Kapde nahi, Soch Badlo! (Change your attitude, not our clothes)

29th December, 2012. A grave day for the nation. The Delhi gang rape case victim succumbed to her injuries early today morning in Singapore. May her soul rest in peace. The whole country is in mourning. The protests continue. While conspiracy theories have been floating around regarding the reason for her being transported to Singapore, the government has been busy ensuring that no further untoward happenings occur by closing down the metro and other means of transport. A lot has been said and done in the last two weeks over the Delhi gang rape case, let me put in my 2 bit worth of opinion as well. We have all seen the students protesting at the India Gate, Jantar Mantar and other places, the Delhi police's shameful conduct towards them, the derogatory comments being passed on by worthless people dying for their 2 minutes of attention on prime time television. The whole week has been a media furore, with Arnab Goswami on Times Now leading the brigade.

The whole sensationalism started with Mr Abhijit Mukherjee, son of our current president Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, commenting on the student protestors at delhi, stating that, "These pretty women, dented and painted, who come for protests are not students. I have seen them talk on the television, usually women of that age are not students." He further went on to add that students going to discotheques think its fashionable to hold candles and protest. Dear Mr. Mukherjee, since when did you get a degree in psychology to comment on what people think? Also how is it relevant whether these women are students or not. If they aren't it just goes to show that the whole country is up in arms against your government and not just the students. Even if they aren't students, they are women. The same women who cannot walk on the streets in any part of our 'Incredible India' without fearing rape, be it day or night. The same women who are cursing their luck for being born as women in this patriarchal country where the people in power are so insensitive towards their issues. The same women who voted your father's government to power when he wasn't India's president. Dear sir, whoever said its okay for you to make such comments and then retract them at your convenience only because your PR agent advised you that its the best course of action to save your unworthy ass? No sir, its definitely not okay. If you cannot contribute any positive inputs towards this issue, atleast do not degrade our efforts by making such derogatory negative comments. You, son of the first citizen of India, son of the same president who pledged to protect the rights of every other citizen, including women, should know better than to say such worthless things on Television. Shame on you!

The second foot in mouth moment came when a certain Dr. Anita Shukla, an agricultural scientist at the Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, while addressing a seminar on 'Women’s Empowerment' (ironically)  in her capacity as the president of Lion’s Club on Wednesday, stated that women had misused the facilities and rights given to them. The rape victim's injuries were her own fault, she said. She further stated, "Had the girl simply surrendered when surrounded by six men, she would not have lost her intestine. Why was she out with her boyfriend at 10 pm?" Really? I haven't heard a more outrageous statement ever! I was as horrified as you are after hearing this. So we  are supposed to just lie there and take pleasure in the fact that 5-6 men are raping us all the while inserting rods, and god knows what else, inside us just to satiate their sadistic nature? I hope for your daughter's sake Mrs. shukla (I am assuming you are married and have a daughter, though I actually hope you don't in reality), that she never gets raped. You wouldn't be so eager to dole out such deplorable advice then, would you? What the victim was doing at 10 pm in the night with her boyfriend is irrelevant and none of your goddamn business. If you noticed she wasn't raping or murdering someone. Our's is a free democratic country and no where is it written in our constituition that women cannot roam on streets at 10 pm in the night, alone or otherwise. You being a woman, rather than fighting for our cause, fighting for our rights, rather than empathizing with us, you make such atrocious comments. You are a disgrace to our whole race and your own profession. Shame on you!

What takes the cherry on the cake is CPM leader Mr. Rahman's derogatory comments towards Mamta Banerjee at a rally which ended with him asking the question, "How much will Didimoni take for getting raped?" This coming from a supposedly senior leader of a government party against a chief minister. If someone like the chief minister cannot escape the mindlessness of such disdainful comments, how can we, the common woman, even expect otherwise? But that isn't all. Mamata Banerjee's government isn't very far behind in this race of shame.When the park street rape incident was first reported in the media in february, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the case as a fabrication constructed to embarrass her government. And just yesterday a MP from the Trinamool Congress party, Dr. Kakoli Ghosh said that the park street case wasn't a rape case, it was a misunderstanding between the victim and her 'client'. Shocking! My heart goes out to the victim who besides having to deal with the mental and physical wounds constituting from the rape, also has to hear herself being degraded and indirectly being called a whore on national television. Way to go Dr. Kakoli Ghosh! Can you for a few moments please place yourself in the victim's shoe and understand what she's gone through before opening your mouth to spout shit? No? Aah very well, congratulations then.You just joined the list of disgrace along with Mr Abhijit Mukherjee, Dr. Anita shukla and several others. Shame on you!

Incredible India, my ass! After all this how can we even blame the 18 year old Patiala gang rape case victim for committing suicide? Who wouldn't? Though am sure as hell not justifying suicide. What saddens me the most is the fact that half of these comments have been made by women. This just shows the mindset of the people in our country. Not just the men, but even the women. Ours being a Patriarchal society, we have been brought up with a strict set of old school rules and mindset. This has somehow led us to think that getting raped is the fault of the victim. How can you justify rape by putting the blame on the victim for wearing short clothes or staying out till late? We have all seen that women get raped even during the day, even when they are fully clothed and even when they are accompanied by someone. What do they do then? Lock themselves in their rooms throughout their lives? Surely if people had brought their children up with a freer set of rules, an open mindset, and helped them develop a conscience, we would definitely have not come to see this day. Finally it all comes down to education, the need of the hour. We need to start at the grass roots before aiming big and starting large revolutions. We need to change our own mentality, our own ethos. We need to develop a conscience.

We want freedom. We want a country where we can roam around at at any time of the night wearing any kind of clothes without fearing rape. We want a country where our parents do not restrict us from going out late at night, where they do not allow us to wear shorts, just because they are scared that we will get raped. We want a country where we won't be called whores for wanting to do all the above things. Let us hope that all this is possible. Let us start believing that there's no excuse for rape whatsoever and that its never the victim's fault. Teach your kids to respect women, teach them to behave, teach them to change their attitude. Unless this issue is addressed we cannot expect rapes to stop inspite of harsh punishments. And yes, harsh punishments are needed. Castration, public humiliation, death penalty, fast track courts and more should be brought into immediate effect by the government. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Now is not the time to be squeamish. The governments needs to take aggressive steps to achieve all this and more if it wants to remain in power and even otherwise. For once stop thinking about your bloody vote banks! If not, expect your government to be toppled sooner than later. After all, We are the world's largest democracy, aren't we? Of the people, For the people, By the people. Lets not forget that. Till then let the protests continue. Let this revolution change India!

Late Night Gyan

So its 12 am in the night, and I have nothing better to do then ramble here. Hell, what does it matter, this place has been dead since so long anyway. Its just one of those times when you have too much stuff going on in your head, you cannot concentrate on the stuff in hand, and you get the most persistent urge to revive your blog. But for want of a blog post. Yes its one of those times. But then I believe there's always some or the other thing to write, some or the other thing to share. You see the human mind cannot stop thinking. There's no silent moment, however much you may long for it, however much you may want it. There's no single moment, not even a microsecond, where all that's going on in your head is a weird blank buzz, like that of a non working idiot box or a radio station you are trying to tune. That's just a myth made up by Russell Peters to sell his show, and by the rest of the guys so that they don't have to answer the perpetual question asked by their female counterparts, "so what are you thinking?" They just want to hoodwink us in to thinking that they don't really think. So don't you ever believe them when they say that. I mean how can it even be possible? If that's true then they have all achieved Nirvana without even trying for it. And am a millionaire sailing on my yacht on my own private beach in Goa. Right. So moving forward...  We know better then that. We humans think a lot but we don't want others to know about it. We don't want to share it until we have killed ourselves going on and on over every single detail in our mind.  Every decision we make is thought a thousand times over. Round and round. We think and we think till it festers our mind and starts giving us a headache, or worse still, until it depresses us. That's when we decide that there's no way out and it would be the right time to share. That's when we spit out everything to our better halves, or our friends, or sometimes even to a stranger sitting next to you at a bar. Things are so much simpler with a beer in your hand, I have seen. Or it might go the other way around. When we decide that there's no way out and pop some pills. I wouldn't advise that. Dark thoughts them. Better yet, call a helpline.

If only we'd stop killing ourselves with so much thinking. If only every decision we made was on a whim, a hunch. Its not like we'd be sure of the decision any way. If only we had it in us to risk our future on whims. The world would have been so much... Well I don't know what the world would have been like, but it would surely be different. And sometimes different is good. If only we'd share our thoughts and feelings with others more. If only we'd be a little less uptight and a little more forgiving. A little less suspicious, a little more trustful. Or better yet, if only we had someone else to make all the decisions for us. Like when we were kids. Actually, if only we never grew up! Now that's just wishful thinking on my part. Told you, we humans think a lot. And that's never going to change. A blog post is not going to change that. So much for my late night gyan. Time to give my brains some rest. Good night all.

A Silent Cry

*The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.*


The shower was on. She was sitting on the stool, with the shower in her hand & hot water running over her body. The water was like a soothing balm to all the small aches in her body. Making her feel calm and serene. A fog had formed around her. She could almost have gone to sleep. There were very few personal moments such as these where she could just relax and be happy in herself. Not caring, not worrying, not wondering about anyone else in the world but herself. No responsibilities, no thoughts about the future. Just living in the moment. But time was running out. Other more important matters were pressing on her mind. There was never a moment of peace. Her time was not her own.


She got up to finish her bath. But something felt very wrong. There was an uneasiness in her mind. She started feeling extremely hot and thirsty. Her legs turned to jelly, beyond her control. The world started spinning. A thought sprang to her mind, it must be dizziness that she was experiencing. She had never experienced it before, so she thought it would pass. She sat down for a few minutes with her head down and eyes closed. Willing herself back to normalcy. A few moments passed, she opened her eyes, the world had stopped spinning. She splashed some cold water on herself. She felt a bit better again. But there was now an urgency to finish her bath and to get out of that place. Solace was not welcome any more. She wanted to be in the refuge of company.


She got up again and turned the shower on. She tried to hurry. But the dizziness returned. This time it was worse. She felt numb. She tried to shout for help, but no words would come out. She felt suffocated. She tried to find some order in her chaos. But none would come. As a last desperate attempt at fighting against her demons she tried to sit, blindly. And finally she lost her consciousness.


A burst of pain in her nose woke her up to the world. All she could see was darkness. A touch to the nose indicated that she was bleeding. She heard people shouting. She realized it must be for her. Out of the many voices she heard her mother's voice very clearly, bringing her a sense of hope. She shouted for her mother. And slipped in to unconsciousness again.


Minutes passed. The next time she woke up, she still couldn't see anything. She felt unreal. She had no sense of time, of anything. She heard her mother again, a beckon of hope. Her mother was telling her to open the door. She had the sense of  struggling to open the door. But her memory was playing tricks with her. She did not remember getting up to open the door. But that did not matter. All that mattered was that the door was now open. The next thing she knew, her mother was helping her in to her clothes, and carrying her. She did not know where. Her eyes were open, but she could not see. Her hands were hanging limp. Her body was paralyzed. Her mother, was saying something to her, she could not hear. She felt wet. She felt ice being applied to her nose. She was shivering. Suddenly her vision returned, though she still could not speak. She was bleeding heavily through her nose and forehead. She had taken a knock to her teeth. Her lips were cut and swollen. The pain was unbearable. She could not even try to speak. She felt helpless, scared. She started crying silently. She knew that her mother was scared, but still she was determinedly calm and methodical. That gave her hope. She forgot that she was still crying. Her mother hugged her tenderly. That gave her life. In that moment she felt love and peace. Her nightmare was over.

To believe or not to believe?!

When we were kids, we had utmost and irrevocable faith in our parents. They were our role models, there was no one else better than them. And so we tried to imitate them. We wanted to be like them. Their word was the final word, iron clad. We simply couldn't and wouldn't believe in anything else. They told us to pray, we prayed. They told us to be good, we tried to be good. They told us to believe in god, we believed in god without a second thought, even though we didn't fully understand the concept of 'GOD'. We believed in every truth, story, fable, lie, order they gave us, because we didn't know any better. As we grew up, we started questioning these beliefs naturally. We started rebelling against orders, fought against lies, believed our own opinions to be true and started creating our own fables. It is but nature, how God has made us, we are not at fault. But old habits die hard, the seeds sown when young still hold their roots even if the tree has grown and wilted.We retain a part of what we were taught in the childhood. Our conscience questions our rebellious nature, a part of us still wants to meekly believe and sometimes we take the easy way out by believing instead of questioning.

My mother is a pious woman. She has unconditional devotion towards God. In her own way she tried to inculcate these very qualities in me, when I was but a kid. And since I saw her as my role model, I had utter faith in her, I believed in her, listened to her, tried to do as she told me to do. She believes in Sri Sathya Sai Baba. She told me to believe in him. She told me he's a God, and I believed her then. I believed he was a God, I prayed to him, I asked him for wishes, as children usually do. As I grew up, my belief didn't change, even though I no longer needed to blindly believe what my mother said and always agree with her. Call it my blind faith, call it superstition, call it my innocence or whatever. But I had my own reasons to believe. Of course the intensity of my belief was directly proportional to how big a mess I was in at the time (Yes, I wouldn't call myself pious in any sense).

Just recently Sri Sathya Sai Baba died at the ripe old age of 85, and as is in the case of people who are always in the limelight and who leave behind a lot of money in trusts, controversies followed. Many people started debasing him on the various social networking websites, newspapers and other media. Many videos were released showing him to be a fake, how he cheated people in his miracles etc. Other controversies started about the money he's left behind in the trust, about who will head the trust after Baba's demise and so on. All these people fail to remember that Sri Sathya Sai Baba, maybe he's not a god, but he sure did a lot of charity work for the people all around the world & not just in India. His trust supports a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in over 166 countries. Whatever money he obtained from the devotees was ultimately used in their own betterment through these very educational institutions and hospitals. He preached spiritualism, meditation, good karma, sanatana dharma (All God's are one) and purity in human values and character. He was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, philanthropist, and educator. He used the better part of his life in influencing people spiritually. He did not do any sort of harm to other people. He did not preach jihad or murder. He's no Osama Bin Laden or Dawood Ibrahim. He tried to influence people to become good human beings.

So maybe he's not a God, he definitely is a better Human being than us lot. Instead of belittling him, wouldn't it serve us better to give him credit for his good work? After all that's what humanity is all about. Remember Jesus Christ? And how he was treated when he was alive? Now they believe him to be the son of God. Maybe he is, maybe he's not. But he was a spiritual guru too, he worked for the well being of others, he preached peace, non violence and spiritualism and look how he was crucified for his teachings. History shows that we human beings cannot be trusted, we make mistakes. But we should also learn from these very mistakes instead of repeating them. Don't believe in Sri Sathya Sai Baba, don't believe in Jesus Christ, but give them credit for the good that they have done instead of blaspheming their name. They may or may not be God, but they are human beings as long as they are on earth and its up to us to follow their good teachings.

I for myself, still believe Sri Sathya Sai baba's teachings. Like I said old habits die hard. Maybe I am not that pious, I am still young, I have yet to see the world, am too attached to materialistic pleasures. But I also do believe in his teachings of spiritualism, good karma and sanatana dharma. There is only one God, pray to Ganesha, Jesus, Vishnu, Buddha or Allah. Ultimately its your faith that matters.

Book Review :

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë


My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I remember when I first started this book, I was in school, possible 12-13 years of age. It did not appeal to me then, in fact I read the first part of the book (wherein Jane is in Lowood and applies for the governess position and leaves for Thornfield) and gave up reading it altogether. The language was beyond me, the plot very slow and dragging. The only reason I had even picked it up for reading was because its a classic, and I love classics. So now here I am after 9 years, rating the same book, with a considerably high rating, reason? A friend of mine rated this book with 4 starts on good reads, which piqued my curiosity and I took it up for reading again. Have to say am relieved and quite thankful that I did!


A genius of a book, a truly epic novel, one of the best classic love stories (by my opinion). Though the character of Jane Eyre has been given too many genial qualities (except for her physiognomy), which is nigh impossible to perceive and probably the biggest fault of the story. Then again, the story would have taken different directions if Jane Eyre had been characterized with discernible faults, and I doubt that would have been agreeable to us readers. The plot does drag sometimes, and like all English novels of those times, the surroundings described are quite dreary and unappealing (unless you like dark haunted mansions, damp dreary marshes etc) which does put a damper on one's mood. But right when you'd want to give up reading and throw the book away, Bronte brings out a rather small and likable twist which makes you want to continue reading the book again. That's the redeeming quality of the book and the reason for my 4 stars.


Also am a big Jane Austen fan, and Bronte's way of telling the story quite appealed to me. The story may appear to be like a fairy tale with a happy ending, but here again Bronte proved herself different by not making the story 'just another romance novel', by ending it with some elements that are certifiably sad yet likeable. But for all its merits, the book requires patience, and read it only if you are in to classics, romance and have loads of patience stored.


PS. Please do not read it when you are in school, unless you are a genius yourself.






View all my reviews

Be a Human

Live for today,
for tomorrow is not yet known.


Dream a little,
cos' dreams make life worth living.


Make a wish,
someone might just hear you.

Believe in yourself,
believe that you are made for greatness.


Make some mistakes,
for you have yet to learn.


Learn to forgive,
become the greater person.


Inspire others,
for they might be on their last shreds of hope.


Make some friends,
you will need them in your life.


Show some kindness,
your actions do unto you.


Care for others,
cos' caring makes you human.


Make others smile,
their smiles are unspoken blessings.


Show some love,
love is all that you live for.


Be a Human,
because that's what you have been born for.

6 Important Life Lessons

Okay I copied this, but it was too good to pass on


Lesson 1: Naked Wife
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.
After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,…
“Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”


Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.




Lesson 2
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the administration clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”


Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.




Lesson 3
A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said,”Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his hand. But,changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”


Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.




Lesson 4
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.


Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.




Lesson 5: Power of Charisma
A turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.” “Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.


Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it wont keep you there.




Lesson 6
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.


Moral of the story:
1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy
2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend
3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!