Recently I spoke to my frnd who is taking treatment for her mental illness.At the end of conversation she said: “please dont say this others .May be they feel that I’m weak”.
This small incident made me to ponder deeply on the topic: Mental health.  The reason why my frnd hesitated is the strong social stigma associated with mental illness. Still we live in the era where we rarely hear mental illness and it symbolizes weak personality. People are ready to emotionally paralyze but are not ready to speak up about what they are going through.This mindset needs to change for the very reason that mental illness is taking away 8lakh lives every year(i.e. One life for every 40 seconds). Isnt it huge?

Had anyone said : “please dear dont end ur life. Its precious.  This time too shall pass”, we would have saved 40 lives for everysecond.
Recent studies show that mental illness age is decreasing (even a 8yr old kid is facing some or the other mental health issues).These facts indicate the urgent need to talk and bring large awareness on the mental health. Mental illness mainly includes anxiety disorder,  panic attack , frustration, loss of interest in life depression, bipolar disorder etc.  In recent times burgeoning stress,  mad race towards material success, increased digitalization (resulted in loss of emotional interconnectedness with dearones), nuclear families, consumerist and materialist life, Sedentary lifestyle etc. have become the major reasons for rise in mental illness.  Added to this, present covid pandemic induced anxiety,  loss of dearones, loss of jobs, uncertainty   hopelessness etc further aggravated the problem.  Considering the growing pace of this mental illness there is an urgent need to combat this mental illness. Let’s see how we can win over this.

1.Socialising and sharing our mental trauma is the first step. As it is said: “Shared joy is a double joy and shared sorrow is half sorrow “. When u r feeling low immediately share with ur family and friends. There is nothing to feel shy about it. If problem still persists  consult physicarist.  WHO also strongly recommends “Talk theraphy  ” as first step to cure mental illness

2. Watch some motivational videos and read successful stories who again bounced back from depression.  Just believe that ” This too shall pass “
3.Family and friends also should take the issue seriously when they observe notable changes in their dearones.  They can consult doctors and get it treated.

4.Society as whole should stop showing social stigma over this mental health issue. Like physical illness mental illness is very common.No need to attach taboo to it.

5.Government should ensure empathetic service delivery by increasing  spending on setting up of mental health centers,  recruiting more psychiatrists, tying up with NGOs, large scale awareness camps and roping in the ambassadors like deepika padukone ( who herself had come out of severe depression ) inorder  to avoid social stigma associated with it.

Along with all these measures its everyone’s responsibility to focus on mental health. Because it matters a lot. Inculcate healthy lifestyle. Along with physical focus on mental fitness too.Meditation& Yoga are two powerful magic wands which if practised daily can boost our mental fitness levels.  Above all love urself , be kind urself and at the same time be compassionate and kind to others.

As said by Dalai lama:  ” Love and compassion are necessities not luxuries.  Without them humanity can’t survive ” . With love, kindness and compassion let’s make this world mentally and emotionally healthy.

Dear Women,
Flawless complexion, hairless skin, curvy waist,being innocent, sweet voice, limiting to household chores is not what defines you.

Courage ,Self Confidence, patience, cheerful face and compassionate heart is what defines YOU.

Since ancient times till today ,Women have proved their mettle in every field.Now Women are no more limited to household chores.They made their presence in unconventional fields like space, politics, technology, leadership, scientific inventions, entrepreneurship,sports etc.

Taking inspiration from all these achievements lets all wear the crown of courage and selfconfidence and move ahead in our lives. Be brave! You deserve the world!!.

Infact WOMANHOOD is a BLESSING😇 With so much pride and enthusiasm let’s all celebrate this precious gift i.e WOMANHOOD.

HAPPY WOMEN’S DAY to all wonderful women 😍

“Oh again a girl. Boy should have been born. ” These were the words my parents listened after the entry of my younger sister. However they gave a strong  reply to all those sympathisers:
” We are lucky to have our third princess”. They wholeheartedly welcomed their little princess .Not just they said these words they are living upto this words.Till now never they  felt us a burden. We three sisters are very fortunate to have such an awesome parents. In this meta son preference society which sees daughters entry as
a liability, we are lucky to have parents
who treat their daughters as their princesses and their assets.

How lucky we are for escaping female foeticide, female infanticide and gender discrimination .

How fortunate we are for not being among those missing women ( Amartya sen missing women theory says in India around 63mn missing women in India)

How blessed we are for not being in the category of unwanted child.

I wholeheartedly thank god for blessing us such an awesome parents. My parents are our role models. Despite many struggles financially , emotionally and otherwise they never let down their princesses.They gifted us with good education. They gave wings to our dreams. They allowed us to choose our careers of our choice . They valued our choice of partners too.

My mother often says with heavy heart: “We are unable to purchase more gold and other things for you?…

My innocent mom didn’t know that they gifted us more valuable things ( Education and good manners) than gold which no one can steal from us.

Having seen our parents struggles since our childhood,we are also working hard to grow high in our careers. I always wanted my parents to feel happy and proud of us. Feeling forever grateful to my parents for whom we are the wanted girls.殺殺

(This article of mine has been published in examsatoz website)

Lets see two cases:
Case 1: Oh god .Syllabus is huge. To memorise syllabus itself takes one week.Forget about completing entire syllabus.Posts are limited and lakhs compete.Can I do this?.This is not my cup of tea. Lets leave this idea of cracking exam .Let me try other exams

Case 2: Syllabus is very interesting. It covers geography, history, polity ,Economy, current issues etc. Preparing for this exam gives me an immense opportunity to learn many interesting things. Let me enjoy this preparation. Even though lakhs compete ,I have my own strengths.So If I give my best I will succeed.

Now lets analyse two cases:In both  cases exam is same. Syllabus is same .Competition is same.What differs case 1 from two is their  MINDSET.

Yes Our mind is our bestfriend if we tame it Or else it is going to be our worst enemy.Many experts say that- Winning our own mind is the biggest battle one can win in their life.

Yes everyone says all these. But how to change mindset and prepare is the biggest challenge. Ofcourse its not so easy. It needs some time, effort and patience. Like how we train our muscles to be physically fit we need to train our mind to be mentally strong. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand.

Following are some mental hacks you can apply to bring your mind under your control and make your studies more interesting:

1.ENJOY THE PROCESS:

Don’t feel studying as burden. Instead enjoy knowing more things. Just this small change will have huge impact.
Once you have entered this competitive field ,you have to study .There is no other way. Then why not make studying interesting.So enjoy the process.

2.KNOW YOUR WHY?

If your why is strong then you will get more energy and motivation to study. For instance: You want to work in govt sector for the sake of money, status etc.This motivation lasts for limited time. But if you want to work in govt sector to serve the society then it will motivate you more until u reach your goal

3.MEDITATION

This is age old technique which helps us to bring our kapicitta ( monkey mind) under control .Yes many studies have proven that mind chattering reduces and our focus increases with meditation. It is not a rocket science.Beginners can start with simple guided meditation (so many are available in internet).Doing daily for 15-20min will bring remarkable change in your thoughts.

4.PHYSICAL FITNESS:

Umpteen number of studies have proven that doing any physical activity every day will increase your happy harmones and improve your confidence levels.
U need not train like virat kohli, u can do simple yoga, jogging ,walking etc .We also learn to push ourselves out of our comfortzone.

5.A DAILY ROUTINE:

Having a daily routine ( some timetable and targets) will make you more organized and productive. Make realistic targets and timetable. Study in small chunks. ( 1-2 hr slot at stretch and 10min break is more productive than studying 4-5 hrs at stretch)

Also reward yourself everytime you complete targets. This gives you more motivation.

6. TEST SERIES : When you are unable to make timetable and stick to it, dont worry. You have other alternative too. Better join testseries. This helps you to complete given syllabus in given time and you can test yourself. U can also rectify your mistakes.

7.PEER GROUP:

You can form some small study groups (3-4 serious candidates are enough) . You can keep group targets and do discussions too.
And dont worry if you dont have any peer group .You can solve MCQs online, practice online answer writing in any digital platforms ( Our site also provides them)

8. STAY MOTIVATED:

You can watch toppers success stories or any motivational videos online.
Teamfearless ,telugu geeks are some good youtube channels which gives you good dosage of  vitamin-M(Motivation)

If you apply all these principles sincerely you can do Wonders in your life. All the very best for your journey.
Be positive. Stay focussed.

We all welcomed 2021 with  relieved  hearts and happy faces. We felt that worst is over and we are going to be covid free.We thought covid battle ended. But no one expected that 2nd wave of this covid tsunami would come and would take away lives at such jet speed. Covid infections and deaths are mounting at alarming speed.

Official data says : at present 2nd wave is claiming 120 lives per hour over .It is said that largest Islamic graveyard Jadid Qabristhan is full now.  Frantic relatives and friends are pleading for beds ,O2 cyclinders and life saving medicines. India is gasping  for breathe.  Many heart wrenching incidents of videos showing  relatives helplessly watching their dearones die infornt of them. The emotional pain they are undergoing is unexplainable.
At present we are living in such uncertain times where today’s “Get well soon “ message can become tommorrow’s RIP message. Anger is raging across India with fire of endless funeral pyres.

Who is responsible for such grave scenario.
Whom to blame ?
Should we blame virus for its virulent strains?
Should we blame governments for being complacent in getting prepared for 2nd wave, for conducting elections ( Ever since election campaigning began in West Bengal, covid infections rose by 32 times. State has seen terrifying crisis) ,  for being incompetent in providing needy healthy services, for making India gasp for breathe, for moving on snailpace in providing quality health infrastructure, for making India- a largest vaccine maker fall short of shots and for making lose our dearones.??

Or Should we blame ourselves for being complacent in taking precautions, for defying mask culture, for not abiding by social distancing norms,for being irresponsible,for running out of quarantine centres,  for just criticising government?

Yes, we should blame the govt and also society as whole for this present state. Its our collective failure that has pushed us into this darkzone.
However just blaming alone will do nothing .Infact it worsens the situation. Enough of all blame games now. We all should accept the fact that blame games cant bring back the lost lives. But our actions can atleast save the lives now.
We should collectively fight this covid battle. Governments should come on mission mode to provide mass vaccination drives, enhance its surveillance strategy, engaging more health care workers, provide O2, lifesaving medicines on time, check the blackmarketing of needy medicines, impose mini lockdowns in vulnerable zones.
Covid should act as a wakeup call for govt to focus more on healthcare.

Not just the government, Society as whole should take this 2nd wave seriously. Adopting mask culture again, practising social distancing, taking healthy food, doing  pranayama daily, practising sanistising, stepping out only when it is needed, helping the needy , practising gratitude for all healthcare personnel and frontline workers(they deserve huge respect for such relentless and selfless services), strictly  abiding by covid norms.

Undoubtedly undergoing this “Once in a century crisis ” phase is very challenging. However we should not lose hope.Taking inspiration from our past where with our collective efforts we could overcome 1st covid  battle, now also we should move with the same fighting spirit.

As said by hellen keller:  ” Alone I can do little , together we can create miracles “.Only Ourcollective  actions can make “Get well soon”  message to “Happy to see u recovered.”

(This article of mine has been published in ExamsAtoZ website)

I should not have done that mistake?
I should have worked still more harder?
Had I chosen easy path I would have been happy now?
Many doubted my abilities and with my failures now im proving them right?
Unnecessarily I have come into this field?
Will I get my desired job?
How long should I wait?
What if failures come again?

These are common questions often run in the minds of aspirants who are preparing for competitive exams. Unfortunately we live in I shouldn’t have -Had I – Will I – What if – logjam. Spending time on this will bring nothing but unnecessary mental pressure.

By blaming the past and fearing the uncertain future many waste their precious present . Some one rightly said :Past is like dead body. U cant bring life to it.Future is like baby in womb. We cant predict how baby is going to be.

This analogy clearly says that thinking about past and future is utter waste of time. To live in moment is the best we can do now. Its wise to spend our energy and time on things which are in our control than living in past and future.

Lets see some steps on how to stay in present and make most of it:

1.Focus on  the immediate step not the final outcome

Don’t think more about end goal. Focus on the present preparation journey. This one hour before your study table matters the most  and you can make it best by utilising to the fullest.

Set small daily  ,weekly and monthly targets. Your sole aim should be to complete them.

2.Be busy in your work

This way you can trick your mind to avoid thoughts about past and future.

3.Become better version of yourself.

Never ever compare your life with others. Every person is unique. Focus on your strengths and overcome your weakness.Always compare your yesterday self to today’s and work on your own self.

4.Practice mindfulness

Its not a rocket science. Just practice being mindful of even simple things.Lets say you are eating, focus on the food, the texture and the taste instead of watching TV. This small acts make you more mindful of your actions

Along with this you can also do meditation or pranayama.

5. Positive Self talk

“Talk to yourself at least once in a Day, otherwise you may miss a meeting with an EXCELLENT person in this World.” ― Swami Vivekananda.

So instead of unnecessary gossips , chatting etc better do positive self talk once in a day

6.Digital detox

In this distraction age where we our digital gadgets are ruling us, we need digital detox therapy.Its nothing but staying away from digital gadgets strictly for few hours and spending that time for productive purposes

These are some steps which you can inculcate to live in present. Its not so easy but its not impossible too.
Please remember that living in present is the most valuable skill which if mastered fully can unleash hidden potential in us.

Ending this write up with a quote:

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it as the present.” So use this gift wisely.

Dear Real Heroes,

All of a sudden ,entire world came to standstill bcz of corona pandemic.A small microscopic parasite(corona virus) is shaking the world.Health emergencies declared, curfew announced and Lockdown imposed in many parts of the world. Political leaders are struggling hard to protect their citizens. Scientists are burning midnight oil to end this deadly virus. Doctors and nurses are fighting the battle inside hospitals, Police personnel and other paramilitary forces are enforcing lockdown in scorching sun.Many workers, paramedics, pilots ,sanitation workers ,govt employees and other essential workers are braving grave odds every day.You people are Real Heroes.You are fighting like warriors against this invincible enemy in this Corona War.
Knowing the fact that this deadly virus can attack us in any way ,still you are working selflessly to protect us. Living in solitude safely is possible only bcz of your fortitude.We are grateful for what you are doing. We all salute your efforts and commitment. Your heroism, dedication and commitment is giving us a degree of assurance that we will overcome this soon.Wholehearted thanks for all the work you are doing
Like how our safety is your priority, Your wellbeing and safety matters a lot to us. Please please be careful.
We as whole society resolve that we follow all your instructions strictly and stay at home.Sending you all our wholehearted gratitude and respect for the herculean effort that you are putting in every single day

Amidst cheering applauds, there comes a determined lady with contentment in eyes , happiness on face, holding India’s flag high. She created history by becoming the first woman boxer to win 6 world championship titles( 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008,2010 ,2018). She is none other than our magnificent Mary kom. This is not a overnight success to her. Her journey is full of challenges, but she defied all odds posed , busted gender stereotypes,overcome the odds posed by lack of resources and infrastructure,motherhood and countless other challenges- She faced and overcome it all.How is this tough feat possible for a 35 year old lady, a mother of three kids?Sheer determination,Never say die attitude, passion towards boxing , unshakeable faith in her abilities are some qualities which brought this woman from a small village in Manipur to World’s boxing platform. Impossible word is not there in her dictionary. Lets see some instances from her journey

1. Is it possible to lose 2kgs in 4hrs?——-Mostly no, it looks quite impossible .But , Mary made it possible .She lost 2kgs in four hours to get eligibility for 13th Silesian open boxing Tournament in Poland(Sep 2018)
2. When her father asked her to choose between family and boxing, she chose boxing over family.Ofcourse it was a very tough situation for her. But her love towards boxing made her to go for it.
3. Critics said that her era got over, she need to resign because it is tough to beat younger opponents. At the age of 35, getting world title may seem impossible. But it is Mary, So it has become possible..Recently Mary(35years old) struck her record of 6th gold medal as she defeated Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota, who is much younger than Mary.

All these instances clearly say that Impossible should be her middle name. Raffaele Bergamasco,    the India coach sums up Mary’s legend :” Mary in boxing is like Maradona in football”. Exceptional determination,self belief, Never give up  attitude  are her strengths. Lets wish that her strengths  bring her still more success .As of now she is hungry for tokyo olympic medal. Recently, Mary said:  “An olympic medal is what Iam still dreaming”…..Lets strongly wish for her dream come true…..

GSTOs: Powerless or Pillars  ?

After a long wait, we entered the commercial tax department with happiness(now no longer we are  unemployed),  Excitement to work (Outer world is struggling  to understand the complex GST but now we are GSTOs and we got an opportunity to work with the new complex law) and eagerness to learn new things.

To our utter shock,  we heard some sentences : hey why did u  chose this department,  Now u don’t have power,  What work u guys will do,  Now urs is just a clerical job. GST has taken away all ur powers……. Etc.

These sentences disappointed us. All our excitement subsided soon. Of course how can one get job satisfaction without doing anything and who likes to earn salary without contributing our part.  However crazy  voice in us was saying that – “Don’t worry GSTOs,  department needs ur contribution..You have so much to do.” . With that little hope after completing 45 days induction training in APHRDI, we entered the CCT.

We were like Wandering  bark searching for light house.

All higher level functionaries and very knowledgeable persons will present their lectures. Be very careful and maintain discipline.  These were some guidelines we got from our circle offices.  As soon as we entered  the lecture hall, we got a warm welcome. Cheerful smile by our coordinators gave a soothing relief.

First day we received very useful and motivating inputs from Chief Cr, Cr, secretary mam,  Stevenson Sir, Jaishankar Sir and Lalitha mam.
In the midst of lecture I got alerted and very happy when Venkateswarlu sir said :” You are NOT POWERLESS , You are the PILLARS of the department…. Welcome to the Commercial tax department family”.
These words sounded very pleasant to all of us.

Our heart filled  with joy and happiness…We got a good dose Vitamin-M. (M-Motivation).. Then started  our active participation in classes….Being the pillars of the department, we need to be strong and we can be strong only when we carefully listen all lectures .

From then All of us showed utmost attention and Discipline in class. A wholehearted  thanks to  our coordinators for arranging such insightful  and very informative classes. We are fortunate to listen many wonderful lectures.

Reading Act book was akin to searching for a hidden treasure without any map or compass. GST training classes provided us a roadmap to find and understand this treasure. Along with Act, Tact to deal with issues which come up in our professional life was also taught.

Of course I don’t say that We are perfect now, but we are far better and we could see better version of ourselves.
Now if any one say that we are Powerless,
We have few powerful sentences regarding our role in the department :
1.GSTOs are the Pillars of the department
2.We are now Janus and Hora  of the tax department(Greek terms for custodians of the gates of olympus empire) . Registration power empowers us to whom to allow into  taxation net.
3.To improve the EoDB, one of the important parameters is :Early registrations. And we are assigned that task now.
4. Through increasing tax revenue collections, we can contribute to good Fiscal health of the state.

On behalf of all trainee officers,  from the bottom of my heart I want to thank
–CCT for giving us this opportunity to learn.
–Our affectionate training Coordinators(Lalitha mam and Jayashankar Sir) for such an awesome support, motivation and painstaking efforts to arrange classes and solve our issues.
— All Resource persons for sharing their expertise and experience and for delivering interesting and informative lectures.
—All of my friends for making this journey an interesting one

We cherish and remember these moments forever…..

Twenty six yrs back ,u were sleeping in our mom’s womb and me very excited to come out..I said “Hey lazy bone wake up!!!,Its time to see the world… .As usual u said “Just 5min..I will sleep..”… I thought u would wake me up so I started taking rest for 5min..
You idiot  ! without waking me up, you came out first and later I came out ,which had made u elder to me.

After coming out and after seeing our mom, dad and many others showering love on us, you felt jealous and started pouring affection on me..That affection had grown up exponentially and now it has become Immeasurable.

What should I call you??
To me you are more than mom, dad,god and more than myself. You love me truly,motivate me,scold me,irritate me,make me laugh at ur silly jokes,……….you idiot !!you will never allow me  taste my success and failure myself..You enjoy my success and happiness more than me..you cry more than me when I cry..No one can beat ur affection..Then what should I call you??The 1st thing that struck to my  mind is you are “My soul”……
Yes sweetheart.. You are my soul…

And on this special occasion,  I wholeheartedly wish u a very happy and prosperous  birthday dear devika …..

Deepika