Dear Readers,

Hope you all had a great Diwali and are all set for this miserable year to end soon!

In the November issue of Eyra, we have tried to bring you some very different set of articles which will help you understand your own self and somewhere we hope that after reading it, you will feel proud of yourselves for who you are, no matter what.

We spoke to Kanika Yadav, the author of The Ocean Within, who brings some deep thoughts on how children feel and behave and the grim reality of living with a person with narcissist tendencies.

Then we have a couple of interesting articles on, as they call it, ‘women issues’. Though I wonder why it is such a taboo to talk about pregnancy, menstruation and other biology related subjects openly. Well, men are born through the same route! Anyway, we bring a very special piece on Decoding Surrogacy with the celebrated author and journalist, Gita Aravumudan, who has some very interesting insights to share on the topic. We also bring you an article on the importance of period leave and the situation across the globe. Do read Leave to Bleed by youngster Maria Binny Palamattom.

This topic makes my facial muscles twitch involuntarily, in puzzlement. So let’s move on to Face Yoga, the newest yoga sensation. Learn how to relax, glow and look beautiful by exercising those facial muscles.

Next, we present you an article on the ever inspiring Frida Kahlo, who not only accepted herself the way she was, but celebrated it with her paintings and poems. Read more in Find Solace in Self.

On a similar note, I have shared my personal journey with you, and asked you to Wear Your Struggles proudly.  This was not easy to do, but I am determined now more than ever to help other women. Because of a recent experience I had.

I have read and heard everywhere that a woman is a woman’s greatest enemy. I always wanted to prove this wrong by extending a helping hand to all the women I come across who needed a hand. That was a promise I made to myself when I was a child. And I have kept that promise till date.

But recently, a woman I had been helping for more than a decade proved it to me. My first ever live action experience of the clichéd phrase! But I am sure that would have been due to some misunderstanding or some unavoidable circumstances she must have been facing. I know she has faced a lot in life. And although my first reaction was, ‘why did somebody I gave a large part of my life to, only to help her, do this to me? Is this the universe’s way of telling me to stay away from other people’s lives?’

But on second thought, I am convinced that I want to change that irritating phrase come what may. I want to do my bit and keep at it. That’s what Eyra is about, and that’s what I am about.

So ladies, be friends and help each other. Life is difficult for every woman. Let us keep the sisterhood alive. Let us remove the obstacles we face, rather than adding to it.

On that note, let us welcome the festive season and take a moment to note that 2020 is coming to an end!!

Cheers.

Jyoti Shekar

Founder Editor, Eyra