Wounds of survival !

I was returning from the bakery after picking up the cake, ordered for the New Year party at my home. Looking at the crazy traffic and the crowded roads, I started walking faster; worrying if I would reach home on time before all the friends arrived. It was a struggle, walking amid the traffic to reach my car. The cacophony was growing way beyond the decibel levels any human being could possibly take! Suddenly, in all the chaos, I heard refreshing sound of tinkling of anklets; followed by some slow drum beats and glass bangles, heading slowly towards me. 

When I looked around, it was an imposing sight! There was a group of about ten people; some of them in vibrantly picturesque attires, playing drums and cracking the whip in air that made scary sound. It took me a while to understand what exactly they were up to. I was under spell of shock, looking at the children who were barely clothed on that cold evening. The group read curiosity and disbelief in my eyes and approached me with utmost politeness and requested to watch their performance. Before I could even respond to them, they lead me to a corner and I followed, as if mesmerized!   

  
It was macabre expression of most inhuman facet of life to watch two children doing stunts with the whips and knives. I urged them vehemently to stop their show, the moment I saw the children crack the whip on their bodies. It was painful to see the mark of wounds slashed on their tender back. When I offered them help, they seemed hesitant as they felt they hadn't performed enough to accept anything from me! Looking at my camera, they suggested if I wished, I could take their pictures. I was so numb from the moment I saw their stunts that I had completely forgotten I was having my camera with me.

I learnt that, they not only made a living out of whip cracking stunts but combined it with some amazing knife throwing techniques. The presentation of their stunts was very interesting and they threw some humourous patter to make the performance lively and encourage audience participation. The children occasionally got an opportunity to perfect their skills by participating in dangerous stunts that often left them seriously injured. 

I chatted with the leader of the group who seemed concerned with the difficulties they were facing with each passing day. He enthusiastically displayed some brilliant techniques of maneuvering the whip and knife, despite me pleading him to stop. He smiled as if his body had no pain at all! 

When I finally left, I was in tears. Something within me had snapped, watching the group inflict so much pain for the sake of survival! With each new wound marked on their bodies, their capacity of swallowing pain increased. Every single wound, bruised and battered by the whip, was yet another reminder of their experiences of isolation, inequity and potential savagery it entailed. Perhaps, their physical wounds would heal with time someday but what about the wounds that were permanently etched in their hearts? I doubt they had luxury of even visiting their inner pain.

Behind the vibrant demeanour, there was so much pain and yet the people I met were all happy and smiling. They had dignity to refuse any help unless they were convinced they had earned it! What a divine experience it was to meet this amazing group. Despite our completely different backgrounds, we formed some connection. I experienced a surge of emotions during this entire experience that is difficult to put in words. 


Life never ceases to inspire me and when I am fortunate to have such fascinating, chanced upon encounters it compels me to salute the human spirit. All I need to do is get out of my softly padded walls of comfort zone and embrace so many layers of life that is unfolded every single day! 

The great Indian political circus and midnight mayhem

While the entire country was gearing up to welcome the year 2012, there was a drama of epic proportion being performed in the upper house, in most disgusting manner. In the same week, on MMRDA grounds in Mumbai, a tragic turn that transformed Anna Hazare's movement into a fiasco was the absence of many of its supporters. What these two major events of last week revealed was the true character of our politicians, the core team of Anna's camp and the media.

I have already written about my views on Anna Hazare's "movement against corruption" in my article "A convoluted protest" on 22/08/11. Albeit, some of my friends found my stand on the issue quite brave, the questions I posed in my article, still remain unanswered. 

Last few months, the nation has grown increasingly concerned with Anna Hazare's movement.  The politically ambitious sycophants who made desperate attempts to position Anna as 'Gandhi of current times" have fallen flat on their face.  Mr. Hazare has barely projected even an iota of wisdom of the great mahatma in this entire movement. Watching him mock Sonia Gandhi and other politicians made many of his supporters cringe with shame, as the political games of his camp became evident in their eloquent rhetoric. The Anna camp was exposed and soon people realized how, for this "movement against corruption", corruption was never the core issue! It was shocking for the supporters who had apolitical minds, clean hearts and good intentions, to see the political undercurrents of the "movement" and they chose to distance themselves as they realized they were taken for a ride. 

Any Indian who has watched the debate of Lokpal bill in upper house would realize how our politicians seriously believe that the nation is full of morons and people would not be able to make out that their intention was clearly to sink the Lokpal bill. They did quite a clumsy job at that. Many of our politicians didn't realize that even irreverence needs to be packed well else people can make out what the real game is all about!

How can I forget the intellectual elite and their breed with its opportunistic methods that gained immensely with the endless debates and some fleeting moments of glory of becoming famous? Wonder, if they really care for the real issue. Sad, media doesn't get tired of them! 

It was a major blunder both by the ruling party (or was it a game plan, considering its penchant for appeasement politics) and the media to assign role of sole representative for the "civil society" to Anna Hazare. That lapse instantly put Anna to a Demigod stature which was catastrophe in waiting. All that followed from that point on, was nothing but a deadly game of cheap politics, ambitions and greed. To assume that this game is over is insane. We have much more drama in store in coming days.  

Watching the debate of the Lokpal bill in upper house has truly saddened entire nation. One is compelled to think if this the democracy we really deserve? With culmination of the New Year, I hope we invest some time in soul searching.  The only positive outcome, if at all, in this entire anti corruption movement was to bring to light the fact that there is large number of people who are willing to do anything for the sake of honest, accountable, transparent, corruption free and decisive government. There are people who are willing to participate in bringing change in the society that is inclusive, tolerant, humane and fair in its approach. May be its still just a very small section but it promises great potential to bring in the necessary change. 

You must be thinking that I am nursing some delusion.  I am not. Being an insanely optimistic person, I am NOT giving up my hope despite everything. It is New Year and its time to start with new dreams and beginnings. I am going to keep faith in my dream and participate in new beginnings.

Good bye 2011...

Its that time of the year when we look back and realize how fast the year passed! Its time to be thankful, celebrate and share all the blessings God has so generously bestowed upon us.   

There is celebration all around and for a change, everyone seems to be happy. The mood for the party has set in and I am busy planning for the same. A lot has happened in year 2011 that changed me as a person and I am thankful to life for that.

I must also thank all my friends, well wishers and readers of this blog for their wonderful support. The comments, mails and suggestions that I receive for this blog have helped me immensely to grow as a person and writer.  My heartfelt thanks for that!

Catch you in 2012 friends, with many more rendezvous with life. Till then, happy holidays and God bless you!

"I am JUST a housewife"

When Neeraja, my friend called, she was sounding very disturbed, "Simi, cancel all your appointments for tomorrow; I don't care how important they are. Just come over, I need to talk to you." "Would you teach me how to invest money like you? I need to flaunt that Goddamn business card and earn my own money." That was the first thing Neeraja said with tears in her eyes, the moment I reached her home the next day. What followed, was nothing unexpected. 


I had always sensed some dissatisfaction, a strange stirring that she suffered alone. I preferred to just listen and observe instead of intruding with probing further on the issue. Deep inside I knew, when the right time arrived, all her pain that lay buried for many years  would organically find its way out. 


Neeraja was married at age of eighteen. Being an exceptionally bright student, she qualified for IIT and had nurtured dream of a great career. Her ambition of studying at IIT was shattered when there wasn't enough money to support education of two family members. She was obviously expected to sacrifice. Albeit after few years when financial problem was resolved,  she managed to secure first class in M.Sc and did M.B.A from a premier institute!


When life presented opportunities for her to work, she could not take them due to changed priorities. Sometimes it was for the sake of children, husband's career, old parents or in laws that always required her to be around. When her responsibilities got over, her health didn't allow her to take up any job. Neeraja is exhausted by unequal sharing of burden of all these years. Despite performing all her duties in every possible role with love and utmost precision, she feels completely worthless and unappreciated!!


With a brain wash session that lasted for few hours, I managed to bring a smile on Neeraja's face when I left but our talk made me think about general attitude and mindset when it comes to housewives. I have met many women like Neeraja who are the pillars of strength for family and always perform their duties silently. Sadly, in many educated families there is condescending attitude towards a housewife. The general perception of the term "housewife" is still that of a woman who has all the time in the world but barely participates in anything constructive! Her domestic servitude is often perceived as birth right by family members!


A dear friend of mine, a very gifted person I have ever met - Mathew George, has interesting take on the issues of housewife. He says, " Approximately 50% of the population are women; a fair fraction of them, highly educated. Out of these highly educated fraction of women, a fair chunk perform the most difficult role there is; that of a housewife. The very fact that these ladies do not perform a formal job is a national waste of educated working age population. There ought to be a way of putting them back to work towards national gain. The internet provides one such way where one can perform gainful tasks without compromising on their responsibilities at home. The government, instead of giving lip service to the emancipation of women should be actually thinking up a workable strategy on how to utilize the wasted yet significant talents of this quintessentially backroom type of human being!"  


Being "just a housewife" is not a curse. It is a commendable job without whose support very many families would collapse!  It is time to respect and honour that truth! 

Inferno, the dance of death and despair

I was reading the latest news of terror attacks in Afghanistan, during Ashura mourning. The news carried a photograph of a girl barely eight, looking with disbelief, at the dead bodies strewn all around her. With her clothes drenched in blood, she was in a complete state of shock and visibly numb. Deeply pained with that sight I thought, what could be worse than a child that young having to witness such inhuman acts of violence? I was struggling hard to get that heart wrenching picture out of my mind and then arrived the shocking news of tragedy at AMRI hospital at Calcutta.

Some incidents are far too painful to comprehend! How can we justify loss of 90 precious lives, charred to death at the hospital? I stopped watching news on television as the visuals were too uncomfortable. People who went for treatment at the place that is supposed to give a new life, met with such horrible death! 

Like it happens every time after any tragedy strikes, we have a long list of reasons and flaws that are being established and blame games are changing with each passing day. There is clear  repudiation of laws and glaring neglect of safety issues by the hospital. It is shocking that even medical staff, except a very few, abandoned their patients and ran for their own safety during this grim incident.

Who all are the culprits in this episode? Hospital, for its complete disregard for certain rules and for not having a speedy evacuation program meant for the most crucial time like emergencies. Respective authorities, for allowing hospital to bend rules (suddenly, the authorities have realized that certain part of the hospital is unauthorized! I wonder how come this was not noticed and reported before the tragedy struck?) To some extent, medical staff that could have perhaps dealt with this tragedy in much better way and saved few lives. And, us. 

Yeah, we as society, are responsible in some way for this tragedy. How often do we bend rules for our convenience and take things for granted as we think everything can be purchased and fixed by money and power. We thrive in the culture of "sab kuch chalta hain". We take pride in being "smart" and "practical" (read, manipulative and corrupt). Greed and corruption are so deeply ingrained in our DNA that we have forgotten where to draw line. We are too obsessed with our own survival to care for anything wrong that is happening around us. We have learnt to ignore things that are blatantly wrong but don't affect us. Why take panga (why bother)? 

Do I need to give any example of how our system is rotting with corruption? Even a school going kid knows that one can get away with crime by offering some money. Of course, we have rules and stringent punishments for the law breakers. Is any amount of monetary compensation ever enough to make up for loss of life? 

Accidents happen. At times, tragedies occur out of sheer accidents that are beyond anyone's control. We need to ask ourselves; how comfortably numb we are going to be, consumed by our greed? How far will we continue to be mere silent spectators? NOBODY deserves to die the way people died at AMRI hospital and till such loss of precious human life continues, I doubt we can call ourselves a civilized society.