BRAVE NIRBHAYA................India's Daughter!

Yes at this moment we are all wishing for Nirbhaya's soul to rest in peace. Her soul will not rest in peace until  the women of this country walk with dignity, pride and courage. We have had enough! We stand at the bus stop or railway station, work at our desks, surf the internet and no matter what we do, we are ogled at all the time.

Our society is based on age-old traditions. Most Indian traditions are lopsided in nature. Most of them are sexist too. All of them are based on the foundation of superstition. Superstitious beliefs form the crux of Indian life-style. We live in a country where a woman does not respect an another woman in her womb. We have the highest rate of female feticide. So, what does this suggest? It only suggests that the society is extremely low on the values of humanity. We are aware of every religion except the religion of humanity.

 Most people base their opinions on what happened decades ago. We must only learn from our past and not repeat the same mistakes. Sati system was one of the most brutal act of the past. We got rid of it. Similarly, we have to get rid of many such so called spiritual beliefs that take us to heaven. It is important to comprehend  that men and women are two vital pillars of the society and decision-making must rest with both of them. Together we must create a present that is worth being reflected in the future as the glorious past.

Sex has been a taboo for several years. It is important to tell your kids what are the good and bad things about sex. It is time we openly accept that sex is a basic need and there is nothing wrong in talking about it. Progress is hidden in the way we bring up our daughters and sons. What values we impart to them. Sex education has become an integral aspect of upbringing. To teach your kids what is good and bad touch is of much importance.

From ages, we have been living our lives based on stereo-types. Women at home are suppose to engage themselves in household chores while men go out and make decisions for the family. One who brings the money home is known to be superior.Yes, I am talking about those women who belong to real India which is quite dark and not the brighter privileged section of the society.
We often associate this darker section of the society with the poor/rural segment of the society but the reality is that this divide can never be made based on the economic dynamics.

I may sound cliched' when I blame the government, but I am sorry to say that our leaders are no good. A wise society is led by great thinkers and progressive minds but, our society is led by a bunch of illiterate, greedy politicians who hardly care about the citizens. So called leaders in our country yearn for power and money. And no one cares about progress. Sabki band tabhi bajti hain, jab baat apne pe aati hain!Our selfishness has put the society in a bottom-less pit of backwardness.

Why is justice always so delayed? Why are the perpetrators of crime not being punished? I am unable to comprehend whose fault is it? are we the "people" negligent towards progress or is it the corrupt government. I guess the answer is that, we are all collectively responsible for the underdevelopment of the society.

We have entangled our society to such an extent that, we have no way but to accept such heinous acts as a part of our life and brush it off like nothing has happened. Why do we submit ourselves to bribery? why do we not raise our voices against those who commit such brutal crimes. Anna Hazare protested ump-teen number of times. An old man had the courage in him to fast and stand up against the wrong doings. Why no political leader whom we choose to lead us take up such issues. Issues that concern the Indian society. Where is progress? Where is pragati? This is the question that I ask myself and every Individual who claim to be  an "Indian".

Where were those protectors of the society when damini was crying for help. Every woman in India needs to be treated with honor and respect. It could be your mother, daughter, sister, or someone walking on the road. It is time that women stop being the much idolized "sita" and become "Durga" in order to fight the evil.

I hope that the dark night has gone and has also taken away the darkness with it. It is now time for the dawn and we shall fight this day with all the positive spirit.

I will keep Nirbhaya alive in my heart till I die. She will stay with me in the form of integrity, dignity and courage. Nirbhaya has not died and she never will. She is the responsible for the revolution. Her fighting spirit has given us the courage to stand up against the evil.

I promise that I will not let her struggle go in vain! 

SAN DIEGO AND ME :)

I finally decided to take some time off day dreaming, working, cooking, cleaning and pen down my thoughts about coming to the US, living here, studying here and working!

Most people who come to US, come here with many dreams and so did I. I dreamt of being independent, travelling, decorating my home and trust me I did all of that.

As I began thinking what to write, the first thing that came to my mind was what has this place given me? Many people go blab la about coming to US and how great it is, but I asked myself what is so special about this place?

I think this place has given me the much needed independence, and mostly confidence. I feel much more than courageous than ever before. I am sure most people say the same, but what is it that has differentiated my experience from the rest. I would say it is the companionship! Without having someone special to share all your happiness and beauty you see around, all the happiness does not make sense.

San Diego is a beautiful place. It is bright, sunny and there is a kind of positivity attached to it. I can feel it, but can’t express it. San Diego has given me more than what I ever thought! Here I have my home- where there is lots of love, and the absence of ego makes it a special one.

Usually marriage comes with a huge baggage. My mother always told me to be responsible and patient and many more adjectives were attached to being a good wife, and a good daughter-in-law. I differ on this because; marriage to me did not come with too many expectations from my partner. He did not tell me to behave in a certain way because I am married. To be accepted the way you are is the best gift you can get from your soul-mate.

San Diego is definitely a special place, and what makes it special is my way looking at it. What I like the most about this place is I can live here without the baggage of any expectations and trying to fit myself in to someone I am not. The place that gives me peace is the one where, I can live my life the way I want to.

My work makes me happy; I am doing what I always wanted to. Work should always be the one you love doing. It has given me my identity. I am beginning to find myself and connect to that Poorvi who was 14 years old and dreamt of being the best in class! All of us need to do something on our own to smile, to laugh and to be happy.

The minute I stop worrying about tomorrow is when I start enjoying today. I miss every little thing about being in India. I miss watching the rain sitting by the window pane, chatting with my mom, rushing back to Bangalore for exams. So many memeories which I have treasured in my heart and I will for the rest of my life. Life has to move on but all those memories bring the sweetest smile on my face.

Finally I would like to say that happiness lies within us, we only have to find it.

Art you can touch......

As I walked in to the crafts centre shack between the woods, very scenic and nostalgic! It was an experience one could never forget. we were holding hands, and I was describing the sky, the trees and painting many pictures in his mind. My words were creating that magic! we were lost in the conversation. I wondered, if I knew him before or I met him that afternoon in the woods.
Our walk to the shack continued, there were many others like him. Everyone, were trying to see beautiful things. Yes, they were trying to see and experience the nature, with the help of my words. They needed to be told, what I was seeing.
They were smiling away to the glory! I was happy, really happy. A lot of times we see and don’t realize the need to experience or cherish. On that day I realized that for people, who cannot see, life is an imagination. Imagination is the most gifted art in the world. On that day of art exhibition, when I was helping my friends at the braille institute experience art by feeling it, I made an observation. I felt that, when we can see it, we loose the art of imagining. As I explained various sculptures, which they could touch and know more about art, I was learning to fit the art in their imagination. They were literally and figuratively feeling it the right way. If there was a flower, they touched it and said it was a flower. I began to ask my self, that If I close my eyes and touch it, will I be able to describe, exactly what it is? May be not. I cannot, the reason being I choose to ignore imagining, because I can see!
With us, who can see effectively, It so happens that  we see a lot of things, we register few. I would like to bring advertisements in this context, We are bombarded with as many as ads possible on a given day. On the contrary, when we visit a shopping complex to buy groceries, we pick only those brands, which we are used to buying.
Children are supposedly the best at imagination. They have not seen much. When you narrate a story to them, they will imagine, every word of what you describe.
All is well, as long as we learn to appreciate what we see and what communicate what we believe in. Trip to this art exhibition, where in my friends at the Braille Institute, San Diego were allowed to touch and appreciate art, taught me the most important thing in life, which is to appreciate and enjoy art.

Baby Bump and More.....!

The nation has seen the most awaited baby bump in the last few days through photographs taken by journalists who sneaked through the big gates and climbed trees outside the very known “ Jalsa” , the Bachchan family home!. From the first bulge to the baby shower and Aishwarya Rai’s visits to Durga Poojas. They brought us every little detail. All for the sake of daily gossip. Hindi movies are  over hyped and make us believe in tinsel stories and reel life characters. We tend to forget that reel life and real life are distinct. It is very important to come back to reality. It does not matter to any of our lives if Aishwarya will bear a boy or a girl. Do we care if she decides the date of the birth of her child? I must admit to the fact that journalists have very efficiently done their job in “circling”Aishwarya’s every little bulge and how beautiful she looks in her pregnancy. The news tellers are merely doing the job of fairy tale telling and the people are busy listening to the fantasy stories about Aishwarya Rai, the ‘queen’ and the upcoming “Prince Charming”!!.

We all have forgotten the very essence of news. We have literally soaked ourselves in celebrity gossip. In this age of media on demand people have the choice of picking what they want to watch. Under these circumstances, we pick stories which reinforce our belief  that all is well with the world. We create a bubble around ourselves. Media has to vie for viewers’  increasingly fleeting attention spans. Hence, the media has metamorphosed into what I call the “in-your-face” style of story telling. Given the explosion of choice, media is succumbing to sensationalism. As a result of this, the same old stories about corruption and politics get lost in noise. Celebrity gossips are far more pleasing and attention seeking. Why not? After all, we all like peeping into someone else's life, especially a celebrity’s. Pick and choose has become the mantra everywhere. Its a phenomenon that has come with greater and easier accessibility to  media.

Babyrazzi in India has surely made place of its own. However, it seems that Babyrazzi is a trend coming from the west. Many stories have been written about Jennifer Lopez’s pregnancy. Speculations about boy/girl or twins were excessively made by the media. Even now, Mommy J Lo is in the news for celebrating Halloween with her kids.

As time passes, by reading  entertaining masala gossip about actresses, I am beginning to think that  we have spent more than enough time decorating our lives with a celebrity’s make up tips and diet schedules. It’s time to get real and look for news in the papers and not flip through the front pages and jump to page 3 for the sake of spicy news.

However, I leave it for the people to decide if it is right to ignore and forgo the real bad for the virtual good.