Between the Whispers
A prelude to my 2024 finale, with a twist of folklore, whispers, and wordplay.
Satsriakal, doston! Ki haal? Sab changa?
Writing this one, as I pack for my last flight of 2024. First flight was from NGP to BLR and so is the last. A lot happened this year, but you will receive my year end on note on the 30th. Stay tuned!
You must be wondering why Shalaka is suddenly breaking into Punjabi. It is definitely the Diljit Dosanjh effect, but there’s a conspiracy theory about my birth, one that might just blow your mind.
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain.
So here’s the deal.
I was destined to be born on April 11th. I was floating (nahi aana tha mujhe iss duniya mein) and mom had to go through a C-section.
Fate had its own plans and sent me into the world on April 13th—the day of Baisakhi, the grand Punjabi harvest festival.
Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe not.
As I grew up, I found myself drawn to the beat of Tappe, Punjabi folk music. My top artist for 2024 was Satinder Sartaaj. Yeah, I KNOW!
I was the kid who asked her classmate to bring her a kadaa —a traditional Punjabi bangle. Oh, and my hair? Long, flowing, and completely on-brand. And, and I asked for Paranthe in my tiffin everyday! :)
You must have read/seen/heard about my memorable visit to Amritsar over and over. But let’s talk about the real kicker.
The conspiracy, the pièce de résistance: my blood group. It doesn’t match my parents. I mean, it does align with my grandparents, but…
So, was it destiny? Or was I switched at birth? The truth remains a mystery.
And you know what this little enigma has become my party trick. I can spin this tale and watch jaws drop. :)
Also, Shalaka in Punjabi script is written as ਸ਼ਲਾਕਾ.
In case anyone wants to get a tattoo done! :P
ASMR
There’s something oddly mesmerizing about the way ASMR sneaks into your life, softly, like a whisper carried by the wind.
I didn’t even realize I’d started watching these videos until one late-night scroll turned into 30 mins of gentle tapping, soothing whispers, and inexplicably satisfying crinkles.
What on earth was I watching?
ASMR, I learned, stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It is a fancy term for the tingling, relaxing sensation triggered by certain auditory or visual stimuli.
The more I watched, the more fascinated I became with the niche world of ASMR creators. They orchestrate an auditory symphony of mundane sounds: the rhythmic snip of scissors, the deliberate swirl of a makeup brush, the soft click of fingernails on glass. It’s a language of comfort, a lullaby for the overactive mind.
ASMR is a small rebellion against the chaos of modern life. Where the smallest sounds are amplified into a balm for the soul. It’s intimacy, relxation, and a curious dance of the senses.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response might sound technical, but at its root, it’s just humans being human, finding solace in simplicity. :)
Inkspirations:
Yeah, now we have AI pets. I don't know how I feel about this.
I can’t wait to paint a cake in Japan, uff!
Very fascinated by words in general - but EMORDNILAP wow! It's also known as an anadrome, semordnilap, or levidrome. Emordnilaps are a special type of anagram
Keeping it raw -
Until the thirteenth,
Writeously yours,
Shalaka Kulkarni