga Puja is far more than a festival; it is an emotion woven into the rhythm of the dhaak, th..

Nobody ever told me I had to get my eyebrows threaded. No rule was written, and no one sat me down. Yet last week, with the festive season round the corner, I found myself sitting on a parlour chair with my eyes squeezed shut and a thread snapping across my brow even as I wondered why I was there. The answer is that no one needs to say it aloud. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, a woman absorbs a silent checklist. Eyebrows shaped. Hands and legs smooth. Hair set. Skin glowing. Nails curated. ..

The nine days of Sharadiya Navratri festival are like a series of lessons. With every single day, Maa gives us a ray of hope, strength and peace. The nine days of the Goddesses-Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri - are nine manifestations, nine forms of life itself. Because when Maa arrives, why should she come with just one form? Shailaputri teaches us stability, to stay rooted like a mountain. Brahmacharini teaches us ..

There are battles fought without a sound, Where tired hearts quietly drown. A smile can hide What words cannot say And “I’m fine” can mean “I lost my way”. Some wounds leave Neither scar nor stain, Yet still they carry..

There is something strange about the smile. It can mean, “I am happy,” without saying a word. It can also mean, “I am fine,” even if the feeling inside wasn’t quite right. At other times, it just means, “I don’t know what else to say.” I realised this when I started observing people-not just listening to what they say, but noticing what they leave unsaid. The friend who laughs at every joke, the person who walks into college after a difficult morning or someone posting a smiling picture and calling ..

Bappa is the heart of Maharashtra. The moment these words reach our ears, they awaken a deep emotional connection with the soil, culture, and traditions of Maharashtra. The sound of drums and cymbals, the fragrance of flowers, the beautifully decorated homes, the sweetness of modaks, the evening aarti, and at the heart of it all, our beloved Bappa. In Maharashtra, we do not simply worship Ganpati in a temple or keep Him confined to a shrine. We bring Him home. We clean and decorate our homes for His ..

 O Lord of auspicious beginnings, With your arrival, happiness arrives, In houses many,Your presence lights up every corner, Your devotion brings all together.Where Thy glory and greatness divinely sung, You are loved by old and young. The ten-day ce..

 The biggest source of stress, at times, is not the work itself, but the minute tasks that we keep on getting delayed for tomorrow. In the daily hustle-bustle, we are so exhausted that we tend to pile up minute tasks. And then one day, we realise th..

The rakhi thread may look small but behind it holds tight a pure relationship built over years of laughter, fights, secrets, sacrifices, misunderstandings, forgiveness and unconditional love. Rakhi is not merely a festival of tying a thread; it is a reminder that some relationships remain constant even when life keeps changing. Traditionally, Raksha Bandhan has been understood as a promise from a brother to protect his sister. It is a beautiful emotion, but perhaps the meaning of this promise needs ..

I no longer count my blessings only on the days the sun is kind. Some mornings arrive with heavy skies, unanswered prayers..

 We often expect life’s biggest lessons to come from major events, but more often than not, they appear in the simplest, most ordinary moments. One such moment stayed with me longer than I expected. I was at my brother’s place for dinner..

I asked Freedom, What is your name? She smiled and whispered, "I'm not fame. I'm every tear that turned to light, Every soul that chose to fight."..

 They all gatheredStrangely, they all spoke to me fluently.Some grief, some love, some longing, and some dead...my old poems.They gave me the eyes of worship, Like I was their God.They spoke of how they were created.One stood out.“I was created..

For centuries, society has carried a predefined image of how a girl should be. She is expected to remain quiet, obedient and dependent, even when she is treated unfairly. A girl who sacrifices her dreams and silently endures hardships is often called “well-mannered”, while the one who speaks out for herself is called “disrespectful”. Sadly, this mindset still exists in many parts of the world, in various cultures. But modern women are no longer willing to lose themselves in the maze of society’s expectatio..

 They said, “Study hard, my child,One degree will change your fate”.So we buried sleep beneath books,Believing success would patiently wait.Our parents stitched their dreams to ours,With overtime, loans and silent pain.They watered hope w..

 In front of my house, there stood two trees,Looked the same but different families.One tall, other short, with lush leaves,A matter of envy for other trees.The short one was fighting for water,Somehow making its leaves greener,No care for birds who..

W hat is the difference between a product and a brand? A product is what a company makes, and a brand is what customers feel. Beyond its functionality, a luxury brand often transfers its identity to the buyer, enabling them to stand out. A classic white T-shirt may have a reasonable price until it gets reborn with a Nike logo. But the problem begins when high-end labels are attached to random objects like a comb, and practicality is overshadowed by prestige. Meaningful luxury often lies in artisanship, ..

  What began as a space to unload one’s scattered thoughts slowly became a quiet space for reflection. I never realised when I fell in love with my habit of journaling and it became the most transformative experience yet. While working through..

When life feels like a performance, we put on smiles, hide the chaos and act like we are putting on a show for folks who aren’t even real. We post every win, cheer each milestone in public, and try to make everything look perfect. Whether it’s due to social media, work expectations, or just society’s high standards, people are putting on acts instead of truly living. As children, we are socialised into the notion of living up to others’ expectations. We aim for good grades, a successful career, successful ..

  In the process of growing up, one feature of an individual’s personality that is on wane is his/her sense of curiosity. Worse, it is focussed on inane things that would make no qualitative difference in his/her life. We see how children..

  I Have always been afraid of the word ‘death’, avoiding even the thought of it. But as I have grown up and witnessed life’s realities, I have come to understand that death is nothing but the ultimate universal truth that un..

In a recent episode of ‘Subway Takes’, a viral new-age internet show, the actor, Austin Butler, says, “Embarrassment is an underexplored emotion. So go out there and make a fool of yourself.” Ever since I heard it, it has stayed with me. Even though I do not think one should act stupid, but oftentimes, I feel people forget to have fun in life because they are too busy thinking about others’ perceptions. We are too scared of being embarrassed and laughed at. But, if you think about it, its so much ..

One day, in our college, the professor entered the classroom and looked around in silence. After some time she smiled and asked, ‘Don’t you all talk to each other anymore? Everyone is busy using their phones.” The classroom remained silent. Noone had an answer. That incident stayed in my mind for a long time because it reflected the reality of today’s generation. Even when surrounded by people we are constantly connected to our screens instead of each other. Phones have slowly become our permanent ..

 The world has never been younger. With nearly 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years, today’s youth represent the single largest generation in human history. Yet, youth is not merely a demographic fact, it is a force, an..