Modern Miseries and My Bottle of Cough Syrup

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"Oh to be young and insecure; scared and yet very brave; going up and coming down, all the very same. And so for you, and for me, I've taken some kind words, over which I sprinkled some optimism, spilled some old world romance, added a spoonful of nostalgia and stirred it all with my love for rhyme; and here you go: my bottle of cough syrup!"

Rishanki Jha is a restless twenty-four-year-old, with too many thoughts to spare for the world. She lives in Mumbai with her folks, learning the art and science of medicine as an intern doctor, having just finished medical school.

A keen observer of human behavior, she believes in the power of empathy and kindness. From being a ten-year-old putting together random rhyming words (and calling it a poem), she has come a long way. Now, she writes with her heart open, to heal both herself and others. Being told that her words brought solace or helped heal and fight better has been her biggest achievement, and she hopes to serve both as a doctor and a poet, for many more years to come.

Cough syrups were an important part of my childhood. I would get sick often and a spoonful a day would allow me to be at my screeching, annoying, running-around-and-not-eating-my-dinner best. Licking that orangey goodness off the spoon was my favorite bedtime activity. There is an infamous story about one particular afternoon, when my parents were busy with some friends, leaving me bored and unattended. So, I decided to do some exploring. You know, back then there was only so much a 3-year-old could do when boredom struck. After a couple of minutes of rummaging through drawers filled with boring adult stuff like papers, and more papers, 1 hit jackpot at a cabinet above. My favorite cough syrup was sitting there; a beautiful specimen of an elixir, 3/4ths full, citrusy, and all kinds of enticing. It wasn't bedtime yet, but I thought, let's just help mummy by helping ourselves, right? So I took a sip straight from the bottle (I was pretty badass for a 3-year-old), and well, didn't know where to stop. Drinking the entire bottle to the last drop must've seemed like a great idea then.

My amazingly supportive parents who have loved me despite all of my flaws and given me more than I've asked

My wonderful and really cool brother Richanshu; I've learnt to write crazy stories while playing alien invasion with you.

P.S. Aayush Jain, Pratik Chakma, Saad Farooki, Rusina Karia, Yashaswi Sriram, Vichitra Sharma, Divyata Sachan, Prateek Upadhyay, Rekha Jha, Kanhaiya Jha, Richanshu Jha.