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The Nation Needs to Know How To Hold the Government Accountable

Imagine you are visiting a cafe. You sit down at a table. A waiter offers you a menu card. You order an orange juice without sugar. Ten minutes later, the waiter returns and serves you a glass of orange juice. You take a sip. You realize that the juice has sugar. The waiter has either forgotten or ignored your request. Now, if you are someone who is uncomfortable with confrontations, you would probably curse your luck and have the juice with the added sugar. But most people would choose to raise the issue with the waiter. They asked for a product and are paying for it, and they are within every right to question if the establishment fails to provide what was promised. Forget raising the issue amicably, we have seen people taking to social media, ranting about how they have been deceived by some restaurants, who gave them chicken when they had asked for vegetarian food. Again, the customer has the right to demand what they want and hold the provider accountable if they fail to do so. Th...
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Roasted

  At Chico’s home ‘Mama, you promised to take me out for lunch on Sunday if I got good grades in the exams…’ seven-year-old Chico complained to his mother, Laila, as she lay confined to the comforts of her couch on a lazy Sunday morning. ‘Ugh…’ Laila groaned as she continued to scroll through reels. 'And we will go on a Sunday!’ ‘Today is Sunday, Mama!’ Chico started pulling at his mama bear’s arms. ‘Well, another one is due in seven days…’ Laila muttered, unwilling to move, but the thought of not having to cook lunch did tempt her. ‘Okay, if I promised you, you shall have it. Tell me what you want. I'll order…’ ‘No, Mama, I want to go out and dine, and I want you to take a selfie at the restaurant and post it, and I want my friends to ask me about it in class.’ Laila pulled her eyes from the screen and looked at her son. He was growing smart indeed. ‘Okay, fine, you got it. What do you want to have, though?’ ‘Roasted Chicken!’ At Durien’s Chicken Farm ‘But why can’t we go ou...
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Cow Swamy

  Since the ancient days of Stone Age Beside the river, flourished a village. Many lived and died within that sphere, Several forgotten, while some were held dear In this village, with its days long and balmy Lived a man who went by the name Swamy Devoid of duties, he wandered without a thought “Spare me your time”, to the villagers he besought Those who saw through, avoided him like a plague The gullible obliged, though his intentions were vague Perched on a rock, to those who listened he told his tales Two truths and a lie, blended well like fine cocktail Drunk on his tales, the crowd pondered to reward him how It was then decided, to gift him a healthy cow Swamy was pleased, the cow gave him plentiful milk He served hot tea, to the listeners and for all of that ilk His tales now turned fiery, and his crowd began to grow He shouted and screamed - "the village needed to know" The tales hit them hard, and the people did shudder Hot tea kept brewing, milk flowing from tired ud...
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Rajasthan: Part 1 (Center-left)

Why do we travel? I can think of a few reasons: to catch a glimpse of life beyond the familiarity of our homes, to taste new flavors, to experience landscapes and weather patterns different from our own, to witness natural wonders and man-made marvels, to meet interesting people, and to hear new words. Khamma Ghani is the phrase we decided to hear this time around. The first step in making a travel plan is, of course, choosing the destination. Everything else - the timing, the things to pack, the number of leave days needed, and any legal processes - depends on where we intend to go. Thanks to the constant exposure to travel vloggers, we have a bucket list of destinations we hope to explore someday. The list gets updated every now and then, with current entries ranging from international destinations like Vietnam, Japan, and Italy to domestic ones like Meghalaya and Ladakh. Rajasthan was never at the top of our list. True, it is one of the most heavily promoted destinations on India...
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First Rejection

About four years ago, I self-published my first novel, I Want Your Life . Self-publishing was not my initial plan. Like most aspiring writers, I envisioned my book being published under the label of one of the prominent publishing houses in the country, such as Penguin or HarperCollins. However, my editor gave me a reality check and explained that large publishing houses receive several submissions daily, making it highly unlikely for a first-time writer to get noticed. More than the prestige of being published under an established banner, my excitement lay in seeing my story in the form of a book. So, I chose the self-publishing route. After months of back-and-forth with my publishing team - proofreading, editing, revisions, illustrations, book registration, and printing - my book was finally out. It was truly a dream come true. The upside of self-publishing is the sweet certainty of getting published. The downside, however, is that you are responsible for everything, including promot...
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Conditional Concern

But your concerns come loaded with all sorts of conditions You first check who was wronged - their background and traditions Your heads bow in sorrow, for the kids buried in Gaza Yet your prayers miss the women, who’re stripped of rights in Khorasan You get enraged over cow meat, beating up people in dozens Couldn’t care less for your folks, whose homes went down by bulldozers You raise slogans for banning art, as your God was slightly ridiculed Yet your throats dry like a miracle, when your priests got those kids abused  Its a war or an invasion - if it’s “your people” who’re gettin bombed Just a rightful dispute - if the tables were indeed turned Why these conditions in your concerns, why be selective in your grievances? Would it cost to stand with the wronged lot - no matter the differences?  
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IFF(FPC)K

 If you know me personally, you might also know that I am a regular at the International Film Festval of Kerala, held annually in December at Thiruvananthapuram (and if you don’t know me personally, just read the first sentence). A habit that started during my Thiruvananthapuram days in 2016, I look forward and try to attend the week long celebration of cinema - unless life or a killer virus gets in the way. Prologue Since the dates for the next fest are officially announced during the conclusion of the current fest, what follows is an year long wait. Nothing significant happens for the most part of the year, so let us skip ahead to November - when the registration opens for delegates. Yes, we know that there are over ten thousand delegate passes and registration window usually lasts days - still most of my friends (and I) hit the servers with a passion  until our registrations go through. Once that is done, the wait begins for the schedule to be released - where we would come...
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