Aswini Ashok

           Boarding the Bangalore mail a year back this day left me with a mix of incomprehensible feelings of hope, determination, anxiety, fear, and despair. However, this year kept me juggling between "No dreams are ever lost" and "Dreams never fit into our reality". Yet, there is, of course, an overwhelming feeling looking back at the year with sheer admiration for things I have attempted and can’t help but wonder how brave I have been to venture into new things.             26 years is, of course, a bigtime to start that phase. However, the biological clock for everyone is different and the things everyone goes through are different from one another’s. Of chasing dreams and figuring out new interests:                It is a year of surprises that rewarded me with things I have made up my mind that I don’t stand a chance anymore. Joining PG diploma in Human rights law...

          Travelling is one highly recommendable activity to unfuck our lives. That too when you are backpacking solo, the liberation that comes with it is unparalleled. One such awesome recent trip is to the heritage sites at the north of Karnataka, Badami and Pattadakallu. They are a testament to the architectural marvels of the Chalukyas in the 7th & 8th-century C.E.           My journey started with Golgumbaz express from Bangalore that was excruciatingly delayed by 3 hours, from there it was a nearly 12-hour long journey to Badami, a very remote village. Fortunately, there is a railway station and the train halts exactly 1 minute at the station. Every trip, I venture to try something new. This trip, I decided to not book any hotels prior to my arrival and see how well I am able to manage. Once the train arrived at Badami, the first thing I had to sort out was to manage a place to refresh. The station had a very spacious...

           I was waiting for the bus when a policeman came and started inspecting the platform 5 feet away from me. Only then I realized there was a man lying there motionless. I am not sure whether he spotted him on his usual rounds or someone called for the police. Initially I thought it was yet another drunkard scenario, which we are quite used to in Chennai, but, in Bangalore, I have never seen such scenes mostly. Thanks to their more liberal and streamlined ways of selling liquor. It turned out that the man could not waken up even after sprinkling water on his face. The police used the local boys and seized a small packet of something (possibly condom) from his pockets. The boys giggled and threw it. Meanwhile, he called someone and a police van reached there within minutes. All the people passing by stopped their vehicles and observed the scene, jamming the traffic in their own ways. I enquired a lady next to me and she said that the man was declar...

                Lately, there is a surge in the movies centered on women. Don’t ask why there is no such thing as men-centric anything. Men are by default everything. However, the more relevant phrase to describe the so-called women-centric has to be “women-body-centric politics”. The politics around women’s body have been done to death by men (in real and reel), yet, there seems to be no end to their impositions. Women across the world are still fighting for political control over their own bodies. From anti-abortion laws to marital rapes the politics around women’s body has always been at the receiving end of the arrogance of predominantly men lawmakers than the plight of fighting women. Cinema in the form of pop culture has always been adamant in infusing regressive (mostly about women) thoughts so much so that it has become a norm. Three movies I watched this week brought into picture 3 different aspects ...

People usually, ask why some like to travel alone, but, I would ask why most people don’t. There are few things in life that can be enjoyed only in absolute solitude. Solo trips are one of such kind. While traveling in a group has its own charm, solo travels fill the inner souls. As an active doer of both, I can easily say, one cannot be looked over the other. All of us deal with our crisis mostly by ourselves all the time, but we never acknowledge how brave we are for waging our own battles, but, in solo trips, one could instantly acknowledge their courage and presence of mind for dealing crisis in a minute-to-minute basis and nevertheless making the best out of it. From finding places to visit, stay, eat and having proper time management or addressing the lack of it, solo trips teach us life skills in the most intriguing way. There is a power in extending our boundaries by ourselves. So, if you haven’t been to one, get started already. You may not even need to have an elaborate i...

Prequel:  Touring Hampi: Day 1 at the temple side "To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasant sensations in the world" -Anonymous Day 2: I woke up by 7 A.M and after a hot shower, packed my bags and checked out since I did not want to waste money on the hotel room unnecessarily as I was leaving the same night anyway. Again walked to the KSRTC Station. I have started knowing the routes like the back of my hand. Luckily found a cloakroom in the bus stand where I deposited my bag and carried only the essential things in a small bag. This time I was cautious to enquire H-A-M-P-I to get the correct bus, unlike the previous day fiasco. The city bus dropped me at Hampi near Virupaksha Temple. I switched on the maps and walked to the ferry point. Plus the tuk-tuk driver had already assured me the ferry point was at the backside of the temple only. The backside of the temple opened into a view of a beautiful river which I never thought was there initially. It ...

Travel clears the clutter in our minds. We always look up at people having something up their sleeves. The world may not be the same for everyone but everyone has their own ways approaching it, making it more beautiful and meaningful. At the end of every trip, there are some experiences that cease to escape us. Sometimes it looks so juvenile but that keeps pushing us, snowballing into more awesome experiences in the future. When I had my first solo trip to Mumbai, I was so proud that I could actually survive on my own anywhere. My recent solo trip for 2 days to Hampi gives me a sense of pride and satisfaction to love myself more which I will keep doing for the rest of my life. It all started out of nowhere, if I had thought too much, I would not have done so many things in my life. This is one such thing. I wanted to GO, I just booked the tickets for the next weekend, not even caring to check the CNF probability. My to and fro tickets were on the Waitlist until the chart prepa...