FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND

A write-up by Samyak Shah

Fair-weather friend (adj.) A person who changes loyalty based on whether or not something is succeeding; often used to describe change of stances to go with the current popular sentiment or someone who wavers on their opinions.

"What we often forget is that all that we know is not all that there is"

The world exists outside the world of black and white because the categorizations are the extremes in a world that is majoring in averages. Talking about 'grey' brings forth the highlight that is 'living in the era of easy access and scrutiny' where the pressure of maintaining one particular stance is paramount because everybody assumes that what one says is what they'll keep saying forever, which is far from the truth, but because 'reputation' is to be taken care of, many fall into the trap of following their words sometimes just for the sake of it. 

Collectively, it seems that we have forgotten to differentiate between something that is wrong and something that is bottomline unacceptable. There seems to be a decline in the existence of the concept of 'grey area' with its position being snatched away by a seemingly negative-impressioned 'hypocrisy'. 

What if I told you that it's okay to take back your words and still be considered as a responsible individual in the eyes of others, and more importantly, in your own eyes? What? Sounds unreal to you? Why? Ah! I see; where's that validation, sympathy and most importantly the fear of getting bashed publicly and backlash for going back on your words. It seems that the binary ideology took you too far in your over-thinking, with additional credits to mob justice and approval stamp for 'stepping back' being \considered a crime of some sort now. You're neither fully guilty, nor fully innocent, you're somewhere in the middle because you screwed up and so did others; it's just that not everyone has the kahones to admit 'I believe that I no longer support what I previously used to, so I'm taking the words back. No harsh feelings' and why would anyone have the kahones, when despite actions being louder than words, your words are twisted into a trap for you. 

What if I told you that it's okay to be believing and supporting both sides of the arguments equally and being that fair-weather friend, there's nothing obviously wrong in it since everyone would love to be on the winning side, and also because it saves you the pain of explaining why you might be opposing something. Convenient, right? Almost! That's because fair-weather friends aren't exactly respected (for obvious reasons but) majorly because they seem to be unreliable as they switch sides at the drop of the hat, but in a time where the lines between extremes is getting blurred, what's the harm if a person believes in the ideology of both sides and chooses to stay where (s)he finds it better? NO! Not permissible because what's a person that doesn't face the consequences of their actions, right? Most certainly, and that is what brings it to a point where one needs to ask: What if one doesn't take a significant action? Reaction is what makes consequences and a reaction is in response to the action, so what if action itself is not taken, keeping in mind that consequences may/may not be favourable? Escapist much? 

There's always more than meets the eye, but what if there's a refusal to see what's hidden? 

"Curiosity killed the cat or probably just lack of interest and attention did, who's to know? Accept what you feel is right, everyone's truth is different" 

      

Working for love

A post by Samyak Shah

Since the time we were young, more or less, we've been made to work for every single thing that we have in life. No, there's nothing wrong with it because it is in a sense teaching us that many things in life are supposed to be 'earned' as they're either in scarcity or are just too damn expensive to be given just like that as a reward for a small activity/chore.

What they actually mean is: The world is not generous every single time and many a times, you'll have to toil day in and day out to get something that you want.

However, because a huge majority doesn't 'want to hurt others by telling them the truth in a harsh manner or getting the true intentions of providing something out in the open', they resort to reading between the lines and objective & reward based techniques to pass on information or impart knowledge which, though not completely wrong but, is most certainly a mindf*ck.

My point is: Love is something that every individual desires, it is something that every individual needs, it is sometimes essential and most importantly, it needs to be given and it is needed to be felt by everyone.

There shouldn't be this gap between receiving and giving which needs to be filled with work because if we're saying that one needs to work to get love that they desire, they have to do something that they don't want to but have to because we want them to and because we possess the one thing that they require, and that's only fair going by the standard logic of demand and supply.

Beginning from the childhood itself, parents have been conditioning children to behave the way they want them to by bribing and manipulating them with something or the other that they know the kid loves, and they're made to sometimes do things they would not otherwise do because they want the reward without always realizing that they're being manipulated and the cycle is settling in their brains that to give someone the love they want, they have to do something that you want them to.

Sometimes, I agree that, manipulation is needed to make sure the child does something that is seemingly essential for them, but luring them with something they love to make them do something is not always the way to go and it has to be understood irrespective of the general logic of demand and supply.

A person cannot and should not be stripped off of something so vital and essential for one's mental and physical well-being because a person devoid of love, or someone who is set in the cycle that in order for them to get the love they want they have to do things the giver wants them to do, might just become a machine in the figurative and borderline literal sense.

The reward-punishment system that is set in place for conditioning still works fine if done with a purpose of well-being, and destroying someone psychologically so that they obey one's orders without question is not a purpose to tomtom.

To everyone out there working so that you get a reward and that reward earns you someone's love, it's not love. That's a transaction. You're providing an investment and they're providing a service for your investment.

Creepiness

A post by Samyak Shah

---------
As much as we'd like to talk to one another and form what we presume to be a 'harmonious' human chain of communication and affection, there seems to be one trouble that a lot of us go through and put others through as well. 

What's that you ask? 

Creepiness 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the one to judge anybody on a creepiness scale because I (unlike a few idiots) know that everybody's perception of what's normal is different which is what everybody should be realising and accepting consciously and not just superficially. 

Let me tell you what my overthinking brain sprung up with when I began to think about what exactly categorizing someone as a 'creep' meant: Every person's creepy bar is set by their own selves based on the experiences they've had and the one's they've heard which forms (or conditions, scientifically speaking) what is called an impression or an image of what exactly something is like, which more or less influences how we're going to perceive it as! 

Put in simpler words: One thing/person is creepy for an individual and is not for another, and that's completely reliant on how the person has been brought up and what sort of perspectives are fed/how perspectives are manipulated in his/her life

Food for thought: There's a difference between someone feeling creepy for personal reasons as opposed to feeling creepy for the sake of not ruining your impression in a social setting because more often than not, creepiness is caused faster when a social setting is kept in mind as opposed to seeing somebody as an individual just like us...

मर्दाना

A poem by Samyak Shah

नहीं आती करनी लड़ाई

और ना है मेरे इस डर का ठिकाना

तोह

लोगों के लिए, मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

नहीं बदल सकता गाड़ी के टायर

ना आता है हर बात पे सख्ती दिखाना

तभी शायद

लोगों के लिए, मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

आता है कई बातों पर रोना

पर खुल के रो भी नहीं सकता 

क्यूंकि क्या कहेगा ज़माना

की 

मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

ना है 16 का डोला 

ना है 56 की छाती

पर क्योंकि नहीं चाहता घर के बर्तनों को खड़काना

लोगों ने कहा, मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

समय को हम बदल दिए

तौर-तरीके भी बदल दिए

पर सोच को हमने बदला ना

तभी कह रहे है
लोगों के लिए, मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

लोगों के लिए, मैं नहीं हूँ मर्दाना

Special Someone...

A write-up by Samyak Shah 

So, do we all not have people in our lives? Rather, do we all not have that one special someone in our lives? Most of us do. That is because we're never truly lonely, and if we're believing in that, then what's the harm in having one person specifically dedicated to us, right?

But, I'm not talking the special someone who is your partner, friend, squeeze or anything; because where I'm getting at is that one special someone who is not really a special someone but is a shape shifting entity of our lives.

The entity that everybody has, the entity that most of us know and acknowledge; the entity that comes in the form of your partner, friend, cousin, even helping staff for that matter.
In fact, you'll be surprised when I tell you that it's you who many a times has welcomed this entity with open arms in your life.

The shape shifting entity, who usually takes the form of the special someone (because you can't seem to live without that) is NEGATIVITY 

We all are very welcoming of everything, until we're stabbed right when we thought everything's right, and this is when we begin to close up. It is not bad, it is natural for us to close up, but the question we need to ask is: To which people will we be open to, then?

Negativity can enter your life in any shape and form because we hate to be alone, and most of the times, it will always creep in using the medium which is liked the most by us.

That explains why the people whom we love hurt us, right?

We have always been told to look at all the sides and then make a decision, but neither do we have so much time nor do we have the required patience, and negativity takes advantage of that buffer time to get into our lives.
Unconsciously, sometimes Consciously, we have made negativity a part of lives because we cannot even fathom the things that it can resort to because negativity doesn't have a moral code. We all are weighed down by that special someone because what they manifest is not what they mean to, but it still gets to us.

Nobody is alone, and there is nobody that does not have this special someone in their lives

So what's the harm in having one person dedicated to us?

Do you know who I am?

A write-up by Samyak Shah

To: Whomsoever it may concern

Subject: A letter from the kid who people think doesn’t understand the struggle of the real world

So, I heard that you guys are having some struggle with getting the opportunities despite being the deserving candidates? I unfortunately can’t do shit about it, because in this race of hare and tortoise, the hare sleeps only after he knows he has crossed the finish line, because I know that announcing your win before winning is for the fools and the ones who still believe in this 4-letter word called HOPE.

You’ll hate me, you have, in the past, and some of you still will in the future.

Today, I’m here to tell you that I’m not much different than you guys, because even in the fairyland, one has to struggle. Everywhere, there is a competition and everywhere it seems that the grass is greener (IYKWIM) on the other side.

I understand that my being spoilt and rich has made you face the consequences like losing the game where you were the clear winner, but I want to tell you that this is not what I intended.

I do not want to have all this power and riches just because my parents said ‘My kid won’t see the things I’ve seen and he won’t have to struggle the way I did’ and guess what; staying true to their promise, they have always made sure that I got what I wanted and I’m helpless here, because I ask for something simple and I get the best in that, WHY? Because my parents wish the best for me and want me to be happy. Is that wrong? YES, because in making me happy, someone else is planning on killing me for stealing what (s)he wanted to have.

Also, it is not that I have not worked hard, but because I had so much support and headstart, that even my efforts felt worthless. But that didn’t mean I did not put in efforts, right? I know you must be really angry thinking ‘Oh, did the rich boy not have enough comfort in everything?’ and I completely understand why you might feel that.

I’d like to take this moment and tell you a little personal anecdote so that I can diminish the difference between you and me.

Sometimes, I think my brother feels bad because I got the opportunities that I didn’t utilise like he’d have; while there he is, trying to make head and tail out of several nothings, and yet always smiling. The respect everyone has for him is because he has worked hard for everything that he has in his life, and even I respect him for being the way he is. But one look at how he looked at me, and I realised that I’m the fairy to his commoner, because I felt that I lived the life he deserved, and just because his family wasn’t as understanding as mine was, he never got to the level where he could’ve been able to rule the world if he wanted. He makes use of whatever he gets and seizes every opportunity, small or big, while here I am, crying like a child for having my toy broken (not exactly though, I’m using this comparison to make you guys understand properly).

That’s not the case all of the times though, because he clearly instructed me that he made grave mistakes that he didn’t want me to make. Not only did I realise that I had gotten more chances than he did, but also that I’ve been way more of a diva than I could ever imagine.

Every time I failed, I kept falling more and more in my own eyes.

Respect lost in other’s eye can be gained with some efforts, but getting the respect back for yourself in your own eyes, is really difficult.

I always wanted to be like him from the eyes of how people saw him, until I realised how he saw me. I know that I was comparing my life with someone else’s but there was nothing I could do.

The fact that I had fallen in my own eyes, is what led on the guilt of being rich and still being a failure in utilizing opportunities

I hated myself for being rich, because this is not what I expected when I thought of a rich person.

So now, it seems that you and I are not so different; after all, you are battling to come to my position, while I compete to stay where I am and try to reduce the guilt.

That’s all for now.

Yours truly (whether you want it or not)

Just another kid trying to make an impact

Just like you

A poem by Samyak Shah 

I’m living, just like you are

I’m scared, just like you are

I fear getting beaten, just like you do

I fear being hated, just like you do

I want to be loved, just like you are

I want to be appreciated, just like you are

I fear not giving my best, just like you do

I fear having regret, just like you do

I’m ugly sometimes, just like you are

I’m looking for a place to hide, just like you are

I fear being blamed for something I didn’t do, just like you do

I fear scaring people with my ugliness, just like you do

I want to be respect, just like you are

I want to be successful, just like you are

I fear offending people, just like you do

I fear losing connections, just like you do

I’m hopeless sometimes, just like you are

 I’m emotional sometimes, just like you are

I fear not seeing the world’s grey shades, just like you do

I fear not knowing who’s truly by my side, just like you do

I’m afraid to not have lived to my fullest, just like you are

I’m scared I might waste my life behind trivia, just like you are

I want to love people and give everything I’ve got, just like you do

I’m scared whether they’ll accept me or not, just like you do

It wasn't love

A poem by Samyak Shah

If you felt sorry for having loved them,

It wasn’t love

If you felt worthless for having loved them,

It wasn’t love

If you felt like a toy while loving them

It wasn’t love

If you forgot that even you were a human

It wasn’t love

If communication wasn’t the only barrier you had

It wasn’t love

If love bites weren’t the reason for your body being red

It wasn’t love

If the pain wasn’t sweet and worth longing for

It wasn’t love

If you forgot to distinguish between want and necessity

It wasn’t love

But

If you listened to these things and yet you loved them

It clearly wasn’t love

One sided

A poem by Samyak Shah 

It is not beautiful

It is not empowering

It is one-sided bullshit

It is not shared

It is not respected

It is one-sided bullshit

It is not peaceful

It is not worthy

It is one-sided bullshit

It is not open minded

It is not worth your time

It is one-sided bullshit

It is not different

It is not inexpensive

It is one-sided bullshit

No matter what may happen

It is not love

It is one-sided bullshit

Chup ho gaye

             

A poem by Samyak Shah

Do aansu bahe

Aur hum chup ho gaye

Do lavz kahe

Aur hum chup ho gaye

Kuch baat si chali

Aur hum chup ho gaye

Tum par nazar padi

Aur hum chup ho gaye

Laga ke baat aage badhegi

Lekin tum chup ho gaye

Baat tumne bhi shuru ki

Lekin tum phir se chup ho gaye

Shabd kuch kahe

Aur tum chup ho gaye

Iss pyaar ko kya naam doon

Rishte ko kaunsa darza doon

Kyunki

Paas dono aaye zaroor

Par dono hi chup ho gaye

BUT...

A poem by Samyak Shah 

To commit a mistake is okay

But to make them feel constantly guilty for it, is not

To avoid making the mistake from now on is okay 

But to constantly mock them for it, is not 

To feel bad for having joked about it constantly is okay 

But to feel bad for that person standing up is not 

To lend them a voice to speak on is okay 

But to steal their existing voice is not 

To make people feel important is okay 

But to constantly feed their egos is not

To make yourself willingly vulnerable is okay 

But to take advantage of the vulnerability is not 

To think that you can get away is okay 

But to think that the person won't strike back is not

To take the high road is okay 

But to ignore everything because of cowardice is not 

To think revenge taking is for the closed-minded is okay 

But to think that the restriction of it can be a green signal for criminals is not 

To teach someone irresponsible a lesson is okay 

But to preach your greatness constantly is not 

To teach someone to be responsible is okay 

But to mock their irresponsibility is not 

To think that the person will forgive is okay 

But to mistake that the person will forget is not 

To believe that the wounds will heal is okay 

But to think the scars will vanish is not 

HELLO DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND

               A blog by Samyak Shah

I don’t necessarily enjoy the light. I am more of the darkness person.

I enjoy the fact that I can’t see anything around me and I can’t be seen inside the surrounding.

I sometimes like to know that people can’t see me, which gives me the advantage of doing what I like to do, without ever having to worry about the judging eyes.

It’s not like I don’t do my own shit in broad daylight, but don’t you just love it when nobody has the ability to pass any negative judgement or criticism?

I know and appreciate the light because I understand that without the light, darkness is probably nothing. For every component of the world, there is a counter component that explains each other’s importance. The world is no longer run on one common opinion and view like it used to be because everyone has a different liking and everyone finds a way to get it.

Darkness is appreciated because we humans have five primary senses and we know that when one sense stops functioning (even if it is temporary) it heightens the other senses. Why else do you think we often times do activities that make us use different senses while closing one of them primarily?

Whatever doesn’t excite us doesn’t exist for too long, does it?

Like I said, darkness provides solace of not being visible to the world because if the eyes are just going to make you feel as if you should be dead, darkness just provides a medium for it.

We can’t see anything properly when in the dark and that’s when we start to see who and what to actually trust. This is possibly the most underrated thing about darkness. No one necessarily looks at it this way.

For the ones who are spontaneous are the people who truly understand the need of darkness because what the light can’t do, darkness does. Darkness provides the amount of hope that light possibly couldn’t. Think about it: When you see everything in front of you, do you hope for something good, or do you think about things that could go wrong and how they can be prevented?

EXACTLY

Now, think about it when you’re in the dark: Do you think about the bad things or do you think about trying to get out of it as safely and as fast as possible? So, what seems to be more motivating?

The ones who care about the light, usually work in the dark.

Darkness is something that motivates me to find light and when I’ve lit up a place, I move on to another dark place so that I can light that up as well. I like to know that the world is not a dark place. I love to be in the dark, but I don’t necessarily appreciate every other ass interfering with my work. I light up a place and move on because my darkness is my business, which is not for everyone to poke their nose into.

Seems like it’s a goodbye for now...

What I call LOVE

What I call LOVE 

- A poem by Samyak Shah

 It's about what happens after sex, 

Is what I call LOVE 

It's about what we do after things get boring,

Is what I call LOVE 

It's not about who wins the fight, but what we choose to fight about, 

Is what I call LOVE 

It's about who gains everything and yet remains together, 

Is what I call LOVE 

It's about who is confident about us, 

Is what I call LOVE 

And most certainly, 

It's about who I believe is capable of being with me for the time I'm alive, 

Is what I call LOVE 

It's about who I'm important to for taking every risk, 

Is what I call LOVE