Deepshikha Katuri

When the lockdown began I used to come to my terrace every single day to enjoy the peaceful sounds, to see parrots flying around, to enjoy the sunsets and no sight of traffic on the Begumpet flyover made me weird but also felt extremely good to see no traffic and the empty metro station and no sound of passenger trains and obviously the local trains weren’t working. Now that unlock has begun, people started going back to work and do things outside all these things have changed. So, yesterday, I was sitting on my terrace for quite a long time and saw things slowy getting back to normal, the slight traffic, people cleaning the metro station with PPE kits on as the metro will be starting soon, the sounds of trains and people slowly going back to the gardens to take a stroll. All these things seem weird and overwhelming cause I was thoroughly enjoying these things during the lockdown and I can feel the pollution slowly kicking back in. I can see people changing the advertisements on the boardings. The terrible traffic sound, people walking their dogs on the roads instead of their terrace, as much as I’d want these things to remain the same, I know that they won’t the world has to move on but let’s not forget that we’re still in a Pandemic.

Nature. It is the most beautiful gift to a mankind. Nature is an art in it’s truest and purest form. We need no wires to build it. It is wild. Each seed we plant develops it’s own roots and its own branch, leaves, flowers and fruits. They don’t need any help. They grow mesmerisingly beautiful in their own way. I don’t understand why are we so inhumane towards the nature? It breaks my heart to see beautiful plants and trees turning into dwarfs tied with wires to grow them. I don’t understand such humans. I cannot relate with them stunting the nature for the beautification and development of the places. For me nature is a way of therapy, green is a state of mind.

I remember this day very well, back in 2018 when me and my family went on trip to Kerala. Fort Kochi was the first place that we visited after reaching Kerala and the drive from our hotel to the fort was so amazing and I’ve never been to a place like this ever before, I could see the roads’ either sides were filled with trees even on the main busiest roads. It is one of the most beautiful and calm places I’ve ever been to. The state has beautiful nature and it feels like you’re in a complete different world.

My mom has been watching some Malayalam series and won’t stop dreaming about the places that we’ve been to and told me that one day she’ll move to this place just so that she can be around some greenery and could then have some cats around. All I can understand is that, she is tired of living in our house which is surrounded by buildings and there’s no direct sunlight or any kind of engagement with the nature and having these talks with her makes me wanna move somehwere very close to some nature. Because of course, Green is a state of mind!

My mom just can’t let me have a pet cause she has her valid reasons but I really just want a pet. ANY PET. Life is really boring without a pet and I’m tired of getting jealous of other people’s dogs and cats around me cause they shower them with so much pure love and it only makes me sad cause I don’t have a pet of my own. So here’s a picture of my friend’s doggo, he’s quite lazy and doesn’t like Taylor swift songs, eats flies and once peed on the tennis kit. 🙂

I’ve been a fangirl since I was 12 or 13 and have been supporting my favourite artists ever since and I was completely obsessed with them and I still am at some point. So, last night Liam Payne arranged a live concert, LP2 for his birthday and it was on veeps, the money got through the show would be donated to a charity and this was the second online concert that he organised, the first one (LP act 1) was a month ago and I couldn’t attend that show because I wasn’t able to pay in rupees and some currency shit happened and I was heart broken over it but that’s another story to tell.

So, I somehow managed to be a part of LP2 (thanks to my wonderful friend who was ready to give up her ticket for me cause she said I deserved it since I’ve never been to an actual concert) and then enjoyed the concert so damn much and I was screaming and singing on top of my lungs from 1AM to almost 3:30 AM and my brother asked me to shut up but I didn’t care at all and after some time my dad walked into my room when I screamed too much cause I saw one of my other favourites on the screen wishing Liam a happy birthday and my dad looked at me and saw that I was having my moment and got me a bottle of water and asked me if it’s something live and left without saying a word. My dad understands me being a fangirl better than anyone else and everytime he understands, I get more happy. I mean what else would I want in that moment?

The Pandemic has brought back that 13 year old me again and I enjoy these things with the same intensity and excitment that I used to have back then. I feel like I’ve lost that part of me somewhere while adulting. I’m glad I got it back now though! I wouldn’t want something back so bad as much as my fangirl phase. I read fanfics, stay up for live shows, wake up cause I don’t wanna miss a live radio interview. It’s good to have something that we all love and enjoy and are ready to spend time on it cause we purely support and love it with our whole heart. ❤️

I was having a deep conversation with one of my friends in my lane today and he was devastated about something that’s been bothering him for quite some time now. He told me about how things haven’t changed but yet felt like they’ve completely changed and how much having good friends circle is a very important thing in his life. After that conversation, I’ve realised that just being a good listener isn’t enough and we should also be good at communicating while we’re also listening cause that might help the opposite person and won’t make them feel like they’re just being a pain in the ass. While there will be some times when we cannot respond to a situation but just listen. There will also be some times when we have to communicate and not just listen in order to understand the person’s mind more so that we know how to respond accordingly. This feels like a huge realisation to me and made me wonder why can’t people just have some patience to communicate which would solve a lot of problems. We all should learn to respond well while we listen. Be good at listening and responding. 😀

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows about the Germany occupation on the island of Guernsey in the British Channel.  The book consists of letters which are written by the characters to one another, and that’s how they share the story. A free spirited London writer forms an unexpected bond with the eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book club that was formed during the WWII Guernsey occupation.

Set in 1946, the main focus of the book is on Juliet Ashton, a journalist who came to fame through her ‘Izzy Bickerstaff’ articles published during WWII. She’s eager to find a new subject and coincidentally receives a letter from Adam Dawsey who lives in Guernsey. They bond over their love for Charles Lamb, an author. Dawsey tells her about the society that is formed in Guernsey and asks his friends to write letters to Juliet and Juliet later arranges a visit to Dawsey and his friends, to meet those who formed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society in the Channel Islands after an exchange of letters with some other people from the Island, which got her curious about the literary society. The later part of the book is about Juliet and how she adapts to the Island life and how she is trying to bring out different stories about the Island by spending time there.

I really enjoyed the story and there was a romantic old fashioned aspect of writing letters to one another. Although, the ending of this story disappointed me somehwere, but apart from that, It took me into another world and made me think about how people back then lived without any technology, it made me crave for that life when we, humans did have any technology as much as we do now. Out of a bunch of book I read during this Pandemic, this book is my favourite one and it is an absolute delight. I suggest people giving it a read.

There’s a movie based on this book on Netflix with the same title, I’m pretty sure the makers must’ve focussed the story on a complete different aspect, I’m guessing you can still give it a watch. I would’ve really appreciated it if someone made it into a mini series instead of a movie.

I’d rate this book a 3.5/5 ⭐

When I step out of the house, more often than not, I come across waste littered on the road. The household waste packed in polythene bags, plastic waste, the wet and dry waste all scattered on the road. Sometimes, I see all that waste scattered just beside the waste bins. I see animals feeding themselves plastic thinking it’s their food. When the foul smell hits me, I wonder why this waste can’t be dumped properly, why are people so irresponsible, and curse the government. Later I cover my nose to avoid the unpleasant smell and quickly walk away from there. Then, as usual I get caught up in my everyday life and forget about it.

Like many, I read about composting and waste management during my schooling. I read about it, prepared an answer about it for my exam and scored well in my exams too. But, I never applied what I learnt practically in managing waste.

I’ve been coming across global warming, the causes for it. That made me realise how ignorant I’ve been over the years towards climate change. To my surprise , I also learnt how small changes add up to make a big difference. At home and in your community, the actions you take can have an impact. Pretty soon, small changes form new habits that not only benefit your environment, but also your health and your wallet.

But this time with a lot of time at my disposal due to coronavirus it made me learn how I can compost, grow plants, cook and repeat. In the process I realized that “life is a full circle, widening until it joins the circle motions of the infinite”. Composting is easy, interesting and helps us to reconnect with one of the most basic earth processes. The end result involves less waste going to the landfill, less need for toxic chemicals and fertilizers, and a healthier food system.

It also made me question why are the wrong ways like pesticides and fertilizers more popular? Why are they more advertised? And why are easy and right ways like composting less popular? Why are they not backed and advertised properly? Somewhere someone has gone wrong that habitualised the wrong practices. We are paying a big price for the small mistakes we are making. We are disturbing the earth’s natural process, we are becoming the reason behind extinction of animal species, we are having food filled with pesticides and falling prey to various diseases. We are planning our own doomsday. But the problem here is most of us are unaware of it. Because the people in power whose responsibility is to spread awareness among people are not taking the accountability for their own advantage. If the government can run a campaign like swachh bharat, why can’t a waste management campaign be a successful one. Why are people in power not addressing serious issues like this? Why is the government advertising pesticides and fertilizers? Are people in power not educated enough or do they have their priorities wrong?

By proper waste management we can avoid soil contamination, reduce waste on landfills, avoid water contamination and air pollution, keep animals away from risk, avoid severe weather due to climate contamination, and more importantly save ourselves from the harm it can cause like skin irritation, blood infection, and other deadly diseases.

Due to improper waste management strategies we are putting waste collectors at higher risk. Waste disposal workers and other employees in these landfill facilities are directly exposed to the waste. Exposure to improperly handled wastes can cause skin irritations, blood infections, respiratory problems, growth problems, and even reproductive issues. Not only this, we are also stealing the right to living a dignified life from them.

But like Dalai Lama said, “ A genuine change must first come from within the individual, only then can he or she attempt to make a significant contribution to humanity.” If everyone starts composting in their house, if everyone says no to single use plastic, if everyone starts following the three R’s that reduce-reuse-recycle, if everyone feels responsible towards the society they live in, how beautiful can this world become! So, I decided to start with my own house. Because a little change can go a long way.

We can see a beautiful world one day only if both the government and every individual takes the responsibility.

I stood on a sharp rock to take this picture and tried not to slip and almost got blown off because there was a strong wind and it just started raining then. We had to climb back up the edgy stones again to go back to the main road cause we weren’t planning to get drenched in the rain. It later rained very heavily but we were safe.

This is a new tourist spot in Telangana which is almost 2 hours away from the city. It’s Kondapochama Sagar Reservoir, Markuk village. The place is quite peaceful and has fresh air which was much needed for me. This has become the new hotspot for the city people and most of the people choose coming here now since nobody is really ready to go to the normal hangout places. Plus, it’s really nice to be able to drive somewhere with your friends and family and be able to enjoy a new place after the crazy things that have been happening around the world. The drive to this place was extremely fun and happy I’m sure it’s going to be the same for you if you decide to go here. It’s totally an amazing place and it’s worth the drive in the heavy traffic.

I’d suggest everyone to take some time off and spend some time away from the digital world, hangout at your friends place, have a get together (only if there’s no Corona around you or in anyone’s apartments 😂) this is very much needed specially after the past 6 or 7 months that have been extremely draining and exhausting it might help you in some or the other way. 🙂

It was a normal day during the pandemic and I lost the hopes of going out and hanging out because of the lock down and the strict rules, I had no timing on when I’m waking up and at what time am I having my breakfast, my mother has given up on me. After dreading and sulking over how much I wanted to go out one day, my mother finally let me out only to take a walk in my colony and not to go anywhere else not that I had a chance to leave my colony.
I was finally out and I enjoyed the fresh air, the silent streets, and the sound of birds chirping. That’s when I looked at this boy who was out with his dog, I couldn’t see his face at all cause he was wearing a mask and a cap. The first thing I notice is that he was walking his pup chow chow (its a breed) I thought to myself “Which idiot in this world would bring his dog out for a walk during such situations?” but then somehow I looked at him and could see his eyes, his eyes were filled with nerves, they were swiftly murdering the boredom of the day. I was very curious to see where he’s going just to know where he lives with this fluff ball. But I couldn’t follow him cause by the time I walked to his lane trying to not look creepy but the patrolling vehicle was already there asking everyone to go back inside cause the curfew had begun. I had to leave sadly.
After I got back home I texted my colony friends asking them if they’ve ever seen a guy walking around with a chow, some of them laughed it off and made fun of me for describing him weirdly and for walking behind him to see where he lives. I brushed it off. But I wanted to know where he lived and I had a desire to go and talk to him.
After a couple of days, I was on my terrace talking to a friend over the phone and I noticed this guy again but this time on the other side of my lane. I couldn’t see him properly and I had no energy to go down and be a creep again. After half an hour or so I saw that he was on the next building to mine, on the terrace playing around with some people I know and I was looking at him he looked good with a mask and a cap on, imagine how handsome he might be without the mask? That was one of my reasons why I wanted to see him properly. And since they were playing he took his cap off because it was windy (Also yay I can see his face) he looked kinda familiar and I felt like I saw him somewhere but couldn’t where. I was trying to recollect but I gave up and I was sitting on the water tank listening to music.
One of my friends noticed that I was on my terrace and called my name and we both started talking. I could see that guy coming from behind and I tried to act cool. And I was good at it. And I waited for our mutual friend to introduce him to me. And surprisingly he said, “oh you must remember Faiz, we used to play when we were young, he moved back to our colony” and I lost my mind there but I managed to have a normal conversation with him and kept it cool. I cut them off and went back home and from the terrace to ground floor all I could think was “How did I even think of him like that!!!!” He’s like one of the worst people I know, always had petty fights with me over cricket balls and he never let me bat when we were playing cricket and my friends would always put me in his team, I hate him, I don’t wanna look at his stupid face, he blasted my football once and after that, my parents never bought me a ball. “But all this was when we were very young now he must’ve changed,” I thought and went and told my mom about how he’s back here. And she asked me if I have done something stupid and then I asked her why she would even think that I would do something stupid. She said, “because I know he has a big chow and I knew if you saw him you’d suddenly be nice with him though you hated him when you were young and also he looks amazing now” I was surprised of how much she knows about even the creepy things I might do to have a chance to pet and play with a dog and talk to a good looking guy. I laughed it off and lied to her that I didn’t do anything creepy and I’m not a person that goes around doing creepy things for a boy and a dog. She didn’t sound convinced and I was no way going to convince her.
Perhaps, it was love at first sight for a doggo. You all really be thinking I could like a human during these times? but I’m still planning to have a talk with him and try to convince him to leave his pup at my place for a day. will he let me pet his dog? or will I just end up not ever giving his pup back if he decides to leave him at my place? for the revenge of what he has done to me when we were young? stay tuned for more updates.