Sometimes realization is all that we need..

I walked through the dusty road in utter rage, and kicked a tiny stone ruthlessly in an attempt to bring out all my frustration on it. My attempt was in vain. There was still more annoyance waiting for an outburst.
I recollected my memories of about two hours ago... utensils banging on the floor, a scream, and then a threat, after which I pocketed my Pep keys and stormed out of the house, swearing on my way to never return back to this terrible place. A little more recap now.... the year's most awaited party was round the corner, and I was in desperate need of a new outfit. I had gingerly walked into my mother's room and sensed the atmosphere around me. It was pleasant...and it felt safe to talk. So I asked her in my most sugar-coated voice to let me buy a new dress. She turned around to face me with a look of complete helplessness...( thinking "how on Earth did I give birth to a Shopaholic?!").
Well the rest of the story is a complete blur, and I remember landing on a dusty road... with my pep parked far behind me.
"She is such a hard shell to crack! How can she overlook my feelings?"...I have the WORST parents in the WHOLE world...was all I could think of then. I tried to vent out my frustration on another piece of rock, this time hitting a little more harder, but instead missed my shot and hit the firm ground.... "Oouuuchh!!"
A giggling sound made me turn around. With my right foot in both my hands I limped and squinted the surroundings. A little girl stepped out of the bushes. She was about 6-7 years old, and her clothes were in rags and tatters. She was skinny or perhaps had malnutrition, but yet there was compose and content in her deep eyes. I walked over to her side and asked " What is your name?"...she blankly stared at me. I tried again " Where do you live?" this time I made hand movements of a house. She registered this and pointed to an aloof hut in the distance. I stared in her direction, and saw a dilapidated hut with it's straw roof threatening to fall off any second. 
I was shocked.... no not shocked, I was numb, paralyzed and flabbergasted. A whirlpool of emotions engulfed me, from pity  to helplessness, and then to my own selfishness. Had I been so bullheaded that I just did not bother to look beyond my own fancy world? Unfortunately the answer was "yes". I sadly smiled at the girl, and searched my pockets, there was a Ferroro Rocher cadbury left. I gave it to her without a second thought. Her tiny lips broke into a bright smile and lit her face up. She waved and ran off, may be with the hope of sharing the precious gift with her siblings...
I felt deep down in the dumps, a hollow feeling crept through my chest and a tiny tear fell down on my cheeks. For me this tear was the sign of a new dawn,... a wakening from deep slumber...
I walked back to where my pep was parked. My mind was firm with a single thought. "I am no more a Shopaholic"...

DEATH : An Irrevocable Truth

Death is the one inevitable truth for which you can never come prepared.

Though it is a universal fact that man is a mortal being, yet this unwelcomed guest brings a wave of shock and sadness to every kith-n-kin left behind.. I was reading a newspaper that featured the victims of Pune's German Bakery Blast, and one article which instantly caught my attention was that of the Kolkatta siblings, Anindyee and Ankik Dhar. Young, vibrant and innocent as they were, they fell prey to some psycho’s idea of taking vengeance, and died without even comprehending who their murderer was or why they were killed??

What do we do then? We return back to our normal lifestyle just as easily…shrugging as we move on… “ It has become normal to see terror strikes now”.

This is how death brings shock to all and affects none except a few.

Another facet of death, as we all know is…natural death. Recently my maternal uncle passed away with a sudden unexpected heart attack. At the age of 78, he still wished for a ‘long healthy life’, a life meant to be filled with content and bliss. Inspite of his optimism, he was never ignorant to the prospect of death sure to engulf him someday. His wrinkled face was invariably adorned with a charming smile and I always felt that this man was indestructible.

And yet, who could postpone death when it stands at your doorstep…?

His demise, though anticipated, clearly shook the Earth from our feet.

And a strange thought struck me then…. This old man had little time left in his hands and yet hoped to complete plenty of unfinished tasks. While we, being so young, have millions of hours to spare but ironically nothing fruitful to do.

One lesson that I learned from this was, to live life in such a way that one does’nt feel any regrets while taking in his final breathes on his deathbed…

I end here with a beautiful quote: “ Life is like an ICE, enjoy it before it completely melts”

"The Lackadaisical Law"

The name Ruchika Girhotra has become the inevitable 'top-scoop' in media. The news is simple, " A Harayana based DGP molested a girl that forced her to commit suicide". But what makes it huge is the role of media and public participation. It is pointedly shameful for the justice system of our country to deliver a verdict years later, and to add fuel to the fire, the verdict punishes the offender for merely six months!

Is it red tapism or clean bribery or a greater fear of projecting the police as 'criminals' that affected the judge's decision? The girl is dead now, and such a verdict brings little peace to the family's years of torture. What makes it even more unsettling, is the fact that the alleged officer wears an invariable smirk on his face... May be he's sure his money will buy enough government employees to dispose off the case.

I'm sure, like all the other ones, this case will also be conveniently forgotten after a few months. Like for instance the "Aarushi twin murder case", the "Jessica Lal case" and so on.... It rings a bell somewhere is'nt it?

Years later, when the court will deliver it's verdict I'm sure even the lawyers would forget what they were fighting for! I know it sounds satiric, but that's the bitter truth. What verdict huh?.. A decade's worth time to bring justice to the dead!

Life's an Express train now..

Since last few days I'v been thinking of writing something new....but my efforts have been going in vain since there's practically no time left to spare!
Leaving school, and entering College has transformed my life to a great extent. Earlier I had only studies to do, now I have so many-many things to get indulged into! Currently we have a "Global Film Festival" here in Indore...a much appreciated endeavour which has not been utilsed to its full capacity. There are a sum total of around 300 movies, which include short documentaries, golden movies and some english documentaries. Superb movies, but as I said I wish I could watch all of them.
Well thats it for now, I really dont have anything substantial to write!
I need to carve out a proper time-table for myself, and chop out the unnecessary activities from my daily routine...so that I add something more meaningful to my blogs..

Reminiscences of School days...

Sitting by my window sill on a hot sultry September day, my memories drifted back to my school days..
That was truly the best part of my life, and I'm sure you would'nt agree otherwise. I realised the importance of school life when I first entered my college. It was as if a 'protective shield' had quietly evaporated in to thin air. There were no watchful eyes of my teachers who would scold me for bunking. In school, when we bunked a class, I was invariably engulfed with a mixture of emotions; that of excitement, adventure & constant fear of getting caught! And now in college bunking is child's play.
We hated it when we were scolded, and yet thats what I miss the most now; we yearned for freedom,for more space, and now when we have it all, I desire to stay under someone's command; there was a time when I used to literally run away from my books, and now I wish for nothing more than some books to study!
Wierd is'nt it? We never value the things we have, and when they are gone, we realise their complete importance.

D Mantra of Success

Shahid’s famous dialogue in movie kaminey said “ Success ke do raaste hote hai, ek fhortcut aur ek chota fhortcut”…While my inner-self says a little opposite “Success ke do raaste hote hai, ek long-cut aur ek aur bhi bada longcut”
Success never comes to those who take short-cut routes, sure-shot achievement is ensured only through hardwork, determination and confidence in oneself. You may be lucky once but that luck may ditch you anytime and anywhere. Where as your own hardwork will never leave you until you wish so, and that is the reason that “long-cut” will always yield Success.
Remember out of 10 shots, 3 may fail, 4 may go average BUT remaining 3 will surely go superb. You have to gain encouragement through those 3 outstanding shots!
It is rightly said “Failure is the stepping stone for Success”. And unless you fail, you will never be able to cherish the delicacy of success. Failures are nothing but an opportunity to gain experiences, the more we fail the more we gain out of it…
Recently I confronted a series of failures which invariably brought a sense of incapability in me. But then I got hold of a book authored by Robin Sharma- “The monk who sold his Ferrari”. And believe it or not, my optimistic side surfaced slowly ( which I thought never existed at all!).
In a nutshell, trust your thoughts and enforce them with full conviction, only then will the world revolving around you shall believe in what you say and what you do.

A night worth staying awake!

Yesterday was a sacred and pious night for the Muslims worldwide, known by many of us as Lailatul-kadr meaning “The Power of Night”.
Though shamefully I have little knowledge on this matter, but whatever I know, I would like to share with you.. Lailatul-Kadr, it is said, was that night in the month of Ramazan when the holy Quran descended on Earth at Mount Hira ( it actually descended precisely during dawn ) .
Angel Gabriel (messenger of God) delivered the contents of Quran to Prophet Mohammad and asked him to spread the message of God through Quran. Shocking? Yes it was that the Prophet did not know how to read and write, and yet he could miraculously read the Quran.
Since then in order to mark the significance of this auspicious night, Muslims pray the whole night long in Mosques and fast the next day (do Roza) . It is strongly believed that thousands-and-thousands of angels descend on Earth this night and they forgive even our most terrible sins.
Since childhood, Lailatul Kadr ( also known as “Jagne ki raat”) was nothing but a fun-filled night for me. My friends and I had gala time playing hide-n-seek in the mosque, and until now, we never really understood the importance of praying all night long. Now I’v fully absorbed the magical power and the meaning of several different prayers offered during the night and I felt blissfully at peace since for the first time I had prayed seriously on Lailatul-Kadr (From 11:00 pm to 4:00 am in the morning!) ...
For many, the spiritual thoughts might seem absurd, and believe me I was one of those who laughed it all off. But now that I’ve realized the beauty of this night, I impatiently look forward to the next Lailatul kadr night.

P.S: Since I've not been able to fully express the importance, run through this link
http://www.answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt4.html
about Lailatul-Kadr if you really want to know what exactly it means.

Breathing in those Pollutants..

It was late evening, my complete day had been quite exhausting.., after all I had shopped from almost half of the Indore city. We were planning to go on a vaccation to Kullu & Manali and that was the reason why I kept shopping stuff. Though I had a hectic day but my limbs were actually relaxed since I had my luxurious car to drive me from one Mall to the other.
Now back at home, as I walked into my gallery there was a cloud of misty unclear air infront of me. I stood for several moments before realising that this cushion of air was less of air and more of polluted particles. It was the result of the complete day’s automobile’s exhaust settling over the Earth and its wrapper-like soil, enveloping it like a lion attempting to ambush its prey.
I stood transfixed! Since it was the first time I could actually see “pollution”. I felt angry and disappointed with myself as earlier today I had used my car ( and not Scooty ) for tasting mere luxury and comfort.
I resolved to become more responsible and pledged to contribute my best in saving the environment. After all its never too late….is it?!

A pity for our Zoo..

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit our Indore zoo with my college pals... I was bubbling over with excitement to look over at the new born cubs of the White tiger. It had been greatly publicized in newspapers that the zoo authorites had set-up a lavish cage for the white tiger..
But alas! My anticipation was short-lived, as soon as I stepped into the zoo premises, a terrible stench made me cover my nose. We moved forward, cage-after-cage, looking with utter pity at the gruesome condition in which the animals were kept. The tiger had only palm-width shelter to walk around, this is what we do to our "national animal". While the bear never moved an inch, it seemed to have lost all its wilderness! The elephant had been contrained with iron chains and the leopard's condition was deteriorating day-by-day.
I felt this wierd emotion of sympathy and aversion. The only animal that was taken care of was the "white tiger" (as rightly said in newspaper) and few other habitants.. rest all the other animals were leading a torturous life..
This scenario made me think of the several laws government had implemented...Environment protection Act, 1986 ; Wildlife act, 1972 ; Animal protection Act; and the list goes on.. Has the governement ever thought of a 'Zoo management Act' or something..?
In a country like India, where efforts are being directed towards wildlife protection, it pains us to see such an agonizing state of endangered animals.
My simple solution is to either create a better zoological park or else eliminate a zoo that has such a pathetic management. I'm not saying that our zoo is completely mis-managed but the space for an animal like tiger and bear is so small that it degrades their wilderness completely.
I hope to see some rapid changes that would upgrade the current condition and provide the animals the rightful habitat they deserve..so that our future generations would actually be able to see a tiger instead of reading its name in "Extinct species"...

Will there be an end to Rapes??

In today’s world (the so-called ultra-modernised 21st cent), we youngsters triumphantly announce ourselves to be ‘highly’ developed, ‘highly’ educated and most importantly ‘highly’ aware citizens of India…
But hold on! Giving it a deeper thought, one must pause for a moment to ponder one single question…”Is the youth actually mature and sensible?”. The answer may not sound good to anyone’s ear…but the truth is that we youngsters are indulging ourselves in things that cause disturbances in the society.
I would like to put my views about some disturbing news I’ve come across daily in the newspaper. The news is about brutal rapes being committed by ‘well-educated’ youngsters in almost every big city of India.
The news lines…” A 8 year old girl allegedly raped by teen” or ” A 23 year old american student of TISS gang-raped by a group of five..” surely make girls reconsider their trust in male friends. They fear stepping out of their house doubting that they are being followed.
In a developing nation such as India, is the youth getting de-moralised at every step that leads to modernisation? Are they sacrificing their ethics in the race of “who-gets-a-high-packeged-salary” or have they turned oblivious to a female’s esteem? I’m saying so not because I’m a female, but because like you,I’m a citizen of this country and I feel pained to hear such news! Though my blog may sound pessimistic, but its the sour reality of our nation and other parts of the world too.
These rapist finish off the soul of a girl,they are mentally retarted assaulters, yes thats what I call them. In the case of Shiney Ahuja, I would never like to watch any of his movies… and would hate a director for casting him too. Whats worst, the victims of such crime live a haunted life!
In the end I would like to ask you…Is this a sign of developing nation? Is this a sign of socially awakened youth? …For me, the answer continues to remain a big “NO”!!
P.S: A rape case is lodged every 30 mins in India.