#Indian dance lessons

[richvirsabhangraacademy]

How Can Lessons Of Bollywood Dance For Children Help In Their Development?

Dancing is one of the best art forms that not only brings a sense of rejuvenation to the body and mind but also helps to add some bits and pieces of entertainment to our boring life. It also caters to developing physical fitness both for the adults as well as children. There are a number of benefits that you can help your children to extract while enrolling in a Bollywood dance class, one of them being the holistic development of their body and mind.

Here is a look at how taking children specific lessons of Bollywood dance can cater to the development of children in the best possible manner. You should make sure to keep them in the back of your mind while finding the right Bollywood dance school to enroll your children in it and cater to their development.

Improves physical health

The first and foremost reason for you to enrol your children for Indian dance lessons in Brisbane is to help in improving their physical health. Dancing, especially Bollywood dance, helps your children to learn a number of moves that helps them to move the various parts of their bodies in the right manner, which helps in the improvement of the physical health of the children to a great extent. 

Enhances emotional development

As we know, dancing is a form of fine art that involves a lot of emotion. When the children are enrolled for dance classes Bollywood in Glenwood, it helps to enhance their emotional development, making sure that they are able to cope with the emotional attributes in a better manner in the future. This caters to their holistic development in the best possible manner.

Encourages creativity

Dancing, as a form of fine art, is a great way to boost creativity in your children. This is another very important reason for you to make sure that you find the right dancing school for enrolling your kids in it, thus making them more creative and adding to their future development. 

From the above lines, we get a clear idea of the various benefits that you can get and provide your children with while enrolling them in a dance school that teaches Bollywood Dance for Children Robina. This is one of the best ways to find the path for the holistic development of your child in the best possible manner. So make sure to keep these points in the back of your mind while finding a dance school for your children.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

i explain india but i'm drunk.

Hello maggots of mine you're all such babygirls and bastards just like Aziraphale and Crowley. I'm so proud of you all for existing. Yes i'm a wholesome drunk you now know this about me. The wine tastes like rotten grapes and smells of battery acid and cost 245 rupees INR. Speaking of INR, thanks to a maggot's ask, I'm here to explain India. I've never set foot outside of this country. But I'm also very very shit at general knowledge.

To any non-Indians reading this, this is a totally legit 1000% everything covered all-inclusive summary. To any Indians reading this, I'm so so fucking sorry.

India, explained.

So there's south india and there's north india and there's north east india. north india is very racist about south india and they're both very racist about north east india. Most of these people are also probably racist either to other countries or they have internalised racism. It's a wild trip.

There are. A lot of languages here. And a LOT of scripts. I can read two scripts, understand four Indian languages and speak in two of them (badly), and those two are not my native tongues. I cannot speak in my native tongues. It's basically English at this point. These aren't dialects, those are separate. Picture like, Europe, but more, in terms of how many languages.

Everyone hates each other which is valid for the entire planet honestly.

In south india we have a lot of coconuts. Like a lot. There are so many coconuts you have no fucking idea guys you cannot escape the coconuts. I was nearly killed by a shower of coconuts when I was 5 I escaped by one second.

There are also cows. People will tell you that you are being racist when you say India has cows everywhere. But it's true. Two weeks ago I had the pleasure to be stuck in a traffic jam. Next to the street barrier thing (what divides a street im too drunk for this) I saw a huge bull fucking HUMPING a cow. The vehicles just had to move around them. They were having sex right there.

If you're a middle class Indian kid, your career options are: doctor, engineer, scientist, CA, lawyer, government official or family disappointment.

Needless to say, I was going to be doctor and am now instead family disappointment. I'm babygirling so hard it's insane. The prodigal son.

It's very ace-friendly and heterophobic in the sense that you are not supposed to be exhibiting any sexuality whatever in a respectable household. Just shut up and give virgin birth already. But be married. That's crucial.

Oh yeah gay marriage isn't legal trans people are constantly othered by society and/or given no respect whatsover and we're just all vibing here this is totally not why I'm finishing a small bottle of cheap wine on a thursday past midnight alone in my room.

Foreigners are like a zoo species you see them you're instantly concerned like what are they doing outside the TV screens and then either people are normal (rarely), they run up and take photos or try to slip into conversation (more often than you'd think, even I've been guilty of the conversation thing as a kid) OR they start talking about how 'this western culture is ruining our culture'. Which is fair but honestly both the 'cultures' these people are talking about usually involve incredible amounts of bigotry and are more similar than they think.

I think the lesson here is that humans just suck as a species. Except for you maggots. I love you all and I will defend you with my life.

THE CHAAT. THE CHAAT IS INSANELY AMAZING. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CHAAT. I HAVE NO SPICE TOLERANCE SO I HAVE TO BEG ON MY KNEES FOR THE SPICES TO BE REDUCED BUT STILL. THE CHAAT. THE CHAAT, YOU GUYS. YOU NEED IT.

Sorry yes I'm normal. ALSO THE STREET DOGS. THE INDIES. THEY'RE SO LOVELY AND SWEET AND CHAOTIC AND I KEEP TALKING TO THEM. Once when I was crying I made the dog distress while and like five dogs that I didn't know came running to me and comforted me and licked me.

INDIAN DANCE MUSIC. I FUCKING LOVE IT IT'S INSANE. My family were elitist as fuck so I never got to listen to Bollywood music as a kid but it's AMAZING I'm so glad it exists. Bhangra too.

Beaches very very pretty hills very very pretty honestly the nature is fucking beautiful if you can just quickly pretend humans don't exist, which again is true of this entire planet. Yeah. Okay I'm so fucking drunk.

Yeah lots of diversity which is very nice when the humans aren't screaming at each other about it but the rest of the time it's very nice

The garbage and sewer stories? yeah they're all true im sorry

Traffic rules more like traffic suggestions amirite

Well, we still have far better healthcare access than america. so. there is that.

If you speak English well you'll be mocked and isolated. If you speak English poorly you'll be mocked and isolated. Honestly, just be rich. That'll fix it all.

All the conservatives hate each other and don't realise they're the exact same but in like different flavours.

Oh yeah we have auto rickshaws. Look them up. They're so much better than cars I don't get motion sick as easily in them. But the drivers all hate you and never want to take you anywhere.

Eyyyyyyyyyy it's so fucking fun here *drinsk more alcohol* I am so fucking not looking forward to college.

Please someone crowdfund me out of here let's all go chill in Alpha Centauri I've heard it's nice this time of the year.

I will, however, miss the casual live cow pornos. A true highlight.

[I got this peer-reviewed by my friend in India's top law school, just in case, because I'm too drunk and generally dumb. They say I will not be killed. And they've been on Twitter so.]

Irrefutable legal proof y'all. I don't mean to offend anyone except bigots. Fuck you, bigots, if you're not offended then I've disappointed my community.

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Feelings about Bringing Back Moffat For RTD2 + Other Writers I Think Should Get the Chance

Whelp, just found out that Steven Moffat is going to be writing an episode of Fifteen and I'm just like...eh? about the whole prospect. Like, not as terrified as I once might have been but like...hoping he grew as a writer. Because even though I vastly prefer his one-offs to his overarching season ideas...let's not pretend that you couldn't see the warning signs looking back. The focus on either women as mothers (Doctor Dances) women companions as operating in service/deference to the Doctor (Empty Child/Blink) or women as the Time Traveller's Wife (Girl in the Fireplace, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead). Empty Child/Doctor Dances, Blink, and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead are all fantastic episodes and I think Blink is the strongest one-off (though let's all remember that the ending was suggested by Gatiss, not Moffat) though I will adore Empty Child/Doctor Dances until I die (though let's not forget that Jack Harkness was an RTD invention).

I really hope he learned his lessons through writing latestage Clara and Bill as companions, but I'm honestly just as scared of his racial undertones as am of RTD's. Let's not forget that both of the black companions under Moffat (Bill&Danny) were both dehumanized/turned into Cybermen in order to service Clara and the Doctor/Missy's arcs (though Bill's ending is far better handled in terms of giving Bill her own ending than Danny's, imo), just as RTD really callously handled Martha's treatment, especially in historical episodes. That is not to say that I don't have some hope due to how Bill's race was handled in Thin Ice, but let's just say I'm cautious about getting super excited like some people are.

All of which is to say...I want Toby Whithouse to write a one-off in the RTD2 Era. Or many. I want his examination of the fucked-up and complicated psychological aspects of the Doctor/Companion relationship and even the Doctor themself (I mean he is the one who wrote School Reunion, God Complex, A Town Called Mercy, Under the Lake/Before the Flood, and Vampires of Venice).

ALSO more women and writers of color. I want to see what kind of new voices in sci-fi can be brought to the table and explore more aspects of their experiences, especially as it pertains to historical/future episodes. I'm done with pretending that Demons of the Punjab wasn't one of the best episodes of Doctor Who, and that was specifically because an Indian writer (Vinay Patel) was brought in to write it. (Also, can we see Vinay back as well? He also wrote Fugitive of the Judoon which was another banger. He's also really good at exploring character feelings/implications of time travel/memory.) I also think that Joy Wilkinson, who wrote the Witchfinders, could be a fun choice as well. I really liked the Witchfinders and I'm curious to see how she might tackle a subject matter like that again.

[allamericansbitch]

Hi again Sarah! My Indian films rec list just got super long cos of all the tropes and summaries so I'm making it into a proper post I can tag you in!

While I do that, here are my top five faves from both Bollywood and Kollywood (Tamil films) respectively:

Bollywood:

- Dhoom 2 (2006); I'm actually rewatching this right now and it's a SUPER fun, campy heist movie with a great soundtrack! The whole trilogy of movies are great but this one is my fave and they can all be watched as standalones

- 3 Idiots (2009); a modern classic that most people have heard of if they are casual fans of Bollywood. It takes place in an engineering college and has a super compelling plot I can't give away too much of

- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008); It's a love story of an arranged marriage between a shy guy and this outgoing girl who kind of hates how quiet and introverted he is. And she thinks he expects her to be a traditional Indian wife so she kind of is sad abt being married. Then she goes to take dance lessons and in an attempt to connect with his wife, he goes to the lessons in disguise as a confident guy and they fall in love!

- A Bonus Rec: If you liked Aamir Khan (the lead actor in 3 Idiots) and Anushka Sharma (the lead actress of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), they did a really adorable sci-fi movie called PK (2014) about an alien called PK who crashes into India and befriends a human lady. It's just such love letter to humanity and I LOVED Anushka's character back storyline in that movie, it changed my life ahahha

- Teri Meri Kahaani (2012); Heads up this does star Priyanka Chopra but before she became a Hollywood weirdo 😭 and back when she was super talented!! It also stars this really cute actor called Shahid Kapoor. These two play different characters in three different timelines and it explores the concept of soulmates and Hindu reincarnation!! Again CHANGED MY LIFE!

- Ram Leela (2013) or the longer title is Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. It's basically a hotter and older M18 version of Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending if I remember correctly! It starts Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh who fell in love on set (they were friends before that) and started dating just before the movie came out! They are now happily married 🥰

This got so long already hahaha I'll send you another ask with Tamil titles once you're ready for it! But these are all the fun titles I have loved, if you want more tragic ones (I love a good tragedy and having a good cry over movies), do let me know and I'll give you that list!

amazing thank you! i'm about to head to bed but i wanted to respond and let you know i got this, you can send me that list whenever you want no pressure, but these all sound really interesting! so i'll put them on my list of movies to watch!

[just-in-case-iloveyou]

get to know me tag 🌻

@sugarcoated-lame my darling🧡 thank you so much for the tag 🥰

1. were you named after anyone?

i'm pretty sure y'all can guess my real name, but yeah, i was. my name means "she who will rise again," which was neat, because my parents read about an American Indian woman who worked closely with an ethnologist to record hundreds of hours tapes cataloging her tribe's language. a language that no one spoke, until a cardboard box containing those tapes was found in the Smithsonian Institution the year before i was born. my parents loved the name and were blown away by the story.

2. when was the last time you cried?

two days ago, it's been a rough month

3. do you have kids?

no kids, but i do have a fur baby 🥹 ditto, Kricket

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

i did dance and gymnastics a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. 🩰 after that, i played basketball and softball in middle school, and volleyball from middle to high school. 🏀🥎🏐

5. do you use sarcasm?

at this point, i'm pretty sure it's a coping mechanism for me.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

smile first, then eyes (mostly because i'm nearsighted, so eyes are a little harder)

7. what’s your eye color?

hazel, i guess. they're green on the outside and brown on the inside.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

happy endings, for sure. i'm too chicken for scary movies 🐔 and i like to feel happy 💖

9. any talents?

Kicket, babe, i feel like we're kind of the same person.

i can sing, and if i'm comfortable enough with you, i'll sing along to things in your presence. i used to take voice lessons and do musical theater, but since my anxiety developed later, that's a big no-go nowadays. i'm also a solid advice-giver (but i can't take my own), and i used to stress-bake a TON in university. i suppose i'm pretty good at random trivia! and i'm okay at painting, but i only really do it at those paint and sip places lol.

10. where were you born?

Orange County, California 🍊

11. what are your hobbies?

again, same person, different font

PUZZLES!!! reading, watching movies, singing, baking, thrifting, playing video games (i'm a sucker for the Nancy Drew mystery games). i'm trying to get better at cooking. i used to do creative writing and write poems, but i haven't in a very long time. i feel like i should try to get back into that. and like i said, paint and sip is also fun lol

12. do you have any pets?

at the moment, my sister has a pittie mix named Moose, we've got a lovebird named Peach, and a tortoise (African desert maybe?) named Shelley (we didn't name him). we lost my sweet girl Bell and my baby boy Percy not too long ago 💔💔

13. how tall are you?

5'2" i'm almost pocket-sized!

14. favorite subject in school?

English and Social Studies (history, geography, psych, etc.)

15. dream job?

this is gonna sound insane, but ever since i was 11, i've always wanted to work for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). it sounds squirrely, but long story short, i started watching NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation around that age, and i just got SO interested in criminology and forensics.

no pressure tags: @lewmagoo @laracrofted @seresinhangmanjake @withahappyrefrain @roosterforme @ohtobeleah @mamachasesmayhem @bobgasm @bobfloydsbabe @attaboylew @attapullman @mjskeletons661 @lostinthefandoms11 @pinkdaisies1106 @mandylove1000 I’m a little late to this so sorry if you’ve already done it 🧡

[study-with-aura]

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Do you remember how quickly I finished my school work yesterday? Today made up for it. I took so many notes and had to answer questions and do quarterly reviews. It is almost the end of a grading period, and thus far, I am doing very well with my grades!

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - First quarter review practice + honors practice

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 7 vocabulary + read a summary of Book 6 of The Odyssey + read Book 6 of The Odyssey + answered questions + edited my short story

Spanish 2 - Reviewed vocabulary + read a letter in Spanish and answered questions in Spanish

Bible I - Read Exodus 25-26

World History - Read notes on the Aztecs + read notes on the Incas + looked at maps + watched presentations on the Aztecs and the Incas + read about the Aztecs + read about the Inca Civilization + answered questions

Biology with Lab - Read about nucleic acids + took notes + watched a video on the chemical structure of nucleic acids + read more on nucleic acids + answered questions about macromolecules

Foundations - Read more about diligence + took a quiz on Read Theory + read about music as primary sources + listened to South Indian music and made observations

Practice - Practiced assigned pieces for 30 minutes and worked on memorization

Khan Academy - Completed Unit 2: Lesson 16 of World History

Duolingo - Completed at least one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Activities of the Day:

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

-

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful that I was able to finish all of my schoolwork today, even if it was a lot and hard to keep myself motivated.

Quote of the Day:

I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.

-Emily Dickinson

🎧The Firebird Suite: VII. Finale. Infernal Dance of All Kashchei's Subjects (1910 Version) - Igor Stravinsky

[kimberly40]

Little People of the Cherokee, Native American Lore: Among the many legends of the proud Cherokee people is the curious tale of a race of little people who were said to inhabit the wilds of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, and who the Natives called the Nunne’hi, meaning “people who live anywhere,” as well as the Yûñwï Tsunsdi’, or “Little People.”

The Little People of the Cherokee are a race of Spirits who live in rock caves on the mountain side. They are little fellows and ladies reaching almost to your knees. They are well shaped and handsome, and their hair so long it almost touches the ground. They are very helpful, kind-hearted, and great wonder workers. They love music and spend most of their time drumming, singing, and dancing. They have a very gentle nature, but do not like to be disturbed.

Sometimes their drums are heard in lonely places in the mountains, but it is not safe to follow it, for they do not like to be disturbed at home, and they will throw a spell over the stranger so that he is bewildered and loses his way, and even if he does at last get back to the settlement he is like one dazed ever after. Sometimes, also, they come near a house at night and the people inside hear them talking, but they must not go out, and in the morning they find the corn gathered or the field cleared as if a whole force of men had been at work. If anyone should go out to watch, he would die.

When a hunter finds anything in the woods, such as a knife or a trinket, he must say, 'Little People, I would like to take this' because it may belong to them, and if he does not ask their permission they will throw stones at him as he goes home.

Some Little People are black, some are white and some are golden like the Cherokee. Sometimes they speak in Cherokee, but at other times they speak their own 'Indian' language. Some call them "Brownies".

Little people are here to teach lessons about living in harmony with nature and with others. There are three kinds of Little People. The Laurel People, the Rock People, and the Dogwood People.

The Rock People are the mean ones who practice "getting even" who steal children and the like. But they are like this because their space has been invaded.

The Laurel People play tricks and are generally mischievous. When you find children laughing in their sleep - the Laurel People are humorous and enjoy sharing joy with others.

Then there are the Dogwood People who are good and take care of people.

The lessons taught by the Little People are clear. The Rock People teach us that if you do things to other people out of meanness or intentionally, it will come back on you. We must always respect other people's limits and boundaries. The Laurel People teach us that we shouldn't take the world too seriously, and we must always have joy and share that joy with others. The lessons of the Dogwood People are simple - if you do something for someone, do it out of goodness of your heart. Don't do it to have people obligated to you or for personal gain.

In Cherokee beliefs, many stories contain references to beings called the Little People. These people are supposed to be small mythical characters, and in different beliefs they serve different purposes.

"There are a lot of stories and legends about the Little People. You can see the people out in the forest. They can talk and they look a lot like Indian people except they're only about two feet high, sometimes they're smaller. Now the Little People can be very helpful, and they can also play tricks on us, too. And at one time there was a boy. This boy never wanted to grow up. In fact, he told everyone that so much that they called him "Forever Boy" because he never wanted to be grown. When his friends would sit around and talk about: 'Oh when I get to be a man, and when I get to be grown I'm gonna be this and I'm gonna go here and be this,' he'd just go off and play by himself.

He didn't even want to hear it, because he never wanted to grow up. Finally his father got real tired of this, and he said, ‘Forever Boy, I will never call you that again. From now on you're going to learn to be a man, you're going to take responsibilty for yourself, and you're going to stop playing all day long. You have to learn these things. Starting tomorrow you're going to go to your uncle's, and he's going to teach you everything that you are going to need to know.' Forever Boy was broken hearted at what his father told him, but he could not stand the thought of growing up. He went out to the river and he cried. He cried so hard that he didn't see his animal friends gather around him. And they were trying to tell him something, and they were trying to make him feel better, and finally he thought he understood them say, 'Come here tomorrow, come here early.' Well, he thought they just wanted to say goodbye to him. And he drug his feet going home. He couldn't even sleep he was so upset. The next morning he went out early, as he had promised, to meet his friends. And he was so sad, he could not bear the thought of telling them goodbye forever. Finally he began to get the sense that they were trying to tell him something else, and that is to look behind him.

As he looked behind him, there they were, all the Little People. And they were smiling at him and laughing and running to hug him. And they said, 'Forever Boy you do not have to grow up. You can stay with us forever. You can come and be one of us and you will never have to grow up...we will ask the Creator to send a vision to your parents and let them know that you are safe and you are doing what you need to do.' Forever Boy thought about it for a long time. But that is what he decided he needed to do, and he went with the Little People.

And even today when you are out in the woods and you see something, and you look and it is not what you really thought it was, or if you are fishing and you feel something on the end of your line, and you think it is the biggest trout ever, and you pull it in, and all it is is a stick that got tangled on your hook, that is what the Little People are doing. They are playing tricks on you so you will laugh and keep young in your heart. Because that is the spirit of Little People, and Forever Boy, to keep us young in our hearts."

(http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore132.html)

[the-bi-library]

Today's bi book of the day is When Tara Met Farah by Tara Pammi!

Food vlogger meets grumpy math genius in this emotional, sexy, NA contemporary romance and have to decide if love is worth all the vulnerabilities it demands.

An opposites-attract sapphic romance with Indian MCs.

Sunshine Girl needs math lessons… Nineteen-year-old Tara Muvvala didn’t mean to lead a double life. But her bone-deep aversion to math + a soul-deep desire to please her mother = her failing math grade + exploding food vlog ‘this masala life’. Enter her mother’s research intern and resident math genius Farah Ahmed. Tara makes a deal with Farah - help her pass the math course and she’ll welcome Farah into the local Bollywood Drama & Dance Society. Grumpy girl gets life lessons… After losing her mom to a heart attack, dumping her small-minded boyfriend (she’s bisexual, not confused) and reluctantly moving to the US to be near her dad - all in the span of eighteen months, twenty-three-year-old Farah has hit the full quota on LIFE. Two things keep her going - her internship with a brilliant statistics professor and the possibility of meeting her dancing idol through the Bollywood Drama & Dance Society. That is, if her new hot-mess housemate will let her. Soon Tara and Farah are bonding over chicken biryani, dancing to Bollywood Beats at midnight and kissing… against all the odds. And maybe beginning to realize that while life’s even more complicated than math, love is the one variable that changes everything! Will they realize that together they have the recipe for a Happily Ever After?

GR link

[brightbeautifulthings]

January - May

reviews The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (4/5) The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz (4/5) The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones (4/5) Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton (4/5) Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (3/5) The Witch Elm by Tana French (3/5) High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (3/5) Hellbent by Gregg Hurwitz (3/5) Lore Olympus: Volume Three by Rachel Smythe (3/5) Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (3/5) Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning (3/5) What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (3/5) Burden Falls by Kat Ellis (3/5) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (3/5) House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig (3/5) A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (3/5) The Child Thief by Brom (3/5) Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp (3/5) Alone by Cyn Balog (2/5)

rereads I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (5/5) Alice by Christina Henry (5/5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (5/5) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (5/5) Final Friends: The Graduation by Christopher Pike (5/5) Final Friends: The Party by Christopher Pike (4/5) Final Friends: The Dance by Christopher Pike (4/5) Song of the Wanderer by Bruce Coville (3/5) Sweet Valley High: What Jessica Wants by Francine Pascal (3/5)

[ramayantika]

Desi Middle Class ✨Aesthetic✨

Kiraya ka ghar, chai ki tapri, buying new clothes twice or at max thrice a year during festive occasions, steel ka dabba, bigger uniform size to make sure you keep fitting into it for at least two years, feeling proud to own a Trimax pen, dada dadi or nana nani's tel malish, visiting temple towns for vacations, train journeys with lots of chips packed to munch on and mummy ke parathe or puri bhaji, having to wait patiently for your turn to use the bathroom unless and until you have two bathrooms and both of them are equally functional, never been on a flight or have been only once by luck, noticing that your dad rarely buys new shirts for himself, lingering looks on that beautiful but expensive dress, your mother touches that one lovely saree for the last time and you promise to yourself that when you start earning, you will gift her every saree she will land her gaze upon, covering rough notebooks with newspapers, start studying maths for the new school year during summer vacation, sharing a room and sometimes the same study table with your siblings, beaming at your bade bhaiya or didi when they show you how to make a paper boat/paper airplane, you are growing up and for the first time you see your older sibling break down in their room all by themselves and realization dawns that even they need a comforting hug, Tu kab badi huyi?, Wanting to gift a good car to your father with your own salary, the entire family dreams to own their own house someday, the first time you realize what a middle class family really is, fights and quarrels that always end with silent apologies over the dining table, beta doctor ya engineer? Kya matlab arts lena hai? Humare family se just pass hone vale bhi science liye? You wipe your own tears and strengthen your resolve to fight for your own dreams, parents are proud that you proved them wrong with your career and subject choice, sadly dropping out of dance, music, arts and sports classes as soon as you begin 10th grade -- lucky ones still continue them, watching Indian tv serials with mummy during afternoons after coming back from school, thoda toh pocket money badha do?? Storing money everywhere in the house, counting coins as a child and thinking yourself to be very rich, chota ghar magar sapne bade yeh hai middle class parivar ki kahani

I was watching Wagle ki duniya and later mummy and I were talking about our lifestyle after which she played a Sudha Murthy video where she was talking about the middle class lifestyle, and then I made this post by reflecting on some of my own experiences. I know that the above post doesn't still complete the middle class life there are so many things remaining but I tried my best to summarise from my own observation and experiences.

I have lived a small part of my life with the more economically advantaged groups too (samridhi just say rich) and I am seeing and have also seen the other side too that isn't as gleaming as I used to think but nevertheless it's colourful, so I wanted to write something on it as a lesson I learnt in these 3 years and for the lesson which will live with me for my future endeavours. Probably this post will also be a sahara sort of thing when I again spiral down some crying lane over my exams.

I have so many stories from my 11th 12th and drop year timeline that I will soon share because as I always believe in the end being good no matter what, be it whatever college I get in or whatever I do, this experience taught me things that no school classroom could do. I may sound like a dadi now but yes maybe in the upcoming time if some of you younger lot do stumble on this in times that seem dark and full of certainty, I hope those stories will bring hope in your hearts

Bas bhai yeh dadimaa kirdar ab kuch samay paschat

[carminavulcana]

Hi.

If you're still accepting prompts for micro ficlets, I wish to request one.

Number 33. Saccharine (Curious to read you turn this into an angst fest.)

33. Saccharine, Bheem and Jenny

Romance, of the variety that she and her girlfriends had often discussed and read about in books, was a saccharine affair. The flowers, the sweets, the expensive custom-made jewels, the glamourous and gay parties, the dances— the quadrille and the swing and the tango and the waltz— all spoke of a womanhood that was expected to be coy and convivial. Anger did not become women. Arrogance was the antithesis of feminine charm. Ego and independence were an affront to desirable marriage prospects. Jenny had learnt through the years that she would be the saccharine in her husband's— whoever it would be— otherwise aggressive, bitter world. And she would be his comely, deferent bride, always ready to offer him a warm meal and a warm bed after the trials of his tiresome day.

Life's lessons had not prepared her for a life with Bheem. And yet, it came to her as naturally as breathing.

In Adilabad, in her few short weeks with him, she had understood that while Indian womanhood had its own challenges, the tribe of her beloved was a safe haven; a place of growth and self-discovery. In less than ten days, she had been taught the ways of the forest. She knew now to clean and bandage wounds in a pinch; mostly because Bheem could not bear to bare himself to his tribesmen. The pity in the eyes of Malli and peddayya, Lacchu and Jangu was already too much for him. So it had fallen upon Jenny to turn into his healer. She now also knew how to catch, clean, and cook fish under less than an hour. Her male cousins had never taken her fishing with them; because in England, girls didn't go fishing. However, here, she was expected to learn how to provide for herself and others around her in any situation. Fishing was a life skill in Adilabad, not a leisure activity.

On the question of survival, she was now being taught the use of weapons. Sweet, genial, proper— good British girls of the upper classes would never be taught to use a simple handgun, let alone a rifle used in the Great War. But Bheem was teaching her.

"Killing is not our way," he instructed her. "But if it is a choice between yourself and your adversary, you must do what is necessary."

Her hands trembled as she accepted the rifle. Its sleek surfaces were dented in places. In each dent, she imagined, were stories of unspoken horrors witnessed and suffered in the cold trenches of France and Germany and Austria. But now, this rifle was to be her insurance against a devil she had never heard of before; the Nizamate's brutal police. She steeled her nerves and learned to use it. For herself and for Him.

Jenny would always be a British girl. The quadrille would never be forgotten by her feet. However, her fingers were now those of a richer, more complex woman. She would build the sweetest home for Bheem in her heart. But she would not be his saccharine woman.

She was going to be the salt of his earth.

Taglist-

@ronaldofandom @vidhurvrika @yehsahihai @veteran-fanperson @stanleykubricks @fangirlshrewt97 @ladydarkey @boochhaan @jjwolfesworld @voidsteffy @meastradeur @teddybat24 @ronika-writes-stuff @ssabriel @milla984 @annieginny @detectivejigsawpines @nisreenart

[boricuacherry-blog]

The woman who was found murdered in her Redmond apartment had recently moved to the area and loved to ride her motorcycle and was, according to her supervisor at a Bellevue software-development company, "a shooting star."

Arpana Jinaga was a 24-year-old software-quality engineer from India who was building a circle of friends, exploring the region on her motorcycle, and reveling in the freedoms the United States had to offer her. She had attended Rutgers University, won an international software award, and was a rising star at the Bellevue company she worked for. Described as outgoing and friendly, she would try anything just to say she had attempted the experience. She had, on a whim, joined a motorcycle club after seeing a woman riding one on the street. She practiced Tae Kwon do, volunteered at an animal shelter and fire department, and she'd done all of this within only eight months of moving to Redmond, Washington.

From the Indian town of Hyderabad, Arpana's father was a professor of computer engineering and her mother a homemaker. She was close with her younger sister Pavitra and her family. Growing up, Arpana was creative, enjoying singing, dancing and gymnastics, described by everyone as a girl with a bright and bubbly personality.

When she was younger she entered a design hardware competition, doing so well, potential universities paid attention. She excelled in computer engineering, and in the specialty of embedded systems. She also sang in a band. When she was 21, in a microchip design competition against thousands of people, Arpana placed top twenty. Each contestant received their own design kit, and Arpana created a communications jammer with hers, attracting even more attention. In 2005, the Indian Express wrote an article about her, entitled "Young Inventors," in which she was interviewed on her love for computers and innovation. She dreamed of being a professor like her father.

Her father encouraged her to apply for the masters program at Rutgers in New Jersey. And she did, traveling to the U.S. to major in engineering. After arriving she began working at EMC as a software quality assurance engineer. In only 6 months, promoted to lead programmer, a testament to her work ethic.

In 2008, she was transferred to a new office in Redmond, Washington, a suburb just outside of Seattle - the tech town where Microsoft and Intendo were started - moving into the third floor of an apartment in the Valley View apartment complex.

Each floor in the complex only had about five or six rooms, but she quickly made friends there. This was when she bought a Suzuki motorcycle and began lessons on driving it and joining the Pacific Northwest Riders, a local motorcycle club. She also volunteered at the Redmond Fire Department and an animal shelter in Bellevue. She loved animals and would speak of one day opening one for endangered animals.

On the eve of October 30, she planned to host a Halloween party at the complex. Each room would have a different theme in the building, and her costume would be Little Red Riding Hood. Over a dozen people mixed with each other and people seemed to enjoy it, and at 9pm, Arpana and her friends were still having fun. She walked the halls with a glass of wine, posing with people for pictures. At around midnight, she had everyone come to her apartment to eat pizza. After that, they all made their way to the first floor and continued the party.

Just before 3am, things started to slow down. Her friend Jessica remembers a conversation they had shortly before they parted ways that evening. Arpana was telling her how lucky she was to be a woman living in the U.S., and how hard things were growing up in India. Jessica tried to tell her that things weren't always so easy in the U.S. either, to which Arpana began to cry, simply stating, "You have no idea."

Still slightly emotional, she retreated back to her own apartment around 3am, alone. But despite her leaving alone, for the next hour, her neighbor reported hearing what they thought sounded like consensual sex. They heard muffled moaning come from her apartment walls.

At 8am the next morning, her neighbor was woken up by what sounded like a growing sound that sounded like either someone having sex, or vomiting, coming from Arpana's apartment, followed by a loud thud - then the sound of running water.

When Arpana's family waited for her phone call that next day, they received no call. They texted her, and received no response. The family called someone they knew to check on her.

This person agreed and went to knock on her door, but surprisingly, the door just swung open. The door frame and the lock had been broken. When he and a neighbor entered the room, there were clear signs of a struggle. They walked into Arpana's bedroom -

and that's when they found her laying face down on the floor, under a sheet, naked, and covered with blood. When authorities arrived, the immediately knew this was a homicide. An overwhelming smell of bleach permeated the room, as if someone had tried to clean up, and Arpana's comforter was in the tub, soaking in water and bleach. Blood was still on it though. The rest of the sheets were missing. Police also found Arpana's tampon, which was presumably in at the time of the attack and was now on the floor of her bedroom. Bleach was on the furniture, and motor oil had been dumped all around the apartment, and around her body.

Arpana's body was taken for an autopsy, which confirmed she had been raped. Unfortunately no DNA was able to be gathered, likely due to a condom being used. She also had blunt force trauma to the head, several of her teeth had been broken, she had bruises on her stomach, thighs and wrists, and her own underwear had been used to gag her mouth. Duct tape had also been placed over her mouth. Death was determined to be asphyxiation, which was done with a bootlace. Her fingers were stained blue with toilet cleaner and she had bleach and motoroil over her from the waist down, as well as small burn marks. It appeared that someone had attempted to light her body on fire but failed, since motoroil isn't flammable. Her bloodstained bathrobe and bedsheets were found in a dumpster outside the apartment. Arpana's ID, her blackberry phone and her digital camera were missing.

Police were suspicious of one of Arpana's neighbors - Cameron Johnson. There were some discrepancies in his timeline to police, and police found printed out maps for pawnshops in his car, printed at 10am, but he claimed he woke up at 10am. He also said he went to Denny's that morning then drove two hours to the Canadian border but wasn't let through because he didn't have a passport with him. When asked about this, he said he was just in the mood to explore. Canadian officials, however, stated that he tried to "blow through the border gates."

One neighbor said he came home at 3am the night of the murder and saw a man at Arpana's door who was between 5'11 and 6'3, with olive skin - a description that matched Cameron - talking to someone in the apartment. But since Arpana's door had been kicked in, it's hard to know if these two incidents are connected.

It was also discovered that someone had been using Arpana's computer at 3:29 that morning.

To everyone's surprise though, the man police ended up arresting was 27-year-old Emanuel Fair.

Emanuel Fair had been going by the name 'Anthony Parker.' According to Detective Coats, he was looking at photos from the Halloween party, when he noticed Fair, who was dressed as a construction worker, in the background of the photos. He stood out as the only black man at the party. He also appeared to be an outsider. He started sending the photos out to other officers, asking if anyone knew him. Turns out they did - there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Emanuel Fair had a criminal record. He had gang affiliations and had been arrested many times before for various crimes - robbery, gun possession, drug possession - and, what caught Detective Coats' attention - a rape charge.

Only four years earlier, he had been charged with raping a minor, after that minor called 911 and reported it. The 15-year-old reported him violently raping her at gunpoint. When apprehended, he claimed the encounter was consensual, which legally it wasn't, since she was a minor. He took an Alford plea and pled guilty to third degree sexual assault, where the max imprisonment is only five years.

Because he was considered a level 1 offender, he only served two years of his sentence and got out.

There was a warrant out for his arrest because he had broken his probation and failed to update his sex offender status in the registry for the second time.

After he had been released from prison in 2006 he was couchsurfing, and ended up on the couch of Leslie Potts, who lived in same complex as Arpana. Leslie had met Fair over MySpace.

Apparently, Fair and Cameron Johnson had spent a lot of time together at the Halloween party the night Arpana was murdered.

And it turned out that Fair's DNA was found at the crime scene, and specifically, on the duct tape found over Arpana's mouth. His DNA was also found on her neck, and mixed in with the blood found on the robe in the dumpster. He was also interviewed multiple times, and found to have inconsistencies in his story. Leslie didn't see him until the morning, so she couldn't confirm where he was. Also, he claimed to have been asleep between 1 and 2am, but during that time he had made 20 different calls to people. Leslie also said she found an empty condom wrapper on the table that hadn't been there before.

The tape that was found on Arpana's mouth had strands of her hair on it, as well as a lot of Fair's DNA - this meant it couldn't have been transfer DNA, and Fair did touch this piece of tape. It's also believed she was wearing the robe when she was attacked, which is why Detective Coats found it compelling that Fair's DNA was found mixed in with the blood on it. His DNA was also found on toilet paper in the bathroom. Cameron's DNA was on the can of motoroil - an amount of DNA that meant he had at some point physically touched it. A forensic DNA analyst stated that the evidence pointed to Fair committing the crime, and that Cameron might have been apart of the clean-up. Fair's DNA appeared to be the one tied to the crime though.

Fair was charged with first degree murder and rape, and transferred to King County to await trial. Detectives did not, however, have enough evidence to charge or convict Cameron with a crime.

Fair's defense attorneys claimed he was only looked at due to racism. They also questioned the legitimacy of the forensic technology used. This hindered the case going to court for several years, in order for detectives and prosecutors to prove the legitimacy of the technology. At the time it wasn't as commonly used [although now it is]. The DNA technology company refused to give over the source code that ran the program [he didn't want it stolen by other companies], so that held up the case going to trial for years. In the end, it was verified that the DNA technology was very reliable.

Seven years after Fair's arrest, the trial began, but it was a hung jury. They were deadlocked. Another trial was held. Because Cameron was possibly also implicated in the crime, Fair's defense attorneys used that as a cause for reasonable doubt that Cameron could have been the one responsible. This was enough reasonable doubt for Fair to get off. That, along with the fact that Fair's previous rape charge and criminal convictions could not be disclosed in the trial.

This case is still left without a conclusion, as a result.

[storiesofthestreetmp3]

rounding out first dance lesson (which began the process of cracking me open like a pomegranate & during which my teacher’s guru also named maya did a blessing for me and when i looked up we both had teared up (beautiful beautiful cyclical narratives) & included lovely long train & bus rides) by going to my dad’s fave curry place when he lived in ny (beautiful beautiful cyclical narratives) on my own and enjoying the silence (depeche mode) and will soon be returning home with arms overflowing w bounty from the indian store

[rattlinbog]

Books Read in 2023

(loved!, enjoyed, okay, did not care for)

January

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

The Hidden Palace (The Golem and the Jinni #2) by Helene Wecker

Ruthless Tide: The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America’s Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster by Al Roker

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

February

Grendel by John Gardner

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Winters

March

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The World We Make (Great Cities #2) by N.K. Jemisin 

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey 

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

April

Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde

Daisy Miller by Henry James

Washington Square by Henry James

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu 

The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

May

The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 

Orlando by Virginia Woolf (reread)

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg 

Beneficence by Meredith Hall

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Ramadan Ramsey by Louis Edwards

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li 

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

June

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang

Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah 

The Crocodile Bride by Ashleigh Bell Pedersen 

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende 

What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier 

The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America by John Demos

Tales of Burning Love (Love Medicine #5) by Louise Erdrich

July

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse (Love Medicine #6) by Louise Erdrich

Four Souls (Love Medicine #7) by Louise Erdrich 

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado 

Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman 

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

The Color Purple by Alice Walker 

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier 

The Second Greatest Disappointment: Honeymooning and Tourism at Niagara Falls by Karen Dubinsky 

These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card

Songs for the Flames: Stories by Juan Gabriel Vasquez

August

Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

New to Liberty by DeMisty D. Bellinger

Cove by Cynan Jones 

Being Esther by Miriam Karmel

Boulder by Eva Baltasar

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

September

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson 

Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit

We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland by Fintan O’Toole

October

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Don’t Fear the Reaper (The Indian Lake Trilogy #2) by Stephen Graham Jones

Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley 

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

November

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin 

Fen, Bog, and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx

Natural History: Stories by Andrea Barrett

December

Lessons by Ian McEwan

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (reread)

A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I find it really hard to word this properly but does anyone else feel some kind of sense of dread or loss over the parts of our tradition and culture that we lost to westernisation?

Where are the καράβια for christmas? Why are traditional clothes so incredibly hard to find? Why do we barely get taught the easier dances at school (πχ συρτό στα τρία) and that's it (unless of course you decide to pay to take lessons or your family teaches you)? Why has our cuisine changed so much? There are so many more examples, I've lost track at this point

I absolutely understand why many people, especially younger people, don't care since anyone that feels rejected by the culture will reject the culture back (especially if you grew up feeling abandoned by the state and ESPECIALLY if you are gay or any other type of minority in greece). I still hate it though

I know what you mean. We are basically a second little US compared to how our country would be if it were free of that heavy outside influence.

Modernization is good, buuut it's not without cons. I've heard a young Greek call the color combinations of traditional clothing "tacky" and I sense that's how many Greeks think given how our nationality aesthetic has been reshaped. The fact that we have to get used to the aesthetic our ancestors appreciated for generations....

That's just one example of how we have embraced modernity on the condition we completely reject everything traditional. Even when we "modernize the traditional" is 99% (mostly) USian standards and environment and 1% of Greek culture just to add enough palatable uniqueness. I wish we could have both.

On top of that, religion doesn't appeal to a growing number of Greeks for various reasons (which I don't condemn). Unfortunately, religion used to be the glue between any Greek community and now we can't bond over that. We have nothing to replace it with so far, leading us to further isolation.

(That's partly why I occasionally reblog things such normally more religious people would be interested in. The history of the Greek Orthodox church is also Greek history. It concerned the people of this land for thousands of years, and we cannot separate our past from the church completely.)

And, on another note, why the fuck do we have to get to specific events and lessons to dance our traditional dances? Why don't we wear traditional jewelry, for example? Why most of us don't know how our traditional clothing looks like? Many Greeks admire traditional dances and clothing from other cultures (Indian, Korean, Native American tribes, and more) but when you ask their opinion about traditional Greek clothing and dances they are suddenly disgusted. Their appreciation for culture stops in their own culture 🤦

[oceanblueeyesoul]

Hi! I was wondering if I could get a stranger things and pjo s/o and cabin match-up?And maybe Harry Potter?

MBTI: INFJ

Zodiac: Libra

Moon sign : Aries with Scorpio rising

Appearance: I'm 5'1" and have shoulder length brownish black hair, big brown "doe eyes" and small heart shaped lips with small oval face, and golden brown skin(Indian brown). I have more of a petite figure. I have kind of both tomboyish and girly style if that makes sense.

Personality: I'm extremely moody that it depends on my mood to be an introvert or an extrovert.I am more of an ambivert. I can be very impatient, stubborn, and argumentative although I try my best to keep a level head despite these things. I'd say I'm a pretty optimistic person and am extremely loyal to the ones I love. I'm pretty sarcastic and sassy and like joking around with my friends and family. I'm also a hopeless romantic who longs for the type of you see in books. I like to act like nothing affects me but really I'm a pretty sensitive person who overthinks a lot.I am very bold and confident and an all-rounder like good at studies, singing, drawing, dancing, painting, cooking, etc.And also passive agressive. people say I am mysterious.

Likes: Autumn, Moon and stars, Late night drives, rabbits, pomerian dogs, reading, the beach, swimming, baseball, snow, shopping, ice cream, traveling, music.

Dislikes: people who are to full of themselves/won't own up to their mistakes.

Random facts about me: I have the biggest sweet tooth ever, my favorite food is chicken fried rice, my favorite color is black, my favorite flower is a rose.

Thank you so much🤍

Hi there, sweetie! I really hope you like this a lot!

Stranger Things Matchup

Your Stranger Things soulmate is...

LUCAS SINCLAIR!

He would definitely be going to your swimming and baseball events as a supportive boyfriends and would be so happy to do so.

The two of you would be listening to music together, dancing and singing to all the songs that you know a lot and just having fun with each other.

He would give you roses for your birthday or anniversary because he knows that your favourite flowers are roses.

ESTJ x INFJ soulmates!

Capricorn x Libra lovebirds!

PJO Matchup

Your PJO soulmate is...

PERCY JACKSON!

He would definitely be going to swimming lessons with you and just having fun on the water with you every year.

The two of you would get ice cream together and having fun with the ice cream on your noses and cheeks too.

The two of you would go to the late night drives together and would listen to music in the car together.

ESFP x INFJ lovebirds!

Leo x Libra soulmates!

PJO Cabin Matchup

You give me Cabin 6 (Athena) vibes! You and your siblings would often read books together and would make fun of the main characters a lot.

Harry Potter Matchup

Your Harry Potter soulmate is...

CEDRIC DIGGORY!

He would definitely buying a rabbit and Pomeranian puppy for your birthday or anniversary because he knows that you love bunnies and Pomeranian dogs.

The two of you would play in the leaves when Autumn season is here and you guys would have some fun in the leaves in the forest and with each other as well.

The two of you would go to the beach together; making sandcastles together, swimming with the dolphins, get tanned and having fun in the ocean together.

ESFJ x INFJ lovebirds!

Libra x Libra soulmates!