WWL Writing With Love

The quote "We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason" isn't alien to us these days. With the increasing use of technology, 'meeting' doesn't mean 'physical' it may drop to a 'virtual' one as well. In this COVID-19 era, the term 'meeting' actually translates to a virtual one. Being a journalist, I have come across many people officially and unofficially, but some of them continue to inspire me for the good things they did or the things they continue to do. One such person was Justy Jain Thomas. You may wonder why this person now? Because it's important to know her. Staying indoors, she proved that a person can 'be the change' if they are determined to make it happen. Let's start from where it all began. With COVID-19 lockdown in March, most people lost their jobs. Daily wage labourers were the first victims of the upsurge in unemployment. However, relief kits were offered to the ...

  What are the benefits of reading a book? Improves your vocabulary, increases your perspective of things, and the list goes on. But what if I tell you that a book helps in building conversations as well. I mean it. I spoke to a random stranger with a ‘book-factor’. It was my first reporting module at ACJ. A new city, people, way of life, and of course a new mode of transportation. I was used to travelling by my scooter when I was in my hometown and at this ‘Singara Chennai’ I had to depend on local trains which I actually enjoyed, because, I have travelled in Mumbai local trains. So I was happy travelling in a ‘not-so-crowded’ train at pocket-friendly tariffs. Being a Science graduate, I was clueless about how reporting actually works. Still, I had no option. Believing, ‘Experience is the best teacher' I started my day. It was my worst reporting experience because things did not work as per plan. But no worries. I was still satisfied because I could manage to do something bett...

  It has been over eight months since I met Vimal. He wasn’t an extra-ordinary sub-ordinate, but, being his team-lead for almost two years, I felt comfortable working with him than with anyone else. I have no clue about his whereabouts, but I recollect that he wasn’t okay during his last few days with the firm. This was quite evident with his working pattern and delayed deadlines which obviously pissed me off. I did notice his change, but I didn’t want to fiddle with his personal life, until things messed up, officially! We had a meeting. Our product was based on promoting Artificial Intelligence. He was responsible for the presentation that day. I had advised him to show me the presentation in advance but he said he completed it late and assured me that things were perfect. Trusting him, we proceeded with the meeting. And he screwed it up! His presentation was talking majorly about Data Analytics! To our luck it was just a team meeting, however, a mistake cannot be justified that ...

  How things have changed, but......not completely I decided to write this article a day after Onam (Coronam, maybe). I don’t have an explanation for the motivation to write this, but, something happened which forced me to spare a thought. Being in a middle class family from South India, I would say that parents have always influenced my life. I express my gratitude to them wholly, but were we pampered all our life or are we leading a life of dependency? It’s too early for a person in her early twenties to understand this thought, however, this needs to be addressed at this point, especially, when most of us are sitting back at our homes. Parents are always proud of their wards, agree or not? Some tend to express it and some may not. This is completely individual and I don’t want to brood in this thought at any cost. But when does this turn toxic?

  'Seen-zoning' isn't a crime! A few days back, I happened to catch up with a former colleague of mine. We were randomly chatting on WhatsApp and suddenly, she sent me an audio message. “Hey sorry. Switching on the read recipients right away. Someone was annoying me yesterday and hence I had turned it off. I know how irritating it is to you. Sorry (giggles).” I hadn’t noticed that till then. Of course, I remember arguing with her a few months back for the same. My reason was simple. “How on earth am I to know whether you saw my message or not.” This struck me hard. Well, just before writing this blog, I noticed that I have about 150 unread messages in WhatsApp. The point is, I wouldn’t have noticed the message when I received it or I would have been busy at that moment or maybe my mental state wasn’t good enough to type an appropriate reply to your message. The same thing goes well with calls. I have had moments when I sit back and stare with eyes wide open while gett...