Tamrina Thinks

There is an interesting thing we all like to do in our life and that is commemorate dates. Whether it is birthdays, anniversaries, he or she day we met someone for the first time but also, the day we lost someone dear to us. On the one end, the remembrance gives us joy and a chance to celebrate and on the other, they are an opportunity to think about that special person, often through teas and wonder, if things could have been different. As humans, it is our nature to assign meaning to things; whether it is the changing of seasons, that breaking of a glass or even, our own suffering. Why do we do that? It is to find some sense of order in this chaos of a world. Similarly, attaching that special meaning to some days gives us a break from the mundane. It allows us to take a breather from everyday routines and shuffle things up a little bit. I once read somewhere that grief is the love we feel for someone once they are gone and maybe this is why we remember them extra on particular da...

In life, we learn new lessons every day; some we forget and some end up being the life changing perspective that we wish to spread to everyone we come across. One such lesson for me has been this “The wants, the needs and the would-like-to-haves”. Now, on the surface of it, they look very similar; they denote something or someone we desire to have in our possession or our life, but if you go a bit deeper, you would realize they are indeed very different. And understanding this difference can be truly life-changing. It all comes down to how we evaluate something that has come in our life and do a cost-and-benefit analysis before we put effort into it in order to not just save energy and time but also, maybe avoid getting hurt. A lot of the times, we spend our energy on gaining something or mourning a loss of something that wasn’t actually adding more to our life than it was taking. So, what exactly is the difference, let’s get to it. When we talk about the needs we are referring to the...

I often say music is the sound of the soul and basically equivalent to oxygen for me. I know it sounds like a cliché but hear me out. All my life, starting from as early as I can remember, music has been my constant companion: in my joys and sorrows, smiles and tears, greetings and losses, it has been an integral part of almost all of my core memories. It inspires me, holds my hand when I am alone and even makes me make sense of my complicated emotions when I am unable to. Something similar happened a couple days ago and I want to talk about it.   Chaahe jo tumhe poore dil se, milta hai wo mushkil se. Aisa jo koi kahin hai, bas wo hi sabse haseen hai. Uss haath ko tum thaam lo, wo meharban kal ho na ho I am sure a majority of you have heard these lines many times and we all have our own interpretations of them, I did too. My understanding of these lines emphasized how we should embrace the love that walks into our lives and hold on to it as it is a rare thing to find but also, we m...

  I have contemplated writing this post, wondering if I am really in a mood to travel back down the memory lane and explore the year I had. But here I am, reflecting on what all went down in the last year, just as a way for myself to document my journey through the chaos. I started 2024 in a not so good mood, with dealing  emotions that were just too heavy to be explained in words or even understood, from feeling lost and alone to at the same time feeling guilty about letting down the people who cared for me, it was a complicated beginning. Then came a happy moment when I attended my first ever concert, something I desperately wanted to do. On the work front, I continued my MPhil journey, learning things I assumed I wouldn’t be able to do and finding ways to accomplish my goals in ways that were interesting to say the least. Feelings of being overwhelmed and not doing enough for my goals were a near constant, often to the point of being counterproductive. I learn...

  Looking at the sky On a dark starless night One can all but wonder Where exactly is the light The days are not that bad They make it worth the while But somehow it doesn't feel genuine Even when you smile Nothing's happened to cause this It all came out of the blue This feeling of being so disconnected It is all a little new And yet there are moments Moments when it all seems fine Moments when I can see through the fog Moments that I can call mine -Tamrina

A while back, a close friend had told me that my life would always be interesting because I have a passion and a dream to fulfil it, which translates to me always having something to fight for. This statement has stuck with me, especially in my low times because it is very true. When things get tough, I think about the destination I have set for myself and it gives me the strength to overcome the obstacles in my path. Something that I have come to realize very recently though is irrespective of the journey a person chooses to embark in life, there are many battles that each of us has to fight. And despite our best efforts, we win some, we lose some and we snooze some. Now the first two is pretty self-explanatory and the reality of life and circumstances but the third option is what I wish to share with you today. For some people, life is a constant uphill battle; it could be due to a social disadvantage, financial challenges, belonging to a marginalized group, intrapersonal struggles,...