The Untold Story

It is a fictitious discription of how women now feel in Delhi, after the tragic incident of 16th December,2012 . That day, after getting out from the movie theatre in Saket (a renowned area in South Delhi), I decided to take an autorikshaw up to my home. It was 10pm and I was accompanied by another friend who belongs to the same ‘sex’ as mine, one which is considered as the weaker section and is expected to accept anything and everything. Within few minutes of getting out, we encountered a car which passed us by, while seemingly educated men in that car passed lewd and demeaning comments on us. Yes they were so called ‘educated’ because those comments were in English. I and my friend ignored it, considering it as another normal day in the capital city and approached an auto wala. As expected from Delhi’s autowalas , they won’t help you in any situation and would prefer to stand instead of taking passengers with meter down. We then decided to wait for a bus. Luckily one friend was passing by, while we were waiting and he dropped us home. Next morning I heard news about Nirbhaya, girl who had been raped and brutally beaten up, along with his male friend. They both had also come out of the same theatre yesterday and had faced same issue of transportation. Though they must have felt lucky to get a bus at that time, they were oblivious of the fact that their lives would change completely within an hour. I was shocked to read the complete story. It was terrifying to know what that girl went through and my eyes couldn’t stop crying. She was a doctor in making. Another educated girl, whose life was now shattered. I thought if this education had any positives for us. I only had questions in my mind. What if my friend hadn’t come last night? Could it have been me and my friend? Could this incident be avoided had that auto wala at least taken her home? Were those educated men in car better than those in the bus who committed this heinous crime? Or were they the same, with some shame left in their eyes? These questions kept on revolving in my mind and I couldn’t concentrate on my work. In evening, I couldn’t walk out alone for the market. Actually I didn’t even want to go with someone. I had fear on my face. I was still wondering if I should feel happy about my luck or if I should feel for that brave girl. I decided not to go anywhere and instead involved myself in some work to avoid all thoughts. Thirteen days after this tragedy, ‘Nirbhaya’ has left the world, while all those questions are still unanswered. I still have that fear in me and I think it will take huge efforts from society and government to make this fear fade away. I wake up at night after having bad dreams. I feel I am being followed when I walk on the streets of Delhi and I am not able to travel after 6pm. I am confused if I should wear the western outfits I brought or if they are revealing clothes and men might think I am inviting them to rape me. I am a common girl who till now thought of being safe in her home city. I am that confident girl who fought with her parents to allow her to study and work in the capital, while they relax in the peaceful village. I am a sister, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a girl friend, who till now was the face of this growing nation and confidently competed everywhere but is now afraid to walk alone. I can be found in your college, your office, your locality or in a market and I am looking for your support. Support of not walking besides me, but support of confirmation which assures me that yes one day I will again be able to walk alone, with head held high and confidence of reaching home safely and respectfully.

Way of Life

When was the last time you had an open hearted laugh, which brought smile on faces of others and which took away all your worries? When was the last time you sat down to enjoy the serenity of silence? When was the last time you acted like a kid, showing ignorance to this complex world without being arrogant? Strange way to start a blog, isn’t it? Oh! another question. I leave the stage open for you to ponder on these questions. Today, only thing that can challenge Usain Bolt’s speed is the speed at which our lives are moving. There was a time when the only aspect we knew of life was enjoyment. Even without various comforts and no money in pocket, we could enjoy to the maximum. Getting wet in rain gave us happiness. Eating somebody else’s lunch in school gave us the devil’s pleasure. We fought with friends, with siblings but the next moment we used to be back, walking, eating and playing together. If all of it was possible at that time, then what is it that holds us now from being the same old ‘bravos’? Is it the time that has changed or is it us who have been molded into a different avatar? The answer to all these questions is with us. Yes, life has become fast and furious and we are now running towards goals, which even after achievement do not give us complete satisfaction. It is our unquenchable thirst for these achievements which has limited our vision of life and enjoyment. Let us sit back and remember all those beautiful moments. Let us give ourselves that time we need to dwell on and rediscover our priceless and unconditional smiles and laughter. Let us allow those thoughts and emotions to flow freely and we will realize that every moment is enjoyable and expressible. My wings, my flights, I discovered them today, Let me fly and find my own way… In the dark forests or around the sprinkling sun, Will live through my dreams and a new one would have just begun.

Walked on the road, walked through the sand... U taught me how to walk, while u held my hand. Walked through the darkness, walked through light... U always taught me, I need to keep up the fight U taught me about truth, u made me learn life... I followed ur foot steps and learned how to survive. Love is sacred, u told me some day...

GOODBYE DRAVID

As aptly said by the little master ,there will be no other Dravid.
I still remember the day when 16 years ago you scored a valuable 95 at
Lord's on your debut. Since then ,even though Indian Cricket was jolted
by many a tremors , you always stood tall and you actually always
stood, wall.
You donned gloves in ODIs for the team's sake , you opened the batting
when required and you batted for hours even if you were drained by the
energy sapping fielding sessions.
From you ,there have been innumerable marathon innings like 270 at
Rawalpindi , 148 at Headingly , match winning century at Adelaide and
many more. I cherished each and every one of them. Laxman's 281 at
Kolkata would not have happened without your equally precious 180.
You captained us through the Test Series wins in Windies and at the
English soil. Your willow was as eloquent as you and did most of the
talking during the tough tours of New Zealand and S Africa. Your 190 at
Hamilton in 1999 speaks volumes of your calibre.
Even best fielders in the game took notice of you and Wellington was
lucky enough to witness yourself breaking the record of maximum catches
in Test Cricket.
Many eyes might be wet 'coz they will not see you play again but they
take pride in what they have witnessed over the past decade and a half.
Dear Rahul Dravid, you will be missed.

The Year that was...

First day of the new year and I again have that sense of deja vu. Exactly one year back, mails were flowing in and out, messages of well being were being exchanged as everyone was getting ready to welcome 2011. Similar is the mood right now as we invite 2012 to enter our lives.

So I have decided to scratch my head and collate those moments and happenings that distinguished 2011 from 2010 or other years.

I asked the wall in front of me , "Has 2011 really been different ?" , and pat came the

reply"ofcourse yes". It is actually true because the number of events that took place this year

and their magnitude itself speak a lot about 2011.

It began with everyone flowing in the fashionable tide of making 'new year resolutions'. Few days into 2011 and we realized that this year also we will not be able to change our habits. Into

Feb, there started this buzz about the Cricket World Cup being held in India and the importance

it had for Sachin Tendulkar. Though we all know what happened on 02nd April, 2011 at Wankhade Stadium, it did no reputation loss to MSD too. On one side, World Cup Victory brought in more moolah for Cricketers , the gloomy condition of Indian Hockey remained the same even after India won the innaugral 'Asian Champions Trophy'.

While all this was going on, there were two things that kept on increasing consistantly. One was

the inflation and the other was interest rate hikes by Mr Subbarao. Though opposition parties

were protesting in the same old fashion against both these consistent ' Non Performing Assets',

India also saw a new way and wave of protests. ' Jan Lokpal movemement' was launched on a massive scale in which we all saw the rise of a new leader in the form of Anna Hazare. But if you think that it was only India which was affected by these rising prices and growing public rage, then you might be mistaken. While it was Jantar Mantar in India, places like Tahir Square in Egypt & Tripoli in Libya were also put on the world's map. 2011 saw the downfall of many dictators like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi and 2011 also ensured that fears of 2008 like recession would haunt the world again through Euro zone crisis. PIGS ( Portugal, Itly, Greece & Spain ) were forced to take austerity measures while investors throughout the world seeked safe heaven in US Dollars. Markets kept bleeding and INR saw a record low level.

The year saw the birth of earth's 7th billion child, a $15 billion currency swap deal between

India & Japan , F1 racing coming to India , a massive and destructive earthquake hitting Japan,

double whammy by Sehwag in ODIs , USA taking the revenge of 9/11 by killing Osama, three

Pakistani cricketers being jailed for ' Spot Fixing', Ratan Tata handing over the baton to Cyrus

Mistry and among all those expensive Tablets being launched , 'Aakash ' also making its way in.

Another strange thing to have happened in 2011 was the number of celebrities that the world lost. We lost ghazal king 'Jagjit Singh', the very energetic 'Shammi Kapoor', Father of innovation

'Steve Jobs' , Mr evergreen 'Dev Anand' , the very talented UK pop star ' Amy Winehouse', the

powerful Korean 'Kim Jong II, Indy Car Driver 'Dan Whledon' ( car crash during a race ) ,

renowned cricket writer 'Peter Roebuck' (committed suicide ) , legendary singer ' Bhupen

Hazarika' and few more.

So 2011 was an year of eventful journeys. Some left good taste and some made world more strong through the challenges they posed. 2012 is now being wlecomed with expectations that the year will only bring good luck for the world and we will not be bogged down by any economic crisis or the fear of world walking on the edge. The positvity of achieveing something will keep us all going and as the new punch line of Coca Cola suggests, ' We will believe in a happier tomorrow'.