Step Into My Shoes..

What is happiness? One word, millions of interpretations, billions of feelings. Is it even describable? I thought about describing it but failed at it. I opened up the dictionary and all it gave me was synonyms - joy, contentment, pleasure.  So I decided, happiness can't be described. It can only be felt.  And the weird thing about this funny little thing called happiness is that it comes with an expiry date. Happiness doesn't last forever. It has to be renewed as if it were a library book and as much as we like it, we alone can not control that. We need help. Sometimes, help comes in a form of a person, a touch, a smile, an animal, a plant, a place, an accomplishment, a victory, food, a book, a meme, another feeling.  Most of the times happiness isn't pure. It almost always comes laced with other emotions. Pride, remorse, fear, shame, redemption, desire, hope. There is no such thing as an unadulterated happiness. At least for most, there isn't. Happiness

A young man is walking home after a long day at work. It is almost midnight. The way is dark. A taxi stops a little further on the road. A drunk woman stumbles out. She is walking right ahead of the young man now. She looks behind, sees the man, stops and lets him walk ahead.  We call it "being safe". Reverse the gender now. We would now call it "being creepy".

Sakela is a festival celebrated by the Rai people of Nepal. This festival is celebrated two times a year. Once during the Baisakh Purnima (which is the full moon during the months of April/May) and another during the full moon day of Mangsir (months of November/December). I am not a Rai but I am close to a few Rai people in Sydney and that's enough of an excuse to participate in this fabulous festivity. Last time I had been a part of this festival, it was 4 years ago. I was new still in the city and I was awkward. I still am awkward but this time I was ready. I had never really paid attention to Sakela back home. I just knew that a bunch of people danced around something with the sounds of "Saye dhole saye, arko dhole khai". I don't even know what that means. Yet. And last time I attended, I had even forgotten they danced. So before I could gather my bearings, people had already started dancing and while I was debating with myself whether I should join, the

I have a few confessions to make regarding my reading habits: I am a very picky reader, I don't usually read Indie books, I go mostly for Best Sellers or Award Winning ones, I rarely remember the name of the author of the books I've read, I mostly forget the name of the characters of the books, and I most definitely forget the story line of the book. And I don't even read hundreds of books a year. Before buying a book, I make sure I check the ratings. Check what people have said. Check if the book is going to be worth my time. Praises aside; and there are always praises for the books on the covers, at the backs and even right after you open them, I feel the need to see how other 'people' enjoyed the books, not 'The Times' or 'Washington Post'. And the range of things people have to say about books is pretty impressive. And since I rely so much on reviews, I have started leaving some of my own on a website dedicated to book lovers (Goodr