“Look at the seas, gaze at the stars. They don’t change until you change your point of view.” These are not the words of a great thinker or a philosopher but of a nine-year-old blogger, Pahi Bhatkar Borah. “I got dressed for this interview on my own, don’t I look like a princess?” walks in Pahi, exuding confidence and bubbliness as she places herself across to get down to business. The rest of the conversation was a monologue, mostly because Pahi can leave you speechless about what to ask her. Her goals in life are just like any other nine-year-old, “When I grow up, I want to be known as a versatile artist. Art is my favourite period in school.” But, it’s her winding philosophies that she curates into her blog on Tumblr that sets her apart. “One day I came across my uncle’s computer and started writing on Note. Slowly I got onto the internet and came across Tumblr and started writing a blog.”
Using social media as a form of self-expression, she cheekily states, “We kids know a lot more about the internet than you people think.” Going by the name ‘weird.is.just.unique’ on her Instagram handle, you can see Pahi’s art work. “Now I’m into painting women, it’s never cheap to paint nude paintings. It is just the way you can learn about a woman’s body. I get my inspiration from Frida Kahlo and Van Gogh,” she remarks.
The vivacious child blogger continues to surprise us with some of her interesting life anecdotes which we would like to express directly from her. “I strongly believe that the education system could be a little more realistic you know? Lessons about keeping our country clean, being good children are fine but studying those all the time really bores children. It should be made more practical. Especially stuff about changing yourselves. No, please don’t change yourself. I’ve noticed how some people are so afraid to stand out. I think you should never ask someone, “Am I pretty?”
Everyone’s pretty in their own way. That’s the lesson of beauty, all the bullying and teasing turns you into a strong person and you become beautiful inside as well.”
The maturity she exudes is deeply rooted in some real-life incidents she has experienced. “In school, there were some bullies who would take out my tiffin and dump all the food in my bag. It went on for a while until I finally decided to speak up for myself. And you know what stopped them from doing that again? I said to them, “I bet you’re all wonderful, do you fart glitter as well?”
In an age where the younger generation reveal their private lives on the internet, as the older generation looks on with caution and sometimes scorn. Blogs which are insightful can be a medium for people to share similar stories and be less inhibited. A quote by Pahi to conclude, which holds immense relevance in the time we live in: “Nobody listens for love, we only listen for war.”
Photograph:Nayanika Chatterjee
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