Love and death in the time of Twitter

In shockingly bizarre turn of events, Mrs. Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, wife of HRD Minister Shashi Tharoor was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Delhi. Ever since, all hell has broken loose and like it always happens in high profile cases, there is rampant speculation about what really transpired. The micro blogging site Twitter is buzzing with lot of drama caused by tweet fights between Sunanda Pushkar and a Pakistani Journalist Meher Tarar, whom Sunanda accused of stalking and hinted of having an affair with her husband, Shashi Tharoor. Things that came to light after the death and many aspects surrounding it are a shocking revelation of some bitter truths. 

We live in times when the rich, famous and powerful are in constant media glare and every tiny detail from their life, even the ones that are supposed to be private and strictly personal are broadcasted unabashedly for consumption of mass by media. Nobody seems to really think about where the line of mere information for the sake of transparency and intrusion is drawn. Given very limited time available for broadcast in forever content hungry media world and fleeting moments of attention span of the audience, scandals and private lives of politicians and Bollywood celebrities tend to dominate news. PDA between a great looking couple who happen to be public figures serves as great potential for admiration, fan following, aspiration and entertainment compared to victims of inhuman plight of poor in some remote corner of nation. Oh and people can never have enough of those "cute" pictures and salacious gossip of "perfect life" of famous, powerful and successful people. And the "celebrities" are always more than willing to oblige with enough content to stay ahead in the fierce war amidst their own clan.  

Social networking sites are buzzing with posts on Sunanda Pushkar and unfortunately many of them are so insensitive, almost as if punishing her for being intelligent, independent beautiful and having a "fairy tale" life! Suddenly, the world that was admiring her for "having it all" is obsessed with her two previous marriages and appears to be in hurry to give her a character certificate. There can't be anything more tragic than brazen politicians and powerful people trying to score political mileage out of others tragedy. It is impossible to bring openness, accountability and transparency to any democracy without a powerful media but when the media is manipulated by people in power, its purpose is defeated.      

I am deeply shocked to hear about this death and it would be more tragic if it was suicide. As a woman, I find it difficult to comprehend that a strong, educated, independent, beautiful woman like Sunanda Pushkar should suffer and die for man's love!!!! I am sure considering the "happy" life Mr. and Mrs. Tharoor were very keenly portraying in media, at every opportunity, they could have also handled the troubles if any in their life without going public. The fact that such private matter came to public eye in such shocking manner is really absurd! There seems to be much more than what meets the eye. But would we ever find that out? Alas, only if the media would have listened to the story of Sunanda Pushkar that she was desperately trying to share instead of avoiding it for the sake of its own compulsions. Sadly, Sunanda's side of truth is silenced forever with her death!

I wish I could ask her only one question, was it all really worth it in the end? 

Where is the necessary outrage?

Last week, Indian media was busy chasing story on how the Chief Minister of U.P, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav and his party members were being insensitive by hosting a "cultural" programme while riot victims of Muzaffarnagar were being subjected to inhuman conditions. The story got all the more spiced up due to insensitive remarks from the politicians on the issue and  clips of Bollywood stars performing at the event, shown in contrast with stark condition of riot victims.

We have heard horrific stories of "communal riots" and its aftermath resulting in brutal murders, rapes and death of innocent children since the riots in Muzaffarnagar broke out in September, 2013, leaving thousands homeless.

Abhorrent! To say the least, right? First, "communal riots" are designed and executed by religious/political fanatics with adroit meticulousness butchering innocent people. As if it is not enough, the state government goes into outright denial about seriousness of the tragedy! At relief camps also, actions are taken considering the political gains, favouring certain community over the other. Most of the riot victims are forced to live in shockingly inhuman conditions. The way this entire tragedy is handled leaves questions about the intent and understanding of the magnitude of suffering of the riot victims by the ruling party.

Does death in over populated country like ours has any significance at all? We conveniently accept every wrong as part of chaos that is India hence each day begins without iota of conscience/guilt of the perverse wrongs we contribute towards as we absolve ourselves with rhetoric of tokenism.

India being the largest democracy in world, has its unique challenges that need to be addressed in mature way but when even the most serious issues like communal riots/murders/rape/loss of human life are played out to the tunes of vote bank politics, is there any hope when lives do not matter, only votes do?   

What happened in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 and in its aftermath is a reflection of filthy games of political conspiracies, communal traits and barbaric mindsets. Why are we, as Nation not united in demanding answers? Public outrage and pro-active participation is one of the most significant weapon, that can be used to keep our democracy alive and we have seen it become a significant weapon in serving justice in the gruesome Delhi gang-rape in 2013.

We, as citizens have many battles to fight where victory seems almost unattainable. May be we can't fight all the battles but can we be silent about death of about fifty innocent children? Why should it matter to us? It should, because it is about complete loss of inherent traits we all are born with as human beings; humanity and compassion. We are flesh and blood human beings, not mere numbers in some random list of data of voters' list.

Its time for making our outrage heard. There needs to be enough outrage not only for the sake of democracy but also for the sake of humanity. We owe it to those innocent children who lost their lives, to the unfortunate women who underwent trauma of rape and to those people who were shamelessly murdered in name of religion/politics. 

I don't think it is too much to ask for, if we are human enough, still!   

Hello 2014 !

It feels great to be back! My plan was to take a longer break from blogging to invest my time and energy in the areas getting realigned in my personal and professional life. I have realized, it is very difficult for me to stay away from writing. 

I must say a BIG thank you to all those wonderful readers for their encouraging notes, mails and messages asking me to resume the blog since the day I wrote my last post. It feels awesome to be missed! 

We are in 2014 already! I have had a sensational start to the New Year. How about you?

Its first week of the New Year and I am already hearing loud proclamations of the same, old, ridiculous "new year resolutions". There is nothing wrong in setting goals and working on achieving them but why create ruckus? Frankly, I find New Year resolutions farcical for a simple reason that if one wants to change/start/stop something in some area of life, why wait for the New Year to bring that change? 

Losing weight, earning more money, being more successful, giving up on smoking/drinking/other vices, work harder, spend less time on facebook, getting over a relationship that has stopped working long back.....are some of the resolutions one hears every year! We all know why most of these resolutions fail to work.  

Its interesting how majority of the new year resolutions are about achieving / doing /surviving and rarely about becoming/being. Scratch the surface beneath the resolutions and one finds extreme self esteem issues, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy and even paranoia.  

Sometimes I wonder if we are losing the ability to know, tune into our own selves to understand who we are. There is so much more to us/life than achieving, surviving, and acquiring. Not often one is able to separate all that from our own true self and understand who we are at the very core. I know it is not always easy to figure out that real person amidst the crazy rush for survival, the struggle to do zillion things and the competition of acquiring everything that we are expected to stay ahead in mad race of life. 

Behind the person struggling with weight issues, failing to accept the fact that he/she needs to move his butt and get out of sedentary lifestyle and embrace healthy choices is someone who has long lost touch with his/her inner self. A person still stuck with a bad relationship despite pain and suffering is someone who needs to have a serious look at his /her self esteem issues. 

We don't need New Year resolutions to bring change in our life. We need to take a pause and reflect to reconnect with our own selves. Maybe we need to steal a moment or two even from the craziest day to ponder, perhaps doing absolutely nothing, to marvel at little joys of life, to find beauty and shift our focus on understanding our true Being for a change.

Here is wishing all my wonderful readers a few moments of absolute nothingness every single day! God bless! 

Its time to reflect !

When our heart leads us somewhere, it's always for a reason.  We need to follow and find out what that reason is.  Usually, this change brings us closer to who we really are; it allows us to discover our true self, and be more authentic.

   

Since past couple of days, God seems to have possessed my soul and turn it inside out! I hear clamouring scream to break out from virtual layers of all that I have been routinely doing so far and grasp at something much more real, meaningful (I am yet to figure out what it is, yet!) They say, life is, all about trusting your feelings, taking chances and learning from our experiences. 

Life is going great, both, personally and professionally (touch wood!) But every time I see life sailing smoothly, the inner bitch warns me against riding the wave and getting carried away by it lest I start taking it for granted. I dread stagnation and in my constant endeavour to reinvent myself, I realize, it is time for this blog to take a pause and reflect with calm mind. This is 150th blog post and the journey so far has been truly amazing! 

   So far during this journey, I have bared my emotions, talked about deep concerns and shared some utterly stirring stories. I know that insatiable need to tell stories buried deep inside me, won't allow me to sit quiet for long. But for now, I must step back and gather all that is happening in my utterly chaotic mind. Its a constant struggle as we often find our truth in least expected spaces; in the least imagined ways. Sometimes, this struggle has its own delight!

     

Before I leave, I wish to thank all my wonderful, loyal readers, friends, family, complete strangers, who participated  on this blog, expressed their views, gave suggestions and ALWAYS encouraged me with their kind words and appreciation. I am still "a work in progress" and wish to remain one till my last breath. It is fun to interact with so many people from across the globe through this medium. Thanks a ton for being part of this journey as it certainly helps enhance my experience as writer and gives me interesting perspectives. 

I will be back, once that eternal nomad in me is conquered and calm. Till then, do mail me your suggestions on the changes you wish to see on this blog. Thanks. God bless you! 

Colours of Diwali

As I type this post today, there is deafening sound of crackers bursting outside. The city is oozing with overwhelming energy and there is sensory overload. Its Diwali and the atmosphere is redolent with celebrations! And like it always happens around this time, I am in no mood to write long post.

Its time for endless parties, catching up with friends and family, mad conversations, letting funny bones go in overdrive mode and endless laughter. Its time for indulgence, sharing and spreading smiles. 

Wishing all the readers of this blog a very happy Diwali! May our inner light shine always and guide us find the right path in life. May our life be filled with immense love, compassion, joy, peace, beauty and amazing moments of wonder! Before I sign off, here are some  hues of festivity captured on my camera during my walks.