Inhumane Act in Front of Inhuman Government Officials

I am compelled to write about the Delhi gang rape of 23 year old Amanat (the name given to her by media).  I am furious like every other Indian (excludes the Government and Police official of India). Let me tell you why I excluded these people from the list of furious people. These officials were waiting for such a heinous act to happen to come together and act on it. What were they doing since the time first rape case was reported? Nothing!!!! There are 600 rape cases reported in Delhi itself this year, media reports. Why was there no action taken on it? Now that the common people have come to streets, you are running around to clean your shit. Let me tell you one thing, from where I stand, I don’t think you can come out of your own cobweb of corrupt officials.

Why are we at a point where we, the Indian citizens, have to take a step? When will you wake up from your sleep and realize life is not as hunky dory for us as it is for you. No woman feels safe in Delhi right now and it is all because of your poor governance and police vigilance. I blame no other person and blaming the woman for not dressing properly should not even be an option. Men – go check your morals. You sick bastards (pardon my language but even this is not enough), how would you feel if your mother, wife or sister went through what Amanat went through? How about you are castrated and not allowed to take your life? Just imagine the physical and emotional pain that you will go through, that’s right – it’s unbearable.

Media report says that the Home Secretary and Delhi Police are seeking swift trial and Life Imprisonment. Why? They need the harshest punishment, harsh enough so no other men can even think of doing any sort of brutality on women going forward. You say that there will be plainclothes cops to overlook any goonagardi or dadagiri. Please take a moment to explain how would you eliminate ‘corrupt policemen’ who would see all the crime happening and turn their faces? There will be a day when you will not be safe from the common people of India. If you haven’t seen the power of this generation, be prepared for a rocky ride.

My heart goes out to Amanat, her friend and their families. Life will not be easy but it should still not stop. You all are there in our prayers and the protests. The common people of India will and should bring the change because this incident is going to be in media and reports for some time and then put aside. We should not forget that the daughters of India need to be saved from the men of their own nation. These are the men who vow to protect their sisters but put other’s sisters’ life at stake by committing such an inhumane act.

We all need an answer from Delhi, why are you taking so long to take any action on these criminals? Why have you not shown their faces to us? We want them to see how angry we are and we are capable to punish them in a way they cannot imagine. Delhi, you are the Rape Capital and so called Capital of India. Guys, do we need the rest of the country to follow footsteps of the ‘Rape Capital’?

Every man of India, who has no respect for women and their existence, DIE! We don’t need you, we don’t need you to protect us instead we need protection from you. The only way we are safe is when we get rid of you.

Image Source: http://manavlalotra.com

Place in Ujjain (went unrecognized)

This article was lying around on my blog unpublished until today, when I decided to try to publish all the unpublished work. This piece of work should have been made public long ago. But alas, who has the time these days. So I decided to make this public with some modifications.

This is a temple in Ujjain named Karkrajeshwar which I visited few years back. This place is of immense importance as the picture shows (Picture taken by me). Karkrekha (Tropic of Cancer) passes horizontally above Ujjain from this point. Over the years, things have changed but the history is worth a mention.

A little background about Ujjain: It is an ancient city (also known as Ujjayini, Avantikapuri etc) which used to be Ashoka's capital of the time. The city also comes with religious background and people continue to carry the heritage. There are temple at every corner of the block. Hence the article about this temple in outskirts of Ujjain.

Honestly, I never heard of such a place in and around Ujjain where I grew up. This temple is nothing but a forgotten infrastructure and perhaps carry more history than you and I can imagine it to. But there was not enough element of surprise for me to notice the garbage lying around like petals of flowers, on the ground filled with Desh ki mitti, which has lost it's meaning over the years for some of us or most of us. Surrounding it, is a river, the condition of which is worst than the temple itself. As far as my memory goes, there was no pavement, no secured fences and why would there be any, there was almost no trace of water.

Everyone talks about patriotism but no one is ready to take a step to make this great historical place a place which can stand up for itself and boast about its existence. I wonder and question myself, why the government or the citizens have never bothered to pay the slightest of its attention to a small structure like this. Who can tell what it takes to keep the history alive and recognizable in it's original form?

I've not been to this place in ages but I hope it is still there in the same shape if not better or worst. 

It's Not Yellow

The name "It's Not Yellow" creates different imaginations like something is not yellow as in the color. This is the most common first thought. But if you are not into media, news and real issues you would not know that there is something like "Yellow Journalism". Yes, 'Yellow' journalism. This is the kind of journalism that does not care about bringing awareness in public about real issues. The kind of journalism focuses on increasing the sale of news papers or bringing more and more audience to watch the news channels. The outcome of such journalism is nothing but a waste of time especially of the people who want to bring a change in the society. And 'change in society' just doesn't mean change in the living conditions, it ranges from bringing the change in how people think to the way how people react to issues be them right or wrong.

A part of this public is 3 men who started the "It's Not Yellow" platform.  Their platform wants to bring awareness amongst the people of India about the real issues and it also invites people to raise “real” issues that are not fully covered by the mainstream media.  I have been a part of INY, as they call it and I am thrilled to see so many people participate ranging from a young teenager to an elderly person.

People bring news about issues that are bothering them or the society in some way or the other. The stories are either from their own experience or from a legitimate source. In either case, it opens the eyes of the readers and forces them to think if this was the real India they ever dreamt of. And I am saying this because I have been in that situation every time I read an article.

There are questions like "how will this platform bring a change?" Well, we all need to ask that question to ourselves. If we know that there is a real problem and still we are not doing anything, how can we change input to bring a change. The platform is to bring awareness about the cases, incidences happening around us that we don not come to know most of the times because they are either too 'irrelevant' to be covered by the media or  they are too 'boring' to create a hype and increase the sale. Whatever is the case, our generation has to take a step towards the India that we imagine could be.

I envision this platform to reach a height where the words of people like you and me are capable of making a difference. So I encourage everyone who is reading my post to visit  www.itsnotyellow.com or https://www.facebook.com/ItsNotYellow  and read about this initiative. You can also voice your opinions once you have registered yourself as a user. I do it, so can everyone else. 

Life in Uncertain…It Still Moves On…..

Life is Uncertain..so true. But have we ever thought about how much uncertain it is. Not until we face something that shakes us entirely. Recently, I found out that a young girl I knew passed away for reasons which I am not sure yet. Wait what??? How did it shake my conscious? Here it is… this girl worked with me in my previous company. I interacted with her enough to understand that she was a good person at heart, in behavior and diligent with her work. One of the few people in office I enjoyed working with.

Like her, I am a working professional living thousands of miles away from my family. After I heard of her sudden demise, I pondered on the entire situation whole day and few days to follow. Why did this happen with her at a young age? What is her family and beloved going through right now? What was she thinking when this happened? Did she know before hand she that she will never be able to fulfill her dreams? Or, did she not even get a chance to realize this is the end? Who knows what dreams and desires she left behind, what she must have had to say to everyone around her. Who knows what she went through… who knows…. In the end, she is not there anymore. All she left for people behind her is memories and things to remember her by and the regrets people around her might have of things they would have done with her if she was still around.

I was upset all day I heard this news, couldn't stop thinking about it at all, kept seeing her face and said "Oh My Dear Lord! Why nice people like her?" But how much could I think, it did not make any sense to not do my routine chores at work and at home. My life did not stop and just like that, no one's life will stop including that of her family's and loved one's. Her life was very uncertain but still none of us stopped living. Life moves on. How much ever life can be uncertain and unfair, it will keep going on, it will continue to live even if you are the only person left on this planet. For good or bad, it's how it is.

It breaks me apart when I think about this whole situation. Should we be doing what our real wishes and desires are? Or, should we abide by the rules of the society and do what we are 'supposed' to do? Hard to strike a balance between what we want to do and what we should do. We all do think of it at some point but there is only so much we can do about it considering the factors that influence our decisions. Imagine this "Anything can happen to me tomorrow, something that cannot be changed and that can leave me totally shattered." What is it that we can do today to make sure we are 'satisfied' and 'happy' at the end of the day and for the rest of our lives? Is this something that will lead us to fulfill our dreams?

I thought about her and the lesson I learned (Life is Uncertain) more deeply than one would imagine and decided to take one step towards fulfilling my dreams. I envy people who are already following their dreams. They are the people who are living their life in true sense. Think about it!!!

May her soul Rest in Peace!!!

You will be missed.