Why am I on Keto all of a sudden?

So, I am finally trying to use my over active mind at night which doesn’t let me sleep to write down everything that’s happening in my life and in my mind.

Today, I wanna share something which I came across on June 1st, 2018 and how everything has changed now (July 24th, 2018).

I was on and off Twitter and that has become my go to social media website to get my daily dose of peeping into others lives and being up to date with politics which I don’t understand but try to.

I have finally decided that I should be off Twitter for few days and spend most of my time with my parents because I would be leaving for studies again to Delhi in a month.

So, while I was away from Twitter, the only source of entertainment I encouraged was watching YouTube videos. It’s very tricky with YouTube. You watch one cute puppy/kitty video and you spend rest of your day going through each and every one of them suggested by YouTube. So, I started watching more science videos, beauty related videos cuz I finally decided to take care of my skin and follow a skin routine. In that way, I have come across many videos suggested by YouTube about Veeramachineni Ramakrishna and his diet. At first, I thought it was just another fad and didn’t even bother to check any of his videos. But I have come to know that one of my friend’s sister was following his diet and lost few kilos over the course of a month without any stressful exercises. I thought I should give it a try and watch some videos on it and I did. I immediately got bored of it and didn’t bother about him for another 2–3 days until YouTube started suggesting me videos on Keto Diet.

I always come across this particular Doctor named Eric Berg and it irritated me a lot that I decided to watch one video and just be done with my curiosity and YouTube’s constant pestering about his videos.

You believe it or not, coming across his videos has been the best thing that has ever happened in my life. I started with one video but ended up binge watching MOST of his videos !!

So now, let’s talk about Keto.

Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian, not a doctor. I’m just someone who has experimented with Keto and found that it is the best diet or should I scratch that and say Keto = being on a healthy lifestyle and not just simply a diet? So, please consult your doctor before starting Keto if you’re suffering from serious health conditions. Although, I recommend you to keep reading this post and my future posts to know more about what I know about being on Keto.

Basic thumb rule to make other people understand Keto is that the food which you eat on Keto is: Low Carbohydrates(5%), Medium Protein(20%), High Fats(75%). These are called Macro nutrients which you should take on a daily basis. There are reasons why you should take these macros in that certain ratios.

Let me go one by one.

But first, lemme tell you what’s the meaning of the word “keto/ketone”?

Our body has two sources of fuel from which it derives energy and let’s you do work which you usually do. You burn calories when you’re working out and even when you’re resting/sleeping. The two sources are: Glucose and Ketones.

The easiest available source for fuel to our body is Glucose which we get it from “Carbohydrates”. The second available source is actually Proteins which get converted into Carbohydrates if you take too much protein. This is called gluconeogenesis. I’m not going to go in detail about this because its just too much science to discuss here. The third available (also second) source for fuel is “Ketones” which is a by product of burning fat i.e., if you don’t consume too much Protein.

At this point, lemme ask you a question. Do you eat rotis/chapattis as a part of your diet and still wondering why you don’t reduce weight? You will find your answer soon. 😁

So, whenever you eat foods which have lots of carbohydrates in it, like, rice, rotis, potatoes, starchy vegetables, sugar, bread, cereal, pasta, noodles, etc., these foods get converted into glucose and you’re going to get energy through glucose and NOT from your fats. Even if you consume less quantity of fats, if you’re a fat person, then your body will never be able to access that extra fat reserve in your body if you keep eating high carb foods.

What is a ketone though?

Ketone is a by product, a fuel, which gets produced when you BURN fat! The main point of being on a keto diet is to burn FAT and NOT CARBS as a fuel to your body. In this way, you’d be burning that extra fat which is stored in your body since ages!!!

But what happens if you’re on a high protein, low carbs, low fat diet? Wouldn’t that be beneficial?

NO.

When you consume too much protein, the body will take only that much amount of protein which is required by your body and the extra protein will be AGAIN converted into Carbohydrates, thus, making you be on Glucose fuel even though you consume low carbs. That’s the reason why you should keep your protein intake as medium.

Also, if you’re on a high protein, your uric acid levels will increase and you’ll eventually get gout or kidney stones because of it.

Do you know anyone who is on high protein?

I actually do. Two people in my life. One always eats only dal/lentils in her diet and ended up getting kidney stones and the other one was on high protein diet which means he ate lots of meat, as its considered healthy by many people which is actually not and he ended up getting gout.

How is it healthy to be on Low Carbs and High fats?! Isn’t that just the opposite of what you’ve heard all these days that Fat is the most harmful and evil thing in one’s diet?

Actually, no. It’s a big fat lie and a myth. Consuming fats, let me correct that word, HEALTHY FATS has never been a cause for concern if you just look at our ancestors food eating habits. They only consumed ghee, butter, unrefined coconut oils as a source of their fats and to cook food with it. What we use for fat or for cooking all kinds of dishes is “refined” oils which is THE most harmful thing on Earth right now. Just because it’s cheap, easily available, and the advertisements say all kinds of false things to make people buy their products, doesn’t mean its healthy.

The only oils which you should be using for cooking on a daily basis is, butter, ghee, cold pressed coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and other oils which are considered to be healthy, but NEVER EVER choose refined oils since oil is the most basic thing and the most common cause of many diseases.

So, when you make your body go low on carbs, you’ll eventually get into Ketosis. That means, your body will start adapting to this new fuel source from Fats. You’ve no idea how good you feel when your body burns fat for fuel ALL DAY! It’s the most cleanest fuel your body can get!

Believe me, this is just my second month on being Keto and there are many changes that has taken place in my body that am going to share one after another in my future posts.

But, why does our body burn carbs to get glucose as our primary energy source if burning fat is SO good to our health?

Well, wouldn’t you like to throw away the garbage out of your house first and THEN make it tidy and beautiful to be presentable?

Apply the same logic to your body. It burns carbs first because it wants to get rid of the least useful source of energy first and then use fat as your fuel. But, how can you access or tap into that fuel if you keep feeding your body more and more carbs on a daily basis, 3 times a day?

You can’t. You simply can’t. All you gotta do is reduce your carb intake as low as possible. Like really really low and no, it’s not an impossible task to achieve because if I can do this, you can too. 😊

I have been on keto for 2 months and now I clearly understand why it is called a “lifestyle” and not a “diet”.

Any diet which you’ve come across till now would most probably tell you to keep your calorie count less (they wouldn’t mention about the macros which are very vital to your diet), which usually translates to “starve yourself”. But, that’s not the case with keto. You need not starve yourself on keto, you can have as much food as you want without worrying about the number of calories you’re consuming(that doesn’t mean you should go overboard with it..it only means that you need to eat enough to satisfy yourself) and there are SO many variety of options available to you on Keto that you never run out of tasty food if you could just have some patience and creativity to make your own food. You can eat any kind of dish as long as it doesn’t have carbs and sugar in it. Just trust me on this, I would have never imagined that I would be so full and satiated without any cravings for something which I don’t cook because that’s how tasty the food is on Keto until my next meal (which is 6–7 hours time period between my two meals since I’m on Intermittent Fasting).

You might be thinking that you would definitely miss having rice or your favourite rotis/parathas…but if you just wrap your head around the fact that carbs are harmful and leads to many ailments if consumed in huge amounts, then you wouldn’t feel their absence at all because there are all kinds of healthy options to substitute your cravings for rice and rotis or cakes or chocolates!

Many people I know in my life are foodies and I bet they would be worried if I just mention the word “diet” to them because that means they don’t get to taste all kinds of different foods in the world. But, I don’t think you would miss much if you’re on Keto because I’m a foodie myself and I feel a lot better being on Keto than being off Keto and eating all kinds of nonsense in the name of being a “foodie”.

In my next post, I’m going to talk more about how you can keep your carbs low, What are healthy carbs and unhealthy carbs, How you can actually reduce the carb intake on a daily basis.

I am also going to talk about how I am curing my PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) of which I am a victim since almost 8 years now by being on Keto and how I reduced 9 kilos in two months WITHOUT exercise!

I will eventually talk about my diet plans which I am still working on to be perfect in my macro intake and calorie intake.

Do you know about Intermittent Fasting? If you don’t, you’ll soon and you’ll know many magical benefits of being on Intermittent Fasting (IF) which am already on!

Lemme know your views about Keto in comment section and feel free to ask any kind of question.

If you’re a doctor who is reading this post, please take lil' time from your busy schedule and educate us about advantages and disadvantages of being on Keto and your general opinion about Keto.

I'm a pigeon.

My mom has this habit of feeding sparrows and pigeons. So, I suggested her to tie a small bowl to our window sill, so that birds can come daily and have their food. She did. I love watching how those pigeons fight one another to fit on that window sill and have their tasteless seeds (don’t they get bored of same food?). Few birds wait in a row for their turn to have lunch. I really mean it, I saw few birds waiting for another bird to finish its lunch and it was the most magical thing I ever saw.

Order.

They follow unwritten rules to keep the peace among themselves. Isn’t that beautiful?

--

So, today evening something has happened which is both beautiful and sad simultaneously. How? Lemme narrate this and I hope you have enough patience to listen.

My dad caught one pigeon with his bare hands for me. It’s his one way to show love towards me, also, amusing himself when he gets bored stiff. I was shocked to see that helpless pigeon struggling to get out of my dad’s firm grip. Its beautiful fluffy grey feathers all over the floor (how many days will it take for a full-grown feather? Is that time worthy of my dad’s time pass thing?). I asked him not to hold so tight fearing about its breathing function and its tiny stomach (eh?). My mom was suddenly so enthusiastic to hold it, and me, I was SO goddamn afraid that I’m making the bird afraid of our presence. What will it think about us? Will it think we are bad people? Will it come back again to the same place for food? Did we break its heart by taking away its freedom for few minutes in order to entertain ourselves? So many questions about its freedom. Finally, I can’t help but touch its soft feathers and pet it and say sorry like a million times in my head that my dad caught it to show it to me. I felt sorry that I made it uncomfortable by clipping its wings which are not supposed to. I’m afraid I have made it think “This is it. This is where I die”. Isn’t that a horrible thing to think, if at all it thinks?

After some time, dad decided to tie it with some thread to see how it will behave. My mom brought some of that tasteless seeds worrying about whether it ate properly or not (of course, that bird won’t eat forcibly and I’m pretty sure its appetite is dead by now).

After we tied, it is still trying to free itself and fly away. But, how can you little Jo? (I named it ‘Jo’)

I then started asking questions to her (in my mind, of course).

Do you now understand how it is to be like me in this house? Legs tied and wings clipped?

Do you understand how it feels to be force fed?

How it feels when someone uses you to entertain themselves?

Do you now understand how LUCKY YOU are when compared to me?

After some time, my mom started worrying about that we are worrying the pigeon in this hot weather. So, dad untied its legs to let it fly away and opened the window.

To my surprise, it didn’t fly right away. I thought it would be gone in a Nano-second after we untie it. 

But, no.

It was standing on the sill. Looking or observing something, or may be waiting for its friends or some unknown pigeon to narrate what just happened to it, so that other pigeons will be warned not to come this way to have food anymore (I was afraid about that!). May be it is observing the location not to come this way the next time. On a positive note, I also thought it didn’t think bad about us after all, may be it believed that we won’t do any harm to it since we fed it all these months (I was relieved but anxious).

When I stopped looking and turned my head, it flew away as if it saw something or someone. I wonder if the same pigeon is going to come this way again. Will it dare so?

I guess not.

--

As much as I think about this pigeon, it reminds me of ME, in Delhi. When I had absolute freedom to do things which I always wanted to do. But, now, I can’t.

I’m exactly like that pigeon. It’s both beautiful and sad simultaneously.

Another Morning!

This is a follow-up post of this.

Most girls of my age face this question:

“What kind of qualities a guy must possess to be your life partner?”

Isn’t that a difficult question when you think it over seriously, I mean very seriously. When I was taking a walk early this morning, I saw an elderly couple chatting and laughing over something funny. Isn’t that cute?

I guess the answer to that question lies in the above lines. Don’t we all want that partner with which we can laugh and act as crazily as we wish to? Don’t we all want that person who chooses to spend time with us in a park, walking and laughing over silly things, rather than just sticking to the couch all day in front of that big fat TV? 

Don’t we?

PS: I don't take credits for the pic used here.

That Morning!

Me and my friend, we both have decided to wake up early and have a morning walk every day so that we don’t get lazy all day. In that attempt, we would at least study for a while since our exams are frightening us to death.

So, today was the first day and I couldn’t wait anymore to share what happened to me during that walk.

Well to start with, I regret.. not having morning walks all these months. Winter is such a beautiful season to have a walk and am so blessed to hear the birds chirping and singing for me during the dawn! I have never imagined that I would see beautiful parrots in the park eating bread crumbs as their breakfast. Little squirrels jumping here and there all over the park. You wouldn’t believe that it made a burrow to keep itself warm during winters! How cute that was! Yeah, I’m more than excited cuz that’s the first time I saw a burrow and it is cute for me! I even saw an eagle trying to make a nest. It always carries two sticks and accidentally slips one stick on its way to make a nest. There was a feud between the mamma eagle and the pappa eagle! Aww! Also, the Mynah birds! They have cute yellow beaks :D and obviously Pigeons outnumber every other creature in the park! Not to forget the playful dogs who are trying to enter into the park but few uncles didn’t allow them cuz they were street dogs. But, I got to see them playing and rolling on the dew filled grass which was so fun to them!

Ahh! The nature is really really beautiful during mornings.

This is the burrow I was talking about.

One shouldn’t miss such beauty due to their laziness. Go on and enjoy that beauty which nature offers us and it’s lying there for you to discover any minute you are ready. :)

Six Word Saturday

Physics – TV Series – Movies – Walks – Food – Repeat

I have few exams to clear in order to pursue my Masters in Physics. So, believe me I have a mountain of syllabus to cover by February. I hope I complete that as soon as possible. xFingers Crossedx

When I get bored of my studies, I watch TV series. I have completed Sherlock Holmes, eagerly waiting for the next season. Now, I have taken interest in Breaking Bad and Fargo. They’re so darn good that I can’t stop with just one episode. I have done a night out to finish Fargo in one go! Well, that rhymed.

Other than TV Series, I’m up to date with movies too :D Well, who wouldn’t love movies during breaks? And, I’m such a movie buff!

During this winter season, nothing can beat an evening walk with a friend! I love the park which is very close to my hostel, reminds me of my childhood days when I used to go with my dad. Taking a little time out of your life and spending that to yourself without the phone buzzing around you is the best gift you can give to yourself.

Well, what can I say about Delhi’s street food? Yummm! As a foodie, I can assure you that when you visit Delhi if you miss out on trying the various street foods, you haven’t really saw the true side of Delhi. It’s a must.

I think, my next week would be pretty much the same or at least until my exams wind up.

Have a good weekend my pretty readers!

Friends

As I already told in my earlier post that I have very few friends since childhood because of my gloomy nature. Introvert and reserved. Some people say that they are reserved at first but become friendly later when they get used to that person. I’m nothing like that. When I say I am reserved, I mean it. I might put you in the category of my best friends and still not talk anything with you for days and weeks. Don’t ask me why? I’m just so.

Do you think anyone can hang around a girl who doesn’t talk like other girls, and keeps on running the marathon of being silent for days and weeks? I guess, no. That’s why I end up having very few friends with whom I can talk or not talk any day I wish.

It was a challenge to me regarding this ‘friendship’ when I came to Delhi. I don’t know anyone here. I’m such a complete stranger to this city! But, the first day I entered in to the class, I met this girl who is from Rajasthan and she kept on blabbering till our lecturer came. So, I took the advantage of the situation and asked her notes to complete the previous lectures. That way, I became ‘friends’ with her. I asked her about the book shops from where I can buy, she didn’t just give me the directions but accompanied me to that book store the next day. Such a sweet girl.

I’m sure, I cannot be that way to a complete stranger in a strange city. I thought I should learn being selfless from her. She even introduced me to Delhi’s street food, by god, I have fallen in love with the city just because of that!

But after few days, she stopped coming to classes and was very irregular because of her health problems and homesickness. I visited her room and used to exchange notes and everything. I was left alone again in the class without having anyone to talk to.

Then, I started sitting in the same bench with the same people every day so that I can start talking or they can start talking if it is a similar face. That way I made friends with two Kerala girls, a Delhi girl who is really close to me, and two UP girls. Now, I can’t step out of my room to have some fun without at least one of these girls as my company.

Actually, I’m that girl who prefers guy friends over girl friends on any given day cuz ‘less drama’, right? So, I used to rarely hangout with my girlfriends when I was in Hyderabad. Now, since I made friends (which was a nearly impossible task of my life) with these girls I feel so blessed.

I guess, my days in Delhi have taught me good things more than these 20 years of my life.

The day I had a drink!

Fast forwarding a month or two since the first day in Delhi. This is what happened on that day.

I planned to meet my friend early in the morning, like at 5. We had a nice dinner the previous day. We planned everything for the next day. To wake up at 5 and start at that time to reach Agra. For what? Obvious. Taj Mahal, you see.

Well, NOTHING went according to our pre-plan. I slept very late, put an alarm (actually alarms knowing that I am such a lazy lass!) from 3 to 4 am thinking that I would wake up at some point of time. I absolutely don’t know when this sleepy Satan got into me, but I slept like without even budging a little to all those alarms!

Finally, I woke up at 7 am, hurriedly of course, searching for my phone. I know there should be missed calls. And there are like 20+ calls! I called to my friend and apologized a lot! We still felt that we need to go somewhere and spend the rest of the day. So, we went to see Red Fort. It’s nothing much to talk about, except for the museum. I’ve always loved museums! I spent like 1 whole hour just to read all the history below the pictures they hang it in there. Don't even ask about that 'minars' in that Fort. I was so suffocated in that crowd that I just went right in and came right out without even turning my head to see what's in that place. 

Delhi=crowd!

After coming out from the fort, we were pretty hungry and looking for a nice place to eat. But, couldn’t find any good restaurant or hotel in such a place. So, I asked let’s go somewhere else. My friend suggested that we should go to Connaught Place. The famous Connaught Place, Rajiv Chowk, Palika Bazaar. You know them right? Only in Delhi you find one place called by three different names.

So, we were searching for a restaurant to have some food. We went into the first restaurant we saw on our way cuz I was pretty hungry and didn’t mind ANY restaurant at that point. After I entered, I felt that restaurant was pretty dark for a ‘restaurant’. So, the waiter brought this menu card which contains only drinks. Then, I came to know that we were in a bar cum restaurant. :D

That was my first time, so yay! I was very cynical about drinking outside but my friend was all hyped up by that time, so I had to give a thumbs up. We ordered a beer and got one more free beer with it (lucky). Don’t ask me what’s the brand? I can’t remember the name.

Believe me, I had one full beer yet I didn’t feel like what they say that could happen if you drink a beer for the first time. Everything was SO darn normal I got frustrated! I mean, what’s the point of drinking then? I hated the bitter taste that a beer carries. I really really hated it. But, I enjoyed the feeling that it was my first time having a beer with a good company. Later my friend told me, that I was saying really funny things when I had that beer. I have never imagined myself to like alcohol cuz people become so nasty and talk such shit while they’re drunk. But, I guess I wasn’t like that. I was funny (taking my friend’s word for granted). So, drinking got the best out of me, I guess. I can’t say if I will ever get addicted to it. But, I’m sure I’ll never skip the chance of having a beer or whiskey or whatever if I’m offered (so, don’t hesitate to offer me drinks, kay?).

One hell of a day!

Clouds and everything!

First day in Delhi -

In fact that’s the first time I travelled in a flight. You know that childish like excitement when a middle class family boards a flight for the first time? Or, just exploring the airport for the first time? Well, I never felt that excitement in me. It’s as if am pre-occupied or something, I never bothered to think about my first flight experience. It also has got something to do with my dad, because that’s also the first time I’m going to some far away city without my mom. Me and my dad, don’t talk about ‘first time experiences’ you see. So, the excitement naturally didn’t sprout in me.

But, what I liked the most about the whole travel is, Clouds. I can’t stop taking pictures of clouds (and I got a window seat, imagine!). How beautiful it was to be above clouds, near clouds, in clouds. Wow. Also, why is a Samosa 100 rupees in flight? Damn.

There you go! Few pics of clouds, and the sky! Beautiful, just beautiful!

When I de-boarded it, we went straight to our Institute’s head office in Jia Serai. First impression of Delhi? It’s just like Hyderabad but everyone talks Hindi. Of course, few are rude. But, who is not in such big cities?

In the institute’s head office, that clerk girls informed me that their Institute’s other branch in GTB Nagar is the one which I have to visit and attend classes. I asked her, how do we reach to that place? She gave me directions to go to nearby metro station and board the Metro which goes through GTB Nagar. That’s the first time I saw the token given in Metro Station.

Here comes the deal. That’s the first time I ever saw a Metro. First time to walk in a sub way. First 

time to see such a big crowd! (I was under an illusion that there would be no bigger crowds as there are in Hyderabad, but I was proved wrong in a nano-second.) First time, I tried to make a conversation using Hindi (yeah, I’m Hyderabadi yet I donno Hindi, big deal). I don’t even know on which platform I should stand (oh don’t even ask what about my dad?). So, I finally boarded the one where I saw that GTB Nagar on the map they provide. I was very nervous until I de-boarded that cuz I am the one to blame if I get off at a wrong station. But, phew! Everything went well.

Such a nervous travel from Jia Serai to GTB Nagar, I would never forget that in my life.

So, we carried all that luggage which weighed nearly 10-13 kilos to the other branch of my Institute. 

Everything went accordingly. Now, it’s the time to find a hostel and join the same day.

Again carrying that heavy luggage with us, with the help of our Institute’s boy, we found a hostel which also has single rooms. I have totally fallen in love with that room in the first look. You just get connected to things at the first look sometimes, isn’t it true? I forced my dad to agree for that room, and he was so sceptical about it cuz, you know, its DELHI. Always in the news for famous ‘rape scenes’. But, he somehow nodded his head after 3-4 hours of sitting and talking with his friends. Everything went well except that I didn’t had any breakfast or lunch the whole day. Thanks to my mom who feeds me every day, otherwise I would have fainted by then.

So, after being sure about my room, I told my hostel warden to make the room ready so that I can shift the same day. Meanwhile, I was resting in another hostel of theirs where I had my lunch at 5 in the evening. I slept for a while until I was awaken by a lady. At that point, I met a girl who is also from Hyderabad.

Oh my happiness knows no bounds at that point! A telugu talking girl!? She is the sweetest girl I’ve come across in Delhi. She helped me with all the things which I have to buy during hostel-stay. She invited me for her birthday party along with her friends (I was totally shy and couldn’t make a conversation with anyone except one girl). We shared our numbers. She accompanied me to a beauty parlour (I was seriously in need of that). She used to help me whenever I bluntly ask for a help. Couldn’t ask for more in a new city where I don’t know the primary language that fluently.

All these things happened on Day 1 in Delhi. Eventually, I fell in love with the city for it offered me freedom more than anything.

I slept that day with excitement, nervous about the next coming days, in a city where no one knows my name, and being thankful for the nice things happened.

Why everything changed in Delhi?

To begin with, I’m the only child in my family. No siblings, nothing. I don’t even talk to my cousins, a lot. Yes, the usual question: Don’t you get bored? I’m born and brought up that way, so, I still don’t get your question? As a kid, like any other kid, I used to have a lot of friends and they used to come to my home and play with me cuz I own variety of play things compared to them. I was a very naughty kid that my mom used to lock me up in the house while she went off to wash clothes and utensils. And, I complain that every day to my dad thinking that he is the saviour of my prison life. But, no. Even he knows that am devil-child.

That impacted me a lot. In a way.

I used to shout “I don’t find any happiness in this house”. May be, TV Serials effect? Or Films effect? I don’t know why I used to say, but I know that I repeated the same sentence, god knows how many times. As I grew, I started thinking that my naughtiness is causing a lot of trouble to people around me. So, I stopped being naughty and chose to be this boring person. A kid without a smile on her face. How boring it would be? Imagine. Not a nice picture, right? So, yeah. I’m that kid now. I stopped making friends with kids who are naughty. So, I ended up with not more than 1 or 2 kids. My parents were glad that am changing but didn’t recognize that I’m becoming more of a depressed kid. But, I never expressed my depression, cuz, no trouble to others because of me. Don’t mistake it for maturity, no it’s not. That’s how I always think. About others. Not me, but others.

Till my 6^th grade, my parents didn’t bother to check my report card, cuz they know that I do well. And, my dad was so indifferent to marks that he didn’t even bother to look at the marks and just sign the report card whenever I ask him to sign. I used to be so proud of them cuz they don’t compel me to study and get high marks like other kid’s parents do. I used to be the first or second or third rank student every time in the school. That’s how I’m popular, as a good student, not because of my naughtiness.

I don’t know what devil got into my dad after my 6^th class, but we changed town and shifted to another town where there is this central syllabus school. Kendriya Vidyalaya. When I first visited that school to give my entrance exam, I wasn’t sure whether I liked that school or not cuz I’m sure that I’m going to miss my old friends (there were no phones at that time, and parents didn’t allow kids to even think about using phones). I liked the exterior and interior of the building cuz it was pretty neat, and they have way bigger computer lab than the previous one, they have this little garden where no kid is allowed to step into it, and A LOT OF STAIRS. I gave my entrance exam, and, obviously I topped that one. So, I was immediately enrolled in that school.

Life in that school has changed me completely. I will come to it later in another blog post.

So, after 7^th class, when a girl actually BECOMES a girl, my parents told me to ask my “boy-friends” to not to come to my house any more. Yeah, before that they used to allow them into my room and play that monopoly, sometimes games on computer, sometimes Mario and Duck Shooting on TV. I started having fun in that new house of ours, in a new town, with new school friends. But, everything suddenly changed when I BECAME a girl.

Why? Why shouldn’t boys come to my room anymore? Why shouldn’t they play those harmless games with me? Why shouldn’t I share my food with them? Why I shouldn’t be seen with them on roads anymore?

I was restricted. I felt like, my freedom was snatched from me forcefully at that age.

It impacted me a lot. I have started talking less and less. Everything changed that year. My dad suddenly took interest in my report cards. He used to question me why I didn’t get 90 when I got 89 marks. Why I don’t study 24 hours like other kids. Why I watch television after 7pm. Why he looks at me as if am the reason for fights between my mom and dad. My mom stopped pampering me. The number of kisses on my face decreased day after day. I felt like everyone is taking me for granted. There were so many ‘Why’s?’

But, there is also another question.

Is it only me? Or any other girl/boy faces the same problem? But, may be in a different way? Did they have more freedom than me?

It is always about others for me. Not about me, but others.

So, when I came to Delhi, everything changed. There is freedom here.

My heartfelt thanks to this city for showing me the freedom I’ve lost as a kid.