Life is cheap

Jat protests...19 killed...150+ injured...

THE FOLLY CALLED MAN

When I bought grapes & much more...

The vegetable/fruit vendor called me forward and took the basket from me. I had been trying hard to have my turn at getting the fruits weighed and paid for.The man standing next to me launched a tirade - why are you serving her...so she is a woman...have you not seen a woman before...
Scenes like this or display of utter disregard or disrespect for others is not unusual in our markets or roads or society. Some of us seem to be constantly on the lookout for an excuse to abuse someone.What was unusual was the response of the vendor...very politely he said---sir, you need not get angry...I served the lady because I noticed that she had been waiting for a long time. And yes sir, I have seen women before. My mother, my sister are women, so are yours. So kindly show some respect. The man was dumbstruck, so was I. The vendor expressed regret over the incident to me.
I walked home, pondering over his choice of words and felt inspired by his temperament. I got home and jotted down this experience because very rarely do we come across people who win our heart and respect in a few seconds with a few words or gestures... 

The fall of the Martian empire?

Are women usurping the power from men? Is the fall of man inevitable?

Will my great great great grandchildren read about the dark ages in the bright future?

Cut in half

Body splits into two...these words caught my eyes...I looked at the headline again. I registered words like donates his eyes, organs. My self-comfort mechanism told me not to read it.
I read the news.
It was a sad story of an unfortunate death. Just 23 yrs old...could people have actually stood there shooting pics and taking videos when someone was lying hurt, body cut into two, seeking help. I wouldn't know, but media says so.
Harish was conscious and spoke with clarity for about half-an-hour. He must have seen the lower half of his body lying feets away and known that he was dying. Those 30 minutes...the crux of our existence lay scattered in those 30 minutes...

My first film festival

Out of sheer thrill i might make attending a film festival sound like travelling to space. Truthfully speaking, i am very excited about the whole experience. The first of anything does leave an impact...(not necessarily positive).
I bought a pass to the Bangalore film festival and let myself in into a beautiful and colorful world throbbing with myriad emotions. Every day, for some days, I found myself in a new place... a Hungarian home, a French station, a Korean school or maybe a poor Iranian home... In bits and pieces I lived the lives of multiple people - an Iranian wife desperate to bear a child; a Russian teenager content with her simple and mundane life in a forlorn land; a depressed Turkish woman trying to find security and comfort in her psychologist, a Korean teacher fighting a losing battle for justice; an aging and fatally-ill French woman falling in love with a man one-third her age; a gritty East German woman fighting for her place in a politically-charged Germany; a timid and abused French wife running away from home to find herself; the priest living and dying his faith; a Korean woman enduring all forms of abuse in a male-worshipping society...and more...
And then, the spectacle was over and i got back to the black and white world of Prohance and Teamwork...

The boy and the tiger

Life throws certain moments at us that make us realize our weak stature.
A day ago, I read about a tiger attack in a zoo and clicked on the link out of curiosity. The image I saw sent shivers down my spine -- A helpless teenager cowering few inches from a tiger's face. That image has given me sleepless moments and sad thoughts. I have not had the courage to look at the video nor have I dared to read further about the incident. It arouses emotions similar to trying to understand death. After my dad passed away, for some years, I used to get frustrated at not being able to understand and accept death. Even now, the confusion persists but acceptance of the inevitable has seeped in. I feel I am that boy facing the tiger and my heart beats fast. I feel so angry that a young life was lost so horribly. No thoughts have the power to convince me about the ways of life.

What the heck is the media doing?

The morning after the historic result in election 2014 I eagerly opened the newspaper to lap up everything it had to offer. I was keen to see how the media had covered (or uncovered) the whole spectacle. What I saw left me disillusioned and angry. Our media is so blatantly communal. And to imagine that they allege some political parties to be communal is confounding. I see nothing substantial written about the issues that matter. Everywhere, there are articles, reports and quotes on what the election results mean to hindus... to muslims... to the minority... to the majority... How many muslim MPs won or how many lost; percent of muslim voters... so much stats about insignificant details. Not just insignificant, but disturbing details which are actually very communal. Politicians have for ages fed and fattened on communal and regional feelings and media is proving to be no better. Why give communal angle to everything? Why keep rubbing it in? 

The art of deception

Magic shows were such fun, till I grew older and got disenchanted... And now, weirdly, magic shows leave me irritated. I could not understand this strong irrational dislike for magic when I usually like anything that involves talent, creativity and skill. And I understand that magic has loads of all of these. So what was it?
After some pondering I found this explanation - maybe I had had enough of being fooled. Deception is such an indelible part of our lives. Do we really need a magic show to further that?

Is there a dearth of magicians in this world? Have they not been beguiling us, fooling us, deceiving us with their bag of tricks since centuries? We have always been vulnerable to dazzle. And tricksters have used this vulnerability to their advantage. They trick us with religions, institutions(social, economic, political...), morals, ethics...such a make-believe world they have created for us. And, we are so charmed...we go about following their dictats, dazed and hypnotized. Can we ever snap out of it? We have godmen bestowing us hope -- an end to all our miseries. We have politicians promising us peace and prosperity. We have social institutions like the family offering us love and security.
And the magic never wears off... 

The Secular Debate

It's election time! And most of us are not able to resist the temptation to indulge in a bit of political discussion. And a talk on Indian politics invariably ends up becoming a debate on secularism. 

I get a little perplexed when I hear only BJP being branded communal. Are the other so-called ‘secular’ parties less communal? in fact, they are more so. 
The policy of appeasement that is followed by most parties towards minorities has only led to increased communalism in the country. These parties exploit the minority communities as vote banks and use them by manipulating their emotions to meet their own ends. By overlooking certain grave issues, these parties dig the grave for India and mankind. Does secularism mean tolerating wrongs? 

A wrong cannot be overlooked just because you fear being labelled communal. In India, many suffer a pseudo-secular syndrome. 

When will our politicians, political parties,  media, other systems and the common man learn to treat everyone equal?

People cannot forget Gujarat riots but they conveniently forget the Godhra train massacre. Why do people have selective amnesia? It’s true that an act of violence has to be condemned but why is this condemnation selective? Why are certain things never spoken about? Why is it that many Indians prefer to act blind and refuse to call a spade a spade? 

All do wrong -- irrespective of the community. What we need is a uniform policy to deal with these. Appeasement has to stop. Justice has to prevail. 

Is being blind and mute the only way to be secular?

Who do I vote for?

I do not seek miracles. Is access to good food, quality education, and hygienic living conditions for all a Utopian desire? Isn't basic respect for human rights and individual dignity a necessity? Shouldn't every person, irrespective of gender, religion, caste, or class, have equal access to rights and opportunities? And all this need not necessarily come with ‘development’. In other words, more skyscrapers, IT parks, or malls are not the solution. Development entails access to a certain way of life for all – good education, healthcare, and equal opportunities, among other basic human necessities. In a truly developed state every human life is valued and gets the required support to live as a free human being. 
Now, how can I play a part in ensuring this? Who do I bring to power? Which party can promise me a state of equality and growth for all?
Unfortunately, this question can only lead to disappointment. What do you hope or expect for a nation of people which prioritizes construction of temples, churches or mosques over toilets, schools and homes. What do you do when you are only given options that do not meet your requirements; get disillusioned and shy away from the system?
There are stereotyped perceptions created by the media and the so-called ‘thinking’ interpreters of everything. If you are secular you can’t like BJP. If you are against corruption, you are with AAP. If you are so-called secular and think AAP is ineffective, you go with Congress. The rest of the parties are mostly region-based (in other words caste-based). These are the choices a regular Indian has.
I do not worry about the consequences of the choice I make. I worry about the lack of consequences of any choice I make. After all, aren't all choices exactly the same; only disguised as different entities to fool us, yet again?