Kashmir : From an Ignorant Indian

Prachi Gohil
in

"I am a Nobody. I am not an Actor. I am not a Politician. I am not an Artist. I am no one significant in the broad landscape of humanity. I am just another person in a count of billions.

I haven’t studied political science or history. I am not an Economist or a Journalist. I am not the person who watches the News Hour every day or reads the newspaper on a daily basis. I am just another person trying to get through life by being the best that I can be."

Read More

Unhappy and Gay

Prachi Gohil
in

"This story is about how “Indian gay men’s wives are trapped in marriages”. But who said it’s only the wives who are trapped? One of the interviewees in the article explicitly states, "In our society, even if you have a great job, you are considered a failure if you are not married with kids"

Why is it necessary to be defined by such beliefs? Don’t we all know of unhappy loveless marriages where people just end up being together because they don’t want to upset societal harmony?"

Read More

A Friendship's Day Story

in

"I’m scared. My bones are shivering even as I type this. You think that this would never happen to anyone you know. You think that the world is a perfect, bright and happy place. But people just bury the ugly stories in order to keep this myth alive. 

I have a story today which I need to tell the world because something needs to be done, my hands are tied and this is the only thing that I can do as a woman who wants to stand up for another woman."

Read More

Fly baby, Fly

in

"

The big bad world out there is ugly and heartless, that’s absolutely true for most parts. But in the bitterness of our harsh realities we often forget how there are small pockets of happiness and pure-hearted goodness that are going to warm our hearts amidst this drought. We forget that much like us there are others who are suffering in their silence hiding behind the unbreakable shield of their smiles.

And maybe, they are distrustful of everything just as you are because it seems unfair. If we all get stuck in that cycle of distrust and loathing, can we blame anyone for the eerie sensation of hostility when we thrust ourselves into the open?"

Read More

Butch.

in

"It is a celebration of those who choose to exist and identify outside of the binary; who still get he’d and she’d differently throughout the day; who get called-out in bathrooms and eyed suspiciously at the airport; who have invented names for themselves as parents because “Mom” nor “Dad” feels quite right; and who will generally expect that stare from the gender police trying to figure out if they are “a boy or a girl”. It is an homage to the bull-daggers and female husbands before me, and to the young studs, gender queers, and bois who continue to bloom into the present."

Read More

Introverted

in

"Introversion is not an affliction. It’s not something one can choose to be. It is how you are. You don’t have a choice in the matter. What you do have a choice about is how you deal and cope with it to adjust with your external environment. Introverts are constantly being nudged and prodded by the world around to “cure” themselves. But much like, how homosexuality is not a disease that can be cured nor can introversion."

Read More

I promised

Prachi Gohil
in

"Have you ever got that feeling that maybe, you live in a parallel universe which runs 5 times slower than the rest of the world? How else do you relish every second of time that you’ve got? If you walk at the same pace as the rest of the world, every day will rush by as a blitzkrieg. If you run ahead of them, you’ll reach the finish line before anyone else and once you do… what next?"

Read More

Not a bitch-face.

Prachi Gohil
in

"They will listen to you. Your wish will be their command. They will not raise an arm in defence and they will surrender to every argument you put across. You will have the last word. You will no longer be a damsel in distress but will be the Wonder Woman they dare not mess with.

Fat or thin, old or young, townie or a Ma-Ka-Bo, employed or unemployed, whether you are going for a party or a casual lunch at the local Udipi restaurant, it doesn’t matter. If you are down in the dumps, are being pushed around like a pinball, and nothing seems to be going your way then forget the bitch-face. Put the perfect shade of red-lipstick on."

Read More

Muse

Prachi Gohil

"You were my muse. I thought about you and the words flowed like a flooded river. With a force that fierce, there was uncertainty. I never knew where you would take me next. I let myself get lost. I let myself be led by you. You were my muse…

It took me a while to clean myself of you and there is some residue. But this part of you, I want to keep. I want to treasure you and build monasteries over the remnants of you. Spaces are empty where you used to live. They were once quivering with your vivacity. Now, they reek of absence of your incandescence. You were my muse..."

Read More

Confessions of The Chubby Girl

Prachi Gohil
in ,

"For a woman who has battled with body image issues all her life, I can tell you one thing, my happiness is intrinsically linked with my body weight. Whoever propagated the notion that fat people are happier got it all wrong.

I am Fat. Okay, fine. I am over weight. I am chubby. Still on the good side of chubby, at least. I love eating nachos with Greek dip. I prefer my chaklis with schezwan sauce. I like my penne arrabiata with an extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Though, pizzas, samosas and doughnuts are still a complete no-no for me. The heart of the matter is that nothing in the world is as comforting as a big bowl of caramel popcorn or a large helping of freshly cooked and strongly spiced Maggi. Nothing."

Read More

Twenty Four

Prachi Gohil
in

"24. No. This article is not about the Indian version of 24 which is going on air in a couple of weeks. (Though, you should check out the trailer which I think is promising and should shake up the currently stale Indian Television scene.) 

I’m turning 24. Yes, T-w-e-n-t-y F-o-u-r! Paranoia has already gripped me. Finally the adage - “Don’t ask a woman her age,” is making sense to me.

There was a list of goals I had set for myself. Surprisingly, I’ve managed to live up to the promises I made. I picked up a few pearls along the way which make my survival in this BAD MAD world a little easier and incredibly stress-free.

Here it goes."

Read More

Freedom

Prachi Gohil
in

"We are Independent today but are we really Free? Was he fighting for Freedom or was it Independence? I’d like to believe that he stood for the former while the rest were battling it out for the latter.

He wanted us to be freed of slavery not only from the Queen but from the shackles of our own minds. He wanted us to see the light. He basked in its warmth and he wanted to share that warmth with us. He used to march down streets adorning his cotton dhoti and a lathi in hand, with this inscrutable grit as if while covering those miles he was carrying with him a million little stories of the people he was fighting for. He had to reach his destination as quickly as possible to give these stories an ending they deserved."

Read More

Come to Me

Prachi Gohil
in

"Come to me when you want no one else.

Come to me when you are tired of living a double life; when you want to silence the noises all around and want to listen to your heart. I’ll make them stop. You won’t hear anything but yourself. You’ll hear everything that you needed to hear. All the thoughts that you kept from yourself so far… you’ll hear them resonate with a new found clarity.

Come to me when you want to believe again; when everything seems a lie and you don’t know what’s real anymore and want to be real. I’ll make you see. The cloak of darkness will move away and you’ll see colours you’ve never seen before. Everybody will seem to be different when you see them the way I show you. You’ll realise that it wasn’t a lie. It was there in front of you all this while but you hadn’t opened your eyes yet."

Read More

End of the Bully Raaj

Prachi Gohil
in

"I hate Bullies.

I cannot stand their existence and being in the mere presence of a bully rattles my insides. It might be because I was bullied a lot as a child. I was told that I shouldn’t retaliate and that Karma will eventually bite them in the ass. I assumed that Karma was this invisible superhero that came out at night and taught bullies a lesson when they were fast asleep and found comfort in that thought.

I always muttered under my breath, “Karma will get you.”"

Read More

Dusk to Dawn

Prachi Gohil
in

"Old people have an air around them which makes you see the world differently. They have a caution in each step that they take, with or without their walking stick. They take each step with a kind of worn down temperament as if they know where this step is taking them and yet, they are being cautious not because they are afraid of falling but because they know they can fall. They aren’t afraid of the fall. They accept it.

They smell different… of soap, cologne and old people scent. If you catch a glimpse of their eyes, you see a touch of greyness in their pupils. You dare to peek a second longer and again, the weariness becomes so evident. Those eyes have seen so much and with them they carry years of memories which keep fading away each day. They may not remember the memory but each memory adds a wrinkle to their skin. Each memory gets erased and is replaced with a grey hair."

Read More

A Procrastinator's Tale

Prachi Gohil
in

"Most of the things in my life have been a bit like that. I always dismissed every problem worth my concern as a stupid excuse to crib. Maybe, it's not hurting that much. Maybe, it’s in my head. I'm supposed to bear the pain. It's just a bruise, no need for me to complain. Sit on a sofa and bear your pain in silence. They taught this to me while I was still very young.

You don't let anyone know how hurt you are. Never crib about the lemons that life throws at you. Keep a straight face or smile in the face of adversity. I did. I did that so sincerely that now I keep smiling all the time (mostly) irrespective of what sorrows plague my life."

Read More