Lost in translation

 I love writing but sometimes as in the present times it seems futile because nothing changes . It’s like we are caught in a time warp and the state of the nation doesn’t change . One thinks the pandemic would change the hunger of the flesh or the base desires of human but every single day , every moment they come back with something worse and leave me with a heavy heart that breaks again and again . Last week in the country that is next to ours had the worst rape committed where a lady was travelling back with her children at night . The petrol finished and she stopped to ask for help , two men ( obviously ) overpowered her and took her after hitting , looting her and in front of the children repeatedly raped her . 

Why does this bother me ? I am an Indian , it shouldn’t bother me . I should be oblivious of this, I am safe , it wont happen to me and why did this woman travel late at night ? Why didn’t she take this road instead of that ? As my maid gave me her homespun advice ,she said koi baat nahi , aurat ki galti hoti hai hamesha , yehi dastoor hai . It doesn’t matter where or what she was doing or what she was wearing , society here or there will always have a list of guidelines, instructions outlined for a woman . 

She will always be too provocative, too daring , she asked for it , she posted pictures online, she said no . I have cried myself hear imagining the horrors but what got my gall was saying this that this is an elitist crime ,so that’s why its bothering me ? I mean really ?

How the blazes do you call rape , elitist isn’t that that’s why women are out on the roads ? Our countries are not safe for women , for minors , for religious , ethnic communities , for corpses, for animals ( yes animals too) . Anyone who has a voice , isn’t safe either . She is brought down to her knees, I know physically they over power her and they break her spirit and mutilate , defile . Our system is such that a woman who is raped , will shy away and hide her self , the woman said so to she said kill me and bhai don’t tell anyone . I broke down when I read this.

Don’t confuse this by saying it happened in Pakistan , it happens here too in large numbers. It’s hushed up , or just a hue and cry and the file makes rounds and rounds , lost in the dusty shelves of the police station and mysteriously a fire breaks down just because the accused is high profile . 

I think we all deserve for the world to end , the bestial , animal nature of man has raped the woman who gives birth , cradles him to life , carries him for nine months and no amount of reference to the Holy Books that give us a sacred place doesn’t save us . The scriptures give the highest position to women but lost in translation , it is .

I speak like Yoda right now , because maybe that might help us to solve and stop this rot. Public hangings , slow death chemical castrations seems what I suggest and I hope the day comes when this all is done and isn’t just a sop as always . Rape , is a four letter word ,say it , say it aloud , its akin to hate , and all we need is love and kind ( ness ) for us to survive . Society always has this list to curtail women , why not teach boys and men that this is fundamentally wrong and against any grain . When animals don’t rape , what makes us worse than them? Why will you not spare the two year old who was wearing a diaper? The skirt , the burka all cry but the diaper couldn’t even speak .

The next time you prostrate in front of the bir sahib , or at the temple , or sit in the pew of the church or even on your ceremonial mat to say your namaz remember it could happen to your mother sister , or daughters too.

Social Disancing vs Social bashing

What would happen if desi politicians spoke nicely to each other ? Would democracy fail? Will they lose themselves or maybe if they minded their Ps and Qs they might , just might help the failing GDP. The nonstop personal shots , the mud slinging carries on and they shout at each other at the top of their  voices.

Every day I sit in front of the idiot box ( that’s why its named such) thinking that I would hear something good and some enlightenment that how we would get out of this predicament of the grim scenario . During the news hour the opposition is more worried about whether the CM is out of hibernation from his farmhouse ? Is it because they want a personal tour? It is said to be tastefully furnished ! 

Why do you shout so much? It’s not the opera , its not as if you would be the next Domingo . Using slogans to incite ,instigate each other and the continuous twitter war isn’t befitting . You’ve got the Chinese sitting on your shoulder ready to invade us any moment , and all the national television channels show is the suicide angle of the deceased actor . Yes, it was a sad moment that cant be quantified but the media circus that we have made out to be along with the voyeuristic tendency of ours has made it as if we are waiting for Rhea to finally spill the beans of the next orgy she has planned complete with sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Why do we not let the judiciary decide who killed him or whether it was a suicide?its as if the journalist and newscaster all have their views just to prove that their channel has finally got the secrets to El Dorado.

I feel as a citizen we have a moral responsibility towards to the country and ourselves to act responsibly and not act as if we are here only for the #hour run of the movie  and then we go back to our homes lulled into false security that the danger is not ours to see. This is not the world of Harry Potter where we cant speak about the Lord who must not be named its us ,the public .

My maid , gave me the best home truth , she says hum logon ko Covid nahi hota ( we dont get Covid ) , hum log bachpan se haath dhota hai ( we’ve been washing hands in childhood ). It was the proverbial slap , as we worry about the pandemic arming ourselves with pills, Kadha, medicines and sanitisers galore . 

This holds true on all accounts , the proverbial washing of the linen in public . She really laid bare the reason of covid and in other ways of everything in life . Our habit or ingrained attitude to wash everything in public and forgetting to take care of our own persona hygiene is making us reach the plateau of having the highest jump in Covid cases. We need to check on ourselves and not worry so much about the next person and what is happening .This homily  by Heera is the benchmark , they’ve been washing hands for always , and we are a fault by acting hoity toity , and feeling as if we are blessed by the God’s just because we can afford the medicines , pills , its not a shield .        

Wash hands , wear the mask and move on from the social bashing that we all love to do . It is social distancing and not social bashing that the doctor recommends.