rishika

documentary photography The simplest form of journalistic photography wherein the message conveyed is far more important than the aesthetic of the picture taken.

landscape photography Usually a wide angle shot of the landscape including elements of nature rather than human subjects. Very closely related to nature photography.

nature photography Dedicated entirely to showcasing natural elements, in this case the bird and the sky. Nature photographs typically shoot to enhance the beauty of nature.

long exposure photography / light drawing This type of photography involves setting the shutter speed very low so that the camera captures the movement of light in a way unforeseen by the human eye.

night photography Capturing images at nighttime taking advantage of the low light available to create silhouettes.

sports photography Capturing movements within a sport. Usually achieved with a high shutter speed to accurately click subjects in motion.

portrait photography Showcasing the expression or emotions of a singular or multiple subjects in focus via close up pictures.

self photography Pictures of the photographers taken by themselves usually with the help of a tripod set to take clear images. The photographs usually are meant for self expression.

fashion photography An artistic way of showcasing outfits and other fashion items by image. Most fashion photographers experiment stylistically to best focus on the product at hand.

still life photography Creative pictures taken of otherwise mundane objects, or interesting immovable objects.

event photography Capturing moments in high quality of people enjoying themselves in a variety of events like meetups, celebrations, etc.

abstract photography Photography made using objects or patterns that create unusual visuals. Usually achieved by zooming into textures and patterns.

food photography The main focus of the image captured is food in this type of photography. It is the main subject, there can be secondary subjects too.

pet / animal photography Like food photography, the main subject in this type of photography are animals or pets.

street photography Meant to capture moments of the regular everyday life. This type of photography aims to memorialize the mundane workings of life through candid pictures of strangers.

According to the Merriem-Webster dictionary, a meme can be defined as ‘an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media’. Memes are used as a tool to share information in a mostly humorous way on various social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. and they have a universal understanding amongst the users of those platforms. They prove to be a uniting factor among people of various cultures, ages, sexes and more by having a widely understood meaning and a means to generate mirth in the consumer. 

Memes have historically been of many forms such as videos, images, certain text phrases and other media forms. Video forms of memes often arise due to viral videos that spread through the internet like wildfire. Often these viral videos or memes have no conceivable meaning, it just happens to be something funny. There is no actual humor in a video of a boy reading out a street sign and saying he had expected the road to be working ahead after all, except for the sheer stupidity and simplicity of it. These videos were at a peak during the time of the video sharing platform ‘Vine’. Vines were the pinnacle of meme videos where people would share short clips of funny things and they would go viral and would get shared and reshared thousands of times before they became memes themselves. 

The internet has a way of evolving with its past, where one cannot truly understand all of the current trends without knowing the past ones at least in brief. This creates an interesting phenomenon wherein an internet user has a specific part of their memory dedicated to storing up all the past memes and viral content on the internet which is associated with the ever changing virality of new content that comes up online. The digitized memory of the brain is hardwired to make sense of the current trends if they are in any way related to prior stored information and thus a new and endlessly connected mesh of information is formed online. 

This mesh of ever flowing content which is all interconnected has created a larger gap in the digital age spectrum. The different generations have different capacities or experiences with storing the information available online. Gen Z, who is brought up and raised in the highly computerized world with ready availability of the internet is more in touch with the memes and trends of the present. This does not take away from the fact that they are somewhat distanced from memes from the previous generation of the millennials, because they were not yet born when the millennials were developing the internet and all the memes that came at that time are too old for Gen Z to know unless someone digs through the archives of internet memes. But by far, the most disadvantageous is the generation before millennials. They have a tough time adapting to this digital world, as they grew up when the invention of the internet was still underway. They barely know how to use the internet, the knowledge of memes is far cry. 

This digital disparity between generations about the understanding of memes and viral trends causes what is known as digital dysphoria amongst the elders. They suffer through bouts of alienations and perceived eliminations from the lives of their loved ones only because they are not ‘hip’ enough or caught with the current trends. Often there are cases of grandparents feeling secluded by their grandkids due to their inability to be connected through social media which is the best means of communication for the grandkids. There have also been cases where grandparents or elder folk have admitted to have felt ridiculed when the ‘youngsters’ talk about how they do not understand certain memes or viral video references. Some memes perpetuate stereotypes about older generations, portraying them as technologically inept or out of touch. These stereotypes can contribute to negative perceptions of elderly individuals in digital spaces and reinforce age-related biases. 

Fandoms are a subculture within the mainstream media enjoyers wherein people who like certain things get together as a community to share what they enjoy in a sacred space. The fandom culture has been prevalent in society since as early as the mid 1800s, it just has never been talked about enough. As any other subculture, there is a feeling of ‘otherness’ or disconnect from the popular or more dominant culture within the fans who utilize these spaces. 

The history of fandoms (in the western society) is a particularly interesting one since its origins do not resonate with the more widely popularized sectors of fandoms nowadays. Sports fanatics were some of the original members of this subculture: people who got together to discuss their love for competitive sports with set rules and structures. However, the target soon changed, taking the predominant meaning of fandom from simply casual enjoyers to people passionate about media. The first kinds of fandoms we discussed were those of science fiction. The target audience for science fiction books and visual media in the 1900s were meant to be, as is anything in that highly patriarchal era, men with an affiliation towards science and technology. Nobody anticipated the highly educated women in science, who were less socially accepted, to latch onto these pieces of science fiction and create a community that would be so culturally important to modern society. 

The early science fiction fandoms gave rise to fan creations like fanzines and fanarts depicting the characters, like Sherlock Holmes from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, or those from Star Trek. Fans organized meetups and conventions (the very first fan convention was WorldCon in 1939, which is a science fiction convention held annually for the fans). Before the times of television and movies, when science fiction was limited to books and technology was not so advanced, the fandoms formed were notably local since communication across the world wasn't readily available. During these times fanzines were distributed by mail but distribution was limited. It was only after the emergence of television and films that technology advanced enough to create a platform for the fans to better share their interests. 

The digitization of fandom was quite a remarkable phenomenon in the ever evolving world since the people behind it were not the traditional revolutionists but simply women with advanced knowledge in the fields of computer science and technology who wanted to create a space for themselves to be safe and discuss similar interests. The internet provided a quicker and easier way for the fans to communicate with each other and a more secure form of distribution of content within the communities. At this time, primitive social media like MySpace, LiveJournal, etc provided the necessary means to form communities and have a safe space free for creative discussions and productivity. 

Although the origins of online fandom communities could be hard to trace back, the current most used platforms are Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. Tumblr has a very important role in the journey of fandoms as we know it. It is a platform where fans are free to create their own content related to whatever their interests are and others can view and comment on the same. These creations include fanfiction, fanart, fan theories or even edits of characters or movies they like. The speciality of tumblr is that it's mostly free of outside intervention and fans can exist in harmony with minimal disputes. Apart from the prevalence of tumblr, the digitized era of fandom brought in new means to create fan content by exploring multimedia forms of creative expression. This was borne in the forms of fan edits, digital fanart, parodical musicals and songs, etc. Sites like FanFiction.net and Archive Of Our Own became hubs of digital fanfiction works where it is easier for anybody to read what they want to or share their own written works. 

The digitisation of fandom is not only limited to sharing fanworks and interests amongst similar minded people, the community formed is like any other with its own customs and traditions. A very interesting phenomenon to observe is the evolved lingo in digital fandom spaces. People not part of these communities will find themselves flabbergasted at the terms and phrases used within the members. As a non Supernatural fan, if one hears the phrase ‘Dean’s widower arc’ it is not going to mean anything to them, but a Supernatural fan is going to know the intended meaning and will understand the exact thing referred to with the term. Digital fans have developed a certain language in itself to make it easier for them to communicate amongst each other with limited words. This is a result of limited word limits in text based platforms such as Twitter and also the need to be quick and fast while expressing your thoughts and opinions. Nobody has the time or energy to explain specific things a million times, so it's easier to form short forms for them that the entire fandom as a whole acknowledges and utilizes. These phrases often become inside jokes since non fandom members have a hard time understanding them. ‘Super mega gay hell’ is a phrase that if any random person not in touch with the fandom communities sees will be baffled, but most fans (even non Supernatural ones) have recognised is a reference to when Castiel, the angel died for confessing his homosexual love. 

Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) is a daily newspaper popular in West Bengal. It is a regional bengali newspaper which has over 1.2 million readers making it the top bengali newspaper in the market. Initially published as a four page evening daily, ABP group now has a massive multimedia platform varying from print to television and online. It was founded by Suresh Chandra Majumdar and Prafulla Kumar Sarkar a century ago in 1922. It then ventured into the online space as an e publication in 2001. 

ABP private limited group owns Anandabazar Patrika and the shares for the same are equally divided amongst the Sarkar family, Aveek Kumar Sarkar (25%), Arup Sarkar (25%), Shithi Sarkar (25%) and Atideb Sarkar (25%). The family hence owns 100% of the shares and is an individually owned company. The chief editor for the newspaper until 2021 was Arup Kumar Sarkar but recently the title was given to his son, Atideb, marking the official handover of the company to the next generation. Atideb is also the youngest chief editor of India. 

When Anandabazar Patrika started in 1922, it was an independent publication against the British government. After independence and following the separation, for many years its political associations were with the party in power of the state. This meant that it was pro CPI(M) for a while. It was then in support of Trinamool Congress until 2015 when the board had disagreements with Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal. The paper suddenly shifted to a more pro BJP from a very anti BJP standpoint almost immediately following the incident. Although not publicly stated anywhere, ABP group is now a supporter of the ideologies of the NaMo government. Even in their televised programmes, the ABP group channels share similar beliefs. 

We were given an assignment to write a human-interest story. It could've been absolutely anything concerning anyone but I wanted to have a story I actually wanted to speak about. I racked my brain over this for at least a week before deciding on my topic, or rather, my subject. This is a story I find very personal to myself and so it was rather difficult to write it objectively from a non-biased point of view, but I've tried my best to do so. I hope I have done justice to the man who made plants his entire life. 

I see his nursery on my way to college every day and as a plant person, it was the first thing on my Bangalore places-to-visit bucket list when I first came here. I have a bad habit of hoarding plants that people around me have warned me against but I just can't help it. So, when I found out there was a nursery so close to where I'll be living, I was elated. I couldn't wait to fill my new room with plants. I ended up going there the weekend after my dad left, thinking I was fully settled in. I was all alone in a new city, with no friends and nobody familiar around. I needed the familiarity of plants to calm myself because I was getting overwhelmed by university life. My course was entirely new to me, so the subjects were also adding pressure onto me. I knew only the clean green air around numerous rows of plants could help me then. 

Ram Prasad had come to Bangalore around 18 years ago, with nothing but a dream of expanding his father’s small business of selling flowers in his village. He hadn't had a very extravagant upbringing, his father’s business being the only source of income in their family. He had attended school only till the sixth grade before dropping out to help out his father. He told me that's when his love for plants began. “Everything I've learnt about plants I've learnt from my father,” he told me when I asked him where his passion for all things green came from.  

Although it has been so long since he came to Bangalore, ram prasad still hesitates on calling this city his home. He confessed to me once that he misses his village back home because that's where his family is living. His wife died during the covid pandemic, so now his mother takes care of his two children. Taking care is probably not the right phrase since both his kids are adults pursuing higher education. His son is 19, and is doing BA in a community college in Uttar Pradesh itself. His daughter, 18, is currently doing BSc in math in the same college as her brother. Ram prasad admitted to me that I reminded him of his daughter which is why he always cheers up whenever I visit his nursery. He told me that he never forced his kids into taking up the same career he did and always encouraged them to complete their studies and grow up to do whatever they want.

Twitter Inc. is a social media company that handles sites like Twitter and previously Vine. The social media app Twitter was the brainchild of New York University student, Jack Dorsey. It started out as a website for people to share each other's thoughts and interact. What really separates Twitter from other social media platforms is the focus it still puts on not being an image or video sharing platform. Tweets are still predominantly in words with less pictures taking up the timeline. People use the platform to share thoughts and opinions rather than specific moments in their lives like on Facebook or Instagram which are majorly photo sharing apps. 

Social media as a media platform is a very important asset in today's world where less and less people are actively seeking out information through traditional means of mass communication like newspapers or news reporting television channels. Information overload happening through major online and offline sources have made people not want to actually know what is happening around the world anymore which is a concerning thing when the world itself is going through so many drastic changes in such a short time period.

Social media users nowadays are in figures of billions, estimated to be about half the world's population. With such a vast audience, social media is the best and most effective way of providing news to people. Even those who dont wish or previously had the means to get to know the happenings of the world are subjected to the knowledge now because it's practically impossible to miss out on now. This does not, however, contest the fact that an overload of information is harmful to a person's psyche. 

This can be very well seen in Twitter's example. Since the app is a microblogging app with a word based interface, there is more chance of seeing too much information on Twitter. Tweets from all over the world about various topics reach the trending tabs and are shown to everyone. Of course, there is the role of the algorithm, but its only one single ‘For You’ tab that is majorly algorithm based, unlike other apps like Instagram and Tiktok where most of the content shown is based on what the algorithm thinks one wants to see. Twitter's algorithm is different because it selects tweets which are similar to what the user has previously interacted with but it doesn't stop from other content to be presented to the user under the other tabs in the ‘Explore’ area of the app. 

This is the reason why it is so important for a user to curate their experience on Twitter. By choosing who they follow and the interests they want to see more on Twitter, users can curate and filter out the content they see. If they create a personal timeline filled with things of interest, there is a lower chance for users to have to go to the Explore tab at all, and hence being safe from the information overload that might happen otherwise.  

Another major tool which helps with this is the features that Twitter provides including blocking profiles and hiding certain tweets. These features are incredibly important especially due to the rampant cyber harassment that goes on in the app. Since Twitter is a very opinion based platform, it is rather obvious that fights break out very often online. People with differing opinions and viewpoints that believe they are right about some issue and refuse to listen to others’ views at all often engage in arguments and things can also take drastic turns in such situations. There have been a higher number of reported cyber harassment cases on Twitter than most other social media sites. Things like using slurs to harass other people, bullying them by  saying rude and offensive things to crimes like doxxing (revealing personal identity information about another person without their consent) and sending death threats have become common ground on Twitter. The best way to be safe from such trolls and bullies is to block and report any account trying to start a fight. 

Respected Sir/Ma’am

With great admiration of your esteemed organization, I write in hopes of seeking your attention to the increase in the problems created by bursting of loud diwali firecrackers, especially for the stray animals on the streets.

The noise of such crackers scare the strays and pets alike but unlike domesticated animals, the stray dogs and cats have nowhere to go and hide. There is also the risk of physically harming the strays by throwing the residue of such crackers around. We talk about celebrating an ‘Eco Diwali’ but there are always some people who think bursting crackers is perfectly fine and has no consequences. They don't even think of the noise and air pollution it creates which harms the environment. The least they could do is be more empathetic towards the stray animals who are traumatized by the loud noises they make. 

I hope this reaches the correct audience and brings awareness to the masses so we can work towards a better future. Change is needed now and every little step counts so if my letter creates any change at all in the world, I would be proud. 

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely

Twitter is a social media app focusing on microblogging and sharing thoughts and opinions with others with similar ideas. It is an incredible platform to find like minded people and form communities. People from all over the globe are brought together within a small space to discuss their thoughts. There is an undeniable joy in finding people who share your interests and are willing to talk about it which makes twitter an incredible media platform. 

It is also, however, very easy to get lost in the world of twitter. Spending too much time online can take its toll on a person. Being chronically online can alter certain personality traits which could vary in different people. For some, it's a good thing since twitter provides a plethora of information that might not be available for them to know otherwise. For others, however, it can be disastrous. This could be due to the toxicity that is prevalent on twitter. There are multiple accounts that act as trolls and go fishing for situations to harass people online. This leads to a very important discussion about twitter that has been debated over years, the censoring of tweets.

Freedom of speech is a constitutional right in most countries. However, it is not always so black and white. What does one do when this freedom of speech is raised in cases of hate speech against minorities? On twitter, too, this is a common problem. Although people are free to tweet whatever they want, there are Community Guidelines set in place for the safe sailing of the application. Certain rules are set against acts of violence, terrorism and harassment. Twitter has the power to delete tweets, issue warnings and even suspend accounts seen to be breaking these guidelines. 

These guidelines are supposed to help people have a safe and secure experience on the social media platform but they are often observed to act as means of censoring people. Multiple accounts are seen where tweets were deleted that weren’t actually breaking these guidelines or doing so for a cause that was just but still suffering. Various people have got their accounts suspended and even deactivated due to trivial things which the app considers to be offensive but is not in reality meant that way. Baseless suspensions like these create a fear of expressing actual feelings on the platform and many people lose their trust on the site.

What is worse is that people who actually break the guidelines, but do so in a way that is not directly in violation of the rules are let free without a scratch. People spewing misinformation in their tweets which can directly or indirectly harm various communities suffer no consequences of their actions, while friends casually showing their affection through light jokes is considered to be grounds for suspension. There are people who use their twitter accounts to target and harass minorities like the LGBTQ+ community and they have to face no repercussions because apparently their targeted harassment is not in violation of the twitter code of conduct since they don't necessarily use offensive words. The technology is supposed to be advanced enough to change the world, but if it can't distinguish friendly banter from hateful conduct then what is the use of it?

Leigh Bardugo's debut novel and the first book of the trilogy with the same name, ‘Shadow and Bone’ is the perfect for non fantasy readers to dip their toes in the world of magic users and fictional warring worlds. The book has amazing world-building, making the readers often forget that the kingdom of Ravka is not real. It is inspired by Russia, the birthplace of the author, with the king and queen acting as placeholders for the tsar and tsarina. 

The book follows the protagonist Alina Starkov, an orphan girl in the kingdom of Ravka. She grows up with her friend, Mal, unaware of her true Grisha powers as a sun summoner (the power of summoning light from the darkness). She first discovers her powers when Mal’s life is in danger in the Unsea, a sea of complete darkness, also called the Shadow Fold. The Unsea divides Ravka into two and is very dangerous to cross with beasts known as Volcra feeding on unfortunate travelers. Alina’s powers bring her into the spotlight and she is taken to the capital of Ravka, Os Alta to train with other Grisha. The Darkling, the leader of all Grisha, believes her to be the key to destroying the shadow Fold once and for all and to bring peace to all Ravkans. What everyone didn't realize was that the Darkling who was supposed to be their savior was actually the very Black Heretic who had created the Unsea in the first place. His plan, in reality, was to use Alinas powers to further spread the Shadow Fold and control it to make a weapon out of it. Any kingdom which opposed Ravka would be a victim of the Unsea. However, his plans were foiled when Alina took control of her own powers and fled from the Darkling with Mal. They took refuge in West Ravka, hoping and praying their past wouldn't catch up with them. 

Writing a food review about your own cooking is very close to being a narcissistic autobiographical article, however, I will still continue to do so because that was truly some of the most delicious food I've put in my mouth in a while. Just something about cooking actual food after months of surviving on menial PG food made the experience even more enjoyable. The cheesy eggplant seemed to just dissolve in my mouth. Never would I have thought that a vegetable as simple as eggplant could be cooked to taste like a slice of heaven. The red sauce was cooked to perfection with the perfect amount of aromatics in it to enhance the tomato flavor, and the bechamel was just on the right side of creamy without being too heavy. The eggplants themselves were crispy enough to have a crunch but not too much so that it stood out a lot. The process wasn't without any hardships however. Very quickly I realized there were some obstacles I would  need to overcome in my journey, the most pressing being the lack of an oven. Traditionally, eggplant parmesan is made by first baking eggplant slices covered in a slurry of egg, flour and breadcrumbs to make it crispy, and then it is layered in a dish with red and bechamel sauce, kind of like a lasagna. It is then baked again for it to cook to perfection. Without an oven, I had to improvise and fry the eggplants to cook it. Even with such obstructions in the path, the final product turned out to be worth every bit of effort that I had put in. The joy on the faces of my friends was very rewarding.

There is nothing better than sitting, cozying in your blanket, a hot cup of cocoa in your hand and watching your favorite christmas movie on a cold wintery morning. Now, the subject of christmas movies often brings up heated debates among some people, everybody has their own personal opinions and nobody is technically wrong. Except everyone who disagrees with me, obviously. The best Christmas movie is undoubtedly and with no competition, the 2013 released installation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 3. The movie just warms the heart, which is a little concerning because the main theme of the movie is in fact terrorism and super human powers going wrong. There's war propaganda and the undeniable imperialism of the American government. But if we ignore all of that and just focus on the raw humanity and character arc of the main characters of the movie, including the philanthropist billionaire Tony Stark and his girlfriend Pepper Potts. 

Domestic helpers see everything. They are privy to the most intimate settings of your life and they know about the deepest secrets that no one else outside of the four walls of your home is supposed to know. They see all the celebrations and all the depressing moments. They hear every conversation and no one bats an eye. 

Sometimes they even see the gruesome truths in life that no one would expect them to. Laxmi Mohan is a cook in the apartment I live in, and she gave me the opportunity to interview her which gave me insight into the lives of domestic helpers. She was talking about her experience working in the building and happened to mention one story which startled me but didn't seem to faze her as much as i would've thought. 

In one of the flats she works in, she has observed that the husband comes home drunk everyday and beats the wife up. This account of domestic violence is so normal for Laxmi that she was surprised when I asked her to elaborate on the issue. She was very hesitant to further talk about it though. This led me to think about how difficult it must be for these domestic helpers who witness such horrifying acts and feel like they can do nothing about it. 

Laxmi, a mother of two and the wife of a small factory worker, cannot go to the authorities to report the violent acts she's witnessed because she's scared of the repercussions that her family might have if she does so. There is a strong element of classism in cases like these. People like maids and helpers don't believe it is in their right to interfere because it is a family matter of their employers. They also know that the authorities, most of the time, will not listen to them even if they want to report about it. Police are more likely to believe a respected man with a well earning job if he says that whatever accusation is being put on him is false. 

Laxmi was very adamant about not intervening into the matter when she was talking to me about the issue. “It is not my place to say how a man treats his wife,” is what she said when I asked her why. She still believes that the husband holds more power than the wife in a household. This is the problem with a lot of people who have not received enough education for them to realize their rights. The misogyny in Indian society also still exists because there isn't enough awareness among the general public. We talk about equality within the nation but we often forget about those people who still believe that unjust treatment of women is right simply because they were never taught otherwise. There needs to be a rise in spreading this awareness everywhere.

When protagonists of shows or movies are nerds, they typically go through a ‘transformation’ within the first half of the plot. This transformation is purely physical and superficial in the sense that their looks are completely changed. A prime example of this is the famous movie The Princess Diaries. In that movie Mia Thermopolis, a 14 year old high school student finds out she's actually a princess of a small kingdom. She refuses to believe that her grandmother is a queen and that she would grow up to rule a country one day. This all changes when the royal stylist gives her a makeover and her otherwise frizzy curly hair is changed to be more sleek and manageable. Her glasses were removed and the stylist put makeup on her which served to make her look more beautiful. 

The issue with such scenes in popular movies and shows is the message it sends to young children who watch and consume such media. It basically creates a standard of beauty on screen and if anybody in the audience doesn't reach that standard, they tend to feel bad about themselves. The prevalence of insanely high beauty standards in the society is fuelled by these movies and shows that show physical transformation is the only way an ‘ugly’ character can become desirable. 

‘Nerdy’ fashion is often related to having a quirky and weird dressing sense. Anything which isn't the mainstream trend is cast out and grouped as ‘other’. The style transformations are usually, hence, from quirky fashion into more trendy styles. These also help with the capitalization of trendy outfits because viewers want to dress up like their favs and are more likely to buy such clothes.