It feels like we’re living in an apocalyptic age. Our actions feel futile, our ambitions feel petty, our lives feel meaningless, and the world seems to be spiralling into chaos. Maybe it’s the intuition we humans have honed over the ages, maybe our bodies sense that something is very wrong with the world- that the world which nourished the human soul for millenia past is on the verge of collapse. Maybe in the shrieks of collapsing glaciers and crackles of forest fires, the bo

Before working from home became the new normal, many ironically advocated for telecommuting. The prestigious magazine, Scientific American, in an article dated in 2016, made a case for abandoning the office in favour of our “home sweet office.” Citing scientific studies, the SA claimed that homebound workers are more productive, happy, and satisfied with their jobs than “colleagues tethered to cubicles.” Yet, as 2020 confined most of the world into lockdowns, people are eager

The COVID-19 pandemic left many of us confined to the safety of our homes, with major closures of public areas and social distancing a core recommendation to maintain the safety of us and our loved ones. It goes without saying that this had a huge negative impact on general mental health, both because of the fear and anxiety caused by the danger of the pandemic, as well as the low mood attributed to the inability to directly contact close friends and relatives. However, the m

It’s very safe to say that Education City, especially in the daytime, is boring. This is especially true in the interesting times we live in, with the masks (sometimes) and closed buildings. The only places that seem to have any life are the Student Center and the adjacent Oxygen Park, where you see people playing football, parents chasing children, or students in pajamas with groceries. These close after ten though, and one might imagine that there’s nothing going on after d

It’s 11 a.m. on Sunday, three hours ahead of Doha in Kathmandu, and Neha Shrestha is setting up her study corner to attend her first lecture of the day after a yoga session. Giving her company during the class lecture is her dog, Juju, curled up under the desk. Meanwhile her parents, who are just out from self-isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, are mostly occupied planning a hushed Bijaya Dashmi, the most prominent Nepali festival. Judging from the crowd of fes

I had finally arrived in Doha and was excited to continue my some-what college experience at Georgetown University. Living in the dorms, being independent and away from my family, is one of the perks of the traditional college experience that draws me to campus instead of staying in my home country. So I was excited that I had finally started that journey. Everything went quite smoothly: I underwent quarantine for two weeks and was buzzing with the excitement of finally being

She finally caught a two-second glimpse of it before the car swirled into the rocky mountain tunnel. Counting every second, minute, and hour for this delightful day to come, Claire relished every part of the journey to the mesmerizing destination. She could feel the flare of joy with the exhilaration all palpable as the broad, beaming smile never failed to be a part of her expressions then. Along the course of the drive, she would observe how rapidly the atmosphere changed fr

Once upon a time, in a small little village, there lived a girl who could make stars. This girl, whose name was Jane, was rather plain and slight. But she had two beauties. One of them was her long hair, as thick as the finest brocade and as dark as the night sky. The other was her ability to erase people’s sadness. Each day whenever Jane could take away the woes of the villagers, stars would appear from the Heavens in the sky at night, one star for every worry that was eradi

I left them sitting silently, locked in each other’s embrace, content with the closeness after being separated for so long. This was the final image I had of Catherine and Heathcliff before I departed Wuthering Heights. In the open expanse of the moors, with the wind softly rippling with sweet melodies and the trees humming in tune, an apparition in the form of a trapdoor appeared in the ground. I knew that this was my next calling. Without hesitation, I opened the door to my