Ritika Ruminates

  Image Source- Times Of India Menstrual cups have come up to be a recent option in menstrual products. It has been on a rise, and for all right reasons. Menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone, which has been the best menstrual products till date. Some of the advantages of menstrual cups are- Easy on skin-  As it is made from medical grade silicone and is inserted into the vagina, it doesn't react with skin, causing rashes near private areas. So you are free from discomfort rashes cause because of chemical commercial pads and do not have to walk like a penguin. Just menstrual cups won't be suitable for those with silicone allergy. Pocket friendly-  A menstrual cup costs mostly around Rs350-500 and one cup lasts for anywhere between 3 years-10 years, depending upon the brand (and usage). So you save a great ton of money from buying pads or tampons, and may finally be able to make that Goa trip. Leak proof- Menstrual cups to a lot extent is leakproof. Though init...

 Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar had passed a disturbing and sick statement- 'if rapes are inevitable, lie down and enjoy'. How low can a person even get? Reducing rape to something like it is no big deal. There is really no words for it. These kind of politicians are the one who are criminals, support rapists and reason for rape culture in India. How people even happen to elect such people. I know it is an exaggeration, but if he ever had a daughter of his own, he wouldn't mind to even rape his own daughter. That's how sick and disturbing his statement is. Does he even know the mental trauma a victim/survivor can go through after any degree of sexual assault, other than the physical harm caused. Experiencing (or even witnessing) a traumatic event can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which often lasts years or lifetime. To know more about PTSD, it causes and how it affects a person, click  here. Ministers like this should never be brought into power. They think ...

Image source- Times Of India Union Cabinet has decided to raise the legal marriageable age of women from 18 to 21 , but would it be much beneficial to the women at the first place? Though the intention may be good to protect girls from child marriage and forcefully becoming a mother in her early or late teenage, in my opinion and ground realities, this wouldn't change the scenario much. Maybe some girls can get to study till her graduation (considering she is not any year behind) if her family is supportive. She can have her lifelong responsibility delayed by a few years. But unfortunately, child marriages still exist. Women are still forced into getting married below 18 and become mothers at quite a young age, where she may not be able to take responsibilities of kid(s). In some places, girls are even sold to groom's family as a bride. And not just in India, but some parts of the world too. And there is no guarantee her family will let her study till graduation because of fear...

After how the police and Karnataka government cancelled Munawar Faruqui's show in Bangalore, it raises the question- is it right to suppress the show over something they 'might' have said? Or what it seems like, religion of the artist? The same set was performed by Munawar thrice before in Bangalore city, so why it was now cancelled?  Surely, if someone (any artist or ANY other person) is passing negative or shaming comments against any person, profession, religion, gender, caste, race, LGBTQIA+ community, etc, they must be criticised. And if it gets too toxic, it's ok if they are taken out of power or their work is stopped. No, I am not fan of Munawar. I haven't even seen any of his videos. But people are more aware now. If someone passes any toxic or shaming comment, they will be criticized or even trolled.  But when they didn't cancelled his show thrice before in the same city, what happened this before?  Before cancelling someone's show or suppressing th...

Image Source- Shutterstock I was reading Tahira Kashyap Khurrana's book 'The 7 Sins Of Being A Mother' and the chapter of Submission, which deals with her anecdote of facing bullying as a child. That inspired me to write this blogpost to share about my anecdote of having to deal with bullying as well, something that I had hardly ever spoken about.  Bullying has long existed in schools, colleges and sometimes even in workplaces (some people never really grow up). Bullying in childhood can have mental and emotional effects on the victim, well into their adulthood. Sometimes the childhood bullying can even turn into physical and/or sexual abuse based on physical appearance, mental health issues, race, ethnicity, religion, caste, family background, gender, sexual preferences, origin, physical disability, etc. Some of the effects of bullying on the victims are: Difficulty trusting one's own self and others, leading to having issues making friends, romantic partners and other...

Image source- Al Jazeera Image Source-YouTube/Brut     With the Centre saying Delhi High Court that a marriage is between biological man and biological woman,  it raises yet another question- why cannot gay and lesbian couples marry? Back in February of probably this year, Centre, seeking dismissal of petition of legalization of homosexual marriages, argued that a marriage in India necessarily depends upon 'age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos and societal values' and that living together as partners and having a sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is "not comparable" with the "Indian family unit concept" of  a husband, wife and children. Well, when it comes to age old traditions of India,  here  is a video by Dr.Tanaya Narendra (aka DrCuterus) about the progressive culture of ancient India when it came to homosexuality and other things. India had been very progressive about homosexuality before Britishers colonised India and passed S...

Image source- Hindustan Times After recently finishing watching the 4th (and the last) season of Little Things, it makes all the sense why Gen Z is idolizing Dhruv Vats and Kavya Kulkarni as a couple. Little Things is a series, spanning over 4 seasons, about a modern day couple Dhruv and Kavya who are navigating their lives as individuals and also their relationship. The beauty of this series is that it depicts the small yet beautiful things of a relationship, away from grand and cliche bollywood love stories. And making live-in relationships more acceptable in Indian society, especially among the Gen Z. A couple that had had their own episodes of live-in as well as long distance and yet sticking together happily, they give major couple goals. They make even the smallest and little of the things look cute, caring and romantic.  They have depicted  modern-day relationships  very rightly and in a healthy way. Like what relationships are supposed to be in founda...

After  Karnataka's health minister Dr.K Sudhakar's comment  on woman not wanting to get married and not wanting to have kids, much in a judgemental and shaming way, this raises another question- why do we feel it's valid to interfere in woman's personal choices about marriage and kids, like we own their bodies?  It's okay if one wishes to get married at some point and wish to have kids. But it's also okay to - not wish to get married and not have kids or get married and not have kids or not get married and have kids.  As long as the individual consents to it, is willing to take the risks associated and responsibilities that come with marriage and kids, and are informed about the pros and cons of each choice. It's not only the western influence because of which woman wishes to not get married and not have kids. Now a days, even many men do not ever wish to get married or have kids. And as long as you want it, are informed about the pros and cons and are will...

Image source- Electric Literature I know you would see similar blogposts in many sites. But here's my experience with having to lend my books and not getting it back in same condition (or not at all). Being a hardcore book lover, books are one of the reason of my heartbeats and with our books away, we feel empty inside our soul. Even if that book wasn't so close to us. There are many reasons and personal experiences that I have (almost) stopped lending books to people. Books are mostly lent only to those who buy books of their own and share the same passion for books, keeping them safely like a treasure. So here are some experiences- Not getting book back at all or really really late - I had lent a book to someone I used to know and I hadn't had gotten the book for months. If you borrow someone's book, read the book asap and give them the book back in same condition. And if you happen to carelessly lost the book (it dare not be a signed copy!), purchase another unused c...

Image source- SheThePeople After women being asked (a.k.a pressurize, forced or manipulated) to marry, the big another pretty unrealistic expectation of society is for women to drastically change themselves into some other woman altogether. Those distant relatives whose face you see once in three years, neighbors and the society, and sometimes even parents and in-laws start acting like they own the woman and have every right to pass judgments on her, and give advice she never asked for in the first place. But what is up with asking women to change so drastically after marriage? And why aren’t men expected to change either after getting married? A few changes here and there are expected and understandable after the big step in life. But asking or expecting a woman to change altogether after marriage is something very unrealistic and toxic, which might even end up causing mental health issues in the woman and a bruised ego to the society if she denies to follow. Not just the women who ar...