Juggling thoughts

S ometimes, the toughest expectations placed on a woman don't come from the men in the family. They come from other women. The mother. The mother-in-law. The aunts. The sisters-in-law. Somehow, the daughter-in-law becomes everyone's favourite project. 'I don't like the way you make tea.' 'Do it like this.' 'That's not how we cook pork.' And if she doesn't? She's labelled as someone who 'doesn't listen.' I remember my first few years of marriage when I barely knew anyone or understood everyone's personalities. 😅 Some aunts from some planet came over. They walked through every room almost as if they were inspecting whether I'd arranged the house the 'correct' way. Then it was time to make tea. I was holding the sugar jar when one of them simply took it from my hand and added the amount of sugar she thought was perfect. There were ten people in the room. Some may have liked less sugar. Some may have liked more. I...

The most dangerous form of misogyny isn't always loud. Sometimes, it's quietly passed down by women ourselves disguised as tradition, culture, or 'the way things have always been.' We stand for equality, yet still say, 'That's not a man's job.' ' A woman shouldn't do that.' We oppose yet we reinforce the very system we claim to oppose. The change we seek won't begin in parliaments or on social media. It begins in our homes, in the words we choose, the roles we normalize, and the children we raise. Let's raise boys who don't respect women because they're taught to 'protect' them, but because they see them as equals: equally capable, equally deserving, and equally human. The next generation will inherit not only our values, but also our biases.  Let's be intentional about which one we pass on .

Today, let's talk about golden retriever parenting. Stop praising your children for extremely small tasks.  Over the years in my teaching career, I've met dozens of modern-day parents who lean toward mollycoddling, constantly patting their children for the smallest things. I've even seen parents gift a fancy phone to a Grade 10 student just for passing a selection exam and more. Praise is the highest aspiration for humankind. We crave it from the moment we begin to understand the world and from then on, we keep seeking it. It becomes validation. And when praise turns into a reward for everything, it's time to pause and reflect on where parenting is heading. Because the world is not going to praise or reward you just because you think you are entitled to it. You have to produce real value and meaningful impact to deserve either. In fact, this overpraising and reward-driven conditioning can be worse than junk food or screen addiction. It took me years to earn genuine prai...

Racism against North East Indians has become so routine it barely shocks anymore. Slurs are brushed off as “casual,” assaults spark brief outrage, then disappear. The real crisis is the normalisation. This is not just a failure of individual behaviour. It is structural. A nation that does not teach its children about all its people should not be surprised when prejudice feels ordinary. Students in the Seven Sisters grow up learning the history, culture, and leaders of the rest of India. Yet across much of the country, the North East is reduced to stereotypes, insurgency headlines, or tourism clichés. That imbalance is not accidental. It is institutional. When textbooks marginalise regions, ignorance becomes policy. And policy-level ignorance breeds social prejudice. The Ministry of Education must ensure meaningful inclusion of North East history, indigenous cultures, political contributions, linguistic diversity, and contemporary achievements across all school boards — not as a token c...