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18/12/25

There was a time when evenings did not arrive with reminders. No alerts, no unfinished lists waiting quietly in the background. Just a slow settling of the day. We sat outside longer, even when there was nothing to talk about. Someone would hum an old tune, someone else would complain about mosquitoes, and somehow that was enough. The future felt distant then — not urgent, not demanding attention. I miss that ease. Not the age, but the feeling that tomorrow could wait. These days, evenings pass quickly, folded inside screens and schedules. Still, once in a while, when the noise drops, I recognise that old silence again. It reminds me that rest does not always come from sleep. Sometimes it comes from remembering how little we once needed.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram@rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube@conversewithasmile

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18/12/25

Raja Ampat, in Papua, Indonesia, does not rush to impress you. The sea here waits. Clear, almost impossibly calm, it carries colours that feel unreal until you realise they are alive — corals breathing, fish moving like thoughts you cannot hold. People grow up knowing this water as a neighbour, not scenery. Pride comes not from owning beauty, but from protecting it.

Fishing follows rules older than maps, and silence is respected more than speed. Even boats move carefully, as if aware they are guests. What makes locals proud is restraint — the decision to leave things untouched for those who come later. Raja Ampat reminds its people that wealth does not always glitter. Sometimes it drifts quietly beneath the surface, asking only to be allowed to remain what it is.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram@rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube@conversewithasmile

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18/12/25

There is a small window every day when the world has not yet begun to ask anything from you. No messages demanding replies, no roles to perform, no explanations required. In that quiet pocket, you exist simply as yourself — unfinished, unlabelled, and free. I like that version of me the most. The one who hasn’t yet remembered deadlines or expectations. Just a person sitting with a cup of tea, noticing light on the wall, listening to ordinary sounds that feel oddly reassuring. Nothing remarkable happens, yet something settles inside. Maybe that’s enough for a start — not to conquer the day, but to enter it gently, without carrying the whole weight of it on your shoulders.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram@rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube@conversewithasmile

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17/12/2025

By evening, the world seems less curious about our explanations. The day stops interrogating us — Why didn’t you do more? Why didn’t you decide faster?
There’s comfort in that silence.
As a younger man, I filled nights with planning, correcting, replaying conversations. Now, I let the night be what it naturally is — a pause, not a review.
You don’t owe the evening clarity. You owe it rest.
If today left things unfinished, let them remain so. The night has a quiet intelligence of its own. It knows that not everything needs resolution before sleep. Some things only need permission to wait.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile

All rights reserved by the author
17/12/2025

In Iceland, pride does not rise skyward — it settles into the ground. The traditional turf houses, once common across the island, reflect a philosophy shaped by survival rather than display. Built with layers of earth, stone, and grass, these homes blended seamlessly into the landscape, protecting families from harsh winds and freezing winters.
Icelanders are proud of this architecture not for its beauty alone, but for its wisdom. The turf houses represent a deep respect for nature — using what the land offers, without forcing it to change. Generations lived sheltered by soil and grass, listening closely to the rhythm of weather and seasons.
Today, these structures are preserved not as relics, but as reminders of identity. They tell a story of resilience, humility, and balance.
For Icelanders, living close to the earth was never a trend. It was, and remains, a way of understanding life itself.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile

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17/12/2025

There was a phase in life when I thought being visible meant being valuable. Louder mornings, busier schedules, constant proof of progress. Somewhere along the way, that belief loosened its grip.
This morning, I’m convinced of something quieter: you don’t have to impress the day for it to accept you. You don’t need urgency stitched into every hour. Some days ask only for sincerity — showing up without performance, moving without announcing.
In youth, we chase significance. With time, we discover steadiness.
If today feels plain, let it be honest instead. The most enduring lives are rarely built on spectacular mornings. They are built on consistent, unnoticed ones — like this.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile

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16/12/2025

By evening, the world softens its edges. Conversations slow. Expectations loosen. Even unfinished thoughts seem less demanding.
I often think evenings exist not to reflect deeply, but to forgive lightly — forgive ourselves for what we didn’t complete, didn’t say, didn’t become today.
When we were younger, nights were filled with plans. Now they are filled with acceptance. And somehow, that feels like growth.
If today didn’t go as imagined, let the evening close it gently. You don’t need closure, only rest. Tomorrow will arrive whether you perfect today or not.
For now, allow the quiet to do its work. That is enough.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India

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16/12/2025

High in the mountains of northern Philippines lie the Ifugao Rice Terraces — carved patiently into stone and soil over two thousand years ago. To Filipinos, these terraces are not merely agricultural marvels; they are proof of harmony between human effort and nature.
Built without modern machinery, the terraces follow the natural contours of the land, fed by an ancient irrigation system sourced from forest streams above. Generations of Ifugao families have maintained them through ritual, community labour, and inherited knowledge.
Filipinos take pride in the fact that these terraces were shaped not to conquer the mountain, but to cooperate with it. Each level represents restraint, wisdom, and respect for balance

In a rapidly changing world, the terraces stand as quiet teachers — reminding the nation that progress does not always mean speed. Sometimes, it means knowing how to stay rooted while time moves on.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile

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16/12/2025

Some days don’t come bearing lessons, revelations, or turning points. They arrive plainly, almost shyly, asking only to be lived. I’ve learned not to demand meaning too early in the morning.
There was a time when I wanted every day to feel important. Now, I find comfort in days that simply pass without resistance. A calm breakfast. A thought left unfinished. A moment of stillness between tasks.
Not every sunrise is meant to inspire; some are meant to steady us. And that is just as valuable.
If today feels ordinary, let it be. Ordinary days quietly hold our lives together far more faithfully than dramatic ones ever do.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile

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15/12/2025

Evenings have a habit of reopening old drawers.
The time we wasted without guilt.
The laughter that arrived without reason.
The freedom of not planning tomorrow so carefully.
When we were young, we treated these things casually — as if they were permanent. Now they return as memories, lighter than regret, heavier than we expect.
But tonight, I choose not to miss them painfully. I choose to smile at them. Life didn’t take them away; it simply asked us to grow.
And perhaps that’s the quiet comfort of evening — it reminds us that every version of ourselves still exists somewhere inside, waiting to be remembered kindly.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube @conversewithasmile