Ishani's Pen

It has been a long time.... Six months to be precise Cannot be reversed by a dime Said somebody very wise "Time and tide waits for none What isn't yours is forever gone". Yet, hope and belief lingers Like the sand between fingers When someone wants to leave Dont clutch and let him go If he comes back, he's yours If he doesn't, he never was! Once I tried too much To keep you in my clutch But you didn't utter a thing, kept mum Shaking my very core, making me numb I left things behind and looked for change Let my thoughts wander beyond range When... You suddenly returned That wasnt expected... You say significant nothing The year ends without any pact Is it a simple matter of fact? That... Despite everything We aren't able to part. We cannot see but bother An invisible thread continues To binds us together!!

  At the very beginning, I want to state that this piece is not directed to any particular community or group, nor it is meant to offend anyone. It is just an amalgamation of different experiences and observations that I had made over the years. The legal age of marriage in India was 18 years, which has been recently raised to 21 years. But in India, we had a heinous practice of “Child Marriage” in the past – something which is still practiced in many remote areas of the country. If we ask our grandmothers to recount their tales of marriage, a lot of them would say that they had got married at the age of 6 or 7 years – even before attaining puberty! And after that, they had raised 8-10 children while living in giant families. But has it ever crossed our minds why were girls married so early to men thrice their age? The answer is simple – girls are always considered a “burden” or if put in hindi, they are considered “ bhojh ”. It is not the concept of raising girls which was diffi...

  There was once a lad With a mouth little twisted Remained his family with him, sad A search spree they had started That even two years hence didn’t finish!   Many maidens he met, not one chosen His desire probably himself he forgotten His predecessor unwell, his mother rushing to see him wed. The next they approached in the same city grand… Their enthusiasm saw no bound Finally, the perfect maiden for their lad They had found.   Initially unwilling the virgin lass Agreed to give this proposal a chance Mature she was, two meetings hence Told her mother – this man wasn’t for nuptial dance With the rules of patriarchy in mind Her mother said “You may be wrong; he is one of a kind….”   Highly educated  though  she was, never kept a tinge of pride Gave this relationship a fair chance to ride Her emotions her love were always extreme Wholeheartedly made the lad feel special Accepted him as the “man of her drea...

“Wanted a fair, WELL-EDUCATED, good-looking girl for a so and so boy….” – This is one of the most common sentences that we come across in the matrimony advertisements under the heading “Bride Wanted”. Every potential groom and their family express their want/desire for a bride who is educated/qualified. But the definition of education or qualification in the case of brides are highly customizable –there is no clear-cut definition of what or how much educated should a bride be in order to be termed as a “suitable” bride. A Ph.D./researcher/psychiatrist/ENT surgeon and many other qualified women who have huge respect in their respective workplaces as well as the society are somehow considered in the lower strata when it comes to choosing brides or in other words daughters-in-law. Recently, there was a comment on a researcher bride by a family for a prospect alliance for their son, which goes as, “She will be always busy with her work and studies – will she even give us a cup of tea if we...

 There was a time When you stole a glance Only to look at me There was a time When rain reminded me of you There was a time When you laughed at my words And amazed at my skills There was a time When we planned a future together Of the addresses to each other Now there is a time When those moments are mere memories The exchanges..... stories There is a time When I became 'someone' to 'no one' The contact name gone There is a time When I scroll up To your first ever 'hi' The date and time asking "Why?" Still I continue to hope In my foolish mind Will there be a time Somewhere soon? When you return and mop That you're my right kind!! Will there be a time Somewhere soon....

                                                                                                                          She leaned on his shoulder And gazed out towards the vast horizon Both dressed in the color of the night sky The one she had saved for this occasion.   Fingers wrapped against each other Their hands symbolizing unison…. “U are the ONE created to complete me” – she thought Gently kissing her forehead, he brushed his lips against her “Thank you Creator” in her mind she uttered ‘Coz for long she awaited - this union!   Somebody shook her, calling out her name This horizon now didn’t seem the same No longer was she dressed in his same...

  “My mom is having NAAC visit in college, so she was not able to make me do my homework,” replied Babu, a 5-year old boy innocently to his angry tution teacher. His teacher first stared at him angrily and then burst out laughing. This incident that happened with Babu is probably the plight of many kids with working mothers today. With the fall in corona curve, many work places and educational institutions are resuming to the offline mode of functioning; many places have observed a surge in the workload of the employers thereafter. Now this is the plight of all employers irrespective of gender, but the burden of it is mostly borne by the working women, especially the “working mothers.” Together with working full time in the office (even overtime, if necessary), she has to balance multiple other things in a calculated fashion – online classes of kids and their exams, the night’s dinner with breakfast and lunch of next day, aging parents and in-laws, grocery, cleaning the house….the ...

  Women’s fashion is a matter of huge variety – ranging from dresses, to tunics, to gowns and pants. They come with huge variety of styles, colors, textures. With women taking up increasing space on the work front, comfort and ease has also become an important aspect of women’s clothing. Gone are the times of suffocating a woman in a corset – now women dress in fabrics that are sufficiently breathable and stylish. Yet, there is no denying of the fact that there has been no change in women’s fashion when it comes to utility; they tend to be highly dysfunctional and impractical in some ways. What purpose does in serve in wearing a pant with literally non-existent pockets or so-called ‘faux’ pockets? Doesn’t it take you back to a scene of the 4 th episode of the web series “ Adulting (Season 1)”, and a conversation between Ray and Nikhat on where to fit the purse while going to the loo? It is obvious that women’s clothing have always been more about beauty and less about utility. Th...

  The year was 1954 – on a windy, wet evening of February, a male child was born – the youngest sword bearer of the Brahmin clan residing in Bamunpara , Bilasipara (Dhubri district). He is the 8 th child of his parents – the youngest maternal uncle or “ mama ” of the 3 kids born to his eldest ‘ didi ’. The entire Bamunpara rejoiced for Kundalata was too frail for childbirth as she was stricken with leukoderma, despite which her older husband, Rudranath (6 th male child himself of 13 kids of his parents) had refused to give her up. This is not a work of fiction – Bamunpara is the witness of many such joyous births as well as still births, pertaining to only one clan! Why only Bamunpara – many well-educated families (irrespective of religion, caste, creed, color), residing in different corners of Assam had numerous offspring at that time – a fact they rejoiced at that time, without being conscious of the upcoming consequences in the future. This one example is enough to highlig...

Kuch Pathro Me Phul Khil Jate Hai Kuch Anjane Bhi Apne Ban Jate Hai Kuch Lasho Ko Kafan Nasib Nahi Hota To Kuch Lasho Par Tajmahal Ban Jate Hain. -Bindu Mahajan The holy month of Ramadan is nearing its end, marking the onset of the festivities for Eid-ul-Fitr. This auspicious occasion is said to begin with the sighting of the new moon, marking the end of Ramadan and beginning of the Shawal month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims all around the world are known to fast from dawn to dusk during the entire month of Ramadan. Muslims believe that exempting from permissible food and drink for an entire month helps or rather trains them to stay away from all that is prohibited in the boundaries of Islam. As such, Eid-ul-fitr is a big and joyous celebration for Muslims – festivities include prayers in congregation, hearty feasts, exchanging of gifts and goodwill. Markets become crowded with people buying new clothes and gifts for family and friends; new varieties food items especially ...

  When do we feel like we have “aged”? Is it when we see a strand of grey hair on our scalp or is it when we start paying taxes? Or is it when we start experiencing back pain? Well, to be honest, in the present era of stress and improper diet, graying of hair, and body pain are not at all considered symptoms of ageing – even 3-4 year old kids are sometimes found to have grey hair and wearing spectacles! But ladies, irrespective our heartfelt desire to stay young, ageing is a natural phenomenon and is a sign of maturity. Unlike our grandmothers or even mothers, who had experienced abundant physical labor and good nutrition, we are not undergoing sufficient physical activity – our hectic and busy schedule being a primary reason for this; they may not be experiencing any tiredness after a whole day work, even at the age of 60, while we feel completely exhausted after a 9-5 job at 30. Though there is no way of reversing the clock, there are drills which can be followed to enjoy the jou...

  The title of this piece might seem to refer to the changes/precautions/measures that we have all taken up as a daily regime, owing to the pandemic COVID 19 – wearing masks, social distancing, frequent washing of hands etc. But there is another thing which has become very normal in our lives and it is not at all related to the pandemic – maybe it has become so ‘in vogue’ that it has escaped the notice of everyone. Back in the early 2000s, we hardly came across people using terms like ‘Fuck’, ‘Bitch’, ‘Whore’ etc. as a means of address or even in any kind of communication. Though the assamese or vernacular slangs like ‘ Baal and Kela ’ had some prominence even during that time, its use was restricted – it was not heard or used as a ‘commonplace’ term. Telephonic conversations, if overheard very minutely, particularly in public transports, have totally lost the sense of ‘etiquette’ – the tone of the conversations don’t seem to be frustrating or an angry one at any point (in fact, t...