V for Vindictiveness!

Terror! Molest! Kill! WAR! Terrorists in Mumbai, Women molested in Mangalore, War on Pakistan. Seems to me instead of sailing into the age of the avant-garde we're moving backward to the primeval age. The age where rulers led armies on wars of conquest, where prehistoric man followed only one rule "kill or be killed". Altruism, benevolence, magnanimity are human emotions we don't feel or hear anymore.
In an age of globalization, civil rights and equal opportunity there still exists bias and prejudice. Tolerance is a thing of the past. Forget crossing international borders, we're not able to cross national borders. Borders exist within our country, borders that not only divide land but people as well.
Culture? Does culture define how we live? Or should the way we live define our culture? Our actions define who we are as a race or a country, not the clothes we wear or the food we eat. We speak of westernization, well i call it globalization. Share the good, discard the bad. So how do we react to the bad apples that stand in the way of culture and globalization? Ignore them. Let the law handle them. Treat them the way they deserve to be treated, as strangers in a strange land, a land they think they understand.
Terror. A period of frightful violence or bloodshed. Sounds familiar? Terrorists only drive is to kill innocents and create terror. What is the aftermath of war? Death! So how, to any rational person, is war the answer to terrorism. Kill more innocents to avenge the death of innocents? Does anyone have the answer to take on terrorism? Not yet i presume. But is war the answer. Unquestionably not!
Lets not slip into the Dark Ages but sail peacefully into the Age of Reasoning and Rationale.

Short Story ......... Another Day in Paradise

Lying in bed, the warmth of the early rays of sunrise on my face, the sweet fragrant magnolias heighten my olfactory and the music of migrating skylarks ringing in my ears. The world is so beautiful when man is asleep. No smell of automobile fumes or of the chaos of people rushing about aimlessly. I wait for these moments when the beauty of the world heightens all my senses, making me feel alive and blissful. But these moments are short-lived and as dawn breaks and I feel the strength of the sun’s heat on my skin, it is time to face the realness of life, as we know it.
My day is not very different from everybody else’s. A walk around the park in the morning to get the blood pumping and muscles in shape. I can faintly hear the tones of music from people walking with their earphones plugged tightly and walkmans on full volume. Where is the joy to walk if you don’t leave your ears open to the sounds around you? Housewives rattling on about everything from their neighbor’s affairs to masala concoctions. Little children screaming and laughing while they prance around on the grass. I leave that park, every morning, feeling physically and emotionally invigorated.
The journey to work is the toughest part of my day. A half hour to cross the road and get the bus. After a grueling 1 hour in the congested creaking metal box, seething to the brim with people scurrying about to catch some breathing space, I reach my destination. As I attempt to alight from the bus, the driver who apparently has a deadline to meet moves away a little to early leaving me sprawled on the pavement. I guess he decided his job was more important than my legs. Lifting myself up, with the little dignity I have left, I make my way to the office.
At the end of another mundane day at work its time to head back home. As I step out into the wild again I can sense the absence of the heat of the day and can feel the cool twilight breeze on my skin. In the midst of the familiar drone of people talking, feet tapping on the concrete pavement, sound of automobiles roaring and squealing of tires on the hard asphalt, I tread homewards.
My ears snapped open to the sound of people screaming and tires squealing. As I struggle to identify the source of the sound amidst all the noise, I feel a sharp rap on my hip that sends a jolt of pain through my legs. Next thing I know I’m laying on my back on the pavement. My legs feel like they are on fire, the nerves sensing every single bolt of pain. The warm smell of blood as I feel it trickling down the side of my face, with the soft sound of each drop falling on the pavement. I tried reaching out for my walking stick, it wasn’t there. I started to panic, I could here a commotion nearby but nobody seemed to notice me lying there. I had no idea what just happened and didn’t want to even think of how serious my injuries were. As I lay there, staring into the black space that I grew so used to, my mind wandered to that special place I was in this morning, Thursday morning. The blissful feeling I experienced. The pain in my legs disappeared and was replaced by a faint numbness. All the sounds I had ever heard and the aromas I had inhaled were coming back to me. It began to lull me into a sense of tranquility and calmness.
And then my mind raced to the day before, I was sitting before my doctor and he had a light shining in my left eye. We had just finished talking about the operation. He said I was ready and that he admired my courage for agreeing to undergo this groundbreaking surgery that had been only tried once before and was a success. I told him how I had been waiting for this moment when it would be possible, medically, to perform such an elaborate procedure. He took my hand and told me, in a reassuring voice, that Friday would be the day my eyes would open.

~ Luke

WHERE HAS THE COMPASSION GONE!

I had the misfortune of having to visit a police station to file an FIR (First Information Report) and was deeply disappointed by the response i received. Have these officials become, over the years, cold and indifferent? Has the sheer volume of cases handled by these people contributed to their sense of disservice? Who is to blame? I still believe that a few bad apples could ruin the basket. We still have a lot of compassionate, hard-working respected officials who will go the mile to serve the people but at the same time these few are hard to come across.
So what can WE do to improve this sorry state of affairs? Most important of all we need to treat our officials with respect ,and by that i dont mean saluting an officer when he walks by but, by talking to them with the respect they deserve (NOT MORE!) and admit our faults if we are in the wrong. All said and done our police have a tough job, a BILLION people breaking laws almost everyday is a hard bunch to regulate. So give them their due.
Secondly the very sensitive affair of bribery. Can we avoid it ? YES! And we should. It sure is tough staying away from bribing an official in reality but all it takes is a little convicttion and a LOT of patience. Dont be afraid to fight your way up the official echelons to get justice. Its our right. Bribery is never the way out. Avoid breaking the law instead of avoiding a conviction with a bribe.
Finally compassion and comradeship in society. A simple thank you can brighten up anyone's day. From the rickshaw driver to the grocery store owner. A loud and clear "THANK YOU" can bring meaning to their profession. It's importrant to remember that no body or noone's problems are less insignificant than yours.
So lets strive to inculcate a measure of humaness in our lives and live knowing that all it takes is a single humane gesture to change the world!

GENDER BIAS

Imagine a country full of stereotypical males with archaic views on gender differences and superiority of the male sex. Not a country favourable for a woman to grow in. That's the country we live in. Sounds scary? Female infanticide, acid attacks on women, physical abuse in marriages, dowry. Sounds familiar doesn't it. What many of us thought is the old school of thought and doesn't exist anymore in this more educated and mature generation is wrong. Education and maturity is not the issue and will not help us eradicate the sentiment of male superiority over women.
Biologically it has been proven that men and women are different and this difference is evident right from our conception. Men and women have 22 identical pairs of chromosomes but the 23rd pair makes all the difference, while women have a pair of 2 X's and man possesses 1 X (dominant) and 1 Y(weaker). This is why when children are young the males tend towards playing with trucks and cars and females towards dolls.
All said and done, the differences stop right there, biological. Nature makes man and woman different but nurture should not. Due to certain gender stereotypes that exist, women are nurtured into a more feminine and submissive role in society as compared to their male counterparts. Research by renowned psychologists prove that women can perform equal, and sometimes better, than men in academics if they are tested in a pseudo sterotypical free environment.
So why then do men treat women with prejudice and authority. I know most of y'all, men and women alike, will disagree with me by saying we now have a women president and women are now travelling to space. I ask you, in our population of close to 1 billion, how many women are free to live the lives they want to without being submissive to man and without being prey to physical and mental abuse. Nature built us differently for a reason, so man and woman would complement each other. Not for man to dominate women. Nature made man strong so he could look out for woman, take care of her and treat her well. Not to use that strength against her with violence and abuse. Nature made women caring and understanding so they could be nurturing and also excel at a workplace in areas man would fail. Not so she could be submissive to man and take his abuse without a word said.
Stereotypes of the weaker sex are as harmful as stereotypes of caste and race.
Education cant help this country but HUMILITY can.

SIKH-DERA VIOLENCE

BLASPHEMY??? U gotta be kidding me. Thats what the Sikhs are alleging Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh (head of the dera sacha sauda) did by dressing himself in the attire of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Blasphemy is defined as "the irreverent behavious toward anything religious or sacred". So how in'God's' name is wearing the attire of a Sikh Guru considered irreverant behaviour. So now if a man appears in a newspaper wearing a catholic priest's cassock, is that blasphemy against the catholic religion?
And the retaliation to this "blasphemous" act. Riots, boycotts, setting vehicles on fire, property damage!!!!!! Man society nowadays has got their head screwed on in the wrong direction. What ever happened to religious and social tolerance? We retaliate to a innocent, non-violent act with violence and hatred. What society should understand is that "WORDS DONT HURT", you have a grudge against a person or community, use words to get back. Use malicious words mixed with a dose of profanity and malevolence... cause "WORDS DONT HURT". Not as much as physical harm and violence at the least.
I think in our times the phrase "THe pen is mightier than the sword" is more relevant than "Actions speak louder then words".

MORAL POLICE???????

So what IS this new buzz, a MORALE brigade? Who are these people and more importantly what are they trying to achieve.
Once more they raise their saffron bandaged heads to create a ruckus about another "immoral" act, the one where Richard Gere gave Shilpa Shetty a peck on her cheek. They claim the act to be un-indian. EXCUSE ME! First of all there is a HUGE difference between a kiss and a friendly peck on the cheek and secondly since when has kissing become "un-indian". Oh wait, a kiss out of wedlock is un-indian, so thats what it is. But what about the filthy stares indian men give women on the street or the sly pinches in a crowded bus, that is perfectly indian now is it?
Are these groups only out to attract publicity or do they actually believe in these warped sense of values they fight for? Do these groups really believe that India was and is a holy country where this archaic value system needs to be reinforced?
So who are these democratic offenders who call themselves the "moral brigade"
At the forefront is the Shiv Sena who are mostly known for their attack on V-Day, claiming it is western culture creeping into India. So what if people choose to follow a certain tradition that has its roots in western culture. What are the Indian traditional celebrations, Raksha-Bandhan (which promotes respect a sister should show for her brother), which i feel is nonsense. In this age of women's equality why should we still celebrate a festival where the sister is made to respect and sometimes worship her brothers. And by tying a stupid thread on his hand pledges her undying devotion to him as a sister. I agree V-Day has been commercialised and taken advantage of by greeting card and flower retailers but that shouldnt call for a violent attack on the couples that want to celebrate the occasion.
And then tagging along in the saffron brigade is the BJP and their youth groups. And its always about indians aping our western counterparts. Why dont we stop using fridges and stoves and mixers and microwaves and cellphones? Why dont we go back to cooking over coal fires and making masalas with stone grinders? Isn't this how our ancestors used to live, and aren't all these gadgets also aping the west. What are we trying to potray to the world? That indians are chaste, pure and holy beings? PUHLEASE. Why dont we leave these things to rest and use our valuable and energetic youth to be part of groups that are more positive, like help for the poor, sick and illiterate.
The more you try to control and suppress people and ways they can express emotions, the more it will start turning up behind closed doors and that could get messy. I think most people have a certain sense of public ettiquette and you wont find anything more than a peck on the cheek or holding of hands in public. As one of the largest democracys in the world today let us uphold this freedom that we enjoy by, not misusing it and not suppressing those who are using it.
LIVE AND LET LIVE!!!!

FLAG CODE

WE HAVE A FLAG CODE!!!!!
How many of y'all actually knew that. I was going through this "code" and man they havent missed a thing. And when i looked up if any other countries have such a code for Flag usage, yes they do, but trust me its nothing like the one we have.

For example: Official regulation states that the flag must never touch the ground or water, be used as a tablecloth or draped in front of a platform, cover a statue, plaque, cornerstone etc. Until 2005, the flag could not be used in clothing, uniform or costume. On 5 July 2005, the Government of India amended the code, allowing use of the flag as clothing and uniform. It however cannot be used as clothing below the waist or as undergarments. It is also prohibited to embroider the national flag and other symbols onto pillowcases or neckerchiefs.
How many of us actually knew this, and what if happened to be wearing a t shirt with the indian flag and happened to get caught, we would be imprisoned???? FOR A YEAR

In this day and age is this degree of respect and protocol really required to govern how we treat the indian tricolour. I mean Sachin Tendulkar, who is regarded as a sports icon in India, is under investigation for cutting a cake which had the indian flag iced on it.
How does that display disrespect for the flag, i mean he represents the country all over the world for a sport he is good at, i think that makes him a patriotic guy.

I'm not saying the authorities should turn a blind eye to acts against the flag code, after all its part of our constitution, but i'm sure they can waive it off with a fine and a warning. With the crime in the country and the number of growing unsolved cases with the authorities, i think they should concentrate on matters of higher priority.
And awareness HAS to be promoted among the public on rules and regulations especially those tied to our constitution.
Anyway guys this was an "FYI" kinda mail :)
Keep the tricolour flying high...... and no tricolour undies.
CIAO