Fear frenzy















‘Fear’ was something that people dreaded earlier- in the past. But now a days people enjoy ‘fear’. People, especially youths and the younger generation voluntarily want to experience and live this feeling. Remember the mountain dew advertisement and its tagline- ‘Dar ke aage jeet hai’. Many have a knack for adventure sports, risky thrills and activities that fuel the adrenaline rush. Cliff jumping, river rafting on the rocky trails can be challenging and life threatening; but the young mass wants to experience this too. Be it in sports, hobbies, cinema, books or pranks- everything having the ‘fear’ element is popular.

Most of my friends love horror movies. They love watching those at night, even though it gives them chills, goosebumps, and sleepless nights for the next few days. I wonder how they enjoy it. Well, whatever it is, I have never felt any liking towards it. How can one enjoy rapid heartbeats, and that super alert feel; fearing to go to another room alone and screaming on seeing someone with open hair? I just don't get it. Some of my cousins are addicted to these horror movies. They have weird craze for watching movies like Fog, Grudge, Scream, Mirror, etc. again and again. And in the fiction world, Stephen King is the best known and most read author in the horror genre. I want to read one of his books one day; just to know what this entire craze is about.

Well, I have tried to analyze something related to ‘fear’. That is adrenaline rush. Consider the time you had a rollercoaster ride. Wasn’t it fun? When the ride starts, you were not sure how it would go, you are afraid; in the midway you hold tightly to the bar and scream at the top of your voice- fearing to even close your eyes for a moment lest something should happen. And then, at last when the ride comes to an end, you find yourself laughing, even though your heart still refuges to stop beating so fast. After the fear so major, all you are left with is pure ecstasy. You feel so full of life at that moment that all your senses just concentrate on you enjoying that very moment. This is it. Whatever you want to name it- but this is the feeling which everyone wants to feel, and that makes them want to take risks. That feeling makes you believe your existence, believe that you are alive. At that moment you feel life filling every pore, every cell of your being.


So, is fear just a way to live life again, which one had forgotten in his drudgery of routine?

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Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju

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