Sunday 28 August 2016

When Opposites Kissed

Chosen as a WOW post here
I may glow like the moon,
And have the world at my feet.
But, I dream of a great life soon,
My true love I'd love to meet.

You may be an ocean vast,
With mysteries & treasures deep,
But, better share your feelings fast!
With faith, you must take the leap.

We are from different worlds, they say.
Not destined to even come near...
You are on earth, while I'm far away.
Do opposites ever kiss, my dear?

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Incredible India - Vision 2050

Indian Bloggers

India won her independence on 15th August 1947 thanks to the painstaking efforts of our freedom-fighters.
On this 70th Independence Day, my Vision 2050 for our India is a truly 'Incredible India'.

An India where all citizens-
  • Feel Free To Celebrate
  • Talk freely & walk safely with their head held high irrespective of their sex, caste, creed, religion or region.
  • Have access to basic amenities & facilities & live a life of dignity with homes & toilets for all.
  • Have the finest education, food, clothing, healthcare, infrastructure & development.
  • Unitedly maintain Sanitation & Hygiene for a Swacch Bharat, breathe fresh air and feel free in open spaces.
  • Are gainfully employed adding to India's GDP.
  • Focus time & energy on excellence & raise India's status.
  • Uphold our Swadeshi roots, Kaleidoscopic Indian Culture & heritage & help to conserve & preserve.
  • Are proud to Be Indian, & use indigenous & 'Made In India' items.
  • Contribute to our nation's progress & strive to make India proud.

Monday 15 August 2016

Happily Ever After

Souls had met by a divine fate,
There were tears of joy & laughter.
For entering a bond, they couldn't wait,
They wished to live happily ever after.

When energy & enthusiasm disappeared,
Souls were easily drifting apart faster.
Their relationship boat wasn't steered,
It was eerily sinking; heading for disaster.

Souls far apart in a balancing act, Checking every emotion proudly. Ego's dam burst bidding bye to tact, Lustful souls were crying loudly.

The Story Of A Suicide

The Story Of A Suicide is a gripping novel by Sriram Ayer. 
It expresses some serious social issues that today's youngsters face. It also raises pertinent points.

Can a suicide be prevented? Can we as a society ensure that there's no suicide & thus no - 'The Story Of A Suicide'?

There's a saying in Hindi- 'Na rahega baans, na bajegi baansuri'. 
It means that- 'If there's no Bamboo, the flute cannot be played (& there will be no music)'.

Unfortunately, the characters have to face the music, if the situations turn out in the dangerous sequence as portrayed in the novel. The Wikipedia and Youtube descriptions of suicide leave much to be desired. 

Here is what the novel depicts:

Parental Hopes & Aspirations & Need for Support-
"My Mani will become a very big man and a collector one day. I am confident. Saar, will you take care of my son?"
"I was never around for both of you. Especially after Hari, I became very busy. I have been a good father no? I will be shattered if something happened to him."
Parents pin a lot of hope on their kids, and look for external support. But, they must be a pillar of support when their child has erred, confides and needs them most. They must encourage and help their child to cope up. For this, the parents need to be grounded and be prepared to accept the worst. Sometimes, all that their child needs is their support & approval...

Parent's Sixth Sense 
“Hari! My son, my child, my life, I am there for you. I am coming. Nothing will happen to you. Please…please someone help! This can’t happen to my son. I would not allow this to happen. Please take me. Please spare him."
Parents know when something is amiss in their child's life. Then, why not attend to it rightaway? Need is for proper counselling.


Child's Desire
"I will one day make her proud, Charu. We are good people; my mother is a good human being. I will not let her suffer anymore. I will make her live like a queen, and that is the only way to show our revenge to the man who gave me just his sperm."- Mani
Children want to make their parents proud. Hope every child gets to prove her/his worth.


Morals & Morality
"Morality is a moving target. What’s theirs needn’t be yours. As much as you have a point of view, they have one too. The drama between people on different points of the pendulum makes one compelling story..."
“When you are poor, surviving consumes your life so much that we do not have the luxury for such drama."
Morality depends on us and our attitude.
It's all about English Vinglish 
"I could not understand English. I am so ashamed of myself."- Mani
English is important in today's world. One feels like a fish out of water without it...

Dependence on Social Media to Express Emotions & Share with the World

Twitter & Facebook posts have ample mention as they are a way of life. Today's generation has- Fragile Lives And Social Media
They can prove to be killing... Better to use gadgets in moderation... 
“I am going to throw-away my phones, laptop, everything, all electronic devices. I should have done this much earlier."- Charu
Need to Express Without Fear & Judging-game-
“I really like how Mani is able to express his past and sufferings with absolutely no fear. I will never be able to share my past with anyone. I have never shared it even with Anju. I like him. Hope I can share mine with him someday. Does he like me?"- Hari
“But the more I got to know you, I really started liking you. Actually I am inspired by your free spirit. Your ‘don’t care a damn’ attitude. Wish I could be like you. But can’t. I will always be a loser. Someone who never had the courage to speak out." - Hari
Friends can prove to be role-models. Everyone should get the freedom of speech and express freely. Pent-up feelings must be released.

Freedom to be Raw & Just
"Everyone is living a life of fear, hypocrisy and political correctness. I respect rawness any day." - Charu
“See, I don’t subscribe to suicide or hurting oneself. It is cowardice. But if you are threatened with injustice it is important to give it back." 
“Much of our problems can be negated by killing our impulsive and reflexive responses. Aren’t our responses mostly to fight? Inflicting pain on ourselves with the hope that our pain will hurt the other is plain stupid. People just don’t care." - Mani 
"But remember this, when you try to possess a person, love evaporates soon. When you truly love someone, give yourself completely. Allow yourself to be completely consumed by it, but never be selfish, always think of giving first. Let everything else flow naturally, including sex. Just be brutally honest to yourself. If it’s right you will know it."- Madhavi Ma'am
Environment Consciousness
“A tigress was skinned alive and the merciless monsters had the audacity to film the barbarism and upload the video on Youtube."
“How could he do this to her? If I had the power, I would chop off his body parts slowly till he bleeds to death. He needs to suffer the way she suffered."
Poachers don't have to be spared.
Guilty Minds Are Not At Peace
"A sudden deep paranoia struck him. He did not know why he panicked, “are they talking about me? I did not do anything." - Sam
Apps & Content Upload Without the Victim's Knowledge
“So? It’s all in the past, she is public property now anyone can ogle at her." - Aditya.
Jarvis app is scary. Technology enables content to be uploaded without the Victim's permission or knowledge. Voyeurism reigns...One needs to be careful with gadgets & electronic devices.
Rape & CyberBullying
"Out of desperation to find justice for the deceased girl the journalist approached ‘Anonymous’ a loose network of hackers from around the world for help. They are very active against rape culture and cyber bullying."  - Hari
The Football team's incident in a US town called Steubenville in Ohio, USA is shocking. 
"It is important to treat the cyber bully like any other stalker; this approach helps us understand why one is doing it. It will help us predict what he or she might do next." - Anwar
Hacking
"The business of hacking is bigger than what we assume. There are people who will hack into any of our data; credit card, bank deposits, income tax records, passport information, email and phone actually anything for a fee. They work by the hour. They will work both for the good and bad guys."
Gay Relations
“See, I hate to be the jealous kind, but is it unreasonable to expect to spend my boyfriend’s birthday with just him? I hate myself speaking like this. Damn," - Mani
Women have Sixth-Sense too
"But you are for sure a man when you took a photo of my chest. Boys are more bothered about boobs than girls." - Charu

When One Feels Dirty & Hopeless...
“I feel like committing suicide now. Exactly how I feel now. Feel very dirty and hopeless," - Charu
"...violated his trust, his body and his heart. It brought memories of him being vulnerable and powerless in the clutches of his uncle. He was afraid again... He needed to secure himself. He wanted to breathe. He wanted to cry. Alone."
Is There Hope? Can We Prevent Suicide?
"We can win their hearts, everyone, including your parents. Please don't give up on life dammit. Well if everyone who has a problem decided to commit suicide, this world will be filled with only dead people. Stop being a whiner. There are people with problems far worse than yours but are still looking forward to a tomorrow with hope.Get up and prove that you are capable of something. Anything! Have faith. Have hope. Stop complaining!" - Charu
The novel teaches us about expressing feelings, emotions & about acceptance - "It is important to accept ourselves. Accept our feelings, our past, our flaws, our situations. I am not saying this in a defeatist way, but once you begin to accept, you will start appreciating what you have now and be grateful. This way we can be less anxious about life, more secure..."
If we all accept the reality and express and listen without being judgmental, the story can be much different. Sharing & communication can open the channels and set people free from shackles. What we keep hidden, weighs us down... 

The best way to be prepared for the future is to start in the present. We better be aware of the issues at hand and attempt to solve them.

The novel is about many real issues facing us today- Gadgets, Social Media sharing, Technology, Friends, Camaraderie, Child Rape, Adult Rape, Sexual intercourse, Gay relations, Dream narration & interpretation, Parental expectations, CyberBullying, Hacking, Environmental activism,  Suicide... 
While one student is saved from suicide on the campus, his friend may not be as lucky... or is he? To find out read The Story of a Suicide here and experience the crisp narration, the illustrations, the gyaan and the reality. 

My poetic message for all- CHOOSE LIFE, DON'T GIVE UP
"We may rue our fate & feel why we are in that situation.
Take help, my friend, don't resign to suicide/depression."
Do you feel suicides can be prevented? How can we help? 
Please share your views in the comments below.

Sunday 7 August 2016

Do Your Best And Win!

Winners never quit; Quitters never win.
Being a Winner (not Quitter) is the target.
The line that separates the two is thin like skin
Efforts will be rewarded; don't fret/forget.

Success is around the corner, 
Focus on training; forget the pain.
Be patient & confident forever.
Believe & be ready to regain!

Saturday 6 August 2016

Wishful Thinking

Hello, Old Friend!

Glad to see you! How have you been?
To spend time with you, I'm always keen!
But, for time at hand, signal is seldom green!
In my Wishful Thinking trips I'm often seen!  

stopwatch_barathon
                                                           

Friday 5 August 2016

Darling In Tiny Shoes

I set out on my regular business & daily chore,
Looking forward to the many destinations in store.
running-588709_960_720

Distinct places to visit & things to be done-
Transactions & deals to take care, much fun!

Wherever I go, they welcome me with open arms,
It's the power of my desirable personality & charms!

My delicate & pretty dress & my lithe figure excites!
For my attention, there are flirtatious signals & fights!

Thursday 4 August 2016

Caught Red-Handed

How we love and cheer when a movie's wronged hero or heroine swears to catch the villain "red-handed" and actually manages the same! However, there's difference between reel and real life.

Perhaps an 'Angry Young Man' or 'Supergirl' can ensure the villains getting caught red-handed in real life too.

I feel if people knew that they were sure to be caught red-handed and heavily punished, then they would never attempt anything terrible. No untoward incident would have happened as no one would have dared to indulge in any wrong-activity.

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Fragile Lives And Social Media

Indian Bloggers

Today's world is fast-paced. Time is premium and precious. Our lives are fragile like relationships that are dictated by the limited time. These days, Social Media (SM) too jostles for space for our time. Even babies realize this!



I feel SM can be used for humanity's benefits and there have been cases where it has proved to be helpful.

Social Media has played a saviour during many cases- including saving fragile lives from Depression or Suicide.
- A 'friend' got the warning-signals from the victim's FaceBook posts and helped the minor at the right time.
- There are life-saving Apps now available in our smartphones.
- SM is being used by prospective employers or marriage-partners to 'check out' the candidate!
   Note- Uploading drunken pics is a bad idea!
- SM can be used for counselling and motivating.
- SM can be used to keep in touch with our extended family and friends around the world.
http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/548285-facebook-1368372285-400-640x480.JPG
Source

Tuesday 2 August 2016

What You Don't Know

"Are you sure you have revealed everything to me truthfully?" she asked him gingerly.

Sometimes she felt as if she were a lawyer gathering alibi to present to the judge at a High Court & acquit him of all the false charges!

He laughed as though he had read her mind.

"I told you my side of the story. Now what you don't know can't hurt you", he smartly said, not really satisfying her curiosity.

"Come on, dear. I just wanna know where were you this evening... With whom?...Doing what?" she asked this at one go mustering all the courage she could manage.

She had been at her wit's end trying to reach her husband and his phone was either not reachable or switched off.

She was relieved when he finally rang the door-bell at 11:30 PM, but was upset to be greeted with a strong smell of alcohol.

He had always been a teetotaler...

She thanked her stars that at least he had driven & reached home safely. Then, she remembered that he hadn't taken their car to office that day.

Also, she noticed that he was wearing the same Orange sneakers that a lady colleague named Suhana (whom she despised) had gifted him.

shoes-1260718_960_720

Monday 1 August 2016

Stranger Than Fiction

This is set in the 1930s in a village in Ganjam, Odisha, India.
-----

Thak-Thak! Thak-Thak! 
Thump! Thump!
Hearing the banging on his window, Hariprasad was woken up from his slumber. 

His friend, Natu, often did this at dawn to awaken Hariprasad.
The two would then set out to plow their agricultural land.

But, that particular dawn no-moon (Amavasya) night, it appeared Natu had arrived earlier than usual as when Hariprasad opened his window, it was still dark outside. It appeared darker as there was no moon. It was a cloudy night & there were no stars too.

"Natu, you don't sleep or what? It's not yet dawn and you woke me up!" 
Natu just mumbled, "Hmmm."

Natu was walking at a faster-than-usual pace and a still-drowsy Hariprasad followed him to the field.

"Natu, Let's draw the water from the well first. But, it's pitch-dark & still we have to fill the pitchers."

So saying hardly had Hariprasad handed a pitcher, when Natu had filled it in a jiffy!
Hariprasad found it pretty unusual.
All the pitchers were filled in no time.

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