Essay

By Asmi Mukhopadhyay Again, there is Selfie-death! This time, the indiscriminate use of mobile reached new heights with two bizarre incidents in 2025. In July, a 15-year-old girl in Italy was crushed to death by a boulder while trying to take a selfie with friends at a scenic spot—another victim to the deadly risks people take for the ‘perfect’ shot. Around the same period, a 24-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh, India, tragically fell off a bridge while capturing a daring selfie

By Asmi Mukhopadhyay It all seemed fine until plastics silently made their way into our very bloodstreams. Unnoticed, they spread from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean trenches, infiltrating every corner of our planet. Yes, plastics — once hailed as a symbol of progress — are now threatening the very existence of life on Earth. But this crisis didn’t happen overnight. It began right in our homes, quietly spreading its reach into every part of our daily lives, fro

By Aribah Iqubal Oh, really? You claim to have conjured me? How quaint. I’ve always lurked in the shadows of your clenched jaws, nestled in that little itch you insist isn't hunger. Remember when you first uttered “mine,” taking that shaky breath? That was me, slithering in. You’ve draped me in shiny labels like ambition and progress, as if a mere word could wash away the stains of blood. You packaged this chaos into “civilization,” wrapping me up in PowerPoints and statistic

By Andi Van den Berge (Andi VdB) I am a wrist cutter. Or rather, I did it once. Had things happened with a thirty-second difference, I could be dead. The slice was lethal. When it happened, I didn’t think I was suicidal. In fact, it was the first thing I assured the paramedics. They believed me. So did everyone at the hospital.  The ambulance brought me into the emergency room, and I was warned that the hospital may place me in F-pod, but hopefully, they would not. F-pod was

By Cal Burgess May 17th, 2025— I am brimming with gratitude for those Dionysian moments I experienced this past spring— all those late nights, cuddles, dates, and thrilling emotions of attraction and companionship were the highest drug, and although it has all come crashing down, and although it seems it meant little to her in the end, I still had a good time and I have learned a lot. It’s funny how it all seemed like a weird, twisted vindication of my adolescence— the peck o

By Aakarsh Sharma Compassion is spoke of as though it were the heartbeat of morality that is as natural as breathing . Yet it is to be inquired that if it is really so innate , then why must it be instilled through education . You sense of stimuli is also innate , does it need to be taught ? The answer to this simple and brutal : compassion is natural , but it is crucified every day on the cross of our self-interest . We are born soft and rigorously programmed to be hardened

By Aashna Sinha Alan Turing, the father of artificial intelligence predicted, “ at the end of the century[1900s] the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted. ” Though the man was called mad in his time, we now see how true his words were. Ada Lovelace, the first person to recognise that a computer had applications other than calculations, stated the principle,

By Kalpana Rangan We are the country that produced daring beauties like Rani Padmini, Rani Jhansi, Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Indira Gandhi. Then why is it that a girl in India is still regarded as a burden and not an asset? I remember a few months after I delivered my son, my second child, my husband’s aunt had come home. As soon as she entered, she remarked, “Oh, you are so lucky. You got a son while my daughter got only a girl!” I thought she was foolish. However, when I int

By Niyati Mehdiratta When you hear the word “courtroom”, the first things that come to mind are: a judge in a black robe, a jury, and a gavel. But with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, all this could be reduced to a mere software. No more judges, no more objections, and worst of all, no more humanity. You might believe that AI can make the process more efficient, cheap and fair. It can quickly review case histories, apply legal principles, and reduce delays c

By Swati Sinha We like to believe that we are rational beings, guided by logic, driven by order, and masters of our emotions.  However, the truth is that sanity itself demands a little madness. The world isn’t built for those who calculate everything. It rewards the ones who dare to dream beyond the reasonable, hope beyond the sensible, and continue to try even when logic says “don’t.” Measured madness- that’s what it takes to live fully. Every person who has ever loved deepl

By Swati Sinha No one really noticed when it opened. It was small, tucked between a stationary shop and an abandoned post office. The Board above the wooden door read: “The Museum of Forgotten Things.” People walked past it every day, assuming it sold antiques and curiosities. But one rainy afternoon, when the traffic was slow, and curiosity was faster, a young woman named Rhea stepped inside. The air was quiet, not empty quiet, but expectant like the pause before a confessio

By Vagdha S A teenager deletes selfie after selfie, believing that perfection brings life, yet it only makes mannequins: flawless and lifeless. This is not just one teenager’s struggle−it is the culture of a society that worships flawless masks over genuine faces. But the very thing we fear−our flaws−spares us from becoming replicas and makes us human. The obsession with flawlessness is shaping how we live and who we allow ourselves to be. Society’s chase for unrealistic idea

By Dr.Anubhuti Gupta When you are above 50, you do not realize how soon time flies and you have completed your half century and public is not clapping about it but keeping you remind about your age and I say to them that Age is just a number, if you do not mind it, it does not matter. Really, I believe in this. Why? There are several reasons…Let me explain...For me, as if I am again living my sweet 15. In 15, when you taste the sweetness of youth and you start caring about yo

By Aakarsh Sharma Abstract “The Meaning of ‘No Meaning’” is a meditation on life’s absurdity and our power to create meaning in its absence. It begins with a bold acceptance that life holds no inherent purpose and transforms that void into a call for creative defiance. Through vivid metaphors of fire, dance, and self-authorship, it argues that the lack of cosmic direction frees us to construct our own. Every act of love freely chosen, work done without applause, joy snatched

By Keya Pothen On July 15, 2022, I lost my father. While I was typing the year, I had to take a second because my memory failed me. I had to take a second when I realised that this year, 2024, it will be two years. It doesn't feel like that. It still feels like it happened just yesterday. Time will heal everything? Yeah, right? Time passes, and all I can think about are the moments in the day when you’re missing, when I can't call you. Where I can still hear your voice ringin

By Niyati Mehdiratta Ah, procrastination—the art of putting things off until the last possible second. It’s not just a habit; it’s a lifestyle. You see, I’ve perfected the fine art of procrastination over the years, and I’m here to share my deeply un productive journey with you. Why? Because misery loves company, and I’m sure there are at least a few of you out there who understand exactly where I’m coming from.The first step in my daily routine is to firmly believe that I de

By Zoe Parra I was trembling as I walked up to the microphone of the church, where the sorrowful people who had shared moments with my grandfather stared at me. It was one year since he passed away; one year since he told me that my quietness is too loud to be understood in this world. I heard the echo of my faltering voice bouncing between the walls, just like my thoughts bounced among my memories, my notes, and my need to breathe deeply to hold back my tears. My words were

By Lovely Joy Galez The power of flips, you’ll never know what’s going to happen the next day you wake up in the morning, today is a different story but a usual thing that is commonly happening.  The gut of saying goodbye, an ending for a new beginning, a farewell, the expected but unexpected to be the soonest. They say attachment is what makes us hard to leave , the emotions and the bond you shared with the happy memories and experience together is the one that is hard to le

By Dr.Sagarika Devburman I was born into a house alive with movement yet guarded in speech. My childhood mornings began with the clatter of steel utensils being scrubbed, the hiss of oil meeting a hot pan, and the faint sound of a conch shell blown at the altar before dawn. But beneath the surface of these rhythms lived another music: the music of silence. Conversations in my home were often elliptical. A question might be answered with a shrug. A disagreement might dissolve

By Navamika Ragesh I was in Delhi with my family  ,stuck at traffic . So bored was I from all the travelling that I  felt extremely lousy .Amidst a  street vendor was selling books at low price .I opened the glass window and my eyes caught on  the title “THE ART OF BEING ALONE “ -by RENUKA GAVRANI . “ Oh that book is in my booklist “ . I bought the book and immediately started to read . My mummy took notice of the title and asked me “Why you want to be alone? “ .I taught she