Anuradha 📨

Figuring.

[Gitanjali J Angmo @GitanjaliAngmo]

I am not BJP. Nor Congress. Neither Sanghi nor Communist. Neither Left nor Right. Neither socialist nor capitalist. Neither liberal nor conservative. Neither Dalit nor Brahmin. Neither Jain, Buddhist nor Hindu. Neither Punjabi, Odia nor Ladakhi.

I am all of these, and more. Beyond all “isms”. I take the best from everything and leave the rest.

We diminish ourselves the moment we squeeze our infinite selves into man made buckets. Our deepest identity is not political, social, religious or ideological. It is consciousness itself.

चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम्।
Chidānandarūpaḥ Śivo'ham Śivo'ham.

[Shiv Aroor @ShivAroor]

Sharmila Dhankar.
Polio at age 2.
Mother blind, father farmer.
Married at 18.
Beaten for dowry.
Beaten for giving birth to 2 daughters.
At 26, beaten near fatally, thrown out.
At 34, began shotput training.
At 40, 1st 🇮🇳 para-athlete 🥇 at CWG.

[Gitanjali J Angmo @GitanjaliAngmo]

When @Wangchuk66 was detained, the BJP IT cell called us anti-national, Chinese agents, foreign-funded, and every other label they could manufacture.
Today, because we called the Congress' protest at PM's residence insincere, Congress trolls are calling us Sanghis, RSS and BJP stooges.
Different flags. Same playbook. The rot has infected our entire political culture.
India needs more than just a change of government. It needs a change in the very grammar of politics, where disagreement is met with dialogue, not demonisation; where patriotism is measured by integrity, not party affiliation; and where truth matters more than tribal loyalty.
@narendramodi @RahulGandhi

[Vir Das @thevirdas]

If it’s the week of the nation making requests 🙏 I think this ones from my civics text book…

[𝐷𝑟. 𝐿𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦⁷ 🪭 ʷᵃⁱᵗⁱⁿᵍ ᶠᵒʳ 初春 & 雾里青 @idgafvmin]

This boy has more social awareness and logic than millions of others in this country who cry about reservation and casteism.
Just take 1 minute out of your time and watch -

[John Cusack @johncusack]

“For the first time in years, it feels wonderful to be Indian. Just when hope seemed lost, they came. Young roaches riding in on the rain. The progeny of the unholy union between a judge and a joke. “
Arundhati Roy

They cannot beat these kids

[Error @bhairihonakyaa]

Pappu can't dance but he pretty damn well can stand up

[कुंभकरण @_kumbhkaran]

The youth of this country forced the silent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to record a video message at midnight and that too without mentioning Congress or Nehru!

That's already a milestone!

[Anuradha 📨 @memorymuseum03]

I remember reading this. And the pride I felt that I am a part of it all. THIS. Lets protect the children. Its the least we can do.

[ravish kumar @ravish_journo]

क्या बात है।

[ravish kumar @ravish_journo]

क्या बात है।

[Gaurav Nandan Tripathi @Cric_Beyond_Ent]

Guys are applauding a Delhi Police personnel who put up his badge upon request and then saying ""Haa ab theek lag raha hai. Ab maaroge to pyaar se kha lenge"😂😂

Next level hai bhai 😭😭

[Anuradha 📨 @memorymuseum03]

@Theonenameddamn Sorry this was the same man who joked about women being chased at night by men? Uh- nope. I like how people have short term memories. Please choose your heroes wisely.

[Harshdeep Rapal @harshdeeprapal]

Hearing out Gen Z.

My father's caretaker is a 24 year old guy. Hails from Kanpur. He has done BSc Nursing and we have hired him through an agency that provides elder-care professionals at home.

Spends 12 hours at our home (8 am to 8 pm), rarely takes a leave. A very diligent guy, soft-spoken, well-read (keeps reading books from my collection) and speaks pretty fluent English.

On the morning of 20th July, he calls up and says he is not feeling well. On 21st he came, was limping a bit. Did not share what happened.

Yesterday he shared with dad that he told a lie. On 20th he had gone to Jantar-Mantar for supporting the students' protest and was hit by the police truncheon during lathi-charge. While running, lost his shoe and twisted his ankle.

Last night when I went home and was having dinner, dad told me about this. Today morning when he came I talked to him and realized what 'generation(al) gap' means.

While talking to him I realized, he was 9-10 when Anna Andolan happened. He was 10-11 when Arvind Kejriwal became the CM for the first time. He was 11-12 when BJP formed the government in 2014. The NEET aspirants are even younger than him. They were toddlers 12 years ago.

Some of the things we have lived through, are alien to him. All he has seen since he started experiencing the world is the current government and Modi as the PM. So for him, everything that he and his generation is been through in last 7-8 years since he 'grew up' - the responsibility lies with the current government.

He mentioned that there are 1000s of youngsters who have travelled from as far as Lucknow and Varanasi for these protests.

Again on being asked why? Why did he and his friends join the protest? Why these students have come so far to join the protests?

NEET exam leak was the last thing on his mind. The reasons he gave were - everything becoming expensive and unaffordable, no job opportunities, government's and police's high-headedness, corruption everywhere - and then went on to mention falling bridges, broken roads, no footpaths, stray dogs and cattle all around and dumps of garbage everywhere. He called ethanol-blending a scam.

I felt he was just waiting to burst out everything that's piled up in his mind. Glad that heard him out.

Then I realized that there are millions like him and these protests are not just about the NEET exam leak. These are the piled up frustrations finding a way out.

[megha @litttiichokha]

proud of my land of “sir tear gas ki vyavastha nahi hai? kucho vyavastha nahi karein aap log” “paani maariye na sir itna garmi pad raha hai”

[αdil @ixadilx]

Fight Like A Girl.

[Korah Abraham @thekorahabraham]

Banger headline!

[Gurpriya @GurpriyaSidhu]

cameraperson parth, take a bow

[𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧★ @olivvrszn]

personally, i think we should be okay with having a great conversation with a stranger and leaving it at that. exchanging contacts isn't always necessary. one of the beautiful things in life is being able to remember a good conversation with a random person and move on.

[Pico Iyer @PicoIyer]

How does Maria Popova write so brilliantly, in her second language and at a relatively young age? She reads. And reads some more. And thinks and reads and thinks. What emerges from her has none of the breathlessness of social media, none of the flimsiness of updates.