A little bit of life for everyone
Musings of the soul
A peek into society's portrayal of women
Eudaimonia magazine. A little bit of life for everyone.
Letter from the founder: This April we’re celebrating freedom day in South Africa and with freedom comes expression, acceptance, ever-changing moments, significant occasions, dates that make it in history, equality in being and in speech, poetry and literature that holds the secrets to the past within its clasp. This edition is being released a day before the date of freedom and in celebration of that, we have removed the index page, eliminated uniformity and disposed of standard formats. This magazine contains secrets of each writer’s soul and their right to freedom of expressing it and being heard. Thus, scroll on, pick a page and devour the pieces of the universe that each contributor has laid out, every one of them deserve to be read in the name of freedom. Yours in poetry, Muskaan Ayesha.
Do you know Where a seed will land to grow? Does the tree know? I don't think so! Your words are like seeds riding the winds Which ever way they may go. In whose heart and fertile mind they will find a home Where they will blossom, Who knows! But blossom they will with beauty of hope and joy And in their hearts they will carry you. -Nirupoma Iqbal nirupomarinky
I was born on this day Intact and beautiful, my mother said. Though there was a summer thunderstorm , Purging the dead and decay, from the last of the winter nights. Who knew I was actually born with the blue fire of thunder inside. Even I didn't know as I went Facing life's pull and tide. Then, it started to showFlashed through my eyes sometimes, Or when my heart spoke before my mind. Finally, years of use and abuse, After containing all of me And wearing battle scars and bruises, My skin cracked like earth's crust pushed from within, the magma about to blow. But I didn't bleed my red sorrow, no. Streaks of cold cobalt blue shined through. I am broken beautiful, Mysterious and irresistible Like the fairy lights, Dancing, enticing, On the slate surface of an ancient forest pool. I am no butterfly with iridescent wings and fragile, Not me. I am the light, like Apollo's rein, bringing the sun, the music and poetry to thee. -Nirupoma Iqbal @nirupomarinky
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hat is the most unexplainable thing
that has happened to you?" how do you put the answer to this in words when it's unexplainable? If I were to attempt to, I'd say it's the realisation that I'm still learning who I am and no, it's not exciting or intriguing always. Frustrating precisely. "Adronitis" - There is a word describing the frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone. But what is the word when that "someone" is your self? The more I connect to others, the more I learn about myself and that feels exhilarating, but equally makes me want to rip my nerves off. For what do you do with a heart that wanders like a lost nomad, in a territory whose map is engraved in your palms with indelible ink, and a mind that is sensible enough, to know it's not enough to just scratch the surface, but doesn't know when, where and how to stop reading in between the lines? It's a deafening anecdoche between the two and I'm tangled in this mess of what's and how's. Therapy teaches you about knowing and communicating boundaries, but is there any such boundary that exists or should exist between you and your mind? And how do you do it? I'm an amassment of beliefs that shape me and I'm a hoard of secrets that break me, and now, more often than not, it's a dilemma whether something I discover about myself, is a belief or a secret. For in this whirlwind,
all that appears is grey, there's no telling blacks from whites, there's no telling wrongs from rights.] -Komal Aandhiwal @kayforchaos
Just once Your heart is fine. This is what you keep telling yourself again and again. But somewhere you know very well that while saying this, you tend to hesitate. You tend to stop in between. There is a reason for this but you are trying to forget it. However till when? Till when will you shove the pain inside of you? till when will you drown the pain inside of you? No matter how much you shove it or drown it, it will come back. The pain will stand in front of you. it will look into your eyes. It will also ask questions. And then it will ask you to accept that pain is a synonym for life. At that time, what shall you do?
Don’t be afraid. I don’t mean to scare you. I just want to say that just once cry it out. Cry it all out. Just once, the things which hurt the heart everytime you remember it, let them out. I am here to listen to you. and don’t worry- I wont judge you. I will hear each and every word out without judging. Just once pour out all the pain of the heart without thinking anything else.
When you will do this, watch a miracle take place. The pain which once used to repeatedly reside in you will now be far from you. it will be hundreds of miles away. The thought of coming back to you will tire it out. Just once do this because only when your heart is at ease can this life become a simple and beautiful experience. Just once. -Ishita Mehta @poetic_chaos_19
Second chances I am sipping on my tea as I write this introspective note. Did solar system give our Earth another shot? or Was Earth created in one go? Do we really know all of it? Are we even supposed to know all of it? What are we? Are we being given a second chance right now for being more human? Are we really good at taking this shot? Well, I don't really know well of second chances. I am not writing this to explain any point of view. I don't have one on this. But what I am attempting here is to provide you with some questions that you will need to answer yourself. Some artist posted a sad time-lapse of Earth's beginning till the end. And it wasn't pretty at all for me to put ourselves on the receiving end of blame. Everyone of us knows about green cover depleting and other contaminants hazarding our only place to live in(well, at least for now) so I won't be going down that path. Deed's done. The question to be asked right away is - ' What now?' If we don't pay for the damage, well someone else will make us pay for it. May be the future generation as in the movie 'Tenet' ? Well, let us not go there either. What if we are already paying for it without realizing it? Let me point out few subtle fines we don't realize we are paying.
-Every quarter, rising inflation makes the headline. and - No more looking at pretty glacier pictures that existed I know I said 'few' but are these two not enough to start asking thyself questions?! I don't want northern lights getting ruined before I even go watch it, Do you? So, I often find asking this to myself about the second chances. Is this our chance to compensate for the damage? Is this pandemic a sign for us to be more gentle with other lives? -Honey @ihypewriter
In a tree, one flower was beautiful with perfect size, color and smell. In that same tree, one flower was born weak. Size wasn't perfect and flower hasn't that sweet smell. It turned brown within some hours. For the first flower, there are different thoughts in people's mind. First, don't pluck the flower. It looks good only in the tree. Second, I'll pluck this flower after some time of its full bloom and give it to the person they admire, let it be their respective God or any close person. They can buy it too in market with high demand. Now what do you think about the second flower? What treatment it gets? Let's see how it goes. First, pluck and throw it. It'll destroy the other parts of the tree. Second, let's pluck and store. Among "good" flowers, these "bad" flowers can be mixed and sell. But in the market people will find those "bad" flowers and ask to change it as those flowers are not "useful" for their work. What do you think I'm saying? Have any idea on which aspect I want to focus on. Yes, SCARS. People with talent as well as scar aren't appreciated as they are not "gorgeous" enough to be under limelight. Even advertisements which influence a lot of
people show the same thing. If you need to be successful, you have to be brightbut not in merit or talent, but in skintone. People with no talent but without scars are somehow appreciated a whole much than they deserve. The deserving ones get brushed out for saving the space for so-called perfect people. They don't need grooming as per stereotypes, they're born groomed. And people with scars and no talent are just thrown away because they're not "acceptable" to this society. None can spend a little more time for brushing and finding their inner self. That's where society draw line among all with excuse of a SCAR. No, I'm not dividing all into groups. Society is the one who's responsible for these groups, I'm just highlighting the fact. Society is not an independent entity, it is made with people. People who are stick with the stereotypes and people who are willing to break the stereotypes. So now it's your time to think, whose side are you in?
-Debolina Chatterjee @trisha_the_writing_soul
Dear Aliens, We never met before, but I know you are here on Earth. Even lots of people around the globe is trying to find you out. But if are already on Earth and trying to find shelter then I would suggest you to visit India. Our government will surely give you shelter through Pradhanmantri Awaas Yojna and if you are out of money too then you can also apply for NREGA and government will provide you a guaranted 100 days paid work. See living in India is so easy. But wait a second if you are here to invade us instead of being friends with us then I will suggest you to start invading with China and Pakistan because they don't know much about friendship and they love to fight too. Even we Indians had fought multiple wars with them. So, I think you might also love to fight with them. And I bet you will also love to love to rule them since both the countries are full of ammunition. They have 100s of nuclear weapons too. And if you don't know what nuclear weapons are then can simply google it, I would suggest you to check it on Wikipedia page, they will explain you everything with animations and diagrams too. And if possible donate some money to Wikipedia they are providing us information from decades selflessly and now they need us to help so we should help them! Isn't it?
Hey I have a request if you are here to rule us! Please don't treat us the way we treated animals. They have PETA to save them but I am sure now one will come forward to save us. I know we were cruel to them but please don't treat us the way we treated them. We are ready to be your servants we can do dishes and even wash your clothes too. We have some good doctors too they will surely give you best treatment. We have lakhs of engineers too! You can use them to build your spaceships and weapons. Pretty cool right? I know. You must have already realised that we Indians are very risk free country. After all our ancestors taught us treat all our guests as Gods. You know about God right? It's a being having super powers and we consider them as God. By the way if you have some sort of super powers then you can also apply to be a God. We already have thousands of Gods and Goddess and we worship them all. If you become God then you can create your religion too. See it's very simple I will teach you. Choose one language in which you want to write your rules and then choose one colour; the colour you want your followers to wear. You can choose your favourite colour too but hey Saffron and green is already taken you can choose it but it will create confusion among people to indentity so better choose colour other than that. After that you just have to wait, people themselves and they will help you to make one big community
which will worship you selflessly. It's easy isn't it! I hope you got to know a lot about our planet and about our country too. So if you want any kind of help just send me a private message on my Instagram am always available for you there if you promise me that you won't make any harm to our planet. Yours sincerely, Friend from Earth. -Pratik Tagde @pratik.tagde
Dear J.K Rowling, It was love at first page and magic at first glance! I know you must have received a flying array of hundreds of such letters. I’m not going to say mine is exceptionally different or special but I am going to say this, you deserve every one of those letters! You wrote out of a life of despair and transformed it into something unimaginable. If this letter ever finds you, please know that you gave me hope in the darkest of days. You weaved a world so magical, that it became an escape from my own. It was dark, And you said Lumos. And everything became bright for me. I'm writing this letter, because even though it has been years, your magic has made me wait for my own, from Hogwarts. Platform 9 3/4 still seems my only destination, and only the beginning of my journey. You introduced me to Harry, and I knew we all had magic inside us, and we all had brilliance inside us too. Consider this a letter from a young teenager or a fully grown adult, my love for you is the same in both eras. And so, I have no shame in admitting that even though I am less than three decades old, I am still waiting for an owl to crash
on my window holding the Letter from Hogwarts. Brewing Amortentia AKA the love potion for you, Love, Your muggle fan. -Sahana Kumar @sahan.kruti
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Ssshh... Dekho muh mein make-up
lagake jaa rahi hai, Dress aisi jaise badan dikha rahi hai, Chal matak matak kar, Jaise abhi do chaar ladko ko apne paas bula rahi hai..." "Arey usko chhodo, yeh waali jo hai na, isse kal mein ek ladke ke sath dekhi thi, Bike mein peeche chipak kar baithi thi, Boyfriend toh koi aur hai, par koi doosre bande ke saath market mai ghum rahi thi.."
Body Shaming, color shaming, slut shaming, mein bas hamara haq hai, Bande ke upar ho ya Bandi pe, Hum kare toh sab sahi hai, Warna feminism toh hamara hathiyar hai, Kyunki ham educated empowered satti naari-baad hai.. Group mai baith gossips hum karenge, Back bitching, bad comments sirf hum denge, Arey bhai yeh thodi galat hai, Par koi ladka bas whistle baja de, Uski itni majal harassment case mein uski zindagi barbaad kar denge..
Aanhaan, yeh na koi ladke ke comments hai na koi auntiyon ke, Yeh toh aaj kal ke hamare 'EDUCATED MODERN GIRLS' ke ucch vichar hai. "Meri friend ke baare mein koi bolde, muh na tod du, Uski aukat, usi waqt mein usey na dikha doon, Bandi waisi hai isliye hum bol rahe, Warna hamare character mein koi ungli utha de, uski ungli na ukhaad fenk doon.." "Arey sunn na, tera Bhai kya maal hai, Zara number de, uske saath milana thoda taal hai, Dekho uss mote ko, uski bhi girlfriend hai, Arey iss bande ki girlfriend dekhi, sakal aisi, lagti shaitan ki behen hai.."
Boys in girls' group is okay, Sex ke baare mein unke saamne baat karna is okay, Male friend ke liye ladki set karna is okay,
Masturbation, porn, nude all is okay, Just because they are our friends, Unke ex ke saath sex story bhi sunna is okay.. Isme konsi badi baat hai, Hamare yaar ki ex hai, Uski thodi na koi izzat hai.. Par apne boyfriend ko uske bff ke sath hame manzoor nahi hai, She is the bitch, Uski koi Pehchaan nahi hai... "Hawwwww.... You know, woh mere boyfriend ko sanitary napkins laane ke liye boli, Kitni besaram hai, Bff hua toh kya hua, Woh ek ladka hai, Itni si baat bhul gayi.."
Yes darling, this is the mentality and gossips of our so called educated empowered ladies.. Sorry agar bura laga ho, Par agar wakei mein bura lage na, Toh yahi pehchaan hai tumhare andar bachi hui insaaniyat ki… -Samreen Begum @efusiva_menina
Translation: Look! She has applied make-up on her face! Her outfit as if she is flaunting her body, walking as if she is seducing boys. Hey, leave her! I saw this girl with a boy yesterday on his bike. Someone else is her boyfriend but she was roaming with someone else in the market. Nope, these comments are not from any boy or any aunty! These are from our so called "Educated modern girls", so thoughtful, aren't they? I'll punch that person the face if someone talks shit about my friend, I'll show the person where he/she stands then and there. We said that because
the girl was being that way otherwise someone questioning our character, won't I pull out his/her fingers?
Yes darling, this is the mentality and gossips of our so called educated empowered ladies!
Hey listen! Your brother looks so hot! Please give me his number, want to talk to him. See that fat belly guy, even he has a girlfriend. Look at that guy's girlfriend, she looks like a satan!
Sorry if you felt bad, but if you seriously felt bad then this is the identity that your eternal humanity carries.
Body shaming, color shaming, slut shaming is only our right be it about a boy or a girl, if we do it, it's fine! Otherwise feminism is just our weapon because we are educated and empowered girls. We'll do back bitching, comment, judge and gossip when we sit with our group. Bro! This ain't wrong, but if a guy whistles! How dare he? I'll file a harassment case against him and destroy his life. Boys in girls' group is okay. Talking about sex in front of them is okay. Introducing a male friend with another girl is okay. Masturbating, porn, nude, everything is fine. Just because they are friends, hearing sex stories with their ex is okay. What's the big deal? She is our friend's ex, does she have any respect? But seeing our boyfriend with her bff is not acceptable. She is the bitch, she has no identity. You know? She asked my boyfriend to bring her sanitary napkins. How shameless! What if he is her bff? He is a boy! This is a simple thing she forgot.
Chalna beta kaam pe NRSK ft. A Do waqt ki roti aur zindagi bhar ki izzat Kamaane ke liye nikal padti roz subah hazaaro zindagiya Koi apni jee raha hai zindagi toh koi kisi aur ki, dabake hazaaro khwaishein puraniya Sach zindagi ka aur bas do panktiya Abhi aur sunn lo, kaha itna abhi hai humne suna diya? (Chalna beta kaam pe) (Chalna beta kaam pe) (Chalna beta kaam pe) (Banke sher ki dahaad re , chalna beta) (Chalna!) Haa.. jo sapne aankhon tale lekar tu soya kal shaam ko Unhi sapno ko Ab tu par de, agli subah se Chalna beta kaam pe Kuch sapne Kuch majboori Kuch zarooratein Kuch, bas karna hai zaroori Par adhuri Reh gayi Haa yaha laakhon ki kahaaniya Yeh keemat bhi hai unke aur laakhon bhi hai log Jo taraashte rahe apne andar kuch, aur jinki kabhi shuru hi nahi hui khoj Qasoor saara soch ka hai Qasoor andhe boj ka hai Qasoor ko agar kahi khoj diya hai
Toh apni dhundhli lag rahi lakeeron pe se dhundhlapan poch diya hai Kyuki kaam se matlab sirf nau se paanch nahi Banavti paseena aur fokat ka thaat nahi Tere kaam mai kaam ki koi baat nahi Jo tu sochta raha woh baat itni khaas nahi Sapne dekhe, bas din mai, par unn sapno ke liye tu jaaga ek raat nahi Koi gaadi, koi scooter Koi rickshaw, koi ambulance Sab apni apni sawaari liye chal pade Tab tak jab tak din dhal pade Kharaab kapde Ko koi poochta nahi Saaf suthre ho toh Beta teri chambdi tu khud kharochta nahi Yaha khaana bhi sabko naseeb hota hai alag Haa saare gile shikve aakhir naseeb pe hi aake kyu atakte magar Kyuki saale sabko kosna hai bas usiko Khud kuch nai karna, khud nai hai jeena bas ratna hai ek hi baat "Arey, mujhe toh......" Mujhe toh yeh karna tha Mujhe toh woh karna tha Tujhe sab karna tha Par bas karna tha Bas karna tha Bas karna hi tha Par kuch karna nai tha Yeh bak bak mai maahir sab sab Jinka dimaag laga ho sahi thikaane pe Unko kabhi apne dil ki tak sunai nai deti dhak dhak Pak pak rahi hai dhoop mai yeh aankhein
Aasoo sukh chuke, kuch poch chuke, baaki bache kuch, sab bhul chuke Aur kuch saalo ki soch ko apnake khud hi soch tale dab chuke Yaa shayad mar chuke? Maano na maano saara soch ka qasoor hai Aur fark iss mai nazariye ka bhi zaroor hai Chaar alfaaz kehkar haar maan jaate log Jabki teen alfaaz kehkar badal sakte the apni hi soch Kuch nai kar sakte Kuch kar sakte! Bas ek lafz zyaada kehkar saari mehnat bacha li Aur apni sukhi sukhi roti ke saath unn banavti maani hui lakeere bhi chaba di Aye, aye, aye! A!
(Intro) Fleeting dreams lay beneath me, silently. They are the seams to all the realms in this book of life. I swear, it's not what what is seems, my screams: they're silent but deadly. Freedom is costly but money is free. Heavenly, there's no sin in simplicity, But there's a rivalry between the norms and my honesty. Follow the yellow bus, succumb to the ghostly rush, Hush, don't protest this. The world will speak and you'll hear the beat. Hell, can't take the heat. What was it? My dreams are a paper plane, Sailing out of sanity, I'm insane. My liberty is a money scheme. Not what I want to feel. Heal me through, I want to dream. My fleeting dreams. These sour voices whisper hell. Help! Can't hear the bell. The swell of my lungs, The empty well. Stop. Stop. Stop. My fleeting dreams: The victim of your schemes. Aye! Kohra hi kohra hai Ik tera ikka dooja mera mohra hai
Apne kandho pe utha liya hai bhaar sabka Ab toh saala seena bhi ghum raha chauda hai Haa scene bohot hard hai Haa tujh mai kuch khaas hai Jo ab tak hai durr woh kalko tere paas hai Nakal nahi hai uski bas usika sikhaaya hua raaz hai Soch badli hai Nazare badle hai Meetha khaana chaahte the Par kaha chalo pehle kadve se guzarte hai Apni hi kismat se thoda sa ladhte hai Shayad uska bhi qasoor na ho, dosh sab hamara ho Shayad usko kisine likha na ho, hamein hi usko likhna ho Duniya karegi yakeen tum par Jab tum kaam karke dikhaaoge Arey unhone bohot dekhe hai bolne waale Isliye likhe hui alfaaz ki keemat bole hue bol se zyaada hai Tujhe bhi nahi pata agle kuch saalo ka Toh kinki baato mai aakar tujhe yeh ghise pite khayalat manzoor hai Arey chalna beta kaam pe Bhale hi woh galat zaroor hai Par yaar, kahi na kahi, woh bhi beqasoor hai. @2versedown & @muskaan_ayesha_
Translation: Bread twice a day, and respect for a lifetime Thousands of lives leave their home every morning to earn their prime Some are living their life while some are living someone else's, suppressing thousands of desirous grinds Truth of life and just two lines? Hear more of it, we haven't even spoken much about it yet (Go and work dude!) (Be like a lion's roar!) The dreams that you had till yesterday Give wings to those dreams from the dawn Go and grind dude Some dreams Some helplessness Some needs Some, just needs to be done But were left Untouched Millions of such stories This is the price of the stories and the count of those people Who kept searching something within, and those who couldn't even meet their eternity The fault is of the thoughts The fault is of the burden The fault if you have found Then you have cleared the dirt on the lines of your destiny Because work just doesn't mean 9 to 5 Pseudo sweat and privileges without any pain There is nothing like work in your work Your thoughts aren't worth
You dreamt, but that was only day dreaming You didn't even spend a night for 'em Some take their vehicle, some ride on their scooter Some earn through a rickshaw, and some carry an ambulance Everyone had their mode of work with them Till the sun would set Dirty clothes No one gives a damn about 'em Clean outfits Son you haven't even had a scar on your skin Even the food has it's worshippers, not everyone gets the same Why does everyone complains only about the destiny and fortune Because everyone just wants to curse that! Nothing do they want to do on their own, they don't wanna live on their own Just keep saying one thing "But, I wanted to...." I wanted to do this I wanted to do that You wanted to do everything Just wanted to do You wanted to You just merely wanted to But you wanted to do nothing Everyone has an expertise in just yelling But those who have their head engaged in work Can't even hear their heart beat Their eyes bear the heat Their tears have dried, some are wiped The rest have forgotten everything
And some have accepted the centuries' old beliefs and crushed themselves Or maybe they are dead? Believe it or not but it's all about the thoughts And the difference is also of the vision 4 words are enough to give up But they can change themselves saying just three words We can't do anything We can do! Just saying one word, and they are free from all the hardwork And alongwith a dry meal, they also chewed up their luck Aye! Aye! A!
It's foggy One is your ace, the second is my move Have carried the burden of everyone on my shoulders Now my chest has broadened Yeah, the scene is cool Yeah, you have something extraordinary in you Thing which are away from you right now, will be with you tomorrow Not imitating him but have learnt it from him Thoughts have changed Scenarios changed
Wanted to have some sweets But started with bitter Let's fight with our own fortune Maybe it's not the fortune's fault, maybe it's just ours Maybe no one has their fortune written, maybe we have to write it on our own The world will believe you When they see your actions gaining results They have seen many people blabbering That's why words written have more value than words spoken Even you don't what's going to happen in the next few years So by whose influence do you think these shitty ideologies are valid? So go and work dude Although they are wrong But somewhere, even if they are innocent.