Tag

struggles

Browsing

What is taught in an 8:30 class that cannot be taught in a class that takes place at 1PM? Nothing, really. But you got to do what you got to do.

 

  1. Find a travel partner

If there is someone whom you travel with, to the college, you’ll find yourself finding enough motivation to wake up early morning to go to the college with them. Coordinating with them and making sure you both have woken up to reach college on time can really help. Having company and knowing they are as doomed as you, gives an uncanny satisfaction!

 

  1. Unique Alarm Apps

Some alarm apps like ‘Alarmy’ are for sleepy heads like us! They are loud alarms that won’t get dismissed unless you complete a few challenges that the apps bring you. These challenges will definitely get you out of bed and wake you up before you can complete them. Some of these are solving puzzles, solving math problems, and even taking a selfie.

 

  1. Looking forward to something in the day

Looking forward to tasty breakfasts, events, catching up plans or even a new shampoo can give you the small motivation you need to get the day rolling. Notice when you’re excited or anxious about something, you are conscious of it and do wake up on time for it, like your exams or birthdays.

 

  1. Asking for help

Your parents woke you up for school when you were kids, but you might as well learn you’re still a disappointment and need their help. Ask your parents to wake you up for your class. At least they’ll be happy you’re attending it!

 

  1. Acceptance

Accept you are a failure and the sun isn’t warm enough. Sleep in, miss the class, regret and come back to this article.

 

Khyati Sanger
[email protected]

In a country where women are still told which professions are suitable for their gender, Sohonie is an inspiration who literally helped open the doors of research in science to women. If somebody ever says “women are not cut out for science”, use excerpts from Sohonie’s story to inspire you forward.

 

“Kamala Sohonie was a quiet, unassuming person. A woman of few words.”- Vasumati Dhuru, an Indian author.

 

This woman of few words, born in 1911, had decided as a young child that she would become a renowned chemist just like her uncle because she resembled him in appearance. The hurdles, struggles, and misogyny did not exist for the young kid’s resolution. That did not deter her from going on to earn the title of the “first female PhD-holder of India”. Her contemporaries were budding to satiate their love for curiosity, but Dr. Sohonie had to pay the penalty of rebuke and ostracisation for her curiosity, despite the unwavering support of her highly-educated family.

 

Graduating first in her BSc course class from Bombay University, she challenged the first Asian Nobel Laureate in Physics- Dr. C.V. Raman- when he refused her admission for Master’s at the Indian Institute of Science based on her gender. She publicly stated later on, “I can never forget the way he treated me just because I was a woman. This was a great insult to me.” Yet when it came to enduring his unnecessary conditions for allowing her an education at the Indian Institute of Science, she did it all for the love of science. Professor Raman began to admit female students after Kamala’s work captivated his scientific mind. She surpassed the stereotype and opened the door, quite literally, for female curiosity.

 

She won a scholarship for Cambridge, then a fellowship at the laboratory of Fredrick G. Hopkins. Less than 16 months after working under the Nobel Laureate, she submitted a thesis on the role of cytochrome-C in the respiration of plant tissue. Her doctorate was one of the landmarks for the entire science community because it was merely forty pages in length, when theses of over ten thousand words were a common convention.

 

Returning to India in 1939, she became a professor and the HOD of biochemistry at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. She joined the Royal Institute of Science in Bombay as a professor in 1947, but it took her four years to head the department because of gender biases and politics. This Rashtrapati Award winner who worked on ‘Neera’ collapsed and died, 86, at the Indian Council of Medical Research shortly after her honouring ceremony, in a setting she strived in her life to be a part of.

 

Image Credits: Feminism in India

 

Anushree Joshi

[email protected]

Agla Station Rajiv Chowk Hain,an automated voice speaks in a manner calm and composed unlike the ambience in the metro coach. Everyone in the trainthe office goers with their laptop bags and dark circles,  rucksack wearing tourists, WhatsApp addicted aunties in sarees, and college students like myselfbraces for impact as within seconds, chaos is about to be unleashed.

“Doors will open to the right,” the deep baritone of a woman echoes through the speakers like a war cry from a conch shell. The situation gets more intense and beads of perspiration appear on my forehead. As soon as the gates open, it indeed feels like a battle with people kicking, elbowing, pushing, and pulling each other as they struggle to get in and out coach. I feel like a lifeless rag doll dragging my sorry self to some corner trying to avoid the bulls charging at me. It’s another day of travelling by Delhi Metro.

I have had a bittersweet relationship with the Delhi Metro, a part of my daily life. I  start my day by opening my arms wide in Shahrukh Khan’s signature pose at the security check. Then I slide down the escalator and skid my feet towards the airport express line. After reaching the bustling New Delhi metro station, I travel by the yellow line.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) includes several routes like the yellow line, blue line, violet line and the airport express. The airport express is the Barry Allen of metro lines, the fastest in the DMRC. It somewhat feels like an elitist ride as it is fast and has proper seats with elbow rests. In sharp contrast to this, my friends are accustomed to creepy stares from strangers while travelling by the yellow line (which just includes two rows of seats in each coach facing each other). Obviously, the elitist ride costs more (INR 50) than your normal metro journey.

Now let’s talk about general metro rules. The brains of Indians (especially that of Delhiites) are renowned for lacking basic civic sense and adherence to rules. Indians in the metro are no exception. When the gates open at every station, basic courtesy requires you to stand at the sides, allow the passengers to come out in a proper fashion and then subtly step in. But subtleness and courtesy seem like a far cry from typical metro behaviour. Outside every gate, there are printed words on the floor which read, “Let the passengers alight first”. But everyone seems to be in a rush. The blokes at the platform stand right at the doors facing the blokes who want to get down and this ends up looking like a wild rugby match, an elaborate dance of bumping heads and trembling hands. This is particularly true in the case of extremely crowded stations like the famous Rajiv Chowk metro station and Kashmere Gate metro station. If my train halts at these stations, I breathe a sigh of relief as I see multitudes of passengers set foot to the outside world. However, this feeling is short-lived as five odd seconds later, the absence of the crowd gets compensated. An equally large number of commuters rush inside and it feels like I just had a delusion of an empty coach. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that after China, India and ‘Friendzone’, the zone with the highest population in the world might be Rajiv Chowk metro station.

Another rule prohibits eating and drinking inside the metro. Although it seems like a minor rule, I still choose to be a hardcore law-abiding citizen. I remember that I did break the rule one evening when I opened a packet of nachos to feed my famished stomach. Another day, a lady sitting next to me opened her large lunchbox which had a shade of bright pink that made me cringe. Then shifting my eyes towards my phone screen, I tried not to bother. But my nose got triggered in an instant. The reason for my nostrils yelling for help was because the lady was eating a sandwich which had a lot of raw onion slices stuffed inside. If I was ever a Superman, I’m sure onions would be my ‘Kryptonite’ because I just hate them.  Basically, the onions in this sandwich were so smelly that I was about to faint. There were no more empty seats in the metro so I just got up and stood near the door as that seemed like a better option. That day, I understood the actual reason why the DMRC had framed the ‘no eating’ rule.

The Metro is a lifeline for the majority of the wildlings of the urban jungle called Delhi. E Shreedharan, a man credited for setting up the metro lines in Delhi, earned the sobriquet “Metro Man”. No wonder that he was once considered as a Presidential candidate by the BJP. The network connects people and despite the little issues and moments of mayhem, I feel a sense of belonging to these trains. Apart from Connaught Place, momos, and unruly traffic, what characterises Delhi best is the Metro. Now I should better stop writing because the man with the heavy voice on the speaker is resuming his announcement, saying “Next station is Kashmere Gate”.

 

Feature Image Credits: Diwas Bisht (Behance)

Shaurya Singh Thapa

[email protected]