SoulScript by Niharika

  ​There is a quiet, growing epidemic in our digital age: the hunger for a life that looks good, rather than one that feels good. We have become a generation of "show-offs," not because we are inherently vain, but because we have been conditioned to believe that if an achievement isn't documented, tagged, and "liked," it didn't actually happen. ​The Illusion of Achievement: Paying for a Name ​I remember being young and—let’s be honest—a bit stupid. I had a burning desire to see my name in a published book. I wasn't alone. Publishers and "compilers" have built entire business models on this specific brand of vanity. ​They invite poets to pay a "small fee" for the chance to be included in an anthology. Others offer "free" inclusion but then upsell you on a "Premium Author Package" featuring a certificate, a trophy, and a medal. The irony? The authors rarely see a rupee of the profit from book sales. We weren...

  ​We are often taught that faith is a straight line. Follow the elders, light the lamp, ring the bell, and chant the mantras. For a long time, it seems simple. But as the mind grows curious, the line begins to curve. ​The Perspective of "Right" ​I recently watched a play on the Mahabharat told from Duryodhan’s perspective. It shifted everything. We are taught he was the villain, but looking through his eyes blurs the lines of Dharma and Adharma . If he was wrong for humiliating Draupadi, how were the Pandavas right for betting her like a piece of property? Is a woman merely an object to be staked in a game? ​Similarly, in the book "The Palace of Illusions," we see the entire epic through Panchali’s eyes. Her version reminds us that history is often written by men, leaving the internal world of women in the shadows. When you shift the lens from the warrior to the woman, or from the victor to the "villain," the concept of morality shifts with it. The...