Aswini Ashok

            Vankkam! Im a liberado.Well, a moderate one because we dont like extremism you known. 'Extremism' is always synonymous to 'Terrorism', So I refrain from being anything more than moderate. I live a simple liberal life but this fb is having a major play testing my liberalism. I will come to that later. I have other important things to tell. Meet our Liberado             The other day I was travelling in train on my way back to home. Everything went peacefully until there was an unusual noise in my adjoining compartment. Being a good person(?) I am, I do not intend to get into others trouble. So I decided to plug on my earphones and let the world be damned. But then everyone in my compartment were craning their necks to see what was the ruckus. Curiosity got the better of me and I too checked out. There was a young girl getting into a commotion with a middle aged person. Her bashings surely suggested that guy must have mis behaved with her. I w

            Back in my college days, we had a Professor who used to tell us that there is nothing wrong in copying. Ofcourse he was not insisting us to indulge in any malpractices or attempt plagiarism in our works. He was just helping us learn ourselves and be happy and proud about it. He also used to quote it with examples like, "Why do we follow Red, Orange and Green in Traffic Signals? Even if there are specific reasons behind it, most of the world follows it just because it is already there. Does it harm us in anyway?" Those times it dint have any impact on me. These words passed just like that. But as I grow up, I realise how significant his words are. I have always lived copying something or someone but always sugar coated it with words like 'inspired by', 'based on', etc., All these are only synonymous to 'copy'. I have decided to let go off that ego and decided to acknowledge it only with 'copy'. After all copying is not a crime, giv

          I stopped at a traffic signal while driving back home on a leisurely Sunday. There was this random stranger who caught my attention. He was a man in his mid 40s wearing a cap and backpack and a placard in the front carrying quotes on "Safe Driving". He volunteered to stop the vehicles before the stop line and made sure all the riders passing that junction are following the traffic rules. If someone disobeys, he simply gestures them to be prompt. If he finds people who have been responsible enough to have obeyed the rules, he gives them a 'Thumbs up'. I was glad that I received his appreciation gesture for having fastened my helmet unlike some of my fellow riders whom he gestured to fasten. It felt good to have a simple act of responsibility being acknowledged. Within that short span of time for the signal to change over, I could notice the mixed responses he received. Some people cursed him for having disturbed them(which was actually reminding them to b

            They say “When you travel alone you become a storyteller” If I may add, You become a self satisfied human being capable of exploring anything coming your way. Here is the story of my solo  trip for a day in a city completely new to me with an iota of knowledge of the local language. Of my 2 day trip to Mumbai, the Economic capital of the country, One day was to quench my thirst for a solo road trip. Dabbawala Statue in Mumbai Courtesy:Internet               My only companion was a Honda Activa rented from Wheelstreet. The Wheelstreet network works customer friendly right from sending the map link of the dealer to having dealers who could guide us in English without making us feel like being in a different city. My first place in the itinery of the day was “Nehru Science Centre” located 23kms away from my place of stay. The intial journey through the buzzzing roads of Mumbai was one heck of an experience to cherish forever. The roads were flooded with cars and the nu

     There is so much of victim blaming we do. One of the fancy example of it is blaming the victim that it is inappropriate of him to think himself as a victim in first place and crying foul with the victim card. Say for example when a girl claims that there is not enough equality, it is often mistaken that she is playing victim card just because she thinks of herself very low. The same happens when a person points out his caste or community as a reason for his no-so-fair treatment in the society.      Though it sounds cool to be always positive all the time and never think pessimistic, especially when there is social progress, It is equally important to remember the place we are in now to keep marching towards the place we strive to achieve.      I remember an incident from Nelson mandela's biography. Once Mandela was flying from one country to another on his mission to acquire enough support for South Africa's freedom. Mandela, the man who we know as the one who eradic

               We live in a country where every day is a day of celebration in some way; where there are innumerable tribes; thousands of people who have set high standards for living;monuments that represent our cultural heritage; achievements that speak volumes of our growth and various organisations that need to be felicitated for their contribution towards making this nation a better place.                   Hence it becomes mandatory that all the details are carried to every nook and corner of the country for enlightening the people and to incite the sense of pride and privilege of being an Indian and the responsibilities we carry on our shoulders towards empowering our country.Stamps are one such way of proclaiming a country's role and development in various aspects not only India but for any country.  KING OF HOBBIES                      The stamps of Independent India are interesting. Once the British rule was eradicated, Independent India stamps are