Dear MEN!!

It was a calm, sunny day when the radio played advertisements while I was packing my school bag. Reading this description, do not take your thoughts back to the ’70s; it’s happening in the 2000s, and we relied on the radio as our TV has yet to shift from our hometown to this new place in the city.

I remember this day clearly as my mom was absent, which is one of the rare occasions when she is a housewife. I was getting ready for my afternoon school as the morning classes were suspended due to board exams. While I was done with my packing, I saw my dad lying on the floor, completely zoned out.

To give you some context, it was a significant transition time for him when he moved his family to the city in confidence on Plan A. However, he got signals after shifting that his Plan A might not turn out. I called him out, but it took a few seconds for him to react.
I, of that age, asked what happened and what he was thinking, not expecting any answer from him but just as an impulse.

Now I am an adult with my own problems and anxiousness, I often go back to that day thinking – what were the probable thoughts he might be having at that moment?
Was he ever under pressure as a man to feed his family without any questions asked or expectations?

Recently, I was conversing with my dad about the stereotyping men face due to norms forced by society. Well, with the things taught to him, or should I say conditioned, he politely accepted everything he does (sacrifices) as normal rather than society-imposed ones.

Well, things turned out good for him, but what about when things go south?
That brings out a bigger question — ‘
Are we women ready to accept a man just the way he is?’
Is it still man’s worth only until he provides?

Well, I don’t like to bring gender to topics that have universal applications. Messed-up mental health screws everyone equally, but what probed me to write it out was ‘how men are convinced and have a strong feeling that no one gives a damm about us.‘ Statistics also confirm this where 51.7% of women (in 2021) received support from mental health services, and only 40% of men with a mental health condition did (National Institute of Mental Health).

A woman with a basic problem attracts a lot of attention, whereas a man has no right to complain – thoughts of few men I know.

Men’s Mental health issues are REAL.

What to do now?

It all boils down to maintaining good social relations with the people around. Go with quality over quantity.
What is the point of thousands of followers on Instagram boosting that you have countless friends when you can’t speak your heart out when all the opposite person has to do is JUST listen.

FINALLY

Dear MEN, you matter to us.

A few days back, I learned that June is celebrated as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
From a woman to all the men out there – here is the message:

Dear Men, Are you stressed because your parents are not being supportive? – Your mom had carried you, and your dad waited patiently for nine months just to see your teeny tiny face and hear you cry. I am sure they are patient enough to hear you out.

Dear Men, Do you feel stressed about finding love? — Just work on yourself, be kind and empathetic, and there won’t be a woman who could resist that.

Dear Men, are you going through a heartbreak? – Cherish that you found someone to love and dared to go above and beyond for them.  Loving is the most vulnerable thing a person can do, so be proud of that.

Dear Men, if you are stressed about your career – Don’t worry. We are all here figuring it out (That’s the way of life, right?).

HERE IS A WEBSITE WHERE HELP CAN BE FOUND: https://www.thelivelovelaughfoundation.org/find-help/helplines

Its been a while since I have posted a blog.
I recently gave my thesis to my guide for corrections, and he appreciated my vocabulary and style of writing. Soon, I thought all the credit goes to the time I took to write blogs and all my lovely readers who connected with them and encouraged me to write more. So, this blog is an ode to all my blogging memories.

Anusha VELAMURI

Love and Death

Random thoughts

Aren’t love and death strange concepts!

We human beings, let me correct selfishly- beings, find comfort in our loved ones’ presence that we put our guard down. We love someone to the extent that their happiness becomes yours to enjoy and to console them in their sadness, a responsibility.

I recently watched A Man Called Otto (movie) and After Life (series), where the main leads lost their partner after sharing 25-plus years together. Their loss was so personal that they didn’t feel they had any purpose to live without them. Full-grown adults, when they felt lost, thought that suicide was the only way out of the pain they go through on a daily basis.

Disclaimer: I am not encouraging their thoughts, neither do they, so bear with me and read the following lines.

After multiple failed attempts, they realized the time they spent with their partner and the memories they built were worth living until their time on earth.

Old couple making memories

Coming to terms with such a significant loss is very difficult. And I always wonder how my grandmother handled it. They were married for 60 freaking years, and suddenly one morning, my grandfather was taken to the hospital after a fall, and that’s it.

All these years, they used to start their day very early, by 4:30am, with a sip of coffee and talked about the entire world – from politics to family drama. When my grandmother got busy with daily chores, he called her when it was time for her favorite serial. Having lunch together, then napping, later in the evening, standing on the verandah checking traffic accompanied by many chit-chats. A calm dinner followed by allocating respective tablets marks the end of the day. This was done in repeat mode every day since I knew them.

They are the ones who saw the most difficult times together, but I never heard them yelling at each other. I can barely imagine what it would have been like for her to lose him. I feel bad that I was not mature/adult enough to have a conversation with her or comfort her in any tiny way.

People say that the definition of love changes with age and experiences. Right now, for me, it is to make as many memories as possible, experience life together, appreciate their presence, steal a kiss, and get into a hug whenever possible.

Because in the end, it’s the memories we gonna hold on to and cherish!

Black and White became GREY

Cyberbullying

A few days back, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across the recent post of a famous Telugu anchor. She was having the time of her life with her family on a beach and was very generous to share glimpses with her followers.

On any day, I would just swipe up and move to another post; since she is an activist who constantly addresses the amount of cyberbullying she faces, I wondered what kind of comments she had received for this specific series of posts wearing the attire appropriate for the beach.

And it was ridiculous as hell!

Shaming plus Comparing and shaming

This particular celeb is a mother of two kids. So, according to people in the comment section, she should not wear such attire and post it online. It’s shameful and sets a bad example for them. Over that, she is just an anchor and apparently should learn how the wives of top celebs are fully covered.

I know nothing about parenting, and I often say that it is a pretty tough job and thereby needs to be taken only when someone is absolutely ready physically, mentally, and economically but being skillful in dressing sense as a checkbox to be a good parent was never discussed by any well-read people.

Age shaming: I don’t know what happiness a person gets by calling a woman above 30 AUNTY
WHY?
(if you know, please comment and let me know the answer)

Desperation

Years back, I was so hesitant to create an Instagram account. I believe, with an increase in the usage of several social media apps proportionately, I will spend more time with each of them. Even now, when people suggest coming to a new application for better connectivity, I would be the last to jump on it. The irony now is that I can’t walk away from Instagram as it has become a potential information source, and I would feel disconnected from the world. So, I come up with measures such as a time limit to get the best of it.

Coming back to the point: It takes an immense amount of thought for me to just open Instagram, which makes me wonder who these people are having this whole time in front of them not only to scroll Instagram but also comment on people’s posts. Not stopping there; they take it so personally and start abusing it.

I hear celebs say they develop a thick skin, and negative comments don’t affect them. But come on, who are we kidding here – No one deserves comments that ask to reveal more or point to having intercourse.

When I saw those comments, the feminist in me was wide awake, and the humanist in me wanted to write a blog highlighting cyberbullying for women. But, to enjoy my remaining few days of vacation, I silenced both of them to take a break and voice out my opinion later.

Meanwhile, I heard a WAR podcast from the show Konchem Clarity Konchem Reality by Ajay Padarthi. He highlighted that the virality of Tiktok, where the titillating content is pushed by an algorithm fetching more views over some less revealing yet informative ones, is, in a way, a war strategy.

It made me think – 
Was the photo she uploaded sexy? – YES, 
Is it titillating in any form? – Yes.

She is a great woman, constantly voicing out her opinion and standing by what is right (according to her). Didn’t she think of the kind of comments she would get for the post she was about to upload. 

All the feminists who were with me from the start might be losing their edge with the above statement but bear with me; I am about to finish.

At first, I was entirely on her side – thinking she had the right to post any picture. Her body – Her social media account- Her right. But after the pod, it made me question – Knowing the consequences, did she still post those pics just to get a buzz out of it.

There’s an option not to post, too, right? Why go through all the bullying when you can have a calm vacation all by yourself. 
As a woman, is this even appropriate to say? – I don’t know.

I thought writing about cyberbullying would be a clear black-and-white piece. The one who is doing it is wrong, and the one on whom it’s done is the victim. It disheartened me when it became Grey.

Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Hyderabadreads – a new community to be a part of

In a busy, fast-paced world, we look for different activities that make us take a beat, pause, enjoy the moment, and move forward.

I was randomly scrolling Instagram when I saw a reel from Cubbonreads that showcased how people in Banglore come together in the mornings on Sunday for a few hours to enjoy a silent reading session.

As someone with an affinity for books and who can’t make time to step out into nature, I thought, “What a perfect blend of two beautiful things for a person like me.” I wish there was something like this happening in Hyderabad (my home ground) to experience it. Guess what? Within a week, I saw a story on the same page announcing more such study sessions across different cities, and Hyderabad was one of them.

Being in town for vacation, I joined the second session at KBR Park yesterday (on June 10th,2023).

I was nervous to walk into the group but soon found a place, relaxed, and opened my book to read. In the middle, we had a guest (peacock) from whom we couldn’t keep our phones away. I lay down under the bright sky, protected by the shadows of the trees that timely sent few breezes, making us feel their presence than just see.

Special guest at silent book reading session

Earth kept moving, and it’s been a while since I witnessed the transition from a charming evening to a soothing night.

A community always pushes us to do better for ourselves and others. In times when the habit of reading is getting special attention as a rare phenomenon than considered normal, on the other side some people are grabbing their first books, making time to finish their one-page targets. And a community like this will only help people push their boundaries and feel they belong.

Coming season (rainy), it’s gonna be challenging to pool people. Still, I want to be hopeful and cheers to many more such sessions.

Follow hyderabadreads on Instagram and be part of a new community

Preeti – The most misunderstood character

(Arjun Reddy / Kabir Singh)

Preeti character from Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh

When I first saw the film, I am sorry, Preeti, all my eyes were on Arjun, just like you. It was when the reviewers pointed out that you were such a dumb character I started to understand you.

They said – 30 mins into the movie, you didn’t utter a word.

You were bloody 18, cocooned in the home under the vigilance of your father (as we have seen the movie, we know and can assess how he was). You were the shy, introverted girl for the first time in the hostel. You were like many other girls in my college, so you felt like a regular girl.

They said – you don’t have any self-respect.

Arjun left you, giving an ultimatum; your father got you married in the meantime. When Arjun comes to your house, you don’t even shoot a glance at him. You felt he didn’t deserve an explanation after what he did was self-respect displayed.

They said – You are not strong.

You decided to have a baby alone instead of having an abortion. You were ready to raise a baby all on your own with your hard-earned money. There I see a strong woman who makes decisions for herself and stands by them.

When you cried while having a video call with Arjun. I felt it, too, Preethi.
When you made a person your whole world, it showed me the commitment you have.
Your smile when you think about Arjun, all your meetings at the airport, and on the terrace of your house shows me how madly you were in love with him.

Post-movie, everyone comments on how you should have behaved, but I have accepted how you are.

A tale as old as time

Storytime

It was a festive occasion, and a gathering was planned nearby.
Permission for girls always comes at the last minute and lasts only a few minutes.
So everyone from the hostel rushed as soon as they could.

We Indians never miss a moment to break into a dance, and our young blood definitely knows how to party. Immediately, we college girls formed into a huge circle going around in sync with music where an equal number of elders enjoyed just seeing our happy faces.

What’s the point of the story without drama?
Thereby entered the in charge, carefully scrutinizing the crowd after offering her respects to the god. Eating Prashad, she was slowly sweeping into the group, and her actions left me surprised.

She started calling out a few girls from the crowd.

Curious me went nearer to the girl whose face was tensed or specifically embarrassed that was yet to turn into a disappointment. ‘What happened?’ I asked

She said, ‘Mam called me to standby as my clothing is inappropriate to dance in the crowd.’
What kind of weird clothing could she be wearing that I have missed observing?
I slowly zoomed back to have a glance at her outfit.
It was regular denim jeans (not a skin fit to be clear even then, it shouldn’t be anything to have a concern, though) paired with a thigh-length top.

And it continued for some time when other jeans, short tops, t-shirts, and sleeveless-wearing girls we called off from the crowd.

Later even after her friends emphasized joining back to dance as Mam moved on to the next crowd, she hesitated and stayed seated for the rest of the event.

Dammm!! A solid way to slay a person without a weapon.

Moments like these cant be hidden

What disappoints me most is when people kill the confidence of others. 

We are all bunch of insecure people.
Instead of figuring out their own mess, people (few) tend to crush others’ confidence and feed on their insecurities to make them feel good about themselves.

2nd layer of the story

The in-charge Mam says – It was not her call to get the girls out of the crowd for inappropriate clothing. The head sir may find this an issue and scold, so she was just protecting us from that.

Hmm, Interesting!!

First, suppose the head sir, instead of organizing the event, is checking out the girl students’ attire. In that case, that’s a whole other issue.

We don’t know the credibility of the specific instruction. Was it really given by sir as claimed by the in-charge Mam?
Let’s say he really said that. 

This makes me wonder, ‘Is being an employee under someone mean leaving your judgment and obeying orders?‘ 
I know I am questioning feminism, specifically, her compassion towards sisterhood, when she only wants to protect us.

Her actions convinced me that she also believes in the ideas of the head. If not, she would have guarded us in several other ways.

——That brings us to the end of this story experienced by most of the girls.——–

Irrespective of gender, it is difficult to make your way in the world, be confident and stand by one’s own choices. Being female and spending time with other girls for a long time, I feel we are wrapped in our own standards.

People say women take a long time to get ready. My small theory is that from an evolutionary perspective – Man was always out into society, prepared to meet new people. But a woman with limited public experiences when going out wants to be looked at in her best possible version. It gives her confidence to enter any room, thereby taking more time.

Now, making that person who is vulnerable in the new place conscious about herself because of the clothing she wore is no less than a sin. 

A woman shattering another woman’s confidence breaks my heart into a million pieces.

To bring out the optimistic angle that I keep up in my writings – When there is one person to break you, there could be a million others to make you too. That’s where our SISTERHOOD comes to play its part.

I am glad and thankful that I have eight key women in my life who love me and say ‘YOU GO GIRL!!’ every now and then to remind me to be a kind and compassionate woman just like they are to me.

Happy WOMEN’S day, LADIES.

Let’s root for each other’s success!!

Coorg via Banglore

Trip of the year with my gangster girls

It’s a lengthy blog, so I want to navigate my readers through it. Let me divide this blog into 3 parts. Go to the respective title, which interests, that could save you the problem. If you choose to read from the start, I would say ‘good decision.’ 

PS: Stay with me till the LAST part. You will get to know something cool from this blog which you could try.

1. The Backstory
2. Our newfound interests
3. Something cool that you cannot and should not avoid reading

The Back story

After a while of being local gangsters exploring local places, one of our masterminds said: “Girls, enough with the local stuff. It’s time to expand our wings. Let’s plan in this regard; if not now, when?“

When you hear something you are scared to say out loud, the time required to jump into action would be less. Thereby with an easy agreement among us, we stepped out, and the success rate was tremendous as we had a great time in GOA.

But after that, the dynamics of the group changed. Our shooter with bullseye got engaged and married on top of that, and had to move to a new place (Banglore). In our hearts, we knew that nothing would change, but it is also foolishness to deny that it won’t.

But after intense planning (Believe me, when I say intense! Planning the whole trip was one side but booking a bus ticket where the rest of us could board at a convenient place and time was another side), when we got dropped and started walking towards the nearest signal to reach home it felt – Love can make you do things. We, a bunch of local gangsters walking in the streets of Banglore to get reunited and all set for another epic saga.

Our newfound interest

Goa was all about making it home safely so that we could have many more trips, not catching covid and passing it on to our families. We made the best of whatever we had. But this time, it’s all good out there. We are more than comfortable with our own company and ready to step out of the house.

BAM! Our gangster group manager pulled out a few makeup products of sugar cosmetics that she had been experimenting with. Within no time, we all, like flies on jaggery, tried and applied all the things. Foundation stick, Primer, lipstick, and lipliner are all on our faces looking in our best possible versions. I say makeup has the superpower of bringing confidence to people. And thus began new camaraderie between us.

Just like you, we are a bunch of morning sleepers who hold their own track records of wake-up time (mine being 1:00pm). But, when it came to trips and having to reach a peak point to see a sunrise, we surprised ourselves with the kind of punctuality and discipline we have.

Our obsession with making the most of our limited time and executing things as planned, we added makeup to our list and
DAMM! We all looked super cool.

Something cool that you cannot and should not avoid reading

Coorg has many places, and one single google search could give you 1000 recommendations. Still, one thing that surprised us was our plantation visit.

We had to start our day so early, at 4, that by 3:30 pm, we were done for the day. But we still have to kill 3 more hours giving us enough time to check out, have dinner, and board the bus. So we left with only one thing the plantation visit. We asked our cab driver half-heartedly: Will he be taking us there? Can we visit and come back to our place at the expected time?

He said – ‘Ya, I will, and it’s nearby too. It costs 200 per head. Is that fine with you guys?’

We were looking for any tiny reason to drop the plan, but none of it was a deal breaker. Soon the raindrops were hitting the car windows, but now it was too late to come out of the plan, and we reached ” Green Way Coffee Island Nature Walk.”

Green Way Coffee Island Nature Walk

We were introduced to a very good-looking young man who would be our guide for this short tour of 45 mins. After 1 hour, boy, it really felt short. Our constant running from the morning came to a pause. We shut out all the world’s noises in those minutes and experienced nature. Nature might also be wanted to cut some slack for us and pause the rain to give us the best experience we deserve.

We walked slowly – observing the two varieties (arabica and robusta) of coffee, knowing the backstory of coffee’s arrival in India. Meanwhile, holding coffee beans, tasting (one short hot chilli burned our mastermind gangster’s mouth (ass)), and smelling a few spices (pepper, betel leaf), our tour came to an end. Understanding the way of life of plants and breaking our coffee virginity was a refreshing eye-opener plantation for us.

Plantation trip in Coorg

Coming from families of coffee maniacs, we all recalled them, appreciated the great effort of the tour guide, and promised them great google reviews.

Million dollar question:
Hey Anusha, you are from an agriculture background; how could that be a first-of-a-kind refreshing experience for you?

True, can’t deny it.
But unfortunately, when my guide spoke about the varieties of coffee, all I could recall was the difference table in the first chapter of our study material consisting of 10 points and comes as a definite question in mid and final exams. And this happened when we were talking about pepper and turmeric processing.

What made me, in fact, us feel special about it?

Well, our expectations played a considerable role. We thought it would be like one of our school trips with so many people, and we would be left out at the end. That will make us unclear to hear the guide’s (teacher) voice, and we come out with nothing but pain in our legs. Well, it happened to me on many of my field trips.

Having the exclusivity and interaction and learning just out of interest and joy but not to score marks made it absolutely worth it. I had a great time. After all, when I returned to campus and happened to attend the seminar on Agro-tourism, all these visuals flashed, and I felt Damm! I had first-hand experience with agro-tourism, and I didn’t even realize it.

If and when you have an opportunity to experience something like this.
Don’t hesitate. Grab the chance.

Until my next blog, HAPPY GA UNDU MAWA.

Getting HIGH on adrenaline

The moments of adrenaline make a mark on your brain. Makes you feel alive and builds core memories, and here are my recent adrenaline encounters on account of Intercollege competitions.

Taking chances

There are still 4 days to get back to campus after the Diwali vacation, and I got the information about the badminton selections. Priorly I was aware of it; now I got the date and time. Realizing I couldn’t make it, I asked my junior to suggest alternatives? How could this problem be addressed?

After an initial no and still giving some thought, she shared the student’s sports leader’s number to explain my condition, and he, in turn, directed me to the Incharge sir.

Call with sir

Me: Sir, I am (giving my details) currently away from campus. Please consider me for selection on Monday.

Sir: Okay, yeah, we can.

(Mind voice: Hey, that was easy.)

Sir: Have you ever played in Inter college or Inter University?

(Mind voice: Damm! Will I be rejected as I have not done anything as such? What should I do? Should I lie? )

Mindvoice suggestion: You are considerably good at playing, which he can’t see right now in this call, but you can show your commitment.

Me: No, sir, I haven’t, and I said – But I really want to participate in the selections.

Sir: Okay, come on Monday. I will inform the student in charge about your situation.

Whaaatttttt!
Excitement held me high, but a doubt crept in: Is a chance really given? What if sir forgets to inform?

I was getting ready, forcing all my loved ones to shower best wishes so I could get selected. But the doubt didn’t leave me. Then when I met my Junior asking about the procedure the other day, she mentioned that it was indeed the right move to call sir regarding my issue. He constantly clarified that another student would join in the second round of selections.

Wowwwwww! Now it was a true joy.

Selections time

I understand that I could do well. Since I was under monitoring, and I needed to make points to win – things have changed. From the time I stood in the court and was about to serve the shuttle, my hand became too cold. In that fraction of a second, I even wondered whether my reflexes would kick in. 

Then when my opponent returned the shot, my leg moved, and things got back to normal gradually, and I had a great time winning that match.

Here is the situation: On normal practice days, we usually share one side of it or play doubles to compensate for only having a single court for all. Conditioned to that situation, taking a shot served to the end of the court had become a problem to me, and I realized it while playing. My next opponent thoroughly used the area of weakness and won swiftly.

I was okay with the loss. It is not like I am playing blunder shots or losing out of excitement. It is genuinely a lagging area I need to work on.

 Let’s see how my final match would be.
Will I make it or not?

When the final game started, I had a great start. Still, soon I had my opponent in the lead by 4 points. That area of weakness played a considerable role in giving away points.

After all these years of watching sports and post-match presentations, one thing I understood was ‘Showing calmness and character while playing is essential no matter how strong your opponent is, no matter how thin your winning chances are. – It’s time to practice my learnings.

Self-talk: I know it’s a tricky area for you, but why are you directly giving away your points. Fight! If not now, when?

Why don’t you take over the service? Then there would be no chance that they can serve that area. With that positive mindset, I entered the game, won the match, and made my place in inter-college competitions.

Game day

8 o clock was the time when the pledge was taken before the start of the game, and at 8:30 am, my period has knocked out.
Not a surprise, though!

My first thought was how are the female players out there are doing it. For me, it was inter-college, and they represent India on a global scale.
Just imagine you have an Olympics final match, and you just got ur period.
Damm right!!
But what will the player do?
Lift that racket, go play and do the best for the country. So, it’s time to get into that zone.

Having been blessed with not-so-intense periods, I thought I could guide my brain to stay positive so the hormones stay under control and I have a great time while playing.

I haven’t shared that I got my period with anyone, as their doubts about me performing could affect my mental state. I also thought: Should I be on the sidelines and allow another teammate to replace me? Am I selfish for not doing it?
But my brain’s strength and no signs of pain persuaded me to go forward, and yes, we won.

Debate Drama

After being done with sports, it’s time for literary competitions. Here also, I have been persuaded to know the timings for selections, and yeah, I did okayish but didn’t expect to get selected.

But sure, I did, and the topic was dropped -“Will NEP 2020 will bring a positive transformation in higher education in India?”

And I did my primary research prepared a draft discussed with fellow mates. My first casual rehearsal took 12 minutes to complete instead of 5, with so many pauses, forgetting in between, and no valid data substantiating the sentences. When I started in front of the incharge sir, 30 sec and I fumbled.

With his pep talk and guidance on how it should be, I changed the entire draft in 3 hrs and got ready for the grand rehearsal.
I panicked and missed a few points, but I went on.

After a series of practices until the competition time, when I walked to the dias representing my college, I just gave the best of the best version.
I was so happy just to think how bad my first draft was, and look where I have come to.

I have indeed lost in the competition.

People always say that ‘when you do your best, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, and I used to think that as Bullshit! All the people who can’t win will speak those words.
I didn’t have to convince anyone that it was unfair for me to not reward or feel bad for losing. It was just the process of trying to deliver outweighed all the things.

There needs to be a certain maturity to understand a few philosophies. This competition showed me that I have evolved.

Your personality changes according to the environment you live in and the resources you have. I entered my undergrad college with a zeal to express myself to the utmost. I wanted to make tons of friends, bunk classes, go to movies, and hang out at all places near my college.

But lack of mental readiness, and staying away from college didn’t allow me to do certain things. And one that I regret the most is participating in inter-college competitions. 

For the sake of memory, I enrolled for drama in 3rd year, for which I got rewarded too. But it was just one shot, so I didn’t get those hardcore connections.

Finally, after getting to my Ph.D., all things are falling into place. Now I stay on the college campus, and, luckily, I got information about the events. Truly happy that I was confident enough to persuade things and finally make things happen for myself.

If not now, WHEN???!!! – Do you agree with this? Comment and let me know

First step towards making earth a better place

My plastic upcycling story!!

I believe – Everything we do, the way we do, is all taught to us, or at least we see the most nearby example and learn. There is nothing innately generated, and social work is no exception. Growing up in a middle-class family, we believe that we don’t have anything more significant to offer to the world. So, we learn and try not to screw others and get screwed in that process. In a way, it could be good social work -‘ Not harming others.’ My mom used to quote her father when social work is mentioned – ‘If we are wiping our butt, it is also social work‘ – as we won’t smell foul and cause annoyance to others.

All these ideologies come from the middle-class upbringing that doesn’t allow us to think about our surroundings, nature, or anything that doesn’t benefit us directly. But the world is not always expecting great things. It could be usual stuff, a selfless and determined act. 

My upcycling story started due to my fears/ compulsion – just some crazy ass way to do something good. Here we go – 

I don’t know why I just can’t throw away stuff. I am a hoarder. I keep things believing that someday they could be put to use, so if I throw them now, I could feel bad. I know it sounds like a potential therapy-needed issue. Someday when I can afford therapy, I shall figure that out and write a blog about it.

Returning to the story, When I stay with my parents, my mom doesn’t allow this shit of keeping unnecessary things at home. If she feels it is not essential, that shit will be found in the dustbin next minute. A year back, when I found recharkha – the eco-social tribe – a plastic upcycling company, my mom just showed a blind ear to me. Well, she uses plastic covers to throw food waste. And, there are enough rants on Youtube that speak about our Indian household’s unrequited love for the collection of plastic covers.

When I moved to a new place for my education, I observed that the hoarder in me could be unleashed, and this time it could be put to some good use too.

PersonalPlastic collection for the first 4 months

Let me share with my readers a few of my observations in this journey from collection to sending out the first batch of plastic for upcycling.

Educated??

After a few months of my personal collection, I thought I could involve more people as I stayed in a hostel. My room is closer to the dustbin and a shared kitchen (such a win-win situation to collect plastic, right?). So I made a poster and hung a bag outside my room so that people could now dump their plastics in the bag.

Awareness and collection spot: Plastic upcycling

First, let me tell you why I took this action – I feel all the people out there want to be part of the greater good and contribute to a better society. But the want is not strong enough for them to act independently. So when an accessible way is shown to people (collection point in an appropriate location), people can’t resist acting.

Well, that bubble of thoughts didn’t last for long, and when it burst, it was harder. It was the evening when I hung the poster and bag, and at night when I went near the dustbin to throw food waste, I saw 5-6 new Maagi packets in it.

My first thought – Damm! Why did they throw it here? Didn’t they read the poster hanging right in front of them? Then, I was angry for a few moments and finally told myself, ‘Just because you had an epiphany, you can’t expect the people/world around you to have it.’ —> Lesson Learnt!

But something my current self-help book (MAGIC) is trying to teach me is to be ‘Thankful’ for anything and everything. So let me shift my focus toward people who dropped plastic.
Thank you! For joining your hands with me to make our earth a better place.

Not a social work

With this small act, do I consider myself a social worker?
Hell No! In fact, I am no way near it.
Do you know why?

The definition of social work (for me) is to be selfless and show higher determination in doing a greater good for society. If I had been selfless, as soon as I saw those plastic wrappers in the dustbin, I should have removed them from it and put them in my bag, which I didn’t do.

Maybe I haven’t reached that extent. But am I on the way to attaining it?
Hell Yah!

Got delayed, but it happened.

By August, I thought I had collected enough, and its time to send for upcycling. But my ignorance didn’t let me search for the nearest post office from where I could parcel the stuff to recharka’s office. For a long time, I kept reasoning my ignorance as I am new to where I am currently living and don’t know where to go to send this parcel. I also thought I needed another person’s assistance in this activity, so I kept pushing it further.

One day when someone asked for an update on parceling stuff, I took a minute of my time and thought – okay! Forget about the action; just have a casual google search on ‘nearest post office‘; based on the result, we shall proceed further.

The search result couldn’t be less shocking.

I had a post office 1 min away from me. It is on my campus behind an ATM which I will visit every month to draw my mess bill but never observe its existence.

Once I had this information which assured me I could do things by myself – It took less than 24 hours to jump into action. The pre-packed stuff had gone through one more final packing, and it was ‘Bye- Bye plastic time.‘

Bye Bye Plastic – Go get upcycled.

Well, this is the beginning of a very long journey. But the first time would always be special, so this blog celebrates the first of many.

reCharkha EcoSocial is an endeavor born out of an urge to change the face of our priceless natural surroundings, society, culture and heritage for the better.
reCharkha EcoSocial is a Social Enterprise, founded on the belief that, development can only be sustainable if it is bottom-up! This means, sustainable development is possible only when it begins at the grassroots and involves an empathetic understanding of the other biotic and abiotic communities.
Our three core areas of work are geared to achieve this very model!
These are:
1) Conserving our Environment and Heritage,
2) Enabling Rural Livelihoods and
3) Creating Conscious Consumers

Recharkha website

Annamayya – Rewatch

Classical Telugu movie – early age Biopic of Annamcharya

Instead of using the term re-watch, it could be said as a first proper watch. 

Wow! Just now, while writing this sentence, I realized that this movie ‘Annamayya’ was made in 1997, which is my birth year too.

In the process of sorting my life, I have recently deleted/signed out of my Netflix, Amazon, and Hotstar accounts. But on such long and lonely weekends, I had to rely on some source of entertainment, which made me choose Youtube. 

With the trend of premiering cult classics Telugu movies in theatres, I had this tremendous urge to watch the Jalsa movie yesterday. Today craziness went to another level, so I decided to watch Annamayya.

Annamayya: The movie

There was no intent to write any blog while that decision was made. But, when a few cords struck, the blogger in me awakened; as a result, you got to have a peek inside my brain and read my thoughts.

Is Monogamy (single partner only) a root cause of jealousy?

Premise: In the movie, Annamayya will be in a relationship with his uncle’s daughters (2). Some time into the film, all three are in a song – giggling, dancing, and romancing.

Man! That’s crazy. Watching them so happy as such, I just went beyond the movie and questioned- How that woman is delighted when her partner is getting romantic with the other woman right in front of her. Isn’t she jealous?

I read that in the olden days, we were polygamous (multiple partners), and to re-assure that we also have a few Indian Gods with two wives.

I would be jealous, hurt, and walk out of the relationship as my partner prioritizes someone else. He does not love me back the way I love him.

Wait a minute, is it called LOVE when I expect something in return? Maybe she is the one who knows what true love is, showering without conditions.
At this point, I realized how Monogamy is rooted in my nerve. and who taught me this – Society???! (I need to think on this)

SPB – One-man show

As this was a long movie, and I watched it earlier, the audio would be enough to give me an idea of what the screenplay is going on. So I took my speaker with me and did my chores listening to the movie. Man, SPB voice is the unmentioned lead character of the film.

In a runtime of two hours twenty-seven minutes (147 minutes), songs occupy 65 minutes (What the holy hell moment), sung mainly by one and only man, SPB. Whenever I think of SPB, I remember my mom saying about him. I quote ‘ Background songs ante SPB” – translation – He could be used as a synonym to the term background songs meaning no one can beat him in doing better with a background song.

As if the job was not done excelling in the song category, he impresses you with the dubbing of Lord Vishnu’s character, played by actor Suman.

A lot of new terms

Watching traditional old classic movies, you get to know a few new terms of your very own mother tongue. In a certain way, I liked the concept of movies, even more today, as they can document and present the way of life of an era.

Few terms: Agamyagocharam – Confused stage, Aalinganalu – Hug, Lulupu – slight anger (correct me if I am wrong)

Left with Aww

There is no marriage in two Telugu-speaking states where the bride enters the ceremony without this song “Pidikita talambrala pendlikoothuru”

Mark my words and also this is something my mom also says constantly

As soon as the song came up in the film, I was like Man! Annamacharya, you wrote this song. Four to five centuries passed, and it’s still around the corner. What a fantastic piece of work, right? (timeless).

Few other songs, ‘Brahman okate para brahman okkate’, ‘Jo achutananda jo jo Mukunda‘ (a sleep-time song must be sung by every mom to their babies), ‘Vinnapalu Vinna vela vintha vintha lu‘..and many more of just 32,000 songs he wrote.

Annamcharya: The great devotee

Here I am, who gets tired after working for a few hours straight. Well, that would be the story of some other blog.

My laugh moment

Premise: Annamayya is a regular boy next door who cares for his parents and loves his beautiful girlfriends. After a moment, when Lord Vishnu decides it’s time for him to start his spiritual journey, he takes him to the real, utmost beauty in the world, which is the idol of Lord Vishnu. With overwhelmed feelings, he just faints in the temple.

Suffering from fever for the next few days, he wakes up. The next minute, he starts singing songs about his dream about god and just gets detached from this world, which worries his parents.

I was like, man, they have every right to be worried. Imagine I wake up tomorrow and start singing songs like him, my mom would go crazy, and we would both be joined at the asylum.

Overall, it felt nice. Lately in my life, I have been listening to a few podcasts about history. They rigorously mention how documentation of activities started in the past 10,000 years, but the earth existed for a million years before it. We don’t know anything about the way of life before, and archeologists delve into this all their lives. This piece of work as a movie could stay and educate people like us about the remarkable life of Annamacharya for many more years coming.