Beyond Words with Fazil Khan

Have you ever caught yourself unlocking your phone, without any real reason, just to “check something”? Do you ever open Instagram, YouTube, or Netflix telling yourself “just for 5 minutes” , only to realize hours have flown by? And the most uncomfortable question: When was the last time you created something meaningful… instead of just consuming what others created?                                                     We are living in a loop. Scroll. Tap. Laugh. Swipe. Repeat. It feels harmless, but here’s the truth. Every like, every notification, every binge-worthy video is hijacking your brain’s dopamine system. It rewards you instantly, but leaves you emptier over time. This is why people talk about a “dopamine detox”. Not because dopamine is bad, it is essential. But too much cheap dopamine is stealing your focus, your crea...

Author’s note Bhaiyasaheb Chaudhari is a close friend from our college days, the kind you share meals and milestones with. His GATE 2025 score is 72.34, with an All India Rank of 403, and he has recently joined IIT Kanpur. For him, the method mattered more than the medal, but the medal feels good too. How I know Bhaiyasaheb We first met through a mutual friend, Krushnal, and the connection stuck because our study rhythms and goals lined up. We were in different colleges on the same campus—same grounds, same canteen lines, same exam seasons. We played Kushti  ( video link ) together on the college ground, the kind of sport that teaches patience, leverage, and timing. But honestly we played just for fun. We ate together at his flat because we had hired a maid to cook; those simple dinners became our routine check-ins—what worked today, what’s next tomorrow. We also sat for a bunch of exams in the same seasons—NPTEL tests, GATE attempts, and regular college assessments—often...

Sab nahi kar sakte, na kar sakenge nasha shayari ka, Ye to wo jaam hai doston, jo ehsason ke nawab peete hain. There are days when poetry finds you without warning, in the pause between conversations, in the weight of unspoken goodbyes, in the quiet lessons life forces you to learn. This post is a gathering of such moments. Not just my words, but the voices of fellow wanderers of thought. Each piece is a fragment of someone’s heart, laid bare for anyone who dares to feel.  So take a moment, slow down, and let each verse settle where it wishes to in your heart. Every line carries a piece of the writer’s world, all you have to do is step inside. These lines are the beautiful responses I’ve received after asking people to send me their shayaris and poems. If you’d like yours to be included too, share it with me—we can add it to this post anytime. Enjoy the read. Ek arsa guftagu chalti rahi, ab na rahi Woh kab ghayab hua, humein khabar na rahi Us ke intezar ko ek muddat hui ab W...

Not all can taste the intoxication of poetry.  It is a rare goblet, sipped only by the kings of feeling. There are days when poetry finds you without warning, in the pause between conversations, in the weight of unspoken goodbyes, in the quiet lessons life forces you to learn. This post is a gathering of such moments. Not just my words, but the voices of fellow wanderers of thought. Each piece is a fragment of someone’s heart, laid bare for anyone who dares to feel.  So take a moment, slow down, and let each verse settle where it wishes to in your heart. Every line carries a piece of the writer’s world, all you have to do is step inside. These lines are the beautiful responses I’ve received after sharing my story and asking people to send me their shayaris and poems. If you’d like yours to be included too, share it with me—we can add it to this post anytime. Enjoy the read. We spoke for so long, and now silence remains. I never knew when he faded away. I’ve waited for him thro...

 Let’s face it. The idea of “being a man” is a confusing one these days. We’ve all grown up hearing phrases like “man up” , “boys don’t cry” , and “real men don’t do housework.” These messages get drilled into us subtly, through family, movies, and society, until we start believing them ourselves. That masculinity means being tough, emotionless, always in control, and definitely never doing the dishes. But somewhere along the way, many of us started to question it. Because what if being a man isn’t about avoiding emotions, but embracing them? What if masculinity doesn’t have to be rigid, but can be rounded? The Old Script: Masculinity as Strength Alone The traditional version of masculinity celebrated only a few traits: strength, stoicism, dominance. It pushed men to be the provider, the protector, the rock who never wavers. Expressing emotions was seen as weakness. Doing anything seen as “soft,” like nurturing, caregiving, or cleaning, somehow made you less of a man. I’ve ...