The shit called Caste in India

Since time immemorial the world has been divided into different classes and categories, some depending on the birth right, wealth,knowledge and others purely by sense of belongingness. Thus society as a whole has always been on its way of division and its everywhere its absence is inevitable. The worst of all that happens here is when this difference causes the rift in between people who love each other in the form of inter caste marriage when both the parties families are neck on neck against it.

Life in itself is not much of a problem enough that even to be with the one we love and vow to spend the rest of our life is in it at the threshold. It is one of the hottest topics for every generation whether it is the classic Romeo and Juliet or even the next door neighbor. Despite the fact that numerous facts and figures have come and gone with time but the one and only constant thing which is never changing and remains till this day is inter caste marriage problems the much talk about of every nation and caste. Though we have had done so many development in science and technology; even we have been able to send men to the moon, brought up equality and freedom with education to one and all. Brought out the women from being the housewives to working mothers, yet this centuries old tag of issues regarding two different culture, caste or even faith has never been erased by the knowledge gained at expensive colleges or even by the high rise in the standard of livelihood.

Love is a beautiful feeling and true love is the greatest gift to mankind. In this fast advancing world where everyone has their own differences and individualism, it is very hard to get someone to accept us the way we are not for what others think or how the world looks at us. It is a thing to cherish and kept.

I just hope someday people get beyond the logics of caste and religion and accept humans for what  they are and what they do.

The Loss

A friend of mine lost his mom yesterday. I heard about it as soon as I woke up and was left reeling. What shall I do? What am I supposed to do? Shall I call him? Or shall I call his elder sister and ask about whereabouts? What shall I tell them even if I did call? What words and tone do I choose? How might he react? I myself was in a state of shock and remorse and then these questions. I have been crying since morning. I didn’t know if I would be able to talk even if I called him.

And then, I decided to call him, but then I could hardly talk for more than 2 minutes. I didn't want to weaken him anymore. Saying back , “I will call back”, I hung up. And then I thought I would leave him alone for sometime. That might appear rude, yet sometimes the best way to help people in pain is to let them be. Give them time to get over it. His loss is a tragic loss, and nothing I would say can replace the loss.

There is nothing I can do about this, is there? The dead do not come back, no matter how hard we wish they did. Yet I can’t help but want her back. Lots of people die every day, don’t they? Some are wished back and some not, still no one comes back.

And again as I take my hands off my friend’s cell phone number, I wish he hadn’t lost his mom, so that I could help myself from sympathizing with him, so that I could talk to him the way we used to and not feel awkward about it or anything else.

Anyway, the best I could do is: Dear Aunty, you were the best mom my friend could ever have had, and as much as I hope that you hadn’t gone, I sincerely wish that your son would be okay; that he’d have the courage to look after your family and himself too. I only hope he’d be happy again”

 

Breaking Taboos

“Daddy, I am so scared.” Twelve year old Tanaya ran and hugged her father.

“What happened to my big brave daughter?” “Daddy, I guess it’s blood.. Daddy, I think I saw blood in my skirt today.”

Tanaya had lost her mother six months back and Ashutosh, her father was finding it difficult bringing up his daughter all by himself. He was madly in love with his wife and he had ruled second marriage options as proposed by his relatives. He was a doting dad and tried his best to be a mother and father to Tanaya.

“Daddy”, Tanaya spoke again. “Daddy, I saw blood in my skirt. Rashi told me that it is periods. I am on periods. Am I on periods daddy?” It was not exactly a comfortable question for Ashutosh so he tried to evade her questions at least for some time.

“Tanaya baby, do you want an ice cream? Chocolate flavour?” Tanaya made a face. “You know daddy, Rashi was right. She told me that you wouldn’t talk to me about this. Even she discusses all this with her mom. I wish mom was alive. I am sorry I told you about this. Just forget that I ever told you this.”

Ashutosh was startled and a little ashamed. He didn’t want to make Tanaya feel bad about something which was so normal. He just wanted to buy some time for himself. “Tanaya sweetie, why would you feel like that? I am your mommy too, remember? I wonder why Rashi would put such things into your head.”

“Then why wouldn’t you talk about it daddy? I am so scared. Will I die like mommy too?” “Oh no baby, never ever say that. You are daddy’s princess.” “But daddy.. blood?” “Come, we’ll go out, have ice cream and then discuss about this. This is a wonderful thing. Always be proud of this.” Ashutosh held his daughter’s hand and escorted her outside the door.

As Tanaya took a large bite off her orange flavoured ice cream, Ashutosh asked her to narrate the day’s happenings. “Daddy, I saw blood on my skirt today and I am very scared.” “Well little Tanaya, let me narrate a little story to you.” “Oh sure, daddy. Make it an interesting one.”

“It is an interesting one, kid. When your mommy was as little as you, she also saw blood on her skirt. She ran up to her dad who told her that she had received the biggest gift of her life that day.” Tanaya had her doubts. “How was it the biggest gift of her life daddy?” “Because that day she got periods for the very first time. It gave her the power to be a mother. It gave her you.” “Does that mean daddy, that I can become like mommy too?” “Yes, of course, you’re already like your mommy with your hazel eyes and chestnut hair.” “Thank You daddy. I love you. I’ll tell that annoying Rashi that my father is the best. He told me everything. I have some more questions but I’ll ask them tomorrow. I need some sleep.”

Ashutosh heaved a sigh of relief. He’d broken a taboo. Tomorrow he would be adequately prepared to break another taboo and talk to her about something society would not have approved of. As he put Tanaya to sleep, Ashutosh could feel his wife smiling at him. He had not been a good husband to her while she was alive but he would try his best to be a good father to their daughter.

Courtesy – Ministry of Humor

One of the beautiful story I have read recently. As a society we need to develop perspective, talk about things that we have been always uncomfortable about, let loose our apprehensions, free our anxieties.

It’s a beautiful world and we can definitely make it better.

Haider – The Hamlet Eulogy

Re-read the "Hamlet" (the adaptation). Came across this piece

"Hamlet remains unconvinced that the Ghost has told him the truth, but the arrival of a troupe of actors at Elsinore presents him with a solution. He will stage a play, re-enacting his father's murder, and determine Claudius's guilt or innocence by studying his reaction. The court assembles to watch the play; Hamlet provides a running commentary throughout. After seeing the Player King murdered with poison in the ears, Claudius abruptly rises and leaves the room: proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt."

And all this was represented in this 4 min long song. Penned in one of the most perfect way. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_73kIBWN6rU

It takes real genius to transform something from what Shakespeare envisioned to a modern day ballad; keeping the message strong and impactful.

Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed, topping the performance list of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella".

It needed a very traditional yet a modern treatment. Not sure how others would have treated it but a craftsmen like Vishal Bhardwaj, using the tools of metaphors, dark humor, soliloquies, monologues and emotions does perfect justice to this piece of literature.

Decide for yourself if you want to watch because such piece of art is tough to be portrayed on a commercial canvas these days.

Volume and Sound Byte

Of Late the common man finds difficulty in prizing truth from a plethora of comments and opinions on offer in print and the electronic media. The reason is not far to seek. There is a perceptible deficit of truth in statements from persons, who are charged with telling the truth. Politicians, in general, the world over are perceived to be economical with truth and enjoy little credibility — a fact brought out forcefully in a worldwide Gallup survey commissioned by BBC World Service almost 10 years ago.

The common citizen is confused and confounded by layers and layers of views. It is compounded by the fact that the media often adds its own twist to statements from leaders, which suffer from a serious lack of transparency in the first place. There have been lengthy discussions about the credibility of the media, particularly in the West, and the way news is presented. It is just not the media that lacks credibility in popular perception, but world leaders, politicians and officialdom all enjoy little trust for their utterances. Facts are presented not the way they happen, but the way some people would like them to happen.

It is no accident that reality is substituted by make-believe. It is a result of conscious efforts based on Hitler's dictum that "a lie thrice repeated becomes truth." Regrettably, they are repeated not just thrice, but ad nauseam. What is lacking in substance is made up in volume and sound byte.

And to glean the truth one need to place the statements in appropriate categories and then decide on the quantum of discount to attach to each. The determination is subjective and individuals make their own classification.

Subtle and Indistinctive

Everyone says that love is a special feeling. We keep holding ourselves for quite a time until we realize that it’s best to open oneself to it.

It’s apparently very difficult, in fact extremely hard to articulate one’s feelings about his/her love. But still let me give it a shot. When I fell in love with her, I started loving things around me a little more than before and this didn't stop there. I felt that when you truly love someone past their redundancies, you feel so ecstatic, your self confidence gets such a boost that invariably all your relationship get better than before. The bond you share with your family, friends gets stronger. It’s more of a juvenile experience. I never thought I would fall in love with someone. You love actually gives you yourself. It helps you to accept yourself. It’s always a comforting feeling to know that there is some one who is there just for you. Human beings have always desired exclusivity, Love bestows you that.

Everything makes so much sense. My life pivots around her. It gives me the courage to be myself and believe that eventually everything will be fine. It helps you to fight the daily battle with more vigor and audacity. You might loose out on someday but still things would make sense to you. And that feeling pushes you to the threshold to the extent that you become comfortable with redundancies around and combat the aberrations.

Subtle, Indistinctive, dramatic, energized. I don’t have more words than mere saying that I love you :)

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ
कोई ऑफीस जल्दी जाने को
तो कोई घर वापस आने को
कोई पिज़्ज़ा डेलिवरी on टाइम करने को
कोई अपने बच्चे को दो कौर खाना खिलाने को

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ
कोई प्यार पाने को
कोई प्यार से दूर जाने को
कोई साथ पाने को
कोई साथ भुलाने को

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ
कोई ४ गज़ ज़मीन पाने को
कोई बारिश में भीग जाने को
कोई उस गली से अपनी गाड़ी निकालने को
कोई सड़क के पार जाने को

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ
कोई अपना वजन घटाने को
कोई अपना stamina बढ़ाने को
कोई marathon की तायारी पक्की करने को
कोई record बनाने को

हर कोई भाग रहा है यहाँ
कोई जीत जाने को
कोई अपनी हार को ना अपनाने को
कोई ४ पल की शांति पाने को
तो कोई अंजान चेहरों के बीच पहचान बनाने को

मेरा कहना है कहीं भागने की कवायत में
आज ना भूल जाना
कहीं पहचान बनके की कवायत में
अपनो को दाव पे ना लगा देना
थोड़ा रुक आओ , संभाल जाओ फिर भाग लेना

नींद आती है

जब शरीर का कतरा कतरा थक जाता है तो
नींद आती है

जब किताबें वापस घूरती है तो
नींद आती है

जब Laptop की रोशनी ज़्यादा हो जाती है तो
नींद आती है

जब सपने देखने की इक्षा दोबारा जागती है तो
नींद आती है

जब  वो चाँद खिड़की से मुस्कुराता हुआ दिखता है तो
नींद आती है

जब माँ से हर शाम बात हो जाती है तो
नींद आती है

जब office का excel crash हो जाता है तो
नींद आती है

जब भूक पेट को एक Maggi मिल जाती है तो
नींद आती है

और जब एक खराब दिन के बावजूद वो प्यार से Goodnight बोल देती है तो
नींद आती है

Little things that count in life - Really ?

A day which eventually I spent with lot of kids, not too tech kids but definitely more aware kids. I was taken back to my childhood days along with my siblings when we valued and enjoyed the smallest of things that came by far and between. Summer vacation was the most heavenly thing we ever knew. We had heard of air conditioners but weren't really close to it. Fine dining was an unknown concept. Money was so valued. Infact there really was very little money, no Kindle or iPad, no Xbox or Fischer Price toys, but we were thrilled enough to split the new Cadbury three ways. And wait for what the next day threw up.

And then I turn up to kids these days. They rarely waits for things, and rarely thrilled beyond seconds and have usually moved on to the next bicycle or earrings or clothes they wants. From the too-little-too-late story of our childhood, kids these days seemingly have too much too soon, losing the sparkle and joy of small things. It is nice to have an improved economy, globalisation and all of that, but could we also have a happy, needy child at home?

As I travelled back across my memory lane I cogitated if those little things still count in today's dynamic and run after mill life. Is the joy of small things lost somewhere ??

Midnight Confrontations

How early in life should one think about the morality of one's career choice — while embarking on one's career, or mid career, or after one has made enough money? Is it right to give up a cushy job or close down a running business on moral grounds when family or employees depend on them? What should get precedence — morality of the work that one is doing or one's responsibilities towards one's dependants ?

I am personally of the opinion that it is important to look beyond one's desk as further as possible to ensure that one's work does not have an undesirable social or environmental impact, even if that means sacrificing one's passion or financial stability. It is also necessary to continually apply ethical tests to one's practices, however noble the cause. For some reason the means to the end are as important as the end itself. At times you feel guilty of having applied moral tests to your work when you had made your money. Many a times we do do not believe that is the way to go.

The question that vexes me currently is how deep should we delve, if we must, while confronting our vocations with the tests of morality? Should one apply the test to the work done by the individual, or broaden its scope to the work of his or her organization, or further stretch it to the areas of application of the work by the customers of the organization or even beyond?

Answers - probably I am still seeking for.