innocence

This is an incident which was narrated by someone who keeps me in splits always,however I would admit that my comprehension of Punjabi is slow but something does infiltrate in the grey matter .

P and family have an old retainer ( flashback to 1950's .. b/w era please) who is a dying breed of this kind of helpers who cook clean and can do anything.. one just has to call him and he will do his ji hazoori.. Let's call him B the indispensable who was being served tea in a house where a wedding was taking place , sec 37 . The lady of the house served him a mix of milk and water and something. He was aghast, taken back that , Bibiji had given him a tabeet ( amulet containing magic and superstitious powers) in the tea.

This poor simpleton was served tea with a tea bag which he likened to a tablet. He  thought that she was trying to influence him with black magic.

I 

dihydrogen monoxide or water

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

And for plenty of good reasons, since:

it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting

it is a major component in acid rain

it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state

accidental inhalation can kill you

it contributes to erosion

it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes

it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients 

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

Forty-three (43) said yes,

six (6) were undecided,

and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water. 

The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"

He feels the conclusion is obvious.

This is one of the glaring examples which highlights how we react to alarming reports , it shows the reaction to something new , out of the box which makes us react to the situation without knowing fully what it is. Delivering bad news, punctuating , being dramatic was the forte' of Indians ,but I guess it is prevalent in all the countries of the world. Why do I forget that a white man is no different form the brown or the black or yellow person? We are same all over the world, the divisions and the lines are all man-made, self created for supremacy.

Alarmists all over the world  bemoan over the fact that global warming is going to be the end of the planet and to deliver their messages they need to be more forceful and creative in delivering their message of doom and gloom.This has had a reverse effect in the public where instead of being warned for taking steps one gets deterred by the speculative and creative global warming claims.The public in general is tired of being handed out verdicts as if dishing out public sentences in this era of gloom,terrorism, all around you hear depressing news posts.

Why are we forgetting to live in the present, enjoy the moment ? One is just worried about "history' ( it should have been her story, and the world would have been softer, brighter) or the future where the scenario is bleak, dark where all is going to be lost  in the hands of a trigger happy dictator who has looted his countrymen and in a moment of ego induced  blindness  is going to press a WMD.

The world is still affected by the basic needs of life which was what the first homo sapiens wanted ,food, water security, equality and scientists have us in turmoil first by global warming and then global cooling. The same said people lead the charge but they are naming the same alleged cause( human industrial activity) and the same alleged consequences ..more droughts, extreme weather , crop failures etc.Perhaps,the alarmists errant claims of global cooling crisis could be overlooked if their global warming predictions were faring any better . The global warming claims are failing as spectacularly. We were told that the temperature would rise by one half to one degree fahrenheit (o.3 to 0.6 degree celsius) between 1990 to 2000 and another  two to four degrees fahrenheit ( 1.1 to 2.2 celsius) between 2000 to 2010. 

But , real global temperatures have increased by .2 degrees to .3 degrees celsius since 1990. 

The ice is still there , water levels have not risen to submerge countries , Venice still beckons romantics from all over the world( I still have to go and get serenaded on the gondola) , hurricanes are not becoming frequent , they have not flattened the Earth , the Gulf stream is not being shut down. Yes ,the planet has  and is suffering from humanity created excesses but one should be realistic and not alarmist. You know the old adage , pinch of salt well it holds true in this day and age more than ever.

On a national level , the media , the tv channels , the media hype and the nauseating  pitched shrill voice of the news casters all focus on sensationalism. This is done with only one aim , so as to increase viewership and to attract readers . A domino effect which leads to higher TRP's, increased advertisements,higher revenues on the basis of higher number of viewers. 

During a typical news day, stories which are trivial/tabloid are shown again and again , repeated with glimpses of the main story to tantalize, create maximum impact. It is like the case of Aesop fable ..Wolf, wolf!

Objective reporting, facts and figures which are not exaggerated , that is all lost . All reporting is done with an edge of hysteria, a touch of theatre, exaggerated pronunciation and scoops are highlighted with hype, drama. In fact, in today's world, rumor has it has more weight age than the actual word or truth. The above example cites how we get manipulated into answering in a fashion which is perceived right, a peer pressure kind of feeling where one answers in the " expected right way" even if it is wrong. A herd mentality.

It is hoped that common sense prevails so that we revert back to reality and all is not projected where the main purpose is money . 

Ravneet Sangha

corruption in my life :))

Corruption came , went like the monsoons. We all made the proper noises , the protests,and then also participated in the largest demonstrations against the government in recent times. it was the Gandhi's second coming ( a sequel is being made) Sir Ben Kingsley is currently searching in the USA for cheek pads to look like Annaji , and Kiran Bedi's role is being played by Angelina Jolie. Her voluptuous figure will be cleverly disguised under the kurta /waistcoat attire of the super cop . 

I was traveling to Sanawar and back and as always was late in going back home. Crossing, Chandigarh , city beautiful we were speeding ( a little  bit ) and got stopped by this huge jundli of cops , we pulled over. They asked my driver to give his license and a court date was going to be given for next month. I didn't want to give the driving license as we needed this trusty guy to be all over Punjab and Delhi. In fact, he probably travels the maximum in our family.

Well to cut the story short, we negotiated for chai -paani and I shelled out 500 rupees so that we could pass. In fact the initial 100/50 were scoffed at and I  was told they would give us this much money so I could have something cold to drink!! Here , a point to be registered is that challan is going to be cut there and then, plus actual money is paid there to expedite the process . 

I wonder , how they want to weed out corruption. I am party to it , I was and am frustrated by the apathy of the policeman where they like to complicate , delay the process so that we end up bribing them . 

A corrupt individual.

Dear God

Dear God,

This is an open letter to the Divine Dude ( courtesy Kiran Rana , a smart woman who  is a mystery waiting to be unravelled) , she came up with this rocking name for you . In fact, it even came with directions for me that I should not confuse it with Door Darshan; which was our first tv channel of Free India. I was thinking that with the advancement in technology and also that we are going to colonize Mars and that a new planet has been discovered which is made up entirely of diamonds, just imagine ! Science is progressing at a faster pace than one can blink.

I just thought , oh yes women think too apart from all the hare-brained jokes which are made on women ( bookshelves are filled with them) . I just know you are in one of these pages lost in the myriad pages of the net especially on Face book. It seems to be the easiest way to reach you.

Actually all the custodians of you and your knowledge, teachings have become corrupted with the power they hold over their masses. So it seems that one needs to by pass the ones who were given the holy right to lead us. I wonder , if redemption truly lies in their hands or in one's? Deliverance from , what?

Dear God, this is not a letter to ask for money , which was the first reaction of my friends!! Mammon, his appeal is not what I was asking  for. All I wanted was time to fulfill a few desires I have. Time from the life which we make overly busy doing things, actions and losing the true meaning of the thing that is called LIFE. It is strange that in living it we loose life and not living it , life itself. The simple joys disappear in the rat race , extreme materialism,and false appearances which one dons to keep up with the society.

In this garb we have forgotten to be humans, we kill unborn fetuses, rape, plunder pillage, eve tease women in the name of male superiority and in the same breath invoke all the goddesses in the realm. In the least count, how many were they, God? I'm sure billions. If we can bow, prostate offer prasad , to the feminine form , why can't we begin to respect her on Earth? So God, the first would be that they ( men ) start respecting us as equals and I don't even Anna ji to go on a fast for me or my race. The Gandhian ideal is noble but fasting, whipping up the public into frenzy ,and disrupting life, employee hours will not give us freedom . Just a bit of common sense in those cells when you set /decide the DNA , please. Even here they will say nature , science but could you please set the primal code once in for all!

I also would like you to end all this suffering which goes on, where did they ever come up with fairy tale that you need angels, so You need the person up in heaven? That is one of the corniest line fed to us when we are growing up , just give it to straight away and kids understand. Do not distort, romanticize us , man! are we in a downfall when we grow up!! God, you know it hurts more when we grow up, as my friend said, I"m a kid at heart and I admit it , guess others don't.

My next one is that could I have some of the fairy pixie dust of Tinker bell to fly and visit all the beautiful places out there.Here, the list is endless , an attachment follows.

I know, you all gave us imagination but with in the realms of this can some things come true.. you know like a portal key aka JK Rowling so I could visit /slip in to see my sons . I mean, isn't she one of your finer creations? , so why could 't all that be real?

Of course, we'd have to balance it out with the Dementors, Lord Voldermort and his supporters but don't we have enough of those already.Despots, dictators, criminals,and the latest being the worst of all politicians who wring innocent humans under the guise of bringing / ushering development and promising us roti kapada , makaan. God, why can't you in your magnanimous divine self deliver us form them?

They in the greed for power , self advancement are raping the land, country and leaving  it high and dry. Where we would rather go on a fast and congregate for days and days but deny basic rights of food, water and basic security to a person sitting next to him. It is so easy to speak and shout and give lectures, and return back to the safe confines of one's home to turn a blind eye. God deliver us .

Oh , on the other hand,  I am passing you loads of Likes , a request to be your special secretary, a four-day long weekend which I second, Sarbat da bhalla,world peace , happiness , one where he asks why fortune favors the fools?

But, YOU  already knew this, didn't you.

An unabashed devotee

The ugly truth

Why are we born , why are we nourished and made to go through trials and tribulations of life? Why is a girl made independent given the false hope that she can join the armed forces, be a part of the honorable service to safeguard the nation ,the country which she loves as much as any other man? Is she any  less,than  men who also stand tall to guard the sentinels of this country ?Women also go through the same arduous training, the same exams to qualify to be eligible for the posts .
Such was the endeavor undertaken by a noble person who was from the older generation and had the high lofty ideals of yesteryears. He started to educate girls who had been selected from villages of Punjab ( checking their results, IQ's and physical ability) and made them go through vigorous training to compete with boys. He also was instrumental in raising for the first time a record number of girls who qualified to be apart of the Border Security Force.
She readily started her job in the border posts of the state thinking she was independent , free to earn a living and also to support her parents who were proud of their daughter who had finally made it and was a source of inspiration to the rest of the girls in the village and also could in someway stem the rot of fetecide plaguing Punjab.
Alas, men will be men, the company commander called her to his room when she was on duty in the tower guarding one of the innumerable tower posts which stand tall against the so-called enemy, Pakistan. The enemy is within.This young girl was sexually assaulted, raped while another guard stood on duty .Is this why they guard us?

This is a true account and her complaint has been registered with the PSWC. The reason did she  not want her name, and she pleaded, begged about it was because she was getting married and did not want it to stop her marriage , she feared the ostracisim, the cruel taunts which invariably follow that she had brought this on….. just because she was a woman and someone had showed her a dream.
Irony, and here we have candle light vigils and protests ( peaceful!) to end corruption. When does this defilement end? How about a day when a man gets assaulted and raped , will that herald a new  beginning?

Sheela ki jawani

The train came at the same time everyday and it went tak tak tak and then the shrill whistle signifying its presence. Sheela loved the sound because it promised to  her the whole new wide world. It promised and beckoned to her like a forbidden lover to the delights and mysteries of the city away away from this village , one of the nameless faceless ones which dotted the country. Sheela ,dreamt about running , fleeing away from the drudgery from this very existence where she was scorned, ridiculed. The sameness of her life , her routine where she woke up , did her chores and then did the same repetitive work day after day had bored her and it  kindled her spirit into doing something different, outlandish in running away to the city which allured her to its mystery. Every one who boarded the train on Friday's came back with forbidden stories to tell of the bright city which never slept and twinkled with lights where night was brighter than day. Of people who were bright , colorful , women who drove scooters and some even drove cars dressed in clothes of men. She so wondered how it would feel to wear a trouser and a shirt leave her hair open like in the movies , hair free to whirl up in the wind without ma's forever admonishment to oil it and to wear it in a plait. To be dressed demurely , always in those drab ghagra cholis , covering her chest which had suddenly had a growth spurt,covered forever tightly with a duppatta. Her mother was forever scolding her , she did not know what made people stand stop and stare at her. Yes the arrangement of the features was the same as everyones, maybe the kohl did make her eyes look bigger but nothing untoward. Her mother whispered in the night to her father that it was time for her to get married and be sent away to her in-laws place. Her mother's far- off cousin 's uncle's son who lived in the next village was a peon that too in the court and had a government job.
Sheela wondered whether marriage was the answer . From one repititive existence to another. the same old mundane life swapped and then maybe something which was done at night about which no- one talked but all giggled about . That, and then nine months later the dai and then a child was born. Sheela wondered about the mystery , the things which were done under the blanket and the only time the newly weds slept together up on the roof and then later all together in a line as if waiting for the bus. Oh , I wish someone would explain what transpired. Was it a kiss or did something bloom as shown in the hindi movies Sometimes,the matinee show shown by Chajju lal in the maidan were a bit racy and had the scenes where ma' shut her eyes! She so wanted to know when lips met , did the birds twitter and what did the rising sun mean? One day.
Right now, she was planning her escape to the city and needed to save a bit more money . Even Deputyji said she was 'sayaani' and could do a lot if she had been taught and had studied beyond her primary classes. what could a tenth pass do?

Sheela planned to do a lot. She had even thought about running away to the city , start working in one of the large kothies and then study side by side . she so wanted an education to learn English, to be able to speak passably , to be a modern woman and not be a bhenji. She wanted to break away from the mold which bound her to be a woman forever of the village forever shrouded in the dust of the countryside , to be born and to die forever in this ghagra and then move forward one step to the ghoongat signifying her marriage status. From one shackle to another.Three more sundays and she would have her money saved from baba's weekly two rupee handout. Channo , her comrade in arms who knew about the plan was going to give her 20 rs and that would help her tide her till she found her job.
It was so simple and with that  thought she drifted off to sleep , knowing the first rays of sun caressing her cheeks would mean waking up to hurried ablutions in the nearby fields ( before the men came) and then a watered down excuse of a tea and then the same chakki peesing!
The bounce in her steps the next morning , the heart which beat a different tune , the mysterious smile which lingered on her face all added to her allure. Everyone looked at her and passed knowing glances saying , jawaan ho rahi hain,is ki to aab gauna hona chaiye.. The passage of rite from girl to woman was imminent and on the doorstep.They didnt know about her contemplations, of the world she was building piece by piece and the castles which she aspired to….
Her world was far away from this dusty broken roads which had only one direction to a life of slavery . She looked at the dark clouds overcast which promised the first rains of the season and were clouding the bright fierce sun and were going to hit the parched cracked earth which wanted deliverance from its drought. It was akin to her desire to break free , and she took it to be a favorable omen.
Sheela did her chores and life was remarkably easy to get by, when she knew deliverance was a few weeks away . She thought about her family but she knew by the increasing frequency of talks  of Misraji that she would be married off come season time. The ugly Misraji with a mole on his cheek and his oiled stringy hair made her vomit. She didnt want him. He inspired no flutters no emotions , no stirring and no birds sang when she had met him. Channo, her friend cautioned her , gave her reason ,logic afraid that her flights of fancy would be the death of her . No panchayat had ever let a girl escape, death was certain , even if it was not swift it was quiet. People just stopped talking about what happened to the deceased,but Sheela knew she had to make the step.
Someone had to bring about the winds of change, someone had to take the first step to step on the train away away form this village , from the normalcy to the horizon which beckoned her. She had to move step forward and alight the steps, move to the unknown which so desirable and seductive. She would find love on her terms, find someone who when she met would make he birds sing and the sun rise….
Her day arrived, with mixed bags of emotions she ran away to the station , clutching her small potli defiantly dressed in the most daring choli she owned with money hidden away in her bosom.
When she took the first step into the cabin , the music which she heard was Sheela ki jawani from the latest potboiler from Bollywood..and she knew just knew she had arrived.

independence day..

BASANTI WAITING FOR HER DHANNO..

Independence Day came went away with a whimper except for the fire brand politics of Anna ji and his whipping the public into a frenzy. I  also participated in the protest albeit silently ( switching off the lights) but if someone told  me to go for a candlelight vigil  I would revert back to the cynic I am. Yes there lurks a cynic under this happy persona'.

Basanti, a tribal who had the misfortune of being named after the ever green Hema the darling of the masses who mesmerized everyone in Sholay  is still waiting for her Dhanno. Of course, the means have changed the horse /mare has been replaced by the need of a knight in shining armor  who would deliver her form the life of misery perpetuated by problems which she faces everyday. She is not bothered by the CWG scam or the 2G OR 3G or the fact that air band has been undersold or over sold ( wonder how they sell air?.She is not concerned by the fact that if anyone one has a Swiss account or has made crores in every way possible.

This common frail women just wants what is owed to her, no palatial house, or the newest convertible mercedes or fancy foods to eat.

She just wants two square meals a day , a simple dwelling ( the kind we all drew in the geography class in school) one which shelters her form the vagaries of nature , and something which absolutely defines freedom the right to do anything she wants, to love anyone she wants irrespective of caste, sex without fear of being killed slaughtered mercilessly and then the killers scot-free proudly showing their manly chests. Basanti wants what she is due, she doesn't want to be singled just because she is woman and God gave her a set of breasts which makes her fair game to every redneck's comments. she wants to walk late at night to gaze upon the moon and not be worried that she would be raped thrown maimed just because she took a late night walk.

Basanti wants equal opportunity from the minute she is conceived and not aborted just because of the wrong chromosone and that was not what the mother-in law wanted. She wants the opportunity to be born, to breath the fresh air of the morning, let the sun's first rays bask her , let the dew drops touch her naked feet caressing, rather than being killed and thrown in the gutter just because her father gave her the X chromosone. She wants to study to explore and to test the boundaries of knowledge.

What the Fathers and the founding fathers need to do is when they rise from the slumber in which they are is to give us independence from the narrowness and the double standards which exist in this society. The malaise is not out there like a virus it is in the minds , the LOKPAL  bill will yes, correct the society but what about the minds. Till the mind is not corruption -free what do you plan to achieve? The scourge is in our minds.. remember Rabindra Nath Tagore , one of the finest minds of our country his lines immortal Where the mind is without fear, the head is held high...

We need to de-corrupt our minds and then be truly independent. In a nation  where women are killed, battered , aborted, murdered in the name of honor and are still sold in the hope that virginity would cure  HIV AIDS and where women sell themselves for money and are forced into prostitution by pimps and in the same breath this ancient civilization reveres WOMAN  as the forceof life . She is worshipped in countless mandirs, shrines as the FORCE.  

Anna ji the fight against corruption is mighty and honorable the cause is just but take out a minute to think does the common woman want corruption to be finished right now or does she want independence , freedom so readily available to men but deprived to women.

Vaise to,....