ISSUE NO 01 | VOLUME 01
THE QASID
A COLLECTION OF THOUGHTS AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
This magazine is essentially a collection of thoughts, and is dedicated to everyone who's affected by Covid-19.
table of contents 06
Editor's Letter
24 There Will Be Days Like These
45 Eagle's Abode
10 The Eight Wonder of the World
26
Jeena with Tina
46 Taking Control
14 My Quarantined Journey through Tweets
27
A Tale of Lockdown
50 Contributors
19 A Dream and A Gig
31
Art.exe
21 How Music Helped Me Cope with the New Normal
35
Life as a Sikh Model
THE QASID | JULY 2020
PAGE 6 | THE QASID
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Jusqu'ici tout va bien
At the time of writing this, I - like most people - am under a mandatory homebound or a stay-at-home order from the government. My once busy life has now subsided and is a hostage to the global pandemic because of the Covide-19 virus. It wasn't an easy transition to see humanity go under this dark, gloomy cloud of fear. Due to the current conditions and situations going around, I find it extremely hard to keep my mind from going into its darker corners. As most of us have already experienced what I and my friends here have tried to portray, I won't be taking much of your time, Another thing I have a hard time keeping track of is time. Today is probably June 18th. Maybe it is the 19th. In all honesty, one of the more prominent reasons I got myself to work on this was because I wanted a temporary distraction, from the repetitive routine that I had developed over these past few months. I found myself to be more reclusive than I normally am. I guess I just found comfort in being more observant than involved. I just hope that this "collection of thoughts" will entertain you in some way or the other, and for some might even make you realize that you're not alone during these times. I would like to thank each person who contributed to this. Just know that I will be forever grateful.
Before all you formatting or designing nerds come at me for being terrible as this, the software I was using ran out of the trial period. Forgive me. I hope this magazine finds you doing well and being your best self. And more importantly, I hope you thoroughly enjoy reading the first and probably the only issue of - THE QASID.
Had plans of visiting home (Delhi). Guess I've got to wait for a while now.
PAGE 10 | THE QASID
THE EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD by Samri Before the world was overrun by a global pandemic, life was simple. And I used to take pride in living a simple one too. I yearned for unforeseen adventures, and this piece that I’ve written is about one too. It was a fine evening when I met my friend the one who just randomly hops on board for everything. Spending the night with strange boredom, we just couldn’t let the days go by so uneventfully. While the moon was at its peak, we decided tomorrow's sunrise will be our ticket out. With no place or plan in mind, we just decided to take our young, wild, and free spirits to wherever the road takes us. I remember hearing something about having the “8th wonder of the world” not far from us but had never really actualized visiting it. The next day, we just took the essentials and hit the road, and we just knew, we had to see this apparent wonder of the world approximately 250 kilometers from where we were- Sigiriya.
PAGE 11 | THE QASID
The journey started with a lot of hype,
It was a bright, sunny day, the type I always
and bags under our eyes, because both
love.
of us couldn't sleep the night before,
through my face, airing out my clothes,
yearning
for
adventure.
Honestly?
Starting early probably worked in our favor, as we skipped major roadblocks and could witness the sunrise slowly. It's
I
remember
the
wind
breezing
making me feel like I belonged. Not going to lie, but it was one of the best rests I’ve had before realizing our journey wasn’t over yet. Sigiriya began to look bigger and bigger as we were getting closer. Climbing
just a very liberating feeling - not having
it felt like a never-ending staircase and at
to think about what comes next, for all
one point we had to go through a sketchy
we saw was the road. Little did we know,
iron stairway on the side of the rock
it would turn out to be an adventure
overlooking the ditch. The slightest of
we’d truly miss during these tough times.
errors, and it really would’ve been the adventure of one lifetime. The place was filled
with
wall
arts,
faded,
but
still
adequately visible. And walking through
The drive was nice and smooth and
the ancient arts and the beautiful scenery
became smoother as we got closer to
made us forget that we had already come
our destination. Before we got to Sigiriya
up halfway to our destination.
there was another rock beside that called Pidurangala Rock which was an easy hike compared to the Sigiriya rock. We went on to that first and started the hike. As we roamed through the terrains
I remember this specific sculpture, as we reached the midpoint, called the “Lion’s Foot”. It was like the main entrance to the top of Sigiriya. We managed to reach the top of the Sigiriya and it was so truly
of the Pidurangala Rock we came across
magnificent to see views which I always
a lot of ancient statues and some writing
thought could only be picturized. It was
on the walls and as well as some ancient
unbelievable. By the time we were done
security systems which protected them
taking all of it in, it was already dusk. It
from any intruders. Imagine having to infiltrate a rock fortress surrounded by a lake filled with crocodiles (to this day!). We passed through the small pathways
soon got dark and as our stars aligned (definitely, the wrong way), it also started to rain heavily. However, with no second thoughts about coming here, I think me and my friend can say that this was one of
and the caves with relative ease, and
the best trips we’ve ever been on, hands
finally reached the top of Pidurangala
down. I guess times like these make you
Rock.
miss the best times.
It
overlooked
Sigiriya,
honestly fell in love with the view.
and
I
Stay Safe!
Samri
Samri
PAGE 14 | THE QASID
MY QUARANTINED JOURNEY THROUGH TWEETS A COMPILATION
by Anmol Singh
Was never on the platform, I guess being locked up in a house frustrates you and sends you looking for a platform to vent i.e. shitpost: for some its TikTok, for me it was Twitter (yes I’m classy like that) So here’s a narcissists voyage through the new normal in the form of 280 character snippets.
Figuring out a new social media platform was tough – yes I suck at being a millennial.
Tried my hand at being the next spiritual guru our nation so desperately needs.
PAGE 15 | THE QASID
Sadhguru right now :-
Well, are you even a funny tweleb is you don't diss our PM's complex hindi speeches?
Alas the comedian inside me died soon enough (still figuring out if it was the lack of validation or I’m just not funny enough to come up with new things).
Who didn't want in on the "Carry vs. TIkTok" fiasco?
PAGE 16 | THE QASID
A toast for the batch of 2020.
Hoping people are not able to decipher the last one :)
Got to appreciate artists.
Realised the value of people who I couldn't meet for over 3 months.
PAGE 17 | THE QASID
Back for Sadhguru's job, with slight political undertones :P
Well it's only right to end on this note since you've gone through a barrage of my shitposting.
Take care
Arjun Salwan
PAGE 19 | THE QASID
It’s quite funny to recall now that playing guitar or listening to music was rather forced on me by my parents. I come from a family that loves to party, we believe in drinking till we drop and singing till the neighbours turn up. It started off with my dad forcefully giving me the mic at every social gathering, standing right in front of me looking me in the eye all excited like a 13 year old girl in a Taylor swift concert.
To be honest some people were drunk
A DREAM AND A GIG
enough to appreciate me and some people were sober enough to ask my dad for another drink to help them bear with my songs. Little did I know, being upfront and confident
about
my
work
was
becoming a part of me, at 20 years of age I realised grinding is just not creating content its about presenting it in front of the world too, people with half the amount of my skills and talent are earning
millions
because
they
are
confident about their work, and trust me there is nothing more charismatic than a man telling you he believes in what he does So I’ll tell you. I fucking love what I do, I love it so much I want to do it all day long.
BY SURYANSH BHATT
PAGE 20 | THE QASID
People loved it, but I knew they would get bored soon if I didn't feed them I listen to music all the time, watch videos on how the greats like Kendrick, Cole, Seedhe Maut made it so big. Inspired from these legends I started off
with
my
page
suryansh_sings. It started off as a simple spam page with a few covers from Prateek Kuhad, but my gut always told me I am bigger than this. I can make my own music because I am gifted when it comes to making content which people can relate to. I love writing rhymes, love making betas, love jacking up the car, playing some random music and freestyle on it, all that I had to do now was make it professional. so I started posting songs that I started making on garage band.
something new, so I started making music videos, watching me grow, and people around me got inspired to do similar things in life. I started getting offers for collaborations, people started sharing stories of them listening to my songs in their cars. I knew it's time for me to capitalize, so I made an EP along with a friend and put it on all the platforms. I made a total of 16 songs and got about 55 thousand plus views on them and mind you I made this page 2 months ago. I take inspiration from anyone who is out there working hard, because I believe in one thing very strongly, if you hang out with 5 millionaires trust me you will be the sixth one, if you hangout with 5 idiots you will be the sixth one. Be great, be you - because even after you’re long gone the only thing that is going to stay and matter is your work.
PAGE 21 | THE QASID
HOW MUSIC HELPED ME COPE WITH THE NEW NORMAL AND WHY MUSICIANS DESERVE GREATER APPRECIATION DURING THESE TIMES by Anmol Singh
The basic idea for this article was triggered when a very popular daily categorised artists under the ‘nonessential’ professions in a survey. Even though the logic is not wrong behind
Poetry has always fascinated the mind and the modern-day poets who present their verbal prowess on a sick beat are who I
it because we do not need art for
have been getting my dose of deep,
biological ‘survival’ per say. It does
thought provoking music from.
make life worth living.
Artists
deserve
a
greater
appreciation during these times because it is one of the industries that might blossom because of the
If you still haven’t guessed I am talking about hip-hop music, the one being made in the subcontinent to be more specific, rightly labelled as ; ‘Desi Hip-hop’.
new normal, humans will turn to art for mental stimulation now that
There is just something about music from
they
your own people that beats the Eminem's
have
a
higher
disposable
chunk of time.
and
For me personally, it has been both consuming as well as creating art (read: very bad art). I turned to music
to
help
quarantine ‘blues’.
me
out
of
the
Kendrick's
of
the
world.
This
fanaticism of Rap from the subcontinent is not a new thing for me, but the quarantine sure helped my playlist get deeper and more exploratory in the genre itself.
PAGE 22 | THE QASID
Now would we a good time to introduce my page @101.hiphop where I curate the best music for the community, interact with artists and present it to the rapidly growing hip-hop community in India. Moving on, I had heard almost every sub-genre and all the cleverly written verses Indian hip-hop artists had come up with, whether it be Hindi, English
or
Punjabi.
(the
three
languages
I
understand), I had explored a lot of artists from the mainstream to the lesser known underground. This and a few of my very close friends pushed me to create something of my own. Two weeks later I have a freestyle and a song featuring the co-admin of my page out on my Instagram and YouTube. (Self-advertising, yes I’m atmanirbhar). Personally, not only did this period of uncertainty give me a chance to explore a plethora of wonderful artists but also helped me introspect and create some art of my own. Love.
Arjun Salwan
PAGE 24 | THE QASID
THERE WILL BE DAYS LIKE THESE
by Arjun Salwan
There will be days like these Days that feel utterly pointless followed by nights that just don’t seem to end ; The sunrises that exist to save you from the nights, and the sunsets to save you from routine. Repeating the same tasks each day without ever having to think about them, isn’t that what everybody does? Isn’t that what everybody needs to get their daily hit of dopamine while they find scapegoats to take the fall? We all have our own fears ; But the human condition is so tragic that in reality, we’re all living in each others paranoia. The things meant to differentiate us from the crowd are used to bend us against our will. And sometimes, it takes too much to continue being a part of this distortion of reality So when you’re experiencing a day like this, remember - There’s so much more to life than we’re afforded sometimes . You might wonder why you continue getting caught in these loops of depression. And there will be days were you just want to spill, but you’re afraid that if you open yourself up you won’t stop pouring. Remind yourself that it is the environment you’ve created that forces you down this road. Because you’re too scared to become a river. Remind yourself, your depression isn’t sadness, its exhaustion. It is because of the loop you’ve created which you conveniently label “routine”
PAGE 25 | THE QASID
Who were you before the world told you who you were? Remember that person again. Become something outside of what you do. Realise the power you truly hold. A life living in another man’s perspective is no life lived at all. Dream. You’ve to envision the future you’re willing to fight for. Existence could be beautiful, or it could be ugly, but that’s on you. If you like what you envision, then its beautiful. If not, then you might as well fade the fuck out right now. Because if you really think about it, the sunsets are really meant to remind us ; change is beautiful.
PAGE 26 | THE QASID
Jeena with Tina
by Tina Chawla
It’s fair to assume that everyone knows about the pandemic that has engulfed the entire world, and the lockdowns which have come with it. It took everyone by surprise, because no one saw it coming and at one point, it had started to feel like there is absolutely no going back. It brought some
pressing
issues
to
the
forefront.
The
absolute failures of governments all around the world, the incompetence of some health care systems, and the pre-existing ignorance towards mental health. At first, the lockdowns made me feel confident, and secure in my house. But soon enough, it took a toll on me, a rather heavy one. I lost all will to work, my productivity levels decreased drastically, and I soon realised I wasn’t the only one. I understood that I had to do something about it, because with no access to therapy or any other means to deal with my deteriorating mental health effectively, it was hard. So, I started a youtube channel. I started out with a few funny videos, but then realised that so many pressing issues arise every single day, and there just aren’t enough people talking about them. Which made me want to start making videos on mental health, and on one hand where I was directly trying to helping people, I ended up helping my own self indirectly. I realised how helping people is one of the core goals I have in life, and the sheer joy it brings with it. It helped me reinforce my faith in the good in the world, and how much we can contribute to it. All I’d say is, it’s a little hard, but finding what you love and sticking to it takes you a long way. Take Care
PAGE 27 | THE QASID
A Tale of Lockdown A whiplash of misfortune has stun people globally, as it affects more and more countries the coronavirus lockdown forces millions of people to remain closed doors to contain the massive spread of the virus. This is a moment of change for the people of the world. I have been one such individual. The story of my lockdown is more complex than what most people would expect. I was always scared of the lockdown, fearing the definite grey of loneliness and sadness it would bring to my life. I knew that I hated to be alone, and I enjoyed talking to new people. That was one fundamental I cherished about life. I was always an indoor person in my preteens, rarely leaving my house for anything other than to get a snack or to occasionally play a game of whatever sport I was playing.
by Shrey Khurana
But as the years passed and as I grew more conscious of my health and wellbeing, I took long walks around the entirety of what makes Delhi Cantt, soon those walks turned to jog rituals until the point where I had completely denounced attendance to my house, save for the safety of a bed and roof it provided for me to rest. I took pride in using public transport and
walking
wherever
possible.
I
clicked
pictures, explored the city, and met new interesting people almost every day. It was very unusual for me to have a complete day at my home, even though my parents tried to bribe me with an interesting PlayStation 4, and a brand new Television set. I knew I had denounced my status as an “indoor person”, and my new identity did not restrict me to any specific place, I thought of this as ultimate freedom.
PAGE 28 | THE QASID
As you can guess, when the lockdown hit, my
So I am content with my new routine, and very
daily tours of the city had turned into rhythmic
well satisfied, however, after a point, days seem
walking around the corners of my room. And as
to get repetitive, minutes turn to hours, hours to
difficult as it is to admit, I wasn’t exactly keen to
days and so on. Your natural disagreements with
stay indoors. But the government is government, and you have to do what it says. So after about two weeks of helplessly using my PlayStation, I thought about what I could do. Since I had a lot of time on my hands, I naturally did what many
your parents and their opinions show up, and you eventually get bored with the random things people want to talk about on Reddit. So it was at this point that I started educating myself. I am slightly ashamed to admit, but I was never the most politically aware individual. Sure, I spoke up
lazy people do with their lives - rethink it. Didn’t
against issues I cared about, but I never really
work out. Naturally, I branched out into the stuff
had the time to maintain an educated opinion
that I always wanted to do, but couldn’t, for
over important matters. So I started reading, I
instance,
making
read about the MeToo movement; I read about
friends online. And for a while I was content, I
the ideas of philosophers. I watched multiple
spent more time with my parents than I had in
movies that I had always wanted to watch. In the
an entire year combined, and learned some
midst of this, I somehow landed an internship as
interesting extra stuff.
well.
cooking,
gardening,
and
PAGE 29 | THE QASID
A while ago, I would have most definitely hated
The lockdown was never intended just
being alone in my house. Rather, I would have
to slow the spread of coronavirus, but it
feared it, but a very different and unexplored
was also a necessity, an escape from the
angle to this situation is positive. Almost every
daily rush of life. It is a cool-down period
adult I know is always in the rush to achieve
to self actualize, to understand and to
something, eager to accomplish a benchmark.
commit
The lockdown that COVID brought along, sure,
Albeit, I miss the flavorous rush of
disrupts the daily routine of an individual.
exploring now more than ever; I am also
However, it encourages a calm perspective on
glad that this period provided me with
life. Sure, I explained how much progress I could achieve in the lockdown, but truly, this lockdown is about giving yourself a break, a muchdeserved vacation, where instead of haggling maps, you sip a drink and relax.Â
to
unfamiliar
experiences.
much needed mental and physical space to plan and implement a new phase of my life. Take Care.
Arjun Salwan
PAGE 30 | THE QASID
ART.EXE by Jaskirat Panjrath
This pandemic has been a roller coaster for me. But like every roller coaster has a railing that provides you with a sense of stability and safety, mine’s been design. I know sometimes one’s usually very harsh on themselves when they get to spend time with themselves. However, I began all of this with a particular story that mentioned that if we don’t come out of this pandemic as changed human beings, it’s going to be sad. Now subjectively, this might be insensitive, but I believe that the best thing one can do is get out of their comfort zone and still adjust to a new, unfamiliar environment. On the 13th of March, I packed four T-shirts and three pairs of sweatpants and moved into my aunt’s basement with my laptop. Since then, I’ve made an effort to make at least one artwork every day, not the best of artwork I’ve created, but this has inculcated a feeling of growth and expansion of my skill set for me. While the conditions I was staying in and residing in were very unfamiliar and new, I just kept my eyes on the Behance projects that showed up on my feed and kept curating mood board and studying different forms of art styles and their implementation. The fact that this allowed me to put more work out there was something that helped me eventually as it made me engage in many conversations with people I consider to be great at what they do and made me realize how art is not something that you do to please yourself, its something that you do because it sometimes has you put a full stop on the entire process of it after you convince yourself that it’s done. These conversations allowed me to realize that I must surround myself with people who continue to make believe how I’m not someone who is the best at what he does and instead there is no full stop to the entire journey that creating pieces is, you simply work on the shoulder on another piece and climbing the ladder till the dopamine fuels you and you keep on learning and growing. The rest all falls into place. While it all fell in place for my art, I learned another vital lesson, to balance my work, good design is about making it just right. Just right in the sense of finding that one specific case for your phone that feels so good when you pop it in, every satisfactory feeling you get is what this balance is. Good design should inculcate that feeling in the viewer, user, or whatever the use of the design is. I agree with Kanye when he says - “To art is to create, to design is to fix” while we perfectly balance it, as all things should be.
Jaskirat Panjrath
Jaskirat Panjrath
Jaskirat Panjrath
PAGE 35 | THE QASID
Click - Jaskirat Panjrath
LIFE AS A SIKH MODEL
by Gurkirat Behl
I followed a lot of YouTubers, especially Alpha M, Jose Zuniga, Modelling and the entire idea of
and Mayank Bhattacharya who
wanting to be a model came to me
taught me a lot about fashion as a
after
looking
at
Waris
Ahluwalia
and seeing the H&M campaign with Sikhs.
Seeing
movies
and
campaign, Bahra
Waris
Ahluwalia
doing
along
with
the
in
GAP
Pardeep
(@singhstreetstyle)
with
whole, but also other important things about maintaining your body and your skin. A friend of mine in 12th told me that I could potentially model in the future because I had that frame
other Sikh men doing a campaign
and the height and apparently, the
for H&M, I was hooked. I saw all of
face as well but I never really paid
this back in 2016 perhaps when I
heed to that because I had to think
was in my 11th grade in school. I got into the entire world of fashion, dressing up better than the one next to me, and soon people started to notice.
about college first. I did my college from Amity University, Noida and I’m now graduating with a BA Hons. in International Relations degree. These three years have been the most important years of my life.
Click - Arjun Salwan
Frame - Gurkirat Behl
During my first year, I didn’t have a gym around me, wasn’t working out, had a very unhealthy diet and everything was just haywire for me but I was comfortable that way. I had a girlfriend then so I couldn’t care less about anything else I guess. But after that, I started working out again, I used to click myself in school and I restarted the same, but this time with a turban on. The turban for me means a lot. I’m not the most religious person, my friends know that. In fact, I’m not even the most Punjabi dude around, but the turban still means a lot to me. There was a time when I wanted to cut my hair and made my sister fight with my parents to convince them, but I’m glad my parents fought back and took a stand and I decided to keep my hair and eventually start wearing a turban.
Click - Baani Kapoor
PAGE 37
In
college,
myself
clicking
and
styling
myself started gathering the eyes of my friends and their friends and strangers on Instagram as
well,
somewhere
and
that
supported
me in continuing to do whatever I was doing. I still
didn’t
know
I
wanted to be a model, or it could work for me somewhere.
I
learnt
about agencies, I learnt about how things work but
didn’t
have
the
exposure so all of that was left just like that.
PAGE 38 | THE QASID
Then came October 2018. It was the Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week
I worked on my skill of clicking my
and the first Fashion Week I ever
own pictures, I collaborated with
attended.
a
lovely artists and photographers
supermodel and also a family friend
and friends first such as Baani
got me in and made me meet
Kapoor, Arjun Salwan and Jaskirat
Lakshmi
Rana,
designers and other models so that I see how it is to be a part of this industry and to get more insight. She also got me in touch with a lot of agencies and I started contacting them as well.
Panjrath. I would pester them to click me, work on ideas that I might have and help them with ideas that they would want to try out - I was open to everything! All this while, I was trying for agencies. I didn’t know how this
At this fashion week, I was scouted to
“freelance”
do
thought agencies would have an
an
editorial
for
NorBlack
scene
works
and
I
NorWhite but that didn’t work out
open
eventually
broken.
different looking models on-board.
Similarly, I got many close calls to
But none of that happened. I got
work with brands but for some
rejected, told I’m too lean for them, I
reason or the other, it wouldn’t work
was told that if I want to be a Sikh
out and I learnt that this is how it’s
model, it will not work and I won’t
and
I
was
going to be. It’s going to revolve around rejections and the only way to keep yourself happy is by not having expectations from anyone, in your career and in your life.
mind
regarding
having
get work so they wouldn’t want to waste their time in signing me. The only thing that kept me going was to prove them wrong, and we’re getting there!
Click - Arjun Salwan
Frame - Gurkirat Behl
PAGE 40 | THE QASID
March 2019, I did my first shoot with a brand called SevenDesign Company for their Instagram. Few months of looking around for work, I finally did my first campaign in October for Karan Torani’s ‘Chatt’ collection. I have to say, that changed everything for me. Right before getting the opportunity
to
do
a
full-fledged
campaign, I reached a point where I was done with this. 5 months of
After this campaign came out, I was overwhelmed
with
the
response
from everyone. I had random people coming to me in parties saying they liked my work and I can swear on my
absolutely nothing, it reached a point
dogs, there’s no better feeling when
where I didn’t feel like clicking myself
someone appreciates your work. This
or getting clicked because it wasn’t
went on for a bit and I was back to
helping me, but it did work when I
square one - I couldn’t find work. I
got this.
flew to Bombay and did a little collaboration of sorts with Jay from
Torani’s campaign got me my dream
Jaywalking. That helped me get a lot
in
of traction, especially in the Indian
the
very
first
go.
I
have
conversations with friends from 201617 saying I want to be in the GQ Magazine, and this campaign got that for me. The entire experience of being on set, having a 4am call-time, interacting with people who have been in the industry for a decade, learning about how things work on set, it was all very new to me and I knew this is where I wanted to be.
Streetwear
scene.
I
was
getting
Tinder matches just because they saw me wearing Jaywalking! It’s absolutely mad but it worked for me.
GQ/Torani
Frame - Gurkirat Behl
PAGE 42 | THE QASID
Everything came to a stop with the pandemic and nobody can be blamed for that. The situation was bad and it’s not any better as I write this. But this
I
entire time has helped me improve
unconventional model, but the entire
myself. I worked on myself, I went back to square one where I was clicking my own pictures but now with the knowledge that I had and with a brain that was more creative than it was a year ago, I was doing a lot of bodyweight exercises with my
understand
how
I’m
an
categorization that comes along with my look is something that pulls me down in ways people wouldn’t see. Instead of looking at me as a Sikh Model, look at me as a Model who is a Sikh. There’s a fine line between the
virtual training bro Vansh who made a
two. The moment I’m looked at as
workout for me every day.
anybody
else,
but
also
with
the
advantage of standing out in a crowd, or on a ramp, or in your shoots because of This entire “phase” gave me two
my look, the entire dynamic would
things. I did a big shoot very recently
change.
that I cannot speak about and you’ll get to see it soon, and I also got
It’s been a journey but it’s only the
signed by an agency. It took me two
beginning, and I’m absolutely blessed to
years to get here but it got me here. But in this entire process, as a person who looks different by wearing a turban and has a beard at all times, I have only asked for one thing from designers and brands and that is to look at me the same way as anybody else.
be around people that have done nothing but support for me and have seen me grow to wherever I am today. Cheers.
Click - Baani Kapoor
Frame - Gurkirat Behl
PAGE 45 | THE QASID
EAGLES ABODE
by Captain Vansh Narang
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is your Captain speaking, from the flight deck. It’s been one hell of a ride, we’ve faced so much turbulence, and we will continue to. Please don’t worry, we’ve got the situation under control". I can’t explain the current situation that we’re facing in a better manner being a pilot myself and dealing with the whole pandemic. This is how we, as pilots, often address our passengers and other crew to not take stress because excessive stress makes you lose all sort of optimism and far sightedness. My life too has changed manifolds making me sluggish, worn out and frustrated. I am done with my training and have my US license as well as my Indian License at the age of 20 and that’s because I gave it my all. I only saw the eye of the tiger and while I was able to execute my plans and accomplish them, this pandemic completely changed the outlook of the aviation industry leading to countless job cuts and salary cuts of air crew all over the world leading to a flooded situation of experienced pilots in the country thus making it difficult for new comers like me to fly for a airline of my choice in India. Although I already got into an airline, I just wasn’t interested to join it because of their policies and other legalities. After having written my exam for one of the biggest airlines In India, I was able to crack it but as soon as the results were to be declared, the virus already had tempered with my plans. There’s absolutely nothing more I wanted but to become a pilot, and I know I will join an airline as soon as this is over. Despite my plans being delayed, I still hold the close to me. If you’ve decided to do something, make it happen. Hard work never goes waste. Not everything that happens in the world is negative. There are always two sides. And well, this is the happy side of it. Thoughts can mess up your mind but you can choose to look in the other direction, as did I. I was working so hard for these past 3 years, giving it all to my dreams and had forgotten to take a break. I liked overworking. I never paid any attention to my friends, forgot how to party, started staying alone to put my focus into flying and thus ended up losing some of my dearest friends. I used this opportunity to reconnect with them on the same level as we did, earlier and I was so glad. I have relaxed a lot, watched some amazing movies and series, spent time with family, learnt cooking and well, known the importance of your loved ones when they’re physically close to you. It’s been four months and I think Corona is not going anytime soon but I’m sure we’re all used to it by now. The masks, the sanitisers, and frequently washing your hands have become a part of your routine. Working hard goes a long way and always instills in you the power and the confidence to face anything. Never stop the grind. Never stop dreaming. Be a relentless force in pursuit of what makes you happy. You are supreme and don’t let anyone else tell you anything else. Thank you for flying with me. I hope the bad times end soon.
PAGE 46 | THE QASID
TAKING CONTROL MY TRYST WITH DESTINY by Anmol Gogia
“Let us work so hard that we be the reason for the lights and happiness to our family and lives around us.�
It was a huge success at that time for me A quote that I deeply embedded in me when I started early on my journey. My journey
started
as
an
adolescent
entrepreneur and was bitten by the "digital bug" early and often. I was always curious, a
forward-thinking,
technology-minded
guy who had a strong curiosity about knowing things. I embarked on my first endeavor at just 12 years old by seeing an opportunity in selling silkworms in my class, and that event gave me a taste of running
my
own
business
and
also
motivated me to do more things like this. Just after a year of doing this I started selling more stuff which was fan made out of old radio controlled toys powered by batteries again after this I made a lot improvement
and
powered by electricity.
start
selling
cars
as I sold more than 100 pieces as the years passed I keep on doing things like this always making new things until class 11! How? My dad was running a business for a very long time and he made a bad decision of hiring a marketing agency that ran away with his money, leaving the company in a bad place. This single event fueled the desire in me to work hard, very hard at the gym as well as in terms of learning digital marketing as in the desire and goal to help my father's business survive. The
results
were
amazing
as
we
recovered from losses and people started recognizing the brand.
PAGE 47 | THE QASID
Success in one field results in success in another. And this is just what happened to me, as I started seeing massive results with my physique as I hit the gym regularly. However, not every sail is smooth, and soon I was hit by another phase of life. My relationship with my girlfriend at the time ended. There was no one I could open up to, and I started slipping into a depressive state. It was tough to continue working, despite not feeling like it. It also took a hit on my 12th board examinations, but I somehow got out of that phase of life, and looked forward to college life. A new chapter in my life began where I learned and shaped myself a ton with the help of the folks surrounding me. A bachelor’s degree opens a lot of doors in a person's life. And I was honestly overwhelmed by the entire experience. It has been an amazing journey of 3 years- with hustle & bustle, and plenty of ups and downs in life. I did 7 internships in my college life. The experience so gained helped me a ton in becoming a better professional as I made some great connections in the journey that always motivated and helped me in reaching the next level. Also, I learned a lot of things by managing events at my university. Seeing me grind, my HoD even decided to let me address my juniors in a seminar about the journey that I’d had. These things played a vital role in helping me become a CoFounder & CEO today.
PAGE 48 | THE QASID
My message to people out there will be to work hard, stay consistent, and focused. Many people will tell you some complex things to become successful. If you get the basics right, things will automatically start to fall into place. You'll eventually start working hard because of the simpleness of the process. There will be a moment when you will get tired of yourself for not achieving the goal. At that point of time you have to play angry and raw and get things done and achieve what you want in life. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but you need to grind your way through it.
Cheers.
Arjun Salwan
CONTRIBUTORS ~ Samri (@samri__)
~ Anmol Singh (@anmol.3) | 101 Hip-Hop (@101.hiphop)
~ Suryansh Bhatt (@bhatt_suryansh) | Suryansh Sings (@suryansh_sings)
~ Arjun Salwan (@arjunsalwan)
~ Tina Chawla (@tinachawlaa)
~ Shrey Khurana (@shreykhurrana)
~ Gurkirat Behl (@gurkzbehl)
~ Jaskirat Panjrath (@jaskirathpanjrath)
~ Captain Vansch Narang (@vansch01)
~ Anmol Gogia (@anmol_gogia_beast) | Crobstacle Media (@crobstaclemedia) PAGE 50 | THE QASID
Issue 01
THANK YOU
Volume 01