Remember the time when you were a kid and you thought that you could have the world at your feet? The countless f dreams of fantasy that you had for your future self?

But slowly reality hit you and you grew into a conformist? You gave into bits and pieces of societal norms that you didn't think were too important at the time. 

Then, one day you came to notice that you're all grown up. You take a look at yourself and you think that this is the point of no return. 

Now all of a sudden, you start to sound like your own parent. You're too scared to walk alone in your very own neighborhood, you're extra cautious about what you're wearing, where you're going, who you're going with and why you're going there in the first place. 

The biggest misfortune is that we put restrictions on our own selves as time passed. We chose this life of confinement because we let fear conquer us. 

Our country has given us a right to freedom. Now it's truest extinct is debatable but, why not break out of this illusion to truly explore your lives and enjoy it?

I have been following Blank Noise and its butterfly effect closely for a few years. So when I saw the Akeli Awaara Azaad campaign I absolutely couldn’t wait to get my hands on the AAA T. I believe in its philosophy and also being a communication designer I just loved its design! Finally last weekend I inaugurated my tee. I was pleasantly surprised at the reactions I recieved, specially from the boys. They felt the disparity and sexism at play since they didn’t even have an option of being a part of this movement :) Go team Blank Noise!

Akeli . Awaara . Azaad

Alone . Vagabond . Free

#INeverAskForIt #AkeliAwaaraAzaad
Akeli: confident in my‘self’
Awaara: explore & be inquisitive.
Azaad: a state of mind. Mind over matter.

▪️Akeli▪️Awaara▪️Azad The semantics of sexism are rooted in collective nouns, job titles and more significantly in adjectives. The words ▪️Alone▪️Vagabond▪️Free are androcentric and are often used to enrich male experiences while simultaneously used to degrade female experiences. We @blanknoiseactionheroes are here to change the narrative and reclaim the words, experiences and our goddamn bodies. Gendered language is dangerous which often portrays women as appendages of men. If you watch The Handmaid’s Tale, you can clearly observe that the beginning of oppression started with gendered language and it continues to exercise a great influence on the making of the Gilead. Unlearn the sexism of language. Start today. I am #akeliawaaraazaad and this is my act of reclamation. .

Akeli 🌟 Awaara 🌟 Azaad Alone 🦋 Vagabond 🦋 Free Akeli - Being in a state where everything and everyone in your life is an addition to your life; when they are gone, you are more, not less. Awaara - Understanding that all the borders are meant to be crossed, starting with those of your mind. Azaad - Starting every single day with the one and only question that is worth asking: why so serious? #akeliawaaraazaad #alone #vagabond #free #feminism #women #empoweringwomen #india #bombaytoparis #noborders @blanknoiseactionheroes

Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry 💪🏼

Listen to her interpretation of #AkeliAwaaraAzaad here

#akeliawaaraazaad

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers." Khalil Gibran

Secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association

Hravei from Nagaland, old enough to be taunted with multitude of comments & sympathies on Marriage... Nevertheless this being on the last of my list of worrying, I carry on embracing my Youth- exercising mobility to new places, odd timings, clothing to express your mood, lavishing on my own earnings & enjoying the very power of deciding what, when, how, where.. This is Akeli with multitude of friends and adding on This is Awara coninuously exploring & This is Azaad being truly free!

This tee has my heart. Because it has described my spirit way better than I could ever have!

Akeli: I am and will always be my own person. I am comfortable, joyous, empowered in my aloneness. And interestingly, it's being Akeli that has helped me connect better with my fellow earthlings. After all, when you realize hum sab akele, you learn to marvel at how we're together even in that!

Awara: I revel in the sheer delight of being a footloose, free spirit. I believe in having fun, following my heart, and throwing caution to the winds every once in a while. To me, being Awara means to be bound by neither geography, nor the dogmas that divide us everyday. I walk my own way through this world, learn my own lessons and make my own decisions. All the while keeping the playful, wild and awara side of me alive!

Azaad: This perhaps is what I aspire to be the most. To be free, in the real sense. Free from the years of regressive societal conditioning. Free from the subconscious shackles that we women put on ourselves, every single day. Free from the need to explain, justify, plead for our choices. Free to walk down any street in the world, at any hour, without having to look back with anxiety. Free from always being at the receiving end of the blame, shame and guilt. Free to be an individual, with her own mind and opinions and choices in a society that respects her for it. Just...free to be me.

Thank you Blank Noise Action Heroes for this amazing tshirt! And for reminding us ladies of the strong, irreverent, playful, fierce and free spirits that we actually are!

We don't need a WOMEN'S DAY to remind us how strong or capable we are. All we need is everyday hustle without being judged or questioned or any prejudice. More importantly we need to feel safe around, regardless of the time ! I hope we start campaigns around anti-rape and point the elephant in the room than shooting random quotes and offering stupid freebies to women on one day of the year to make us feel privileged or special. So here I start with myself by flaunting my Akeli. Awara. Azad.

Akeli. Awaara. Azaad.☀ It takes time and conscious effort to be comfortable in your own skin. It's a process. On some days, you dislike some things about yourself and that's okay. Realising that you love your own company more than anyone else's is liberating beyond belief. It also means that then you only allow those people into your life who add value to it. 🌈 Be as wild as you wish to be. Why tame your heart to fit other people's definitions of acceptable? Roam the streets, love with your arms open and with no fear in your heart, howl into the night, embrace all that comes your way, let your hair down and soar. 🌈 You don't have to be free everyday but just make sure that you are freer than you were yesterday. #akeliawaaraazaad 📸: @apppyyyy

Being Akeli does not mean being lonely. It means having the freedom to be unaccompanied, yet safe. Being Awaara does not mean being wayward. It means having the freedom to do what I like without the fear of violence and attack. Being Azaad is having the freedom to study, freedom to work, to travel, to take political stances, to make my voice heard. Remember, we didn't have to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy today. We are merely beneficiaries of past struggles. Let's remember to expand these rights for our daughters and younger sisters. 

Akeli: I matter because I am me, alone, not because I am somebody’s sister or daughter or (someday, maybe, idk, idc) wife or mother.

Awaara: I can wander off the path prescribed to women, drift away from what is accepted and closer to what is authentic.

Azaad: I can push myself, every day, to break out of the cages built by gender, in which we all live. Hopefully by living that process publicly, including all its pains and confusions (menstrual cups and leg hair and rap lyrics and more), I can help some of you break your cages too.

I feel safe at night. My safe space is under the moonlight and starlight, especially under the golden glow of Bangalore street lights. It’s ironic because I’ve been brought up in a house that speaks of the night as inherently unsafe. The night is magical to me, perhaps because of my tendency to romanticize the unattainable. When I think of freedom, I think of the crescent moon.

Why does the word aawara have such negative connotations? Whether it’s a bonfire in the desert in Dubai or 2AM chai in Koramangala, being aawara felt pretty fucking great. Ladies, reclaim the night! Wear the word with pride! Go out, make memories, laugh out loud, fall in love, live your life!

As unusual as it may be, my nighttime adventures have taught me more about myself than all my years of being told that I am at a disadvantage because of my vagina.

Akeli Hoon....

Akelapan is my Superpower.

It sets me free where I find myself!!

Awaara Hoon....

Dil ki buri nahi hoon, bas lafzo main shararat rakhti hoon!!

Aazad Hoon....

Uljhe khwabon mai zid ka thoda swaad hai,

Sab gagan main kaid... Main pinjare main azaad hoon!!

A present to myself to exist, discover and celebrate being Me, three decades in this world. To being Akeli Awaara Azaad. The incessant need to discover your passion, cave your own path and in the process, find yourself Akeli. To explore the wonders of this universe without inhibitions Awaara. To be a Person who chooses to live life without prejudices and on her own terms Azaad. Thank you @blanknoiseactionheroes for this campaign, movement and revolution in the making.

For me, Akeli Awaara Azaad is a state of mind. Being the master of your own fate and the captain of your own soul.
In love with this tee.

Stepping out with feet as my only guardian. Placing one foot in front of the other, without worrying where it will land. Feeling at ease on the street, to be watching not watched, to become a part of the scene, to stand tall, not just stand out. To find solitude in the crowd. Unapologetic and loud. To move comfortably in my skin, to move between spaces on my whim.

I love to loiter. I also love to dance. In both scenarios, if I let myself be, my body enters a space where it is free from fear and shame. Where I am unperturbed by looks and stares, where I feel no obligation to justify my presence or movement.
Being Akeli, Awaara, Azaad means embracing the wildness I have suppressed inside me. Wildness: connecting with my impulse, not giving a damn what people think-- doing, wearing, saying what I want because I feel like, no filter, no defence. Wildness: preparing to be seen as a threat. Wildness: being visible and visibly expressing myself. Nothing is more dangerous than this, because expression comes from self-love. To be Akeli, Awaara Azaad: to be wild: to center love and pleasure: to overcome fear and shame.
Another source of pleasure for me: language. I often think how it is used to contain us, to make us shrink, whether in public or private, so I like to overturn these containers and release the same words that are used against my body, draw instead upon their wildness as a source of power: I say this loudly and without apology: Haan main awaaragard, haan main suttaybaaz, haan main ‘loose’ aur ‘fast’, haan main akeli, aur aashiq bhi, aur lafangi, nautanki, fahaash, haan main beizzat, gunahgaar, Azaad.

Life is indeed made of these small things which bring us joy. Like early morning jogging, long drives on those empty roads, late night visit to the ice cream shop, the dusty road to the treasured isolated spots for sunset, rescuing the puppy on a lonely road after finishing workout, hopping on your bike hoping the liquor shop is still open, watching a too “intellectual” movie as labelled by others....ALONE.
If you have experienced these, you know what it smells like. It’s addictive and invigorating. It smells like freedom.
So walk alone together.

Ya girl is #AkeliAwaaraAzaad! 

Chimes in:
अकेली आवारा आज़ाद

अकेली—Be powerful enough to be with yourself.
आवारा—Be aawara in the thoughts
आज़ाद—The real happiness.

Freedom. Some of us have it in varying degrees, some, none at all. If the women in the eras of yore had not spoken up, had not broken taboos, had not stepped up BEYOND their everyday routine, we would not be here today. Heart swells for knowing a woman of today, Jasmeen Patheja, who in her quiet unassuming way is going ahead doing more for our kind than you and I can dream to imagine. This tee that represents a large part of her statement, says it better than I can.
Akeli! Aawara! Azaad! Here's to every woman on this earth, may we be able to wear our freedom openly.

As a human, I have the right to go where I want, be where I want to be, wear what I want, have my own opinions and be as expressive as I like, and I shouldn't have to owe anyone an explanation. I have the right to be the person I want to be and that is my freedom. Being akeli awaara azaad to me means being able to actually feel this freedom in reality not as a human but also as a woman. Not just in thought or in speech, but in my everyday.

What does being akeli awaara azaad mean to you? Share it with Blank Noise Action Heroes and be a part of change! 🙃

If there is a hard, high wall and an egg that breaks against it, no matter how right the wall or how wrong the egg, I will stand on the side of the egg. Why? Because each of us is an egg, a unique soul enclosed in a fragile egg. Each of us is confronting a high wall. The high wall is the system which forces us to do the things we would not ordinarily see fit to do as individuals . . . We are all human beings, individuals, fragile eggs. We have no hope against the wall: it's too high, too dark, too cold. To fight the wall, we must join our souls together for warmth, strength. We must not let the system control us -- create who we are. It is we who created the system - Murakami

#akeliawaaraazaad 😎 अकेली क्योंकि अकेले तो हम सब हैं। आवारा क्योंकि बस इसी में मज़ा है। आज़ाद क्योंकि क़ैद तो हमें किसी का बाप नहीं कर सकता! @blanknoiseactionheroes ♥️

Found the perfect T-shirt for every 'inappropriate' occasion.
Being akeli for me means not having the need to be escorted and still being safe.
Being awaara for me means to be able to use the public spaces the way men do without being called a 'loose' woman.
Being azaad for me means to be able to make my own decisions without having to think 'log kya kahenge'. Thank you Blank Noise Action Heroes.

I have joined Blank Noise Action Heroes in their fight against sexual/gender based violence. The news of the rape and murder of one woman, and murder of another back home in Australia in the past week has again confronted and re-awakened me to the fact that rape culture and violence towards women is in fact, EVERYWHERE and is happening ALL THE TIME. (1 woman is killed in Australia every week). We shouldn’t have to live in fear/keep ourselves safe/restrict our lives, because of our GENDER.

I Never Ask For It is a campaign, uniting to end fear/victim blame. One part of this mission is to empower + engage women to share what Akeli Awaara Azaad means to them. I feel exactly this wearing these words across my chest, so I'll endeavour to do the same + Korean transl.

Akeli 혼자 (honja) ALONE
I was often asked while traveling alone, ‘Are you traveling alone?’ I would choose to respond in different ways depending on how threatened I felt, ‘Yes’ or ‘No, I’m with a friend/partner’. Sometimes it seemed all my convos were exclusively w/ men, who visually dominated the streets in many places. “Where are all the women”, I wondered. I remember in India for 2 weeks deciding to look into the eyes + smile at every woman that I walked past… Perhaps it was a kind of rebellion, a way to connect, alone/together.

Awaara 방황 (banghwang) WANDERING
I like walking. Not walking anywhere in particular, is hard though, as we are conditioned to have a destination, to not stray. ‘Text me when you get home’, is a saying often repeated, (mostly to females) when leaving alone late at night. I remember running down my streets in Melbourne, Sydney + Seoul returning home. I enjoy wandering slowly, through urban landscapes, fields, temples and markets w/out being asked where am I going/what am I doing. We exercise curiosity through wandering, a vulnerability, a presence. Traveling is my wandering, and I prefer to take my time.

Azaad 자유 (jayu) FREE
Free to be alone, wander, heal. Free to be defenceless, yourself. Free to help others be free. Free to be FREE.

"I have always considered myself as a one woman army, working alone, wandering alone, existing alone. For me, the Akeli Awaara Azaad tee-shirt says exactly that. I used to solo travel a lot earlier and these are the exact words that would define my experience. Maybe, I needed a reminder of that and this will help me experience my solo journey once again. Always a Akeli, Awaara Azaad aurat."

I believe I've always been Akeli Awaara Azaad ... In a system that questions your freedom, your choice, your voice, your very being it is essential to stand on the tallest building with the loudest drum and beat your own tune. Thank you @days_of_the_raj for my drum

In my words - freedom is breaking the shackles of stereotypes of all kinds. Reclaiming space, life, body and our time. Each requires persistent battles of the personal and the political. But each battle gives us, and those around us strength. Because only when we keep negotiating on an everyday basis, we create more like us, better than us.

It doesn’t matter what’s in front of her as long as she knows who’s behind her 😎 the pic says it all!! It gives me the immediate oomph and fun 🔥nothing less nothing more to wear this #akeliawaaraazaad T-shirt! Thank you 🌟🌟@blanknoiseactionheroes for coming up with spunk and tangibility in the form of one fun-T for the unapologetic and unabashedly free spirited liberatingly happy soul that I am! 💁🏼‍♀️ coz when life throws lemons after lemons at you, get up dust off and pamper yourself immediately and find your SOS! Flaunt it! Kill it! Your tribe will relate appreciate and be there for you and the rest really don’t matter! 🙅🏻‍♀️ “Hume dosh Sweekar nahi.... aayi never ask for it!” Says the back side of this T-shirt! 🎧ishq di masti de vich sauvey te jaaage! Dhunki dhunki dhunki laage 🎼

Living for the moments I can’t put into words...

They’ll stop. They’ll stare. They’ll judge. They’ll talk.

Make it worth their while. Or NOT.

Don’t owe anything to any of these passers by. Coz that’s exactly who they are : passers by. You stand your ground.You do you.

The ones who matter will adjust. Don’t spend sleepless nights blaming yourself for not fitting in. That’s not what you were made for. That’s definitely not what my mother educated and empowered me for.

Here’s to living the Akeli Awaara Azaad zindagi and empowering others to do so as well 🙌🏽💙

Love the feeling of being independent😍 ❌No Nagging❌No Curtailment❌
it's just ME
ME AAHE EKTI-AKELI🅰 SAIRAT-AWARA🅰MOKALI-AZAAD🅰

State of mind… forever

अकेली - क्योंकि इन रास्तों पर चलना बोहोतों के लिए मुमकिन नही। इसीलिए यहाँ भिड़ कम और लोग मनमौजी है। आवारा - क्योंकि मनचाहे रास्तों पे भटकनेके लिए किसी साथी की जरूरत नही लगती। जो चल पड़ते है साथ उन्हें अपना रास्ता मिल जाता है। आज़ाद - क्योंकि आज़ादी है मनचाही खुशी पाने की, सफार में बाल ना सवारनेकी, खुदसे मुहब्बत निभानेकी। आज़ादी है जिंदगी जीने की।

Akeli Awaara Azaad forever 💙💚
The woman behind me is from my series of paintings. She's gonna stare you to death 😈👻💩

Akeli Awaara Azaad for me has a deep meaning which lies in the freedom to be alone yet not lonely. Moving together yet standing your own ground, signifying that I alone am the creator of my destiny and reality.

Awaara signifies for me the feral/ wild nature of our beings as women that is so much like the wolves. We work the best when we honour the Awaara nature of our being.
Azaad has to be my most cherished feeling that is must for every human especially females. The freedom to study, dress,eat/ drink, play, move, read, work, drive, choose their partner, get married or not, have kids or not have kids, divorce, move in or move out. Breathe! Let us be. We have to find and fight for our freedom and then maintain it and we will find people along the way who support us in this fight to freedom and equality.

In the words of Estes who wrote “Women who run with the wolves” we as women need to live our life according to our wild and instinctual nature wherein we need to establish territory, to find one’s pack, to be in our body with certainty and pride, regardless of body’s gifts and limitations, to speak and act on our behalf, to be aware, alert, to draw on the innate feminine powers of intuition and sensing, to come into one’s cycles, to find what we belong to, to rise with dignity, to retain as much consciousness as we can.

With my girl @laikathesiberianhuskyindia

अकेली अवारा अज़ाद, Alone wandering and free. How liberating are these words?

But do they have a similar impact on our society? I don't think so. For the very same purpose, I… a Proud Action Hero Mayisha joined Blank Noise with the desire to learn the true meaning of these words. For me these are not just mere words anymore. I found the true meaning of Akeli Awaara Azaad when I moved out.. Moving out for a girl is a life altering decision.. Well at least for me it was. "How are you gonna live alone? Have you gone bonkers? Who is gonna marry an 'overly independent' girl like you?"
These and many heart wrenching comments and questions was what I was bombarded with. But after a tedious process.. Brink of dawn had arrived upon me and I did move out,
My independence had a completely different and a literal meaning to it now, I no longer had to live under someone's terms, I had the liberty to take decisions for myself.
Being part of this movement अकेली अवारा अज़ाद by Blank Noise did teach me a lot of things but most of all I learnt to enjoy my solitude and unleash the power of speaking up against things I did not support.
I'd like to conclude this little piece about being अकेली अवारा अज़ाद by quoting one of my favourite dialogues from the movie 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.’

''Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho toh zinda ho tum, nazar mein khwabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho toh zinda ho tum ... hawa ke jhokon ke jaise aazad rehno seekho, tum ek dariya ke jaise lehron mein behna seekho ... har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahen, har ek pal ek naya samha dekhe yeh nigaahen ... joh apni aankhon mein hairaaniyan leke chal rahe ho toh zinda ho tum, dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho toh zinda ho tum''

“Awaara” a term used by the society for every girl, who lives life on her own conditions… because society can’t gulp the Azaadi of the girl…

Thank you Blank Noise for making me wear my thoughts… Proud to be a AKELI AWAARA & AZAAD

Akeli because nothing is more precious than learning to be alone with oneself and listen and converse with the soul within. I have been petrified of the word akeli, and loneliness has always meant negative to me and so I would surround myself with as many voice to remove the blank beep that keeps playing it's melancholic tune.

But today I realise no matter how many voices speak to you and give you answers, you will never settle unless you get the answer yourself And when you don't let yourself be alone, you would never question yourself or seek the answers and break the monotony of the blank noise.

Awara and azaad I always was and I hope they compliment my soul searching ahead :) Thanks for this shirt that makes one think so hard...

I hope that as many women like us come of age and carve their path we don't forget our own voice amidst the many.....

Being Akeli Awaara Azaad to me is having the courage to be my own hero. To be fearless about saying no to limitations set by the society for an average Indian woman. To be high on life and enjoy being single at 34. To travel solo. To be unapologetic about what I wear.To be able to choose what I want and what I don't. I am my ownself, built up on my own, by respecting and recognising my abilities to be there out in the world. Standing proud to my choices, good or bad and being responsible for them as well. Thank you Blank Noise Action Heroes for this encouraging movement.

‘Akeli, awaara, azaad’ is a notion that speaks to my heart for it represents my right to exist as a human being.

Akeli - is my right as a human being to exist alone in this world without the constant fear of experiencing violence. It also represents my right to travel alone, take public transport and still be safe, irrespective of when or where I am going.

Awaara - is my right as a human being to live my life unfettered, and on my terms without the fear of being judged or controlled.

Azaad - is my right as a human being to live in a world free of sexual violence or physical/mental trauma.

I purchased this tee the day I was moving from Bombay to Bangalore, to start a new chapter, a new job and live my Akeli Awaara Azaad life. 

Taking this selfie from the streets of the beautiful city, Bengaluru. Simply wanting to walk through them with no fear, just being my Akeli Awaara Azaad self.

Akeli : I am alone and happy and I matter even if I don't belong to anyone. I am more than a sister , daughter I am me. There is nothing wrong with an 'Akeli' naari.

Awaara : I am awaara because I defy the patriarchal authority and question them about equality and age old notions about masculinity and feminity.

Azaad : I don't filter myself in conversations because I am a woman I will talk about uncomfortable , unconventional hence that makes me Aazad !

Akeli Awaara Azaad to me are not just three words or just a Movement, a Revolution, a Phenomenalon ... but for me its a ‘Way of Life’ that everyone must recognise! There is no other way I would want to live! For me its a great message to send out to all the girl folks - that dude you are complete on your own and your choices matter!

As a participant who is attached to this movement I will try my best to share with the girls I meet at home, at work, social settings, friends -of -friends -of -friends parties, holidays or wherever I go that we are capable of being on our own. Period.

It is very important for the girls to first realise this and accept it because that’s the first battle to be won! To have that confidence that yes we can do it.

The need to truly believe:

- That we the girls have the right to live this life on our own terms - without any if’s or buts!
- No-one is or should be responsible for us as we got our shit together and in most cases better!

- Its OK to try anything and everything and decide for yourself if it’s for you or not, rather than being told “ladkiya ye kaam nahi karti/ yaha nahi jati/ ye nahi pehenti”. Stop being told what to do or not to do!

If I have to summarise in just one line, it will truly be - “Apni sharton pe jeena - Apne liye jeena!”

"Unstoppable & Unapologetic"

इतवार सोमवार बुधवार हो

महिला दिन हर रोज़, हर बार हो

एक हाथ लेना एक हाथ देना

सीधा साधा इज्ज़त का व्यापार हो

दुपट्टा संभालती, दामन ढकती

हर मिनट ना लाचार हो

महिला बेबाक बिंदास बेफिक्र

हर दिन, हर बार हो

Something I was told as a child and even today is that ‘I am not woman enough’ or that ‘I am a tomboy’ I don’t look or dress the way I should; I am “cute” bcs I’m “healthy”. 

When I look back today, I feel like people don’t do that to you bcs they want to do something for your life. They do it bcs they are insecure about themselves and have seen much worse. If I could I would give this tshirt to all the women who have shown such attitude towards anyone, to remind them that there is no such thing as an incomplete woman; or ‘womanly enough’, that is okay to have choices and preferences and love yourself for who you are. And love the ones around you instead of putting others down in order to feel better about yourself. Akeli in my journey to self love. Awara to find my imperfections, they make me who I am. Azad from shaming of any kind.

Akeli Awaara Azaad

That's what I want to be.
That's what I wish to be.
That's what I am!!

**The very first day I came across this campaign, I decided to be a part of it. Thought birthday would be good to start with a cause, wearing this tee which describes my true spirit while nurturing my passion for travelling as well.
I want to thank #blanknoiseactionheroes for this wonderful initiative. Hope you get success in this and reach out to the deaf ears.
AkeliAwaaraAzaad -- To live free from fear. Wild Independent and Happy.
Akeli - is not that I m alone or lonely, or I don't have a partner, or no one to support me or m depressed. Akeli doesn't mean I m vulnerable & you have the opportunity to chance pe dance. ..
Akeli .. I am my own entity, I am strong, I am me, alone and fearless. Being akeli give roots to my existence.
To be safe on the road at house on a trip at school or office at pub, in a metro, at midnight, inside a cab or anywhere. Even when I m with my husband/boyfriend, or the regular electrician, pool car driver or that so called uncle or any passer by.. from all the lecherous eyes.
Awaara - Wanderer for life! Unapologetic loud and powerful. To think out of the box. To be wild and outgoing. Something beyond being stereotypes. To be bold enough for change. To speak out against right and wrong.. Not to take shit or remain suppressive. Being awaara doesn't have to be a lafanga, it means freedom to do what I want without the fear of threat violence or attack. I love to follow my heart. I love being a wanderer.. If that makes me awaara then I am!
I am frequently told by my well wishers-- if an average middle class girl tries to be different, don't do right things at the right time, take challenges with life (rather don't compromise with life) , live life in their own terms ..then SHE has to face consequences, SHE can never be happy, it will be troublesome life for HER etc etc. .. "coz she is a girl after all !! "..
I am just curious to know how does one define a perfect life and how it is different for a girl and a boy!!??
Azaad - that's my favourite.. Azaad.. Free, independent, wanderer, freedom, self confidence. Free from being judged or categorised. Free from the mindset of #logkyakahenge. Free to dream, have opinions. To love yourself. To take care of oneself is not selfishness. It is equally important just like to take care of others. Free from fear. Not get scared and plea for something not worth doing. To find pleasure in lil joys of life in my own terms. Freedom to speak, work, study, travel to be an entrepreneur or maybe a homemaker, to marry not to marry to have baby or not to have baby or adopt or be a single parent despite of gender biasness, and so on.. Freedom of choice. To be the person I want to be as a woman more importantly as a human. Free to be an individual. I want to dance cry laugh wear what I feel like, do what I want .. to ride bike or sleep whole day. To have sex or not to have sex, to be an introvert or extrovert its my choice.
Ability to fight for self and others at the same time . Free to be free.
I love to travel. I live to travel it's my passion.. that's my choice of living. but that doesn't allow you to judge me.(OMG.. from where she is getting so much money, how she manages so much of leave, who is her boss?? Achha that's why she is still unmarried.. Ohh this is the reason her boyfriend left her.. her parents must be careless.. she is so desperate.. etc etc..blah blah blah!!) Whatever!!!! 🙄]
Akeli awaara azaad .. wild enough to express. Kind and polite but not weak. No means no. Sorry not sorry. not suppressive to knock down with your decision. To love to be loved without the fear of discrimination of race colour caste creed gender religion societal norms political knowhow. Not to be a spineless coward to stand for what is right and give bullshit excuses. To take decision of my own, make mistake, willing to learn from it, have courage to overcome and being responsible for that as well. Heal.

I might not be someone very important neither have a very lucrative career nor any successful relationship, nor very sound health or anything extraordinary rather everything below ordinary. My count of failure in life is much more higher than my count of success. I have nothing perfect, still I love to embrace my flaws, learn from the mistakes, get up and move on .. And that's My strength. Whatever little I do like for instance to obey traffic rules or greet my office security dada daily morning and evening, take the stairs instead of lift (not while climbing a skyscraper tho) or grow a few plants, conserve water, help mum in household chores etc. can actually make me happy and validate my worth. Coz I m not here to compete with you.
Feminism is not about hating men as our #patriarchal society would believe. (How can I deny the contribution of men in my life. From my dad to my family members my brothers, my teachers, my colleagues, my neighbours and my male best friends or even that tour guide or the rickshaw wala who helped me somewhere someday.)
Feminism is about equal opportunity, having equal rights in every aspect .. be it socially politically economically legally and most importantly as an individual human being!
As I manage to pass 2nd year of my 3 decades successfully, thought of sharing a bit of my mind while I came across Akeli Awaara Azaad campaign as this is totally relatable. You read or don't read, like it hate it your choice ... I am not here to justify you or me either. Its true Nowadays this type of posts are quite cliche and common. Someday or the other, someone or the other will post something or the other like this. As social media is the most common platform. But still somehow I felt maybe it's a lil step to expand these rights for our daughters sisters our house help or the roadside cha wali or some air hostess or a widow, divorcee or just someone who is struggling everyday to survive or even that unborn female foetus, or the 3 yr old baby girl who got raped, and the newborn girl child who was dumped in the dustbin or the mother of that girl child... !!!!!

Taking Akeli Awaara Azaad and the Blank Noise Action Heroes overseas. Walk the streets here, there and everywhere and to do it without having to worry. 

It was more than a few months ago that my dear friend @jasmeenpatheja sent me this t-shirt. It lay in my cupboard stacked between loved and unloved clothes. I saw many women wear it in the interim and articulate so effectively what the words on the t-shirt (अकेली आवारा आज़ाद ) meant to them. They spoke for me too. I agreed with everything they said but I couldn’t embrace or own those words in the truest sense possible. I did not want to be called अकेली it meant for a long time—to be alone—and it creeped into loneliness, isolation, void, gulfs. It wasn’t physical solitude but as Olivia Laing says it is a state difficult to confess. The journey to think of अकेली as self, fulfilled, complete, enough, unhinged, not a state of lack has been a long and continuous one. Am sure it’s true for men as well but female aloneness, as Laing says often carries with it a whiff of strangeness, deviance and failure. And to overcome that miasma and to shine this bright needs a post, a selfie, a pat and a thank you, J. I go back to our chat by the bench in Philly so often. To anyone on this journey, happy to help but it’s all you eventually. I’ll write a post on the other two words the next time I wear this t shirt and feel this way :) #akeliawaaraazaad #blanknoise #mentalhealth #friends #solitude #alone #olivialaing #loneliness #sisterhood #female #single

I am अकेली because I chose to be. I find peace within & feel complete. I enjoy my own company.

I am आवारा because I like to be. I am not concerned about what others will think of me but of what I will think about myself.

I am आज़ाद because I want to be. I have given freedom to myself to try anything & everything that I desire for.

Celebrating the spirit of #अकेलीआवाराआजाद with @blanknoiseactionheroes BLANK NOISE

#AkeliAwaaraAazad

I have seen many of my friends and people around me,  Falling in love every hour with someone or other. But the lack of self love is saddening. One should first be head over heels in love with self then only you can love another human being. That is why Akeli.

I am always breaking the stereotype of the society. There should be no set notion. That is why Awara.

I had the destiny to be born in a family who always supported me and let me live my ways. That is why Azaad.

That is why #AkeliAwaraAzaad :)

What’s it to you? (For 'Akeli Awara Azaad')

I, just like me, will come and go, scattering hearts

In the scorching noon, not watch step, slip and fall

With blind fingers, on chunks on mud, smear a colour, drown them

Longing for the river, cross seven seas, lose the way

In the sworn letter, I will be words, I will be silence

While composing a song, blunder a slogan, cause a fissure

Suddenly recognize the walls, that stone house, gouge a hole

Finding alone somebody empty, make a carnival of shimmering moons

What one cannot see with eyes open, I will tempt, with eyes shut

What does not happen any more, that mishap, make it re-happen

While coming and going, spend a few nights, in other nights

On the left and right, stretch my hands, touch people, be friends

ENOUGH with the questioning,
Our choices,
Our character,
Our freedom,
OUR VOICE!

ENOUGH with the victim-shaming and victim-blaming, 
The finger-pointing,
The hushed whispering,
The silencing,
The oppressing!

ENOUGH
With the treating us like we're not ENOUGH,
Not good enough,
Not delicate or strong enough,
Not quiet or loud enough,
Not assertive or submissive enough,
Not free or restricted enough,
Not opinionated or relevant enough,
Not satisfied or dissatisfied enough,
Not bold or meek enough,
Not independent or dependent enough!

ENOUGH!

Our voices will resonate through the ages,
To reclaim our lives,
And our spaces,
Our Rights and our freedom,
TO RECLAIM OURSELVES AS PEOPLE, AS HUMANS, AS WOMEN!

You can try to silence us, ignore us, demean us, hate us,
But YOU WILL FAIL!
We will be the undying whisper in every storm, in every crashing wave of revolution,
AND WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!
THIS IS OUR TIME.
We will take what's ours, unapologetically, and proudly.
We are NOT afraid, 
But perhaps, you, whose thumbs are sore from holding us down, SHOULD BE!

Here's to every single Indian woman being Azaad;
From all the stereotypes and boxes that patriarchy tries so hard to put us in!

LADIES, let's fight the good fight!!
Here's to all the Akeli Awaara and Azaad women of the world!

When you have expectations that are rooted in allegiance and pertinacity you commence losing self reliance. Particularly when things become finicky while in a domain where we are yet to be seen as equals. Across the years, I have been notably sociable ,travelling to cities, recreating personally, gaining friends and thriving in the workplace as a female surgeon which begets the purpose. I have witnessed the highs furthermore the lows solely making me tougher each day which has had an enduring impression. Being uninhibited and sovereign was the prime character and forever be. As we cannot completely follow the flow. We must go against the grain. #femalesurgeonsofindia#akeliawaaraazad

A drive through the hills was my #akeliawaraazad moment. Floating by the river side through the beautiful sunset.. getting closer and closer to nature.. hearing my inner voice  through the silence of the mountains..traversing mentally to some of the most relevant and  irrelevant events of life... At times you are filled with gratitude.. At times you miss your loved and at times you keep looking for something more... Every year I live my #akeliawaraazad  moment to figure out that little something... May be that little something is nothing but few days of not being a mom, a wife , a daughter and daughter in law. May be that little something is living days which only belongs to yourself. May be that little something is soaking into your life all by yourself ! !

To be alone, and to walk alone, without fear of any kind, of my fellow humans. of traffic, of stray animals of uncertain temperament, that is to be truly free. Yes, alone, untrammelled by convention or fear, is to be azad! What I aspire to be: Akeli, awaara, azaad! .

Repeat after me!
No woman of any
Age, colour, character 
Ever deserves to 
Be sexually violated 
Of what some might 
Lightly call “Eve-Teased” 
#INeverAskForIt 
This is what is written in the card this Akeli, Awaara, Azad girl is holding. Since the day I have seen this t-shirt I have been wanting one, it is like it defines what I am. And I am proud of the fact. In this day and time when we are asked to be careful, coy and constrained in what we do. I really feel Alone, independent and awara (is there even an English word for awara, I know rouge & loafer could come close but they don’t quite cut it do they?) is the what we all should aspire to be. To break those barriers society is put around us. 
I have been working with Blank noise when they were a tiny little group and it’s amazing to see what @jasmeenpatheja has achieved over years in this area. @blanknoiseactionheroes are now everywhere and in each one of us when we raise our voice against harassment. Come join the fight and become an #actionhero today. Be the #AkeliAwaaraAzaad girl, be on your own, be unapologetic, be free! 

Not so akeli but definitely awaara and azaad.

Akeli: solo, single, alone • Awaara: rogue, vagabond, tramp • Azaad: free, liberated, footloose
______________________________
The secret of this world is that it is made up of words. While many times they free us, society has used words and labels to control women and girls, stifle us, contain us and limit us - make us afraid of the very things that liberate us, to shrink our concept of self, and shame us. So here I am, owning all the labels the world can give, and here is me giving back your other ammunition with it, I now wear them as my badges of honour. Your words don’t scare me. Hear me loud, hear me clear. Haan main akeli, aur main awaara bhi. Haan main loose, badtameez, badmizaaz, lafangi bhi. Haan main sutteybaaz, daarubaaz, besharam aur behaya bhi. Main kameeni bhi, nautanki bhi, beizzat, aur gunahgaar bhi. Karamjali, behuda, chudhail, nirlaj aur kalmoohi bhi. Aur toh aur, main azaad aur khush bhi.
____________________________
The picture was taken in front of my childhood home and my father clicked it

he OG Akeli, Awaara, Azaad! ❤️
My mamma taught me well! 😎
#AkeliAwaaraAzaad

My solitude is not an invitation- 
to talk to me
to walk with me 
to touch me 
Every woman walking alone at night normalizes it a little more. Let’s reclaim public spaces. Reclaim the night. 
#akeliawaaraazaad

#akeliawaaraazaad : When I first heard of the @blanknoiseactionheroes I was intrigued. But these words blew me away. And I immediately updated my WhatsApp status with the words and ordered my tee.

The reactions have been such an eye-opener. Family ignored the awaara and azaad bit and asked, rather indignantly.'why akeli, we are there'. Some friends responded to it with absolute glee. Random men decided the awaara word could be translated literally to mean an invitation.

What I love about this movement? That you can live your life unfettered by the expectations of others. And because you choose to do so, it isn't an invitation to be hit upon by random men.

There’s one story that pretty much sums up my spirit of being #AkeliAwaaraAzaad. For me, turning 26, has been exciting, challenging and rewarding. But, it has also meant being bombarded with regressive remarks about my single hood, my independence and my agency. Patriarchy had caught up with me, I was suddenly of marriagable age. I went from being 'single' to being 'unmarried'. 💩

So I was asked to send across an 'acceptable' photo of myself for its un consenting circulation among my family’s ‘Match Makers’. After many polite no’s, angry no’s, loud no’s, I gave in. I gave in, but not without a good laugh. I sent this badass picture to mommy dearest, giggling the whole time. 
Did she giggle? 
No. 
Eeshita - 1/ Patriarchy - 0

#AkeliAwaaraAzaad Without apologies. (Akeli = Alone; Awaara = Vagabond; Azaad = Free) On Her Own, Unapologetic and Free. I love this T-shirt. It speaks to me intensely because it embodies my life as I live it. I am strong and not afraid to be alone. While I'm aware of women's safety issues in India and elsewhere, I'm unafraid to loiter when I want to. I'm free because I can be myself at all time, at all places. Akeli Awaara Azaad is a movement that is going from strength to strength as more action heroes walk together and alone. I believe in this movement and support it because I strongly believe in everyone's right to loiter safely in public spaces, regardless of their gender, class, orientation and vocation. While I recognise that we still live in a world where everyone does not have this opportunity, I stand here, strong with my fellow comrades/warriors and endeavour to do whatever is in my power to make this world more equal. Thank you, BLANK NOISE and Jasmeen for this wonderful movement and for coming up with this t-shirt. Thank you, Janaki for hastening my purchase of this t-shirt. Yours is waiting, too! And thank you, Prasad for this photo in the area where I loiter the most, purposefully as well as without a purpose.

Akeli (alone); because it is still unacceptable for a woman to exist alone, in domestic or public spaces. Our safety, agency and identity is not contingent on another person. Awaara (wander); because my ability to move through the world has been paved by my privilege and by legions of brave women who have and who continue to challenge the patriarchy. Azaad (free); because no woman is free till every woman is free. #AkeliAwaaraAzaad @blanknoiseactionheroes

Jumping for joy because I'm off on vacation! ✈️ .

You know what else would make me this happy?

If women, in India and everywhere across the world, could travel. More specifically, if they could travel solo, without fear for their own safety. . Because no matter whether I'm alone or in a crowd, at home or traveling, I am never "asking for it". .

📸 by @nidhibh

I wish..my parents didn’t have to worry about me travelling alone. I wish that this world was a better place to go out without any fear of being street harrassed. I wonder if that will ever happen. It’s sad.. very sad! What does being Akeli Awaara Azaad mean to you?

I have stayed in different cities: Mathura-Jaipur-Delhi-Ghaziabad-Mumbai-Hyderabad-Ahmedabad-Bangalore,the story is same everywhere. I am expected to be a certain way..to be careful..to be sure who I am hanging out with..to reach home before a certain time. When I was in Mathura, I always used to think I will move to a bigger city and everything will be fine but there isn't much of a difference- I just became bolder and tougher.

For me #akeliawaaraazaad is to have a life FREE from FEAR. To not change because this society wants me to change..to not change because someone else wants me to change. It’s about living a life free from warnings and blame..to Just be ME! This is what #akeliawaaraazaad means to me.

What does it mean to you? Share it with @blanknoiseactionheroes. P.C: @ahens_c7, my turn to take your AAA pic 📷

. I have always seen people getting intimidated by strong independent women. Everyone loves strong women as someone to look up to but not in their homes or as their friends or partners or humans. We come off as too aggressive for putting forth an opinion and I have lost count for how many times I have been told to 'chill'. Do not let anyone tell you that things you believe in are not important. . Guilt has been fed to us for so long in so many ways that when someone commits any injustice towards us, we are made to realize we asked for it. We deserve it because we were not too careful. Fuck this shit. Do not let people tell you that your exploitation is a mere casualty. This is the time to break free ourselves from stereotypes holding us back to claim what has always been ours. To let our words dance on our tongue in rage, our feet claiming lonely streets and our head always held high as each day we start another storm. Unapologetic and free and it's all the more fun if you scare some on the way.

जिंदादिल हूं और जीने के लिए किसी सहारे की जरुरत मानती नहीं

रास्तों पर यूंही निकल पडती हूंँ,

मंजिलों तक पहुंचने की इस बेवजह दौड़ का मैं हिस्सा नहीं

सफर की खूबसूरती को पहचानती हूं

कहता है जमाना रुक कर दो पल ढूंढ ले

ख्वाबों वाला शहजादा कौन बताए उन्हें

महलों की दिवारों में ख्वाबों का होना भी मंजूर नहीं

मेरी तरह ही हैं उनकी तासिर भी

अकेली आवारा आजाद।

Being Akeli doesn't mean I'm dependent

Being Awaara doesn't mean I'm not focussed

Being Azaad doesn't mean I'm a rebel without a cause.

— High time, you need to stop giving these words negative connotations.

— Somehow these three words resonate a lot with what and how I think.

Clad in this tee by @blanknoiseactionheroes, I feel free to make myself crystal clear, describe my spirit to one and all and inspire others to break their cages 💃

Akeli Awaara Azaad, for me, has been the perfect expression for every girl's right to be absolutely free in this world (especially in this country). Sadly, we are being forced, since forever, to reclaim something that is very much our own. Also, this whole movement gives me a sense of solidarity with other women, which gives me a lot of strength. :)

In solidarity with @blanknoiseactionheroes and @jasmeenpatheja #akeliawaraazaad Proud to be part of the #AAA action heroes and it gives me strength to know that we are all in this together 💪🏻 To me this movement means that a woman can be all 'akeli, awara, azaad' and live all her dreams without being labelled, judged, demeaned and called out for it in any part of the world and especially in this country. It also means that we must ensure that she does everything without being unsafe without feeling that constant fear of being raped, molested, eve-teased, shamed, etc. Being 'akeli' means that she can travel anywhere without being escorted and still be safe. Being 'awara' means that she can use all the public spaces as the men do and again be safe. Being 'azaad' means that she can take all her decisions on her own. Quite recently I was attacked while I was on my evening run in a public park. I was just minding my own business and running like I had been doing for a month but this one person had been tailing me for some time and took it as an opportunity to attack me and molest. I had caught him flashing almost twice. I obviously panicked and when he actually made a move to corner me and God knows do what I fled and somehow saved myself. But to my horror, he had done the same to my friend. That's when we thought of taking charge and called the police and filed a complaint and got it documented. The result being that a police patrolling car has been appointed there. Sadly, I stopped running after the incident but I'm going to resume it quite soon. The highlight being that this action made me feel stronger, confident and I learnt how to not stay quiet.

There are many ways to fight rape culture/systemic gender-based violence. The external ways include activism, advocacy, making one's voice heard through social media spaces, aligning with feminist values for work and so on. : And then, there are internal/inner ways. How does one get impacted by the systems one grows up in? How do one's emotional, physical and mental and energetic bodies get shaped? How to understand the responsibility of one's trauma, one's pain, one's way of living, for it is, afterall, a matter of living to the fullest within this body? And upon this understanding, how to transfer that into external action? . . I am thinking of @blanknoiseactionheroes who gifted me this incredible #actionheroine T-shirt just before I made my way to another set of hills to disappear into. It was due to @jasmeenpatheja, and her incredible #blanknoiseproject who, 10 years ago, gave me a platform to take my activism to the streets, parks and public spaces of Bangalore. The "Hot Hudgi" here T-shirt is a product of that exploration, a confrontational slogan I had designed for women to wear on the streets where they experience street sexual harassment. : And it is 10 years later, that I wear #blanknoiseproject's "Akeli, Awaara, Azaad" which in English, roughly translates for me into- "walking alone, walking wild, walking free." : As a trauma therapist, these words used to mean working hard to ensure we live in a world where sexual and gender-based violence is no longer an everyday/every hour reality. I chose a path that would help me contribute to that.But I also realize the importance of dropping the external for a while and only paying attention to the internal, to be able to walk alone, walk wild and walk free despite the games of the world. Only to strengthen, deepen and lessen the damage we do to the world with our "good intentions". :I wish that we find a type of inner work that allows us this deepening. It could be yoga, tai-chi, or simply living in a forest for a few months. It's not an easy approach to the problems of this world that we constantly mirror.

#AkeliAwaaraAzaad @RachnaBhola ! अकेली आवारा आज़ाद | Alone Unapologetic Free | 365 days a year . I have limitless power to protect myself and the world. #INeverAskForIt

“Akeli Awara Azaad’s never ending spirit is the fuel that ignites my passion to hold my ground while the whole world conspires otherwise.

Happy Independence Day to India and Happy Independence Day to Me... I’m #azaad ... The country is free and so am I ... I’m free to take my decisions and am accountable for the decisions I make I’m #awaara and unapologetic about being one ... I’m as Awaara as the winds and waves are I’m #akeli We were born alone and we’ll die alone. Contrary to the popular belief that we have ... I’m 30, single and happy. I complete myself and I’m my Hero. Being Alone is not a weakness, Being Awaara is not an invitation, Being Azaad is not a threat. We didn’t have to fight for the freedoms we enjoy today, it was a gift that we got. Let’s strive hard to expand these rights for our daughters, sisters, friends, mothers and all superwomans in our lives.

Yes, they will hurt you. Yes, they will put you down. Yes, time will test you and how. Yes, you will feel sorry and sometimes frown. But what stays in the end is the thought that keeps you going. Whatever work you do, wherever you are in life, whatever decisions you make, Never give up on yourself!!!! You are the strongest and the best.. Feel it everyday and go for it.!!!! #akeliawaaraazaad #foreverstrong #foreverblessed #foreverpositive #today #lovemyself #lifelessons #selfmotivation #selfcare

#akeliawaaraazaad

To feel safe to walk that lonely road...to take that untrodden path. I took this picture at the #EarthMagicRetreat in #Coorg. We were hiking in Kabbeh where we were kissed and blessed by the clouds. I wish... hope... pray that some day life feels this safe and joyous in every corner of my country, my world. . . @blanknoiseactionheroes thank you for taking and inspiring us to take #positiveaction. . . @anamcara_yoga_retreats thank you for always reminding me to be free ... @anahatameher thank you for teaching me to be unconditional. #tribevibe .

Ji Haan!!

#akeliawaaraazaad

In solidarity with the amazing work @blanknoiseactionheroes and @jasmeenpatheja are doing. A woman out and about on her own , #akeli , should be safe. She should have the ability to be free #azad , to make choices - what to study, who to marry, to name a few. Feminism isn’t about hating men as the perpetuators of #patriarchy would have believe. It’s about having equal access to opportunity. About having equal rights - socially, politically, economically and last but not least, legally.

We are all born alone We will all die alone We are Akele in a sense Yet we are all together in this world. . ************* Have you as a female in India thought of sleeping alone in a public place? Forget about sleeping, can you walk alone in wee hours without fear on a street in India? ... I still cannot even THINK of sleeping peacefully in a public park or while travelling by train or bus. Such is the state today that I avoid wee hours travel/outdoor run because I feel so unsafe to step out in darkness #Akeli - I wait for a little rays of sun to fill the sky so that ek #Akeli can step out of the house now and can be safe #Akeli - Wish this will be true 24x7 in #India when ek #Akeli can step out and be as safe, and at peace like any other #Akela anytime of the day. ... #Awara - wish every girl gave wings to her ideas and fly without any limitations. ... #Azad - wish every girl was free to chose, to study, to live, to step out, to be herself in every way... not limited by prejudices, not affected by judgements... #AkeliAwaaraAzaad

Joining the spirited @blanknoiseactionheroes today in being #AkeliAwaaraAzaad. My journey in finding/protecting my FREE FEARLESS FUN self amidst all things 'acceptable'. To be fearless while being sensitive. Fierce but gentle. To question things around me and to question myself. And to see vulnerability as a strength not weakness.....to experience and not avoid.

Solo, Gallivanting/ wandering, Free

Main Akeli - Not equals to loneliness. Rather being 'akeli' means - Being single. It means having the gift of time to get to know yourself as an adult. It’s a time to decide what you want and need in your life, to set goals and figure out how to accomplish them, to take risks without severe consequences, and to write your own sort of, “rule book.” Your life path is yours alone. It's being Alone and Empowering. Main Awaara - Walking wild relentlessly into any direction I choose to. Main Azaad - Free to choose, Free to voice and Free to being 'YOU'.Free to redefine your own independence and happiness. Because no woman is free till every woman out there is free. And above all #akeliawaaraazaad - to crush those stereotypes and create your own path. Thanks a lot @blanknoiseactionheroes for gifting and defining my spirit with this! #akeliawaaraazaad #movement #myspirit #womenofpower #womenempowerment #humanrights #humanwoman

I use to sometimes hang out with a colleague untill one day she mentioned how girls call for guys attention by wearing shorts. And I must mention she had her post grad done from Canada so she was educated and have seen the world. I resonate with this tee from @blanknoiseactionheroes because I totally believe that we never ask for it. Whatever I wear or not wear, I NEVER ASK FOR IT. I am not that good of a writer hence I would politely ask @sixyardsmusings and @sareesandstories to raise this topic in one of their posts. #akeliawaaraazaad #blanknoiseactionheroes #ineveraskforit #myclothesmychoice #dontjudgeme

Akeli, awaara, aazaad aur khush 💕 #AkeliAwaaraAzaad #BlankNoiseActionHeroes #INeverAskForIt

This girl boss t-shirt from @blanknoiseactionheroes 👌🏼💪🏼 Gave my fur son a talk about gender equality, he was aghast at the disturbing statistics of gender-based violence among the human species; long story short, he declared himself a feminist & admitted that 'not all dogs' yes, but enough of them to scare dem bitches.

Pavan writes : I'm 35 and single and live without my family in a different city. I don't feel the need to prove myself by a successful career or a marriage or constantly make choices to validate my self worth. I claim my space and value my freedom to make mistakes. I am a good neighbor, a mindful pedestrian, leave instructions on post it notes for my domestic help in Hindi, i conserve water, carry my bag to the supermarket , avoid use of plastic, grow a few plants and shout out to snoozing pillion riders. I rather conserve than conquer. In pursuit of the small wonders that would have otherwise gone unnoticed if I weren't - #AkeliAwaaraAzaad #HumSabAkele. #HumSabEkSaath #AkeleAwaaraAzaad #INeverAskForIt

Akeli (Alone) - Although I am Happy,Content,Complete and alone ..it's something the society and people will never find it correct ..because as per them ..if a girl is alone ..she is Vulnerable, incomplete and needs to find someone to make her happy ..like really ?! I have often being questioned as to whys,how come ..I have learnt NOT TO take labels, adjectives,questions of society seriously... .

#Awara (Wanderer) - Google meaning of Awara says Wanderer ..yet there are different perspectives of society on which they will judge a girl to be Awara or doing things as per a guys' standards.Nevertheless I am a happy wanderer with my roots firm and flying to all places I have always dreamt of and living an Adventurous life like a tomboy ..if that makes me Awara so be it.

Azaad (Free)- It's a very Special and a heavy word of me ..for a girl ..specially in countries where girls still don't have the freedom to chose their careers,life partners ..there are Caste and Patriarchal systems still taming people's thinking ..some cities ..I still feel unsafe where it's coming home late or early and I have to depend on a guy to drop me home .Its not only these ..but it's also about freedom to be your own self ..the amount of pressure we girls put ourselves into looking a certain way ..or wearing ,doing, being certain way. .just because it's expected out of us ! I hope Ladies find themselves free from shackles of society ..being told to shut up and listen ,from beng made feel gulity ..free to have opinions,expressions and dreams ..to be accepted,supported and appreciated by all those who matter to them !

Thank you @blanknoiseactionheroes for coming up with this initiative ..Thank you for reminding us of what we are made up of and what we want to be ..! Also ..thanks to this T-shirt ..at least now when they Stare ..they just don't Stare ..they read the message that makes them use their brains for a while ! #akeliawaaraazaad #blanknoiseactionheroes #INeverAskForIt

Akeli [Alone]. I am comfortable in my skin, comfortable with the silence between my thoughts. It took years to perfect it, to resist the pressure that society puts on people, especially women, to always seek the company of others. Mind you, I am not averse to it, I relish the laughter and joy that others can bring into my life, but I no longer need it to define me. This gives me strength to pave my own path.

Awaara [Rootless]. This word makes me think of Raj Kapoor’s “Awaara Hoon”, a beautiful song I connected to but it had left me thinking that only men could be ‘awaara’. As my feminisms grew I began to understand why I felt this disconnect: we are all by nature the heroes of our own stories, but nurture tells girls otherwise. To be ‘awaara’ is to be non-conformist, to be a wandering soul, to be rootless - everything that women are supposedly not meant to be. But I have travelled so much in this short span of my life, and I have seen so many women who have better defined ‘awaara’ than any man could. Now the mental image of ‘awaara’ is no longer a man in shabby clothes and a top hat, it’s a fearless woman with loud hair, tattoos on her skin and a wild look in her eyes.

Azaad [Free]. This is my favourite word, this is my raison d’être. To be free from societal conditions, my own fears, doubts and wordly needs, to be one with nature and light as a feather - ‘aazadi’ is my dream, and in this pursuit of freedom, I live:

Living the #akeliawaaraazaad life with pride! The lovelies from @blanknoiseactionheroes sent me the best surprise in my mail box earlier this week, with this tshirt intact. The @blanknoiseactionheroes have played a pivotal role in helping me make a life changing decision last year. Living the triple A life doesn't necessarily mean you have to go around proclaiming your singlehood but it infact lies in the little things like being self-made, being alone and happy and not lonely and sad and of course, accepting the psychotic and beautiful bits of you, even if the world doesn't.

We seek outside the wonders we carry inside. . Being Akeli doesn't weakens me,infact it makes me strong inside out. . Being Awara , I am on a journey to explore my restless spirit with the sky above and fire within. . Being Azaad is to break the glass ceiling and fly far away from the shackles of society.

“I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be.” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Big ups to @blanknoiseactionheroes for the #akeliawaaraazaad initiative, that encourages women to reclaim their right, space and dignity in the world, on the streets, and in the eyes of anyone who looks at them with ready judgement. Our problems are as complex and layered as society and culture can allow it to be, but you are the genesis of change. Stand up for yourself and your sisters, help them rise instead of putting them down. No one deserves to live a life of constant fear, of second-guessing or compromise.

Ladkiyon ko akele baahar Nahi ghoomna Chahiye..u know..it's not safe! Ladkon ki Tarah awaaragardi Karni hai kya? Azaadi di toh hai! Aur kitni azaadi Chahiye? #akeliawaaraazaad #blanknoise Thank you for this awesome shirt! :)

Entering year 23 being adamantly "too independent", "too outspoken", "too out-there", "too open", "too sensitive", "too polite", "too ambitious", having "too many opinions", laughing too loud, singing in my fiercest voice, taking up as much space as I need, embracing and loving myself, no matter what.

Being alone is not a weakness, being Awaara is not an invitation & being Azaad is not a threat!

I wish I could walk the streets without being afraid of who's behind me.
I wish I could wear my bright coloured Kurtis and not worry about comments I wish I could never worry about a late dinner with friends and wonder how to get back home safe.
I wish the world was like my home - a place I could be me and free.

#akeliawaraazaad is my stand as an action hero for freedom and the right to be me, make my own choices and not have to be afraid. Are you wishing for a world of freedom of choice, gender equality and standing up for injustice?

Being Akeli Awaara Azaad means not letting anyone clip my wings and cage me. I fly when I want to and i land when I wish to. My life, my rules! 

I celebrate the spirit of #AkeliAwaaraAzaad everyday. To be free to be yourself, to choose your own path, to accept yourself as you are, to say No when you want to say No, to say Yes when you desire to say Yes, to walk the streets because they say it can't be done, to love those they say you should not love, to loiter the world & claim it for oneself, to sit at that chai ki tapri, to lie on the grass in the park, to take that bus/train to a place you have only heard of.... Of course this is easier said than done. But then what's life without a challenge. I hope everyday every woman and girl can take one step towards being a little more #AkeliAwaaraAzaad

#WhyLoiter

Asadharan, Awismarniya, Adwitya

Mamata di, yellow taxi and the burlap bag - all in one frame!

#calcutta #kolkata #cityofjoy #nocitylikekolkata #iamhome #happiness #traveldiaries

Back in college, I had made up my mind about moving out of Bombay, my home, immediately after graduation. Freedom, I believed, could only be found in a space where I wouldn't be watched and policed. I sought a life alone in Bangalore and then in Delhi and in all the cities and villages where I travelled as a journalist. Questioned and judged, for I wasn't tailing a man. I was treading a route I had charted of my own accord. I tasted freedom as I walked alone aimlessly around public spaces after sunset. I tasted freedom when I stayed out of my home without watching the clock. I relished the moment in a cinema hall when a fellow moviegoer asked me, in bewilderment, if I had (really) come to watch a movie all by myself. Two years of living it up in solitude in a society that only caters to family audiences. I have absolutely no regrets. I am the woman who doesn't flinch from asking for a table for one. I am akeli, awaara and azaad. Thank you for this, Blank Noise!

Enough with the comments, whispers, criticism and judgmental looks. Alone I will carry on, free and boundless. #INeverAskForIt

My new @Blanknoise tee got laughs from the women at @BLRAirport security. One guard said approvingly, that's how it should be. #AkeliAwaraAzaad #ActionHero #BlankNoise

Akeli, Awara, Azaad. OH YEAH!🤘 (Alone, Drifter, Independent)

I see a lot of people misconceiving these words. The following is my understanding of the same.

These three words complement each other. It defines a person who is on her own, having her own opinions of things. She is an explorer. She is an adventurous person, who readily embraces challenges in life. She is independent and makes her own decisions. And most importantly, she takes responsibility for every action of hers and is willing to learn from her mistakes.

It's really simple. Think about it!

"I must learn to love the fool in me, the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and looses often, lacks self control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. SINGLE is not a status. It is a word which describes a person who is strong enough to live and enjoy life without depending on others!..." #AkeliAwaaraAzaad #INeverAskForIt

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.

At times Akeli. Sometimes Awara. Always Azaad #akeliawaaraazaad

Akeli. Immersed in healing solitude. Awaara. Rootless, roving, restless. Azaad. Free. I join many other people to celebrate BLANK NOISE 's joyful assertion of freedom. To turn our isolation on its head and use our collectives of care and love and rage and grief to see - really see - each other. To extend solidarity, kindness, friendship, learning and respect towards each other as we struggle to roam free and feel safe and secure in our assertions for freedom. To know our sisterhood stretches on, endlessly, as we open ourselves to dismantling what we must, both outside and within. To know that our pleasure, too, is political. To love, love, love and have dancing and roses despite it all. To survive. To hold each other up. To thrive. #AkeliAwaaraAzaad

Akeli Awaara Azaad: It is woven into the very fabric of our society and deep into our systems that a woman cannot be all of these together. We could blame it on the patriarchy baton we have been handing over since the beginning of time. Watching the deceitful system from the sidelines is no longer an option. As a mother, sister, wife, daughter I need to redefine the meaning of these words. For me AKELI means being seen as an individual who has their own mind and personality. Moreover their own dreams.It’s high time Akeli doesn’t mean a woman who lacks a male counterpart representing her. AWAARA for me is a soul who has no boundaries wherein their ambitions are concerned. Thinking without a box. The society uses this word Awaara for an irresponsible person in a derogatory manner. Mainstream media and social networks market feminism as some kind of threat. Whereas even men need to be a part of this movement. Let’s break the cult of masculinity and get the facade off. Encourage men to show their emotional side. Impulsive free spirited maybe but don’t call us misguided. AZAAD means free. It’s freedom from being judged and labeled. Having the choice to dress up as I want and not to represent my age, marital status or even religion for that matter. Society doesn’t deserve a walking representation of these. They are the basic fundamental rights of a human. These aren’t the only notes they need to take on me.I have learnt to react less when someone makes a hue and cry about these. I always hear the same people tell me different things when it suits their convenience. You’re too young to feel that. You’re too old to do that. What the pseudo liberals handed over is caged freedom. I am still getting there.

Jag me jab tu aya tha...jaga hasa tu roya tha kar gujar jindgi me kuch aisa...jag roye tu hasta..ja...akele aye the akele jaoge..this tee gives me the inner strength that I am free with my thoughts...thanks @blanknoiseactionheroes For me #akeliawaaraazaad is just like a bird who loves to fly for her dreams

Being my own goddamn superhero. Akeli, Awaraa, Azaad. These three words define the way of life I strive to live. Akeli - independent in spirit, independent in my will, indepedent in my actions Awaraa - not beholden to anyone's whims but my own Azaad -the freedom that I strive to negotiate for myself every single day

The need to break from the norms that throttle, my self expression considered whorish, the mind playing mental games coz of the voices I mute to keep the calm; alone today as I turn 33 not lonely, alone because it's not a bad word; always the wanderer as my soul searches new experience; independence that is fuelled by the community we build of resilient beings.

I still shake up walking the wilderness, traumas that haunt but here the will stands stronger and the head refuses to bow down coz forever

#throwback to that mad Run draped in this beauty! #taneira #pinkathon #saree run at the #freedomparkbangalore. What a day! Spent with the bevvy of beauties all drapes in what they love !! Doing what we hafta do...#run! For #health, #Happiness and just cause we want to !! PS - also because there was a one Ke Handsome @milindrunning Proof?!! Nahi hai!! Why because i was too shy only no!

I wore a beautiful #handloom #saree #revivalweave #pattedaanchu from #karnataka #india draped in the #odisi #dhoti learnt from the master @drapingco #draped with a statement #tee from #blanknoise . #akeliawaaraazaad . Why? Because ..#IAm #ootdstyle #saree #sari #sareelove #6yards #6yardsofelegance #sareesofindia #ilovesarees

The world is my oyster. 🐚 My #akeliawaaraazaad moment!

#AkeliAwaaraAzaad forever ❤️ because Constitutional morality, and not societal morality, should be the driving force for deciding validity of Section 377

It doesn’t matter what’s in front of her as long as she knows who’s behind her 😎 the pic says it all!! It gives me the immediate oomph and fun 🔥nothing less nothing more to wear this #akeliawaaraazaad T-shirt! Thank you 🌟🌟@blanknoiseactionheroes for coming up with spunk and tangibility in the form of one fun-T for the unapologetic and unabashedly free spirited liberatingly happy soul that I am! 💁🏼‍♀️ coz when life throws lemons after lemons at you, get up dust off and pamper yourself immediately and find your SOS! Flaunt it! Kill it! Your tribe will relate appreciate and be there for you and the rest really don’t matter! 🙅🏻‍♀️ “Hume dosh Sweekar nahi.... aayi never ask for it!” Says the back side of this T-shirt! 🎧ishq di masti de vich sauvey te jaaage! Dhunki dhunki dhunki laage 🎼

#akeliawaaraazaad #blanknoise #fts #awaarahoon

Last evening in Phuket. And I'm wearing my 'Akeli Awaara aazad' t-shirt 👻. In 2013 I started my #solotravel journey and phuket was the first destination and since then I have never looked back.. traveled to so many countries alone after that.. and here I am again (official trip). This place has a special place in my heart 😊. Cheers to all the women who cannot be tamed. Stay free and fearless and be nice ! Lots of love 😊😊

🌟Akeli- Awaara - Azaad 🌟

Akeli - Belonging to a state where the city is not your home but you try searching it in people. If they are gone, you should know that the only person you need in your life & by your side is “Yourself “ Awaara - Being the only girl child and having the strength of being the only female member in the entire family to go out of the boundaries just to pursue higher studies and work. 📖 💻

Azaad - Freedom in the form of being able to walk the streets alone without fear. Free to complete all the responsibilities and duties of a household yet not losing once innocence and pure heart.❣❤️ Log on to their profile on Instagram to donate or for further details- @blanknoiseactionheroes Thank you #blanknoiseactionheroes for the Platform.

#akeliawaaraazaad #akeliawaaraazaad #neveraskforit #fightback #sunday #instagram #socialactivism #savetheworld #sheroes #support #standup Thanks @abhi_038 for the support.

Happy Independence Day, India. 🇮🇳 Also, the perfect day to wear this tee and drive home an important message. I am proud to be #AkeliAwaaraAzaad - on my own, unapologetic, free. What do I want? An India that treats women as equals and not just on paper. I want for all women to feel as #AkeliAwaaraAzaad as I feel (at least most of the time) and to ensure we are able to drive dialogue and change around gender-based and sexual violence. #INeverAskForIt __________________________ For more info, check out @blanknoiseactionheroes | www.blanknoise.org/akeliawaaraazaad . . #India #IndependenceDay #71YearsYoung #Indian #🇮🇳 #15August #BlankNoiseActionHeroes #BlankNoise #OnHerOwn #Unapologetic #Free #WomensRights #EmpoweringWomen

Got my Akeli Awaara Azaad tee! 💙💚💜 I once got the airport police at Bangalore to meet my plane from Bombay at the runaway soon after landing because a guy molested me on the flight. I was burning up from fury and a high fever; but there was no way I was going to let it go. That was more than 13 years ago. I have called out and stood up to several more sexual assaulters over the years - and I will continue to do it - because inconvenient, embrarassing, akward, and scary as it is - we should never have to apologise for exisiting and taking up space. Akeli. Awaara. Azaad**. And unapologetic about it. @blanknoiseactionheroes #blanknoise #akeliawaaraazaad #sexualassault #akeliawaraazaad #ineveraskforit #walkalone #freedom #free #takebackthenight #hollaback #feministasfuck #feminismquotes #SoloFootlooseFree **

Akeli Aawaara Azaad! Wish i was that wild though🙈😋 #topsyturvy #mondayvibes #akeliawaaraazaad

Road-tripping weekend in matching feminist tees with @monikamanchanda and @sunayanaroy 
#roadtrip #akeliawaaraazaad