Saying 2016 has been dramatic and chaotic is definitely an understatement. 

Personally, 2016 has been a year of change for me. I have grown and changed and come to terms with so many aspects of my life. This year I have felt a change like I have never felt before. I was under a dark cloud since the end of 2015 and that cloud also rolled in 2016 as well. However, I defeated that dark cloud this year to find myself (I know how cliche that sounds, and I know people just throw that phrase around, but it's true). Bright days do actually come after the rainy ones. Of course, I don't take "rainy" "dark" etc. as metaphors for sadness but putting that aside, I really believe that I've never been this happy with my life. I truly feel rejuvenated after the phase I've been through. I have learned to not be affected by things I cannot control and I have learned how to be happier than before. I feel aligned with my soul. I have learned more about myself this year. I have learned what kind of thoughts make me happy, what kind of activities make me happy and what kind of people make me happy.
The person who stood out most to me as someone who makes me really happy is my younger cousin sister. Something made me realize this year that I am so lucky that I have her as my sister. I believe, one-hundred percent, that she is a crystal child. She has healing powers. I can feel it. No one I've ever met has made me feel that they have the ability to make anyone feel good at any given moment. I know she has come on this planet for a reason - to spread love, to spread happiness, and to spread just the best vibes. I am so lucky I got to be with her this year, even though it was only for a week and a half. I love you and I hope that the people around you, physically, know how lucky they are.
There are two other people who have been a great part of my life. You probably know who you are because both of you are my soulmates in a way. The first one is obvious. The other, if you are reading this and you are doubtful about whether it is you or not. We don't interact frequently, but I think it's safe to say that we connect on a different level. Having the conversation with you about how I wish I could find another soulmate made me realize it would be so much better if I could actually meet you often and I wish I wasn't going to fly so many miles away from you next year because I think you would meet what we say are our "expectations".
Wow, I just opened up so much above. It's scary to open up. To be honest I don't always like it.
This year I have also realized that I have opened up to the wrong people. In the spur of the moment, I thought it felt so good just to know the next day that maybe the conversation really didn't mean as much to the other person as it did to me.
Despite me losing places in my heart for some people this year, I think what matters is relationships I have maintained and the way I've grown.
More widely speaking, I bet the majority on this planet right now believe that 2016 has been a very very rough year. Terrorist attacks, government events, natural disasters, Harambe - the list goes on and on for 2016. There's no argument that this year has had more unsuspected raisins in the cookie than any other recent years and nobody likes a raisin surprise in their cookie.
What we all can do now is just spread peace and love and happiness the best we can and hope the universe will take care of us.
Honestly, I have no expectations from 2017. All I know is that, personally, I want things to go according to what I have planned for my life. Whether or not events occur as they are wanted to happen, personally or around the world, is up to the universe or whatever higher power you believe in (if you believe in one). I know that I am the Universe's child and that I will be taken care of. The universe always has a plan for everyone and all you can do to make the most out of any situation is to learn and grow from it. Everything will be okay. Spread happiness, it's important.

Diwali is the festival of lights. Here are a few snaps I took this Diwali (2016). Please leave your comments/suggestions below as I'm a beginner at photography and would appreciate any inputs. Thank You!

This experience has been greater than I imagined in my head. Though I was very passionate about this fundraiser/event, the passion I felt during the actual preparation was above what I thought. The 6 days (5 days of raising funds and the last day of actually feeding the dogs) has been something I would like to treasure for ever. And though it is mostly a sense of love and the strong willingness to "give" is what I have felt, there were moments that got me annoyed, a bit sad, and "neutral" if that is even a real feeling/state of mind that a person can have.

The raising funds process:
Overall though the process was monotonous - going to each door and repeating almost the same sentences - it was fun. The process tested my communication skills, persuasion skills, and even helped me learn to be more patient and tolerable with people who have different opinions than mine. Mostly people were either really verbally supportive or just said "Alright, I'll get the money, hold on one second." but a few (5 to be exact. Yes, I counted) were pretty ignorant to say the least. I got a few weird expressions and remarks like "why do you even want to do this?". I even spent a few minutes explaining the purpose and debunking 'myths' people believed in but I eventually realized I cannot change the way everyone thinks and had to move on to the next door. However, let's not make the few bad incidents the highlight of this whole event. People who praised me and supported the cause were the ones that made my day and I am so thankful to everyone who donated money. The important thing is that I was able to carry out this smoothly and I can proudly say that a lot of people in this world are willing to help and make a difference. Even if the difference is a small one. In total we raised Rs. 8000 which may not seem like a lot but the event was very small-scale and the fund raising took place only in the building complex i live in (and a couple of my school-mates as well). What I decide to give importance to is the outcome of and not the numerical value of the funds raised. 
                             
The forms showing all the people who helped raise more than 8000 rupees. (Last names, numbers and signatures are pix-elated to keep identities private)

Preparation:
We worked from 11 am to 8 pm and I'd really like to thank Amisha for helping me the entire day! You can go visit Amisha's blog at: www.amishanakhwa.blogspot.in
We prepared the food (from 11 am till the afternoon): We cut the fruits and vegetables; picked up 150 flat Indian breads from the place i had ordered it from; bought a few things in the morning; cut hard boiled eggs; baked, peeled and mashed potatoes; prepared the meals in zip-lock bags, etc.
The preparation part took longer than we expected (as it was only two of us in the morning) and we ended up starting the 'drive' at around 3:30 pm. We prepared the first batch to satisfy 50 stray dogs and went back and prepared another batch to feed 50-70 more.


In total we covered approximately 2 - 4 km² area. We took a little break in between and then continued to walk and stopped to feed stray dogs as and when we saw them.

A few people suggested that we should also feed the homeless children and I said 'why not?'. So we did. Thanks to my 4 extremely helpful volunteers, we fed 115+ dogs and over 50+ children as well! A change of plan in the fundraiser which made a difference to even more beings!
The poor stray dogs were so hungry they'd finish half of the food before my volunteer, Amisha, could even take a snap!
It was a long day but it was very rewarding to do this whole event. Along with helping stray dogs, our two younger volunteers also benefited by learning how to act in front of aggressive stray dogs (i.e. importance of dominance and ways to prevent being bitten by an aggressive or frightened dog).





Images of most of the dogs we fed on the streets. Unfortunately some of the image files got corrupted but we have most of the pictures up here :)

As I mentioned above, we fed at least 50+ homeless and poverty-stricken kids. We gave them fruits, vegetables, boiled eggs, Indian flat bread, etc.

The whole day got me really exhausted but I can genuinely say that every second was worth it. I really appreciate everyone's role in this event - whether it was donating funds or helping carry heavy bags filled with food or even just mashing potatoes. I am so glad I could come up with this project that helped me put my passion and love for animals to provide a really positive outcome. If time had permitted, and if I didn't have such a busy schedule, I would've definitely done this on a larger scale. I am looking forward to do such events in the future as well. :)
Niharika Shinde.

Today I went to buy most of the foods that will be a part of the "meal plan" for the stray dogs and the foods that have not yet been bought will be bought tomorrow morning. Though I knew how much of everything would be required for 100 dogs, I still didn't expect to carry so many bags (they were pretty heavy too obviously) back to my apartment! All of this is so exciting and my heart is filled with happiness just at the thought of finally executing this project after months of just thinking about it and planning it in my head. I have put so much thought and so much effort into this fundraiser and I really hope it goes about smoothly. Thank you to everyone who will be helping me keep sane on the busy day tomorrow. :)

Day 5! The last day for raising money, and guess what? WE DID IT! In fact, we raised more than enough money for the fundraiser! I would like to thank everyone who donated money (special thanks to some people will be given later :) ) or even thought of donating money but couldn't for some reason (it's all okay, no worries). I'm going to post a more detailed post about my first experience initiating such kind of a project soon. Tomorrow (25th of September, 2016) will be the main event where my friends who have chosen to volunteer and I will prepare the meals and feed 100 stray dogs! This is your last chance to let me know if you would like to volunteer, let me know by 1 pm tomorrow.

Day 3 and we've already raised enough to feed 100 stray dogs! 3 Days to go! I am so excited and feel so thankful for everyone who decided to make a difference! Even if it is only one meal per dog and only for one day, even a small gesture/a little effort makes a huge difference. :)

The date for my Feed The Strays Fundraiser is finalized! 

Dates coming really soon!
Contact me at nihakalp@gmail.com if you know me personally and would like to make a donation (Remember, even a few bucks count!)

I love wildlife photography and some time back I got this great opportunity to take the amazing pictures below. The beauty of "no human interference" nature stuns me and it's heart breaking to know how we are losing thousands of species due to careless human activity and invasion. Let's spread awareness to protect and conserve Earth's precious animals and plants. <3

So I have loved animals for as long as I remember and though I've always wanted a little bundle of joy - a puppy! - I've never gotten the chance to have one.
This post isn't about how I never got to fulfill my childhood dreams, but It's about my love and passion for animals.
I live in India and so that means there are thousands of stray dogs on the streets. Every time i go out to eat at a restaurant where I can just stand outside and eat (more like a stall but more hygienic) or have a take out and I see stray dogs trying to sniff my plate or my bag full of food and I feel so bad that I am so priviledged and they don't even get a proper meal every day. I do try to buy a packet of biscuits once in a while to feed a few when I have time, but it's not always possible and 1 or 2 packets aren't enough and neither do few biscuits provide enough nutrients to the dogs.
I want to feel like I have done something; maybe give at least a good nutricious and filling meal to as many dogs as possible. And you know what? It would feel so much better if I could do a fundraiser for the same and proudly say that there are so many other people in this world that still care about the other living organisms that share this planet with us. And then i can say "Faith in Humanity Restored". Now some may ask why don't we indians do something to reduce or eliminate the number of stray dogs. Though the question seems straight forward and simple, the solution isn't that easy. It's the conditions of many parts of this country that attract stray animals. Not only that but the population keeps increasing day by day and it is not an easy task to neuter each and every stray dog. And those who might say "aren't you increasing the problem by feeding them?" - to them I say, "no". Dogs are evolved from wolves - who came near human settlements because they were attracted to the trash/landfills. Similar case with stray dogs. Now stray dogs, unlike domestic dogs, are used to eating stuff from trash and dead animals (they are scavengers, yes that's right) but they can end up getting sick and also don't get enough nutrients from trash (obviously).
This is my first time doing something like this and also I won't be able to cover much geographical area, therefore I'm sticking to only places near where I live (which I'm not going to mention in this post for obvious reasons) and try to raise as much money possible to feed atleast 100+ dogs a full, proper, nutricious meal (and perhaps the number of dogs can go higher if enough money is raised!).
Of course I'll be putting in money too.
If you know me personally then you can msg me or somehow reach me if you want to be a part of this event. This post may seem premature to some since I haven't even decided the exact (emphasis on exact) date but I can assure you it will be soon as I have already prepared forms, etc.
For those who don't know me or don't live near me - I hope this project of mine inspires you to give a little bit of joy to someone or some animal :)
I will be posting more information on this project shortly; and on the day of, or the next day, I will post pictures and other stuff from this fundraiser
We all live in this small world, let's help each other out.

I'll be posting soon after my first session of Edexcel AS level examinations :)