One scorching afternoon on a dusty street.
The bus halted lazily.
I jumped in and found a window seat.
the breeze was warm but still pleasing.
the soft music in the driver’s cabin soothing.
Then those eyes entered; hungry eyes; hunting for its prey.
With a wicked smile on the face.
I avoided looking in his direction.
But his eyes kept gazing at me.
And he rested rudely in the seat near me.
I could feel his heavy breath,
Suddenly I froze; his arm pressing against my body.
I could not scream nor shout. I could not take help.
I tried to push away his bloody arm, but I was frail and ashamed
What will people say? I was barely in my early teens.
Thankfully, my destination arrived.
And I left the bus angry, very angry.
A few years later…
I boarded a bus again.
A man from one corner squeezed through the crowd to reach me.
Maybe he guessed I was helpless, powerless
He stood close invading my space, making me uncomfortable.
Refusing to submit, I looked straight in his eyes
And fiercely said, “Can’t you stand properly”
He was embarrassed
He pushed himself through the crowd again to stay back in the same place where he stood before.
But I could not stop staring at him in anger.
And he was bitterly ashamed to look at me.
This time, I left the bus again with anger, as things had not changed.
But content that I could fight back and was no longer frail.
image: Manki Kim, unsplash
Related Q&A
I am assuming this is for competitive exams. If that is so, it largely depends on the exam you are preparing for.
However some common sources are
1. Affairs Cloud - Most comprehensive source for daily current affairs.
Daily CA is free
Weekly, Monthly, Yearly are paid
2. Other free sources are - Adda247, GradeUp, TestBook
(Apart from AffairsCloud daily CA, Free sources are not totally dependable as they discontinue their weekly /monthly magazines anytime) You can also find their apps on play store.
3. IndiaBix - Important source of daily CA quiz. (I've heard that other apps copy paste CA Quiz from this website)
4. YouTube channels for UPSC - Khan GS Research Centre, StudyIQ, Study Glows, World Affairs
(even if one is not preparing for UPSC, above mentioned channels are great sources for non-biased news.)
5. Tip - Focus more on Reading and Revising as its easy to forget CA. Try not to depend on YouTube channels for daily news. Instead focus on Retaining the news. Remember the exam will be in read and answer/ mark option format and not in spoken question - answer form. So it is better that aspirants read their daily news content.
6. Revise Daily, Weekly, Monthly
7. All the best 🙂
As expected, after watching Swami's YouTube video from this morning, I'm looking for some genius ideas about how to avoid checking anything on my phone when I wake up.
Did you build the discipline and managed to grow out of this habit?
I use my phone to set an alarm, so it's a dilemma.
Any tips or advice?:)
1. Turn off the phone before sleeping, and start using a different alarm
-> Gift yourself a nice digital alarm clock, with custom music, and see if you can put Swami ji's voice to wake yourself up 😀
2. Don't turn on the mobile phone some x hours after waking up.
Not that I do the above, but this is the plan I made for myself (sans the alarm, I can get up without one).
Happy New Year os.me fam! I wish that this year we all inch towards divinity a bit more and spread love to each other with warmest smiles on the planet! Now say- Cheeeeeeeeeeese😁🙏
I would like to know what is the most beautiful or the most daring thing you did the last year that makes you proud today!
For me, it was eliminating some unwanted people out of my life (unfortunately, I was stuck in such loop for years, and I take full responsibility of that) and I feel so independent and strong now! All Swamiji's grace 🌺🌺. It took me a lot of courage and a stern mind to do that. Surely, once you take a step towards the right direction, things just begin to fall into place and you learn a whole new meaning of happiness altogether which nurtures you like life. Now, tell me yours!
Jai Shri Hari!
I am sorry, but I am not known for modesty. So here is my 2021 summary:
- Against All Odds - Became a published author with my first book
- Back To School - Started my PhD Journey at Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode- resumed studies after 22 years. Its never too late to learn.
- Read 131 books - It was a blockbuster year in reading. Mostly thanks to audiobooks.
- Clocked 2200 kms of running/walking cycling on Strava.
- Mindfulness Meditation using the App from Black Lotus Technologies - 20-30 mins daily
- Mentoring - Got recognised as a Gem of a Mentor by Niti Ayog and was honoured to be the Regional Mentor of Change for Atal Innovation Mission program.
- Started learning Indian classical singing online from Shri Umesh Tarkaswar ji. It's been quite a learning to embrace such an important skill.
Looking forward to 2022 with lot more positivity!
I heard this question many years ago and suddenly remembered it. This is gonna be fun, and maybe a little sad, so:
If you could sit with anyone for 1 hour and that person can be anyone from the past, present or future, who would you choose?
Could be a parent, grandparent, an idol, God, a guru, a future person, someone who is no longer here, like Einstein or Mahatma Gandhi - Just about anyone!
Let's hear it😀
P.S: I feel that the answers won't vary much, as a lot of us would choose our Om Swami, so please feel free to answer as option 1 and option 2. I personally don't have an option 2, so feel free to pass too!
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