Siddharth Kumar

To love in whole or in parts – what is love at all. Perhaps the greatest philosophical question that has no definitive answer to. Although love can take myriad forms, be it affection towards children, parents, siblings, caring for a friend or extending compassion to an unknown stranger, the most complex manifestation of it is Continue reading

The alarm buzzes on the bedside table for a minute. It buzzes again. Someone is frantically banging on the door. It’s not just the sound of the alarm anymore. Ambulance, police sirens, and construction workers drilling, and then Leela starts barking. She wakes up panting in a dark room full of silence. No alarm clock Continue reading

Hustle is a powerful capitalist tool designed to lure the proletariat into believing they can achieve greatness if they push hard enough. In reality, all it does is keep the hamster running in pursuit of an elusive goal until it exhausts itself and dies-only to be replaced by another hamster, convinced that the previous one Continue reading

I have won none of the battles fought in my headAgainst the demons that crawl on my bedWhen I sought solace from those I hold dearI was reminded that I’m the one they fearA benevolent spirit whispered one ghastly night:‘All your wars are your own to fight’ Continue reading

The shrill wail of sirens echoed through the narrow street, cutting through the dense evening air. Fire engines and ambulances struggled to inch forward as street vendors frantically pushed their carts aside. From her seat at the café across the intersection, she watched, transfixed, as firefighters wrestled to free bodies from the crushed wreckage of Continue reading

It had been four months since we last met, and our relationship was going through a rough patch. Despite being together for four years, we had rarely lived in the same city, let alone together. Essentially, we were two people who fell in love and then spent years trying to iron out our differences. Typically, Continue reading

The last few days have been very difficult. More difficult than others. We, as human beings, have immense strength to persevere against external challenges. Not quite so when it involves people we once loved, looked towards, and admired. The objective sense of being on the side of justice causes a churning of the heart at Continue reading

Meritocracy is a convenient way of covering up the scarcity problem. India as a country runs on a scarcity of resources. Any ecosystem with scarce resources requires that the population compete for a limited piece of the pie. When the grasslands are not abundant enough, the deer that dies of starvation doesn’t die due to Continue reading

Women in Iran are risking getting raped, molested, publicly humiliated and murdered for their right to not wear a hijab. When women in democratic and liberal countries enjoying civil freedoms say that they wear hijab because of choice, they are doing a great insult and disservice to the women fighting for basic rights elsewhere. It Continue reading

When the conversation had dried upAnd there was nothing left to talkWhen silence paced back and forth between the wallsWe gazed into each other’s eyes and realizedNone of us knew each other at all Continue reading