loving someone who shares the same city as you is a blessing. imagine being able to make plans that are not virtual. the thought of being just a call away from meeting your favourite person for even doing the most basic things

loving is not just about the good times; you go through tough times too, times when you can't agree to disagree, times when you unintentionally mess things up and all you have is an apology or the ability to confront the reason why things happened the way they did.

doing this in person is the best way, you don't have to go through the rough phase of never ending phone calls that only seem to make things worse with every word spoken. Confrontation done face to face helps the conversation to be real. It doesn't allow anyone to make things up, nor does it give anyone the time to manipulate the conversation. It demands complete transparency and vulnerability from you.

Perhaps, life doesn't stop moving. you tend to move to different cities, intentionally or unintentionally; maybe for your uni, or a new job. what starts with a promise of making things work no matter what, sometimes loses its track and motive—staying together through thick and thin.

The new city without your favourite person looks a little different. You can only see each other through a square window. You arent just one call away, perhaps, a flight ticket and a few hundred kilometres.

The distance makes you feel drifted apart, sometimes bored. You run through a series of overthinking episodes mostly trying to ask yourself if you still feel the same or not. the toughest part of long distance isn't communication; it is about not giving up on something just because it is boring or mundane.

you are bound to find new people, people you feel a spark with, people who look like art, people who make you feel good. new experiences with new people definitely make you feel the chemistry. it doesn't always mean that they are the best ones for you, it just feels so different because you aren't used to such spontaneity. you even felt this when you met the person that youre currently with, for the first time.

but this is what love asks for—giving up the chase. obviously you can see someone prettier, someone more attractive, but love lies in braving all this for the place that already is your home.

there's something beautiful in the longing too. you yearn to meet the person, a tight hug is all you wish for. you might even make things work if you plan things properly. google meet becomes your most visited website. you keep everything to yourself until you get to tell it to your favourite person. for the first time bluetooth earphones can't manage the distance, but thanks to spotify jam, you can still hear the same words together.

in case you ever go through a phase when you start doubting your dynamic because of the distance, read this article.

i hope when love meets you, it looks like this:

a kind of love that could suffice any distance or longing, the kind of love where we you simps for each other, the kind of love which can talk just by locking the eyes.

imagine loving someone so much that the thought of getting away from them makes you sick. imagine loving someone so deeply that you take so much care of yourself so that you simply don't lose a moment with your favourite person. imagine getting scared of calamities, not because they will harm you, rather because they would not let you be with your happiest space.

love is calling your person just to show them a sunset, love is calling them just to tell them that it is raining in your city and you wish that you could run into the rain with hands locked together.

love is waiting to look at that one face that silences every noise around you, the face that you search for in a crowded room, the touch that calms all the frowning.

the kind of love that can brave everything for that one person, to achieve something more than love.

i hope this article helps you brave the distance. i hope it makes you strong enough to give up any temptations. i hope it makes you think of love as a sacred thing.

now that you have read this, i want you to rest your eyes. i want you to sing this song with me :)

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i felt like sharing some songs that helped me in the worst of days, songs that made me who I am today, songs that make me appreciate the world around me no matter how tough the days are.

just telling the names would feel like an understatement. these songs deserve justice and i don't think i would take that away from them.

here's one that just doesn't feel like a song, it's more like a flashback along the lines of a poem.

read with me, rock with me :)

खो गए से लगने लगे रिश्ते सभी, रिश्ते सारे

जाने भी दो, जाने दो

खोए हुए पल, रास्ते नए बुनें जहाँ

तू है नया, तू है समा

it seems like the world is ending when you lose someone who held great value in your life. the distance, priorities and compatibility are detrimental. you feel like a part of your own self being taken away.

even after going through this, you don't sit back.

yet, you always had it in you—the ability to change the world around you wherever you go. the capability of getting along with anyone you meet. the power of spreading joy just by existing.

you are beautiful, you are limitless

मेरे कल की दौड़ में मैं मेरा कल भूल चुका हूं

तस्वीरों पे लगी धूल की तरह मैं मेरा बचपन भूल चुका हूं

life gets busy. bussier by the day. we lose/forget our innocence, habits and carelessness which was present within us amply.

you feel it one day when you open the photo album which shows your first birthday, the day when you started walking, the day when you jumped in the water puddle after making the paper boat. the carefree smile on the face hits you hard. you can only think of one thing - “When did I grow up?”

life moves pretty fast; you must slow down every once a while and look back at how far you've come.

hope you run to your cupboard and open the photo album after reading this article :p

ख़ुद से चढ़ के अगर मैं मेरे सपने नहीं पूरे करे पाया

तो मैं अपने ही नज़रों में गिर जाऊँगा

अगर जीत का घूँट नहीं ले पाया तो, साला, घुट-घुट के मर जाऊँगा

और अगर मैं भी ख़ुद को रोक लूँ तो मैं ख़ुद से लड़ जाऊँगा

पर हर बार हालातों से निकल के ख़ुद को पूरा नया देख के डरता हूं कि मैं मेरा बचपन भूल जाऊँगा

some nights are just meant for looking at the ceiling. the dark room is full of the burden of a bright future, the frustration of not achieving your potential yet. you just stare at the empty black space, shed a tear or two and just feel like giving up. your eyes give up too.

but you wake up the next morning, you feel the sun touching your skin, you see a new light inside you. a hope that even though you haven't made it to the top yet, you still have made some progress. how the situations you go through try to get the best of you, but you face them and come outside with a brand new outlook to face the next challenge.

पर ये नयापन अपनाते-अपनाते सीखा कि

पुराने ज़ख्म अब क्यूं दुख नहीं रहे हैं

नींद खुलने के बाद भी सपने टूट नहीं रहे हैं

बेवजह लोगों पे हम रूठ नहीं रहे हैं

now that you look back, you feel that maybe it was the best that things happened the way they did. how every experience shaped you in becoming what you are today. how the heart and soul that would feel unrecoverable, are now healed and even prettier than what they used to be. how you're making things work even though they aren't easy to deal with.

बस पैरों के नीचे की खिसकती ज़मीन से रिश्ता जोड़ने की बात थी

सारे जवाब तेरे अंदर गड़े है, बस वो खोदने की बात थी

बस अपने कल से भागना और अपने कल तक भागने का रास्ता मोड़ गया

वही पुराने ख़ुद को रोज़ कहना चाहता हूं कि

तू है नया (तू है नया)

the answer was always there. all you needed was to dug deep enough to reach the gem mine inside you. all you had to do was to go through everything the way it has happened. maybe you couldn't tell this to the younger you, the innocent you, the careless you; but you can tell it to the one that's reading this that you're great the way you are 🌻

you must experience the ear candy yourself <3

hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. I hope to see you again on RozRozRasmalai.

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i love to wake up in a room with with a speaker playing passionfruit by drake and a dim yellow light.

i love to have my lunch with my comfort shows and a glass full of chaach.

i like to go out for football by myself if no one is showing up.

i love to go for buying new clothes with my wired earphones.

i love sleeping in the middle of the king sized bed with all the lights off and a quilt warm enough to enjoy the AC’s cool.

i love to do a lot of things by myself.

i’m not lonely. i know a lot of people, people who won't say no to a plan, people who would invite me to their plans. i have some very close friends, almost a family now. i go out with my friends often. but still, i love my own space a lot. it has nothing to do with loneliness.

living just by yourself makes you learn new things about yourself. it teaches you how to be complete.

in the start it surely feels lonely. you don't have much idea about how to spend this time, because there's plenty of it. you overthink, you get self deprecating. this is the exact moment where you break the loop and take control of your life.

it is a sign to figure out more about yourself. try new things, things that you used to love but don't do anymore because life got serious, things that stay unchecked on your new-year resolutions, things that you were reluctant to do all this time.

exploit your free will. it pushes you to reach your best—mentally and physically. it gives you a perspective. about the person you want to become and the people you want to surround yourself with.

you learn to draw boundaries. compromising is no longer an option for you. you want your relationships to be healthy. you want your body and mind to be healthy, even if it comes at the cost of losing some people.

you get so comfortable with your peace that your spidey sense doesn't let any possible damage come close to you. this surely filters a lot of people from your life because there aren't many people out there who understand the importance of me-time.

it used to put me off sometimes, but now the solitude is addictive. it made me make peace with the fact that i just don't can't do something just to fit in. just because everyone does it doesn't mean i’ll do it too. social media trends and peer pressure have no effect on me.

the world around us has set such vague and fictitious expectations that staying by yourself is just assumed to be lonely and not comforting. getting bored means you’re missing out on a good life.

this is a completely flawed perception that has been made a common view.

my fellow reader, you don’t have to take the pressure to fit in. you must learn to get comfortable with getting bored. you must understand how it feels to get bored and how you can tackle it, without any company. you need to learn the art of making peace with your own company. it's much better than having sleepless nights, a mind that is always anxious. you're too precious for being treated in a way that doesn't help you grow.

none of this means that you to drown so much in this wave of solitude that you start cancelling good plans just because you got too comfortable. you need a balance, it helps you appreciate the me-time even more.

companionship will be a part of your life sooner or later. you must learn to be whole yourself so that someone else isn't expected to fill the empty space for you.

if you're in a new setting and finding it difficult to get along with people, hold on. if you're going through a situation that has completely broken you, hold on. if you've been left behind, hold on.

hold on as tight as you could because you've got yourself no matter what. don’t lose yourself in the process of finding someone else. rather, find yourself in the aftermath of losing someone. find yourself with or without someone🌻

This one’s for a headstart, hear this and you’ll be off to a good start :)

I would love to hear about your favourite activities that you just love doing by yourself. If you think this is something you struggle with, you can always reach out here, it is a safe space.

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there's a four letter word. spelling it isn't difficult. but understanding it, that's where the hard work lies. every noble thing asks for some risk to be taken. the stakes are always high.

that's how love is. there's always a possibility of things to go south, shattering all hopes and dreams. you can feel empty, you can lose your appetite, you can dread the time and energy you invested, you can feel completely uprooted.

but for what it's worth—the thought of waking up next to each other, brushing teeth together in the same frame of the mirror, talking about things that only make sense to the two of you; we keep rooting for it.

but here's the big deal. everyone has had a tough past. the past doesn't have to shape your future. life's unfair and half of the things that still don't make sense did happen. it is frustrating and it tears you up.

but even the diamond takes a thousand hits before reaching its best form. it is completely normal to be devastated because in the first place it shows how much it meant to you and how dearly you can hold it. perhaps all experiences in life teach you the kind of person you want to become and the kind of person you want to spend your life with.

if you think that things aren't working for you, step back for a while. as someone said on substack: “taking a step back is also a part of the dance”. take your time, cherish the good time, mourn the loss. sooner or later, you get your shine back. don't let a failed dream stop you from dreaming bigger. love is a big part of your life, but don't let your entire life depend on it. it does you no good.

love only comes fully when you are ready for it. it means that it not only depends on the person you love, but also on the fact if you are completely capable of loving someone fully or not. if you feel that you aren't over the previous experiences, take your time.

you having a tough past doesn't have to impose responsibility on someone else. you can't expect someone to act in a certain way just because you had a tough time. it's just too and selfish. love can be a lot of things but not selfish. getting into love even when you're not completely ready for it is like a ticking bomb which sooner or later shows the consequences.

we have normalised shallow feelings and coward terms like situationships. half of these terms came up because emotional unavailability has been accepted as normal behaviour. if we stop rushing emotional and physical intimacy and heal fully, only then we shall find real love.

emphasis on the word shall. it is a possibility, perhaps, you can never be too sure. what's the whole point of loving someone if there's no fear of getting completely wrecked.

don't let any previous endeavour stop you from loving the way you do—wholeheartedly. if you fear that you aren't ready for such a thing, hold back, stay away from a while, but don't give into the temptations of coward terms disguised as love.

for a feeling that is so sacred, save your best side. save it enough so that you don't have to calculate it while spending, when it finally knocks at your doorstep.

Perhaps, in the end, I just want that you get the “Ishq Wala Love” :)
Till then, my songs will keep you covered.

More musical articles at RozRozRasmalai <3

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delhi. metro city. we all know it. it’s the capital of our country, yet it is the embodiment of all the (wrong) things that go around in this nation. if someone asks me about all the things that are perfect in my city, perhaps i won't be able to name a lot of them.

i might write an article about everything that's wrong about this state, but today, i feel hopeful.

one thing im really proud of — delhi metro.

i have heard from people all around the country that no metro has better connectivity than the delhi metro. but for me, connectivity isn't the only trait that makes me write about it.

metro doesn't discriminate. it gives everyone a fair chance to travel. if you're lucky enough, you get the unreserved corner seats. getting them feels like a blessing after a long day.

you get to kiss the sunset on some days and i can confirm that it surely brings a smile on your face.

metro is punctual (mostly). you can actually plan your journey accordingly because you always have an estimate of the time it would take. it rules out the possibility of completely missing out on the timeline of reaching a venue.

on days when delhi starts to feel like the sahara desert, it gives you the dermi cool feeling. on days when delhi turns into Cherrapunji, it provides shelter to the both—the people inside the metro and the metro station, the people on scooties and bikes who park their vehicles waiting for the rain to settle.

perhaps, my love for metro comes out of the instances ive been through. the people ive met here. the person i have become as i travelled from one station to the another.

the metro lines are full of colours: yellow, blue, green, red, pink, violet and what not. although the colours represent hope, radiance, but the metro sometimes represents dread, congestion. even in these moments, some people find their way.

like the one person who used to play a ludo match with the person sitting beside him. i never got to know his name, but i loved the fact that he made this journey feel so simple yet so fun. i know this because i coincidentally came across him twice

the random meetup with school friends surely takes you back to the good old days. i've had this moment quite a lot of times now but it never fails to excite me.

i and delhi metro were born in the same year. we both have had a fair share of character development. we've spent a lot of time together too. i miss the days when football peaked and vishwavidyalya station would serve the best kachori aloo.

for someone who couldn't drive earlier, it made travelling enjoyable and feasible. going to noida, hauz khas, gurugram, lodhi garden, gk, khan market, chanakya wouldn't have been possible without it.

metro gives a sense of independence. you are free to travel anywhere as long as you have enough time and some money. you can see everything starting from your own reflection in the tunnel to the lotus temple, akshardham and other scenic views.

you get to experience the various terrains of these stations starting from the underground metro station of rajiv chowk to the railway station lookalike metro station of Yamuna bank.

there's also a very unique situation that i went through. while i was waiting for the metro on my platform, I unintentionally made an eye contact with someone on the other platform parallel to mine. we both knew that it's something that might never happen again and just kept smiling. the train arrived and took me away. perhaps, metro gives you the chance of a meet cute — a very shortlived one.

i’ve been using the metro for a decade now and it has seen me grow the way no one else has—from travelling 1hour for football daily to travelling 1hour for work daily.

time has passed and i have grown up in a brand new person, but, my affection for metro still remains intact.

seeing people offer their seats to the ones who need it more, seeing people play with someone else's child, seeing kids that are fascinated by the train and the view outside—these are the kind of reasons that make me relish it.

although, there's an ugly side to the metro too, but I really hope the people could understand that we are so privileged to have such an amenity. i hope the people could become more patient and empathetic towards the ones sharing the journey with them.

i hope that people get over the ego of not sitting on the seats reserved for women and senior citizens even when they are empty.

Since you made it so far, this one's for you <3

In case you ever come to Delhi and need a dilli darshan metro tour, feel free to contact me on RozRozRasmalai

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as a child, your idea about freedom is very different as compared to what it is today. perhaps i never thought of freedom as a kid. i was fine by the curfew times, i was fine with the mundane days.

it was all going well until apple decided to release the iphone 7. if you ever want to know my youtube niche, it would be the apple product videos or the lamborghini advertisements. they surely make you feel something that you never thought lies within you.

on some nights when counting the number of sheeps wouldn’t help me sleep, i would just wonder about how life would feel if there's just me on the entire planet. everything to myself, no restriction, nothing holding me back.

this was something that the advertisement showed too. the guy in the ad (rasmalai) couldn't sleep and decides to go out.

he would skateboard his way through the empty streets. the only sound he could hear is the water sprinklers giving a shower to the plants after a heavy day in the sun.

i used to see this ad daily on the tv and i really wanted to get a taste of such a life. much to my surprise the football training started in school at 5:30am. Just to get this feeling, i told my dad that the training is at 5am (sorry papaaa). i would reach the school and take the keys for the locker where all the equipment was kept.

I loved the time when i would just wander around in the ground, imagining that im in the exact same situation. no person in sight, the sun going to wake up soon, the birds singing their song.

i was never big on lyrics at that time. but time changes, you grow up and you change too. you start hearing the lyrics before calling a song with good beats a good one. it was then that i realised, that the song that i kept hearing all this time, carried a meaning much deeper than i thought it carried.

It made me miss someone that I never met. I could not help but think about how painful it would be to part ways from someone you're this close to. how it invited so much hurt that you became an artist and released a song this beautiful.

little did i know that even I might go through the same situation some day, but this time i had this song with me to think of it all. it made me feel that all my life i just kept thinking about the song and it is the first time that it actually fits in my situation.

i mourned the loss, but eventually came back up. i still hear the song. perhaps, i don’t think of this song as a sad one. it has shaped parts of me that i could even see today. it has made me think of love so beautifully that all the previous instances sound bearable.

i hope you find a love so beautiful that all the pain you went through vanishes away. i hope you get to dance underneath the halogen lamps, but this time you don't care enough about how ugly they might look because the prettiest view would be within you and also right beside you.

do you have a song too that changed how you look at life or in general makes you romanticise it. would love to know about it :)

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if you loved english literature from your school books enough, you would know about the poem my mother at 66 by Kamala Das. it talks about the time when you are heading to a different city because life has gotten serious and you have to leave your parents’ home willingly or unwillingly.

you’re in the car with your parents who are dropping you to the airport. you have this excitement to perceive a new world that is completely untouched by your eyes and heart.

the usual route to the airport starts to feel more vivid than what it always looked like. you notice things in a different sense because you know that you won’t be seeing this view in the longest while.

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes

you also notice the view inside the car. your dad is trying to figure out every possible thing that he could for making the place a little less alien for you. your mother, who had a busy week helping you with the packing, making sure that you don't forget anything, sleeping in the backseat while hearing the favourite 80s music in the car.

I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realized with pain that she was as old as she looked.

you look at their faces and suddenly the view outside becomes dull. the realization that you might not be able to see these serene faces for the next 2 months hits you. your heart starts to ache and you get teary-eyed but immediately hold it together because you really want to show that you’re ready for conquering the world all by yourself.

your hands start searching for the bottle of water that your dad always keeps before going somewhere. you find it too and your heart beat starts to come down. you keep looking at them long enough to get them stored in your photographic memory.

you reach the airport, get through with the initial security check and finally it is time to part ways. you seem to be very strong until you hear the words “apna dhyaan rakhna” from your parents. you are never prepared for this moment and it catches you off guard-but you let loose and reach out for the departing hug.

everyone goes through this situation once in their 20s. a 20 something age is bound to make you confused about life. you can never feel complete enough. there's the illusion of perfection surrounding you, which traps you when you see someone from the same age group having accomplished an aspect which seems so far fetched for you.

this can be anything: a good paying and non toxic job, a car, a bike, fancy clothes, a stable and happy relationship, good friends, money to travel abroad and what not. it is an endless list. even if you don’t want to compare yourself with anyone, media does it for you. comparison surely is a thief of joy but this time, the robbery seems to be a very big one.

there's this constant state of conflict:
one side says that you should move out right now—the kind of life which might take you away from your home. it sounds beautiful, you get the joy of living all by yourself, free from any accountability in a completely new place. it’s a whole new world for you to unlock.

the other side makes you question if you have enough time for everything. if going out would actually make any difference. if staying right next to the ones who have seen you from day one is all that matters. home is nothing but a person, this time it's the two of them.

there's nothing more humbling than seeing your parents ageing. you wish to hold every moment that you have with them as close to you as possible. you start to miss the days when your dad would drop you to the school at 5:00am for the football practice. you miss the simpler times when the best nap would be the afternoon nap after school beside mom. you miss the time when mom dad would do the first aid after you would come injured from a game.

but—all you get to do is to wish that they stay right beside you, smiling till the very end. you hope to meet them soon, in the exact same way they were when you left.

just like Kamala Das said “i felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, See you soon, Amma, all I did was smile and smile and smile……”

Cherish it while you have it, reminisce when you don't <3

since you made it so far, this one's for you

the next time you go back home, make sure you hug everyone a little tighter and you make it damn sure to tell everyone:

stay tuned for the next plate of rasmalai :)

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i hope this exactly feels like a cup of coffee on a bright morning with the cool breeze glistening you and no plans to look forward to.

if you're occupied with something that can be done 5 minutes later, then just sit down, grab your earphones, put on the song khaabon ke parindey. this is what a silent dj feels like, except for the fact that we all will hear only this particular song throughout. 

खुले हैं जो पल, कहे ये नज़र 
लगता है अब है जागे हम 
फिक्रें जो थी, पीछे रेह गयी 
निकले उनसे आगे हम 
हवा में बेह रही है ज़िन्दगी
ये हम से केह रही है ज़िन्दगी 
ओहो, अब तो, जो भी हो सो हो

i just wanted to write this article so that I could tell you that even though it feels criminally wrong to rest, you must slow down and look back to see how far you've come.

the hustle culture has been normalised. slowing down is not feasible in this economy. every second spent vaguely feels like losing the race. this gets added with the materialistic pressure aka illusion of happiness.

if instagram is the club, then substack is for sure a tree house with a warm lit lamp and i'm surely not leaving the tree house for the club.

getting more mature by the day is necessary definitely, but it shouldn't be at the cost of losing the inner child. you shouldn't wait for a eureka where you become completely immobile for a while and all you could think of is the things that you would do if this wasn’t the case. it's a humbling experience. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that.

i want you to go back to your room to look at the medals that hang in your room one by one, the certificates standing next to each other in a folder, the football boots that are not clean but still kept in the rack waiting to be chosen, the canvas that’s empty because “The horse ate all the grass”, the guitar that has lost its voice.

all this is the proof that time moves fast. it has a good side and a bad side. the good side being that the things that currently seem to be impossible to get over feel like the least of all worries after some time. the bad side being that you lose track of the things that made you reach this day.

i urge you all to take out some time for the hobby of yours that once seemed like an addiction but is now sidelined. having no time for it is acceptable, but we all know, we can never be too busy. you take out time for the things you love or loved.

you didn't become this competent just to lose the things that made your heart happy.

with this, let's part ways; but you must know that it’s never a good bye, and always a see you soon :p

you know where to find new songs and playlists<3

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as a kid, i never liked the rain a lot. I would get completely drenched and it would ruin my school uniform while i waited for sardar Ji to pick me up from the school. sometimes, i would get ill too. this would make the rain look black to me. it would keep me from having a good day.

in the evening, my football games would get cancelled because the rain just decided to take over and now the ground looks more like a pond. on days when my games would get cancelled, it felt like something was left unaccomplished. it made the rain look like it is grey coloured.

this isn't the case with everyone. some people do find the grey colour of the rain very soothing. the rain makes them focus on things happening in the present and it tones down the volume of the world around them—enough to hear the words and thoughts present inside.

i hate to think about the sheer struggle to reach the tuition centre because Gaurav Sir won't ever cancel the tuition and he would definitely show up with a book inside his bike helmet. hats off to him i got crazy results, but the rain would surely enrage me, each drop would feel like a drop of blood shedding from my body. the rain was red.

but that was before;

i moved to a different city for college and found out that places can actually look beautiful when it rains. the water not getting clogged, the dancing trees, the strong wind that’s making the door chime sing its song.

how the earth seems to wear its best green outfit and brown heels to celebrate this occasion. how the plants get resurrected on its coming, how the dust on the road, which is fixated on a particular thought finally moves on and gets free from all things holding it back. it is a surreal experience, it really makes you feel grounded and connected to the nature in some way.

i saw a change in perspective. i saw how beautiful it is. how it makes me so happy by just being there. on most days in a hostel you would see me skip a class, but on days when it would rain, i would definitely go for one, not for the class obviously—but to do justice to the songs in my “rain over me” playlist. i would get more patient and kinder than my usual. it would bring out my best side and that's why i still love it the most. makes me yellow :)

people would call me crazy for not taking a shelter when it's just drizzling, but i guess that's what made me—ME. it makes you more vulnerable and helps you get in touch with yourself without trying too hard. it gives the same amount of peace as one feels after seeing the pink hue in the evening once the rain has settled and the sun is going to wind down its day.

i used to wish for someone who can love the rain as much as i do. people came and paraded away; they got to know that how big of a thing rain is for me and how i wouldn't want to miss a second of it. i never associated rain with a person, it is something that i just hold very dear to me. how it immediately makes life look more beautiful, free from all worries for a while. how it is so deep yet so unnoticed—exactly like the midnight blue colour.

a raging rain storm surely feels very heavy. it makes you feel a lot, but it's destined to settle. it brings a soft, touching and unmistakable promise of getting more light to the world. it gives you the same comfort that the pastel blue colour gives—hope and calmness.

sometimes, you just don't need to think a lot. you should trust your gut and choose what suits you the best. it should just make sense to you. this is exactly why the rain seems to be of purple colour. there's not much backing behind it, but it makes you feel like that.

all i want to say is that, we tend to see the world very differently. but in the end, all perspectives come to one conclusion - beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. you are the ones making it beautiful.

it is how you perceive it which makes it so colourful. i want you all to make a big deal out of every thing that the nature brings to us—the sky, the sun, the moon, sunsets, sunrises and obviously the rain.

click more photos. the photos surely remind you of the time and place where you clicked them, but more than that, they remind you, how you can get joy out of the simplest of things.

I wrote this article to show you how the world around you is so pretty and serene.

the thoughts and perspectives that i showed aren’t just mine; they take inspiration from the people and subscribers who shared their experiences and perceptions with me.

hope you all find the ideas that you shared with me. i remember each and every idea very vividly and i’m glad that you could make me a part of it <3

since you made it so far, i have a gift for you.

for the next rain 🌦️

hope to see you again <3

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i write this article with the sole purpose of making this app a better place to be at. A place where the most emotionally intelligent people show up.

the world outside is cruel. we all know it. It is unfair at times and you can’t change it at all. But that doesn't mean that you have to lose faith in the good side.

☯️: you might have seen the yin-yang; the ideology behind it is something that stuck with me ever since I’ve seen it.

It means that the good and bad can never be separated. Rather they coexist. There's always some bad in the good and thees’s always some good in the bad.

Only the ones who have gone through the grief, remorse and despair of losing someone emotionally or physically can understand the value of the warmth, love and light out there. You are the only ones who can bring about a change in this world around you.

I call you all emotionally intelligent because:

Emotional: People consider being emotional as a flaw. That's the worst thing one could say. Being emotional already makes you a pretty human, the one with pure intentions who accepts and loves things for what they are. It's a blessing to be this way. It's a blessing to feel so deeply at the core. You are in touch with your feelings and that is a great place to be at. Not everyone has the capability to do that.

Intelligent: By being emotional I don't mean that you should let the emotions take the driver's seat when it comes to making decisions. Rather, you are able to use this trait of yours to perceive things with empathy.

You are the ones that balance the bad side of the world. Our lives try to make us rigid and shallow. But the emotions as a whole help us keep this balance.

You all have met some people in your lives who at some point made this life look beautiful but later became the only ones stopping you from living a beautiful life.

This can leave you completely shattered. You tend to feel lost; life starts to move on autopilot.

But—hold on. Did you ever realise how far you've come as a person? How you can love a person so much? How you are so pure and selfless?

This is the only thing I want you to see. The brighter side in you. The side that could never see a stray dog hungry. The side that wishes the rapido driver a good day. The side that offers the seat to a mother in the metro so that she could sit with her kids. The side that would stay up the entire night just to console a close friend.

If you ever felt that your kindness is of no use, just come to read this article again. There's still faith in this world because of people like you. No matter what, don't let the hardships get the best of you.

Don't ever lose your ability to notice the smallest of things with so much passion and warmth. Don't you ever lose your capability of loving so fully because that's what defines you and separates you from the cruel world.

Now that we are going to part ways, I want you to see how far you've come without knowing. To see this, you'll hear this song for me :)

with you, for you <3

take care!

let me know how you feel now that you've read it all :p

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you can find me here if you wish to see more of these; see you around!

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if you're lucky enough, you'll get to move out of your town, away from your family, to stay in a hostel or a flat. It is immediately accompanied by a bittersweet feeling.

There’s the thrill of living a completely new life, all by yourself, leaving everything behind (a blessing in disguise sometimes). This also means going away from your comfort, your usual way of living which is a hard thing to give up especially when you have adhered to it for so long.

You finally find a new room, definitely not like the one at your home—It looks lifeless and empty.

You can see the flaws, the withered paint, the graffiti, the initials of lovers, the exam preparation, the cussing followed by the warden/caretaker’s name.

But here's the point, the room was never supposed to be a living thing, you are the one who puts life in it. It's like a canvas where you paint your ideas; ones that can never be the same unless they are being copied.

Some rooms even remind you of a jigsaw puzzle where few pieces have already been placed correctly. You think of that one person who lived there before you and installed the hooks on the door, but never took them out.

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You fill the remaining pieces with the passage of time. You bring new curtains, bed sheets, a doormat and a table lamp. You bring posters of your own niche liking.

The walls have recorded all of your favourite songs, your call history, your fights, your pep talks. The room has seen all sides of you—the musician, the dancer, the pop-icon, the homeless you, the naked you.

Little do you know how this little room of yours will become the most important place for you. Tiring days don't let you notice much. You just think of the reaching the destination at the end of the day (room 505).

But on days, when life slows down, you notice and ponder. This can take two sides:

• the good side: you got enough sleep and the sun’s kiss wakes you up. You see the curtains dancing slowly on the melody of the chirp. You don't have to answer any questions immediately after waking up, you can just slowly start the morning just like you want it.

• the bad side: you’ve got a lot on your mind. You just wish you could silence the war on the inside but you can't. The silence around you starts suffocating you. You start spiralling, doubting your potential, limiting yourself.

You go through both of them while you go through different situations. One of them makes you grounded and the other one makes you grateful.

Days pass, months pass and the time comes—time to vacate the room. You start unwinding, thinking of all the time you’ve spent there while you pack your stuff. You can't believe how much you have changed from the “you” that entered this room for the first time.

You get hit by a wave of overwhelming nostalgia. You now know every inch of this room, the one that became your home away from home. You know that the parting away is inevitable; you keep looking at it for one last time, trying to store it in your photographic memory. Perhaps, you can't always go back to 505.

I’m glad that you read this till the very end and I hope that you liked it :)

I’d love to know if you had such a story too <3

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So the only way to not think about it was to put my earphones on and to enjoy the small world that I create when I hear music. I've specifically named the playlist MetroMasti (it's a saviour).

One fine day, I could just think about how much distance and time this spotify account has traversed with me. I started thinking about it and eventually ended up scrolling down to the very bottom of my playlists.

I could evidently see how music became a big part of what I am today!

I’ll take you down the memory lane

It's 2017, your fav song is Closer by the Chainsmokers or You make me by the Avicii (i miss you Tim Bergling). You have heard each song for over a 100 times and you know each song word for word. You didn't care much about the words, it was always the beat or that one line which hooked you in the first place.

You made it through!

It’s 2020, you just graduated from school, but covid had some plans. You find that you have all the time to yourself and you started exploring spotify. Trust me, once you start finding new songs on spotify, there's no going back. It's a rough phase and you heard LANY for the first time (wouldn't recommend). You don't understand how much time you've spent overthinking until spotify wrapped gives you a reality check :)

You made it through!

It's 2021 and you are finally moving to a different state. You are leaving everything behind except for the few people from School who will probably be there to dance with you on your wedding. It's the first time in your life that you're all alone. Joji is your go to artist. You have to make wise decisions while figuring out your own choices.

You made it through!

It's 2023, you've been introduced to The Lumineers by the person you love and even the start of the song Ophelia makes you happier. Life is good, youve unlocked the academic weapon capabilities, you're scoring bangers in uni football.

You made it through!

It's 2024, uni’s ending soon. You have a shit load of pressure because you don't have a job yet. You're all alone again but by this time you have figured out how to live alone happily. You're bittersweet about the place you've spent so much time at — the place that has shaped you day in day out. You try to hold it as much as you can because you don't know if you’ll ever witness this beautiful sight again.

You made it through!

2025 was me trying to spend some time without the music, without stimulating myself every single time I get the chance to hear some songs.

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It didn't change things much, but made me realise that how music can make the most mundane activities the best of times be it cleaning your room, buying groceries, going out for shopping all by yourself and what not.

There's no end to this journey but at least the aux is with me :)

What's your fav music story, I’d love to know about it since you made it so far!

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