"लिफ़ाफ़ा"- मुबारक

ये दोनों खूबसूरत किताबें हाल फिलहाल में की गई मेरी तिरुपति की यात्रा की साथी रहीं। मनीष-सिल्फ़ द्वारा लिखी "लिफ़ाफ़ा" दो अनजान प्रेमियों के बीच साझा किए गए खतों का एक अनूठा संकलन है, जो पारंपरिक उपन्यास न होकर प्रेम, संवाद और खामोशी की गहराई में उतरता है। इसमें कश्मीर की झलक और उर्दू का खूबसूरती है। यह किताब मनीष और सिल्फ के पत्रों के इर्द-गिर्द घूमती है, जिन्होंने कभी एक-दूसरे को नहीं देखा लेकिन खतों के माध्यम से इतने गहरे जुड़ गए कि विवाह के जरिए दोनों "मिट्टी और आसमान" एक हो गए। दोनों लोगों ने साहित्य, जीवन, रूढ़ियों, अवसाद, कविता, फिलॉस्फी, सरकार, राजनीति, स्त्रीवाद आदि पर बातें की हैं। 'लिफ़ाफ़ा' और ' लिफ़ाफ़ा मुबारक' दोनों ऐसी किताबें हैं जो आपको डिजिटल दुनिया में पुरानी चिट्ठियों वाले दौर का एहसास कराती है, जो आधुनिक प्रेम की परिभाषा को नया रूप देती है। "लिफाफा" में शादी के पहले के खत हैं और "लिफ़ाफ़ा मुबारक" में शादी के बाद के। दो सादे लोग जब साथ आते हैं तो उनकी सादगी दुनिया को जादुई तिलिस्म-सी लगने लगती है। क्योंकि सरल होना बहुत कठिन है। ये सामाजिकता का दबाव आपको इस सादगी वाले जादू से वंचित कर देता है। सच कहूं तो 'लिफ़ाफ़ा' किताब के बारे में सुना बहुत था, लेकिन पढ़ने का मौका नहीं मिल पाया। एक दिन अचानक से मेरी इंस्टा फीड में मनीष जी का एक पोस्ट आया, जिसमें उन्होंने त्यौहारों में अपनी कम रुचि के बारे में लिखा था। मुझे उस पोस्ट का कैप्शन पढ़कर अपने किसी परिचित की याद आ गई। उन्हें भी सामाजिकता के दबाव से सख़्त नफ़रत है। जिज्ञासा बढ़ी। मैं प्रोफाइल पर गई। तब पता चला कि ये पेज तो मनीष जी का है।हैं। मैंने कई पोस्ट देखें। सभी में आपका लिखा पढ़ा। सिल्फ़ जी के बारे में भी थोड़ा बेहतर तरीके से जान पाई। कई बातों से रबता महसूस हुआ। विचार मेल खाए और बिना समय गंवाए फॉलो कर लिया। आपकी हाल में ही आई "लिफाफा मुबारक" की बुक लॉन्च पर आप दोनों को सुना। फिर एक पॉडकास्ट में आपका इंटरव्यू सुना। विकलांगता और कई सामाजिक रूढ़ियों पर आपका बेबाकी से बोलना बहुत ही सराहनीय लगा मुझे। यूं कहिए प्रशंसक बन गई आप दोनों की। कहते हैं कुछ किताबें आपके जीवन में तब आती हैं, जब आपको उनकी सबसे ज़्यादा जरूरत होती है। मेरे साथ कुछ ऐसा ही हुआ। इसमें लिखी कई को मैंने जिया है। ये दो लोग आपकी नज़र में आम लेखक हो शायद। लेकिन ये दुनिया को बदल देने की हिम्मत रखते हैं। रूढ़ियों के खिलाफ बोलते ही नहीं, उन्हें तोड़ते भी हैं। मनीष जी स्वयं को त्रासदी से उपजा लेखक कहते हैं। शायद कुछ लोगों को ये किताब उतनी दिलचस्प न लगे, लेकिन फिर भी मेरे हिसाब से आप सभी को ये दोनों किताबें पढ़नी चाहिए, जिन्हें ऐसे सभी मुद्दों पर बात करना पसंद है जिनपर अक्सर चर्चा नहीं होती है या आपके इर्द गिर्द ऐसे लोग नहीं होते हैं, जिनसे आप एक हेल्थी डिस्कशन कर सकें। मुझे ये दोनों किताबें बहुत पसंद आई, ख़ासकर लिफाफा। आपकी आनेवाली किताबों का इंतजार रहेगा। 

International Women's Day 2026

8th March is no longer a common date in the calendar. Women are the base of the whole world. Her worth can't be described in words and everyone knows it very well. Nobody can honestly say we don't need women in our lives. The significance of International Women's Day is increasing year after year and has become a custom today. Women's day celebrates women's history, highlighting key events, milestones, achievements and aims to further promote awareness about women rights. I think women should be respected not because they are women but because they are individuals with their own identity. They contribute equally for the betterment of the society.

Gender equality is about accepting and respecting people for who they are whether it is a woman, man, disabled or a transgender. It is about being human. Unfortunately, a woman's value is linked to what she wears. We should instead celebrate women for their achievements, intelligence, strength and diverse choices. Men and women are equally important to society. No one can replace the other. Calling a nation independent doesn't make it independent. There should be equality among all its citizens. A woman shapes the destiny of civilization. In most of the countries including India, social reformers are doing a lot to empower women but we still have miles to go. There is a need to change the mindset of people regarding women. Equality is for everyone. I don't like when people say, ‘empower women’. There is no need to say ‘empower women’. They are already empowered and strong. It's about giving equality to women in every field without judging them and without creating obstacles in their way. Support her because real men stand with real women.

Men and women irrespective of their caste, religion and gender should come together and work together to contribute in nation- building which is far better than their individual name and fame. In my opinion, women's education is the only way to mend and to uplift the position of women in society. Women's education not just empowers her family but the whole community, even the economy. It is our social responsibility to be the voice for the human rights of women. Apart from education, women should also be taught the skills of leadership. I generally see women who don't like to lead. They hesitate. It is because of lack of confidence and lack of opportunity given to them. If we turn the pages of history, we would see how many women warriors took the leadership and they performed very well.

Though the early Vedic society was patriarchal and people celebrated the birth of a son, they still pay due attention to the education and living standard of the women. Their belief changed during the later Vedic Age. Only the girls belonging to the upper class families enjoyed the right to education and got proper nourishment. In the mediaeval period, the conditions deteriorated for the females. Even in the royal families, girls could not get the same status as boys. The example of Razia Sultan can be best considered in their context. Though she was more intelligent and brave than her brothers, she was rejected by her courtiers and afterwards was killed, due to the reason that she was female. Girls were not allowed to get education and were not allowed to go out without purdah. The prevalence of sati, dowry, polygamy, child marriage were excessively practised. Raja Rammohan Roy, Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, Annie Basant, MG Ranade, Jyotiba Phule, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and many others have done a lot to improve the status of education for women in India. Of the several reformers, the works of Savitri Bai Phule are especially notable. She advocated education for female children.

Also, every woman should be respected whether she is working at home or at the office or doing both. We should thank women who invest their talent and hard work in mending our lives. The amount of work she does physically and emotionally is not respected enough. Powerful women are often seen as a threat to society, especially the moment they see a woman who takes a stand for herself. In spite of so much development and progress, unfortunately even today women are forced to deal with shocking inequality on a daily basis in every sector. Those countries flourish well where women are given equal rights and are not taken for granted. Most of the narrow thinkers still believe that women should be confined to their household chores and should not step out for work. If there will be no women on this Earth, then mankind would cease to exist. Every woman should stand strong, fight for their rights, the right to educate themselves, the right to enhance their skills, the right to learn safety techniques and much more. 

The need of the day is to educate the girl child. It would change the face of our society. People don't want to invest much in girls' education. The male centric mindset is the main culprit. The patriarchy is harmful for men too. Patriarchal social systems predate not only women but also mentioned who are vulnerable by nature. The continuous peer pressure of attaining machoism, flexing muscles n all generates anxiety in vulnerable men.

People consider girls as liabilities and boys as assets. Dowry demands, fears regarding property rights, an insecure environment for women, parents' dependence on sons during old age are all important factors. Educating a boy means educating one person, but educating a girl means educating a family, which will lead to the upliftment of the society. Educated women will take proper care of the health of her children and their diet. She knows what is good for her and for her kids. The state in which female literacy rate is more, population growth is less. As girls are not educated, they remain dependent on their family before their marriage and on their husbands after their marriage and on their children after the death of their spouse. This is the main reason for the unpleasant condition of women. If girls are educated, they will no longer be dependent on anyone and they can do a lot for their upliftment. As if now, after so many efforts and legislative reforms, time has changed a bit. A well-educated and well-settled daughter is against dowry and she looks after her aged parents better than a son can do. The problem of female foeticide can be solved not only by passing laws but by changing the mindset. And, ladies! don't look at motherhood as the end of your dreams or your personal goals. Motherhood is a stage in your life that will teach you that “giving up” is not part of your plans and children are not an excuse not to go after what you want. Quite the contrary, they will be your motivation.

Just love being a woman. Take pride in it. Every woman should cherish the blessing of being a woman. God has created the feminine creature as a symbol of utmost affection who not only dreams for herself but also lays down a strong base for others dreams as well.

"DO DEEWANE SEHER MEIN" MOVIE

What do we actually want from our partner? 

Many people will say - loyalty, companionship, respect etc. I completely agree. But, you know the bare minimum is -"acceptance". Acceptance is not just a word. It holds a big meaning and deep sense. Acceptance is very essential for us to love yourself first. We seek validation from outsiders but when our closed ones show trust in us, especially our partner, then the real magic happens in our life. When our person accepts us as we are, we don't just grow. We bloom.

This movie talks about this simple word-"acceptance". Roshni and Shashank are two socially awkward people in Mumbai who don’t know how to market themselves in a see-me society and in a hear-me workplace. Shashank is in a marketing job that sells washing machines. He suffers from a very common speech impediment of using "स &‌ श‌", that was the big reason for his low confidence during presentations and interviews. While Roshni, a content creator, works in a fashion magazine but is conscious of her features. As the society thinks that arranged marriage is the only way out for such boys and girls. So, their parents bring them together, and over the few meetings, Shashank and Roshni start healing each other’s complexes and, in the process, teach us that imperfections are fine and acceptance is more important than people's judgemental advices. I like such kind of movie that based on small but impactful things. This is very common in Indian society that a boy or a girl get body shamed very easily irrespective of their core nature or skills, especially when it comes to marriage. These kind of movies atleast let people think about it once in another way.

Overall, "Do Deewane Seher Mein" doesn’t break new ground or provoke dramatic emotional highs, but it tenderly explores two individuals navigating their personal battles with insecurity and self-worth. If you are bored with the bollywood movies now a days, then you can give it a try once.