Love, Romance, and Pursuit of Self

Let’s discuss about, ‘The Idea of Love and Romance’. We must have come across this quote, ‘Romantic comedies are to women what porn is to men’. No matter how amusing it may sound, there is an element of truth in it; just that generalization should not be made. The love and romance in reel life is, the result of someone’s imagination and it goes through a rigorous process of editing whether in books or in movies to fit the likeness of the readers and audience. Love and romance in real life is much more than that, planning a romantic get together can be inspired by books and movies but one’s love is more organic and has higher personal feelings attached to it. Likewise, romance, a feeling of emotional attraction expressed through courtship/dating behaviours like thoughtful actions, gestures of affection, and through words or actions, often evolves through experiences or inspirations. But, maintaining the some level of love and keeping the same spark for years need effort, dedication, loyalty and time. In books and in movies, an issue is resolved by the end of the movie or book and it heads to happily forever but in real, the picture is different and sometimes, it never gets resolved leading to a fresh new chapter or scene in one’s life. 

The journey is filled with ups and downs made harder by choices, and in worst case, better options. Being practical is one thing and knowing the real meaning of sacrifice is another but in all these, knowing one’s self-worth and finding one’s happiness is supreme. How far can you go to keep your love and romance alive? We need not go too far, staying in one place and making wise decisions can save us from becoming the slaves of our disillusion. At the end of the day, we may not end up with the love of our life, and that’s okay but we should never fail to discover our own personal passion…because that’s the thing that keeps us alive. 

For A Bitter Reunion

Do you still talk about your poverty and daddy issues? 

I hope it gains sympathy and get love where ever you go,

Play all the cards, that's how you get invited,

The intro. 

I've heard, you've found someone new, 

And they say, the one who loved the least move on fast,

I never made any promises, you did, 

The main text. 

I don't count the penny or the time spent on you, 

I was always the generous one, that's the truth, 

You should have told me when you were leaving, 

The sub-text. 

Someday, when you will have mental issues, 

Think of me, but I promise, I won't haunt you, 

May your new love stay true and forever, 

The conclusion. 

Passive Aggressive: The Way We Are

 Many of us are not even aware that we practice passive aggression in our daily lives. We don’t want to be aggressive but we embrace aggression in a passive way. Maybe, we are too timid to offend or confront or we are conditioned in such a way.

In simple words, passive aggression is being unwilling to be friendly or helpful, without expressing annoyance or disapproval openly or loudly. While aggressive behaviour can be direct and forceful, passive-aggressive behaviour is indirect and less obvious. Passive aggression can happen at home, at office, with friends, with strangers or online. Aggression uses physical, verbal, confrontational and relational ways. On the other hand, passive aggressive uses indirect ways like non-verbal in approach, giving backhanded compliments, cynical, sarcastic remarks etc. Someone who is passive aggressive takes control over the situations in a less direct or observable ways. One might use this behaviour because one might feel angry, frustrated and indignant, but might act all neutral, pleasant and even cheerful, followed by indirect ways to show how one really feels. 

One can argue that passive aggressive is better than being aggressive but both are capable of damaging relationships. Passive aggressive people express negative feelings indirectly, create confusion and manipulation, wherein passive aggressive people can use ways to control or punish someone without taking direct responsibility. 

To overcome passive aggressive, we should learn to express our thoughts and feelings, we should be assertive like standing up for our interests, be firm and direct, and be able to communicate clearly, be honest yet respect other’s opinions and talk about our frustrations and anger, and adopt an open minded approach and set boundaries. At the same time, we can try to be understanding and empathetic. 

 

The Splendor and the Struggle: Nagaland's Hornbill Festival

Hornbill festival is one of the largest cultural festivals in the world. This year marks the 25th year anniversary. Our state, Nagaland, is already faced with a budget deficit of some thousand crores, but to keep the tag of 'Festival of Festivals' intact, money has been pumped in for the success of this event. After all, bill is a crucial word to complete Hornbill. 

For the time being, the amusement brought about by the Hornbill festival might help us to divert ourselves from the pertaining questions like unemployment, poor infrastructural facilities, corruption etc. On social media, some of users have ranted about it. 

True, tourism is also a way to generate state revenue, and Hornbill festival provides the best opportunity for promoting tourism by attracting domestic and international tourists, no doubt about it. However, when a state aims to be a tourist destination, it has to be backed by a strong Destination Development Plan or else investment will turn into expenditure, the loss of which cannot be recovered even in the coming years. 

Right from its inception, Hornbill festival has received its fair share of criticism, mainly from two groups: one that questions about its economic feasibility and the other, who are more concerned about its impact on our spirituality. However, both the groups might agree on keeping our rich Naga culture alive. History has it, one of the ways by which culture is kept alive is through commercialisation of it. Wine is an integral part of French culture and this culture of theirs has been kept intact through its sheer accessibility and promotion. Hence, it's wise not to push our culture to a frozen peak just because a middle ground cannot be achieved due to overlapping of opinions and ideologies. 

Lastly, in my opinion, the venues where major events are supposed to held should be strictly supervised. Till now, no catastrophe has happened, thankfully never a stampede. However, what if a short circuit ignites a fire and engulfs the arena, but yes, to its credit the festival is celebrated in open air, I am just getting paranoid. 

A Mispronounced Melody: A Tale of Human Nature

A band consisting of six members was practicing for their upcoming gospel concert. One of the mates sang, 

"I will workshop the Lord in Spring. I will workshop the Lord in Summer. I will workshop the Lord in Fall. I will workshop the Lord in Winter. "

The singer pronounced the word 'worship' as 'workshop'. 

Being ignorant of the error, Singer B repeated the same. 

Amused by it, Singer C laughed so hard. 

Singer D whispered to Singer A, "It's pronounced as vuh-shuhp. " But quickly texted to her gossip gang, "My team mates are giving me a tough time. Singer A's pronunciation sucks, she can't even get the pronunciation of worship right and Singer B is worse. "

Singer E didn't even notice the error. 

Singer F just kept to herself as it was of no good to her. 

In life, we meet people who are ignorant, who are emotional, who are narcissist, who are indifferent, who value only their self-interest. Hence, it's okay to make mistakes, we can't control others' expressions and reactions, they are who they are.