Defining Freedom in 2020
We are celebrating 73 years of independence but what does freedom mean really?
Dear Friends
I refrained myself from talking about ‘independence’ or ‘freedom’ this weekend on my social media platforms because I am still not sure if we can have meaningful conversations on the internet ‘freely’. I am learning how to do that but it will need some time, good things take time.
I spoke to 24 young champions over a zoom call to understand what does ‘freedom’ mean for them, for me freedom is this artwork by Krishna Rathi
“Gandhiji Azadi De Gaye but are we really free or there are some terms and conditions?”
“We need freedom from our thoughts rather than from society.” - Tanvi Shah
“Freedom to me is a state of mind to wholeheartedly accept yourself and others without any judgements.” - Arsha Sangral
“Freedom is not wishing anything that I wish to do, it's something that is good for others” - Indumathi B
“Freedom does not only mean freedom from external bodies, but also independence from negative thoughts and emotions which surround us.” - Emerald Reshma Reddithota
“Freedom to me is the absence of the 'glass ceiling', where everyone can BE and no one has to strive towards breaking any social constructs.” - Deepannita Kundu
“Freedom is being free of the monsters inside your brain and yes if that helps you then not being afraid of the monsters under your bed.” - Pratiksha Pandey
“Freedom is to do what I believe my meaning of life should be, despite society pressure.” - Shanmugdharshini
“Freedom is me being free from all the judgements and myths our society has created, be it in the name of culture or nation or even in the name of humanity.” - Diya Patel
“Freedom is all about a world without fear, a world without being judged and a world without any boundaries”. - Shivangi Gupta
“Freedom is to be yourself, the way you wish and to depend on nothing.” - Mehak Walia
“The normalisation of speaking against relatives when the time calls for is the freedom we all have been craving for decades.” - Archi Banerjee
“To me, freedom means to be able to learn from my mistakes.” - Suraj Palod
“If I can take decisions of my life no matter how trivial or big that could be and if I no longer need to justify my actions to someone, I would consider it as real freedom.” - Alka Singh
“Freedom is self reflection.” - Raveena Ravindran
“Freedom is making our own path rather than following the path others have set for us and being truly satisfied with who we are.” - Sandra Biju
“I believe freedom is when you are loved, accepted and respected irrespective of your social, physical, emotional and psychological status.” - Grace T. Haokip
“Freedom lies in being bold.” - D. Meenakshi Monika
“Freedom something hard to achieve, but once achieved you are invincible.” - Ankush Kumar
“Independence day is a day of freedom but the real freedom will come when girls can go out alone without any fear.” - Riddhi Chouhan
“Independence according to me is freedom from anything that influences or affects us mentally/physically and prevents us from being our unique self.” - Amritha B
“Freedom to me is the ability to define myself instead of the idealistic identity provided to me by my family and society.” - Vidya. R
“Freedom for me is not being judged for my thoughts, my lifestyle, my sexual orientation, and particularly my choice to avoid ‘sanskar pollution’. I have respect for my country, my countrymen but I shouldn't be forced to share the same cultural traditions.” - Shivika Saxena
“Freedom begins with owning your life. It is a world where humanity comes to existence in every soul.” - Tanishqa Singh
“For me, independence will be when I will be able to be my own self without worrying about being judged by the society for it.” - Kirti Keswani
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What I was reading this week?
Chinese dating apps exploiting the loneliness of Indian Men.
The future of Democracy by The New Yorker
Epic Games makes a parody ad on Apple, finally somebody is challenging the giants.
Powerpoint activism is taking over your friend’s Instagram account.
How increase your attention span?
Did you visit the online flea that we have curated?
The Wall Street Journal Article is trending for all the wrong reasons.
I would love to know what you are reading or watching, please feel free to reply to this email or leave a comment. When you reply to the email, it is visible only to me and when you leave a comment it is visible to anyone on the internet.
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Take care and stay safe.
Tumhara Bhai
Bhai Bhai