What to do during Blockades

Positives can be taken from pretty much everything. With all the blockades and hartals being thrown around, it has gotten “tricky” to go out, to say the least. Most of us are rather bored. So I am here to suggest stuff you can do to keep yourself entertained while the country crashes and burns.
Entertainment
So long it's not “Two and a Half Men” or “Gossip Girl”, or something equally horrendous, TV shows are a good way to keep yourself entertained. Watch good movies, good anime, cartoon -- I don't really have to tell you how this works.
 

Games and sports
Play games -- virtually and physically. Aside from big name games like NFS and CoD, there are a whole bunch of awesome indie games out there and lesser known games from great developers. Check out SHOUT's game reviews for the low-down.
There's the age old tradition of playing cricket during hartals, of course. It can be football or badminton or any other sport too. Stop making excuses and call up friends. If you live in a secluded area and can't find people around, you could just go to the nearest field and there are always people playing there. Just ask if you could join them; they will probably let you in. And with the blockades, you have people playing on almost every street, so you don't even have to go to a field. The streets are your playground, the picketers your playmates (NOT REALLY).
Rage on Facebook
Complain, whine and/or rage in righteous fury. You are a citizen of a free country and you have rights, dammit. You will not stand for this outrage. This is as good a time as any to write political commentaries, but try not to overdo it. If you aren't that into politics, you can still express your disappointment at all the people suffering because of the distasteful situation we are in, or you can try to tell everyone else how horrible they are for enjoying themselves while people out there are suffering. To the social media websites, ladies and gentlemen.
 

Hobbies
I think it's important to find something that we do for ourselves in our free time. It's a great way to relieve stress. Furthermore, it gives you the chance to reconnect with yourself. We are so frightened of being alone that we try to avoid it as much as we can. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. Many of us even need the alone time to keep ourselves sorted out. Hobbies can be anything really. Reading, collecting stuff, drawing, making models -- anything. Pick up photography maybe? Or you could learn to cook something awesome. Learn a new language. Collect old issues of SHOUT. The possibilities are limitless.
Be productive
Catch up on assignments and homework. Study ahead. And why stay limited to syllabus? Work on a project that falls outside your academic requirements. Learn something new. Maybe you're good at drawing. You could be looking at ways to capitalise on your talents. Turn your hobbies into alternative career opportunities. As we had featured in a previous article in SHOUT, there are home businesses that started out as a hobby. Of course, you don't have to do it. Not everything should be about money. Gaining new experiences can be productive as well.
Create!
Do you seriously not want release from the monotony of our dull everyday lives? Can't you hear the little boy/girl within screaming? We all possess creative expression of some sort and nearly all of us stifle it. I don't think this many people would be depressed and lonely if we all took the time to express ourselves more, be it in the form of writing, painting, music or even something entirely different. We long to create something that we can call our own -- our mark on the world, if you will. With all the free time you have, how about you stop watching that ridiculous TV show which you don't even like and work on something? Be creative. There's an artist inside us all.
Don't wait for someone to give you a pen and a paper. Grab your own and start writing. Do a painting. Or learn to program and make your own app. Take on some challenges in life. Bring some colour into all the grey mass that is your life.