Dekh Bhai Dekh

A week back when Asaram Bapu, didn't know who he was up until then , made a statement on how Nirbhaya should have reacted in that situation. She should have pleaded, called them her 'brothers' and asked, sorry, begged them to leave her. Now my first reaction to this asinine comment was to berate my choicest gallis in all the languages I know, but on further research and couple of news flashes later, I realized he wasn't the only one. There were close to a thousand people at the gathering where this "Ass-aram" made these statements, and I can bet you my little toe nail and win it back when I say that, a good 100+ in the audience there clapped and nodded in agreement.

The prolific rise of the self proclaimed "God men" is not startling, I say this cause we are a nation that worships these gurus/saints/babas and will garland anything and anyone who can "heal" AIDS and others of its kind. Switch on your TV and you will catch them dancing to some bhajjan, and howling some mantras and touching new heights of ridiculous. Now in my personal opinion, old men in overalls singing and dancing on national television are a load of bat droppings. I wouldn't give 2 hoots about what they say. But nowdays they seem to have a lot say!!!

And it's not just them, every tom dick and harry, with a famous daddy or a seat in the assembly has a ridiculous insight or suggestion to make. Bizarre even doesn't even begin to describe their statements, right from how Chowmein is the reason minds are getting corrupt, making little girls wear overcoats at all times and of course the show stealer, calling the man who is raping you, Your Brother.

The bit that saddens me the most is the that a large population of our country agree and  stand by such chauvinist and medieval ideologies. You can go ahead and set up fast track courts, hang rapists but unless there is an attitude make over, the one that screams "She asked for it", we are in for a long ride.

So, my sisters and brothers kindly give a crash course to any fellow "brother" who needs it rather, deserves it.

For Her

Everytime I hear about a rape case, I am infuriated, I get real angry, swear a lot, hurl my choicest gallis to the politicians, and shudder. This has happened time and again, in different parts of India and my own state, So I resolve that I will avoid going to these places,well atleast make sure I don't deliberately go there. So there was the Mathura rape case, the Bhanwari Devi case, the 3 year olds in Hydrebad and Bidar ,closer home the Scarlett Keeling case and an entire geography mapped out where horrendous damage was inflicted on women. And these are just a few, I'd make a mental note of my not-to-visit places and eventually get on with my life. Then the Delhi gang rape case came along, now Delhi has always on top of my list but this time its hard to move on,it was brutal, it was sickening and just inhuman, but what latched me on was her. Something about this girl drew me from a forlorn purposefully forgotten reality.

Today, I woke up to hear she is no more.

I for one ask for justice fitting of the crime, a week back I would have asked for barbaric ways of killing these bastards, but today I ask for much more.
I ask that every girl/woman treat each other with the utmost respect.
I ask every man to honor women, her body, her emotions,her soul and also to keep it in their pants.
I ask the society to antagonize and cause anguish to the rapists and not its survivors.
I ask the police to be sensitive to a girl's complaint,she may be 'modern' or 'forward', but she is never asking for it. Not to be leered at, not to be assaulted and definitely not to be raped.
I ask the judiciary to amend and fix the loop holes in the laws that let so many get away with such a heinous crime. And the 6 guys, be killed. Yes.Barbarically.
I finally ask the government, enough with the cheap political antics, get working, get working now. 

She didn't ask to be a symbol of courage nor did she want to be a singular rallying point of hope and a sign of things to turn around for the better. Yet she was and continues to be all of this and much more. In the past 2 weeks, she went through an ordeal that made us question our own belief system whether humans are still... well humans.
The brutality of the pain inflicted on her is unimaginable and yet she waned to live, she wasn't a victim, she was a survivor.

I don't know her name, in the past few days she has been addressed as nirbhaya/amanat/damini. Now what remains of her is her spirit. Her family asks for privacy, I hope they can grieve in peace. For me, I don't need to know her name to cry for her, to pray for her, to hope that she is at peace.

The Magic of Sundays

SUNDAY!!!

sounds fun already right??? thought as much.

The day we all look forward too, well not as much as a friday but well sunday is in a league of its own. Back when we were kids, it used to be the only day off from school, so unlimited access to television, and those who grew up watching Doordarshan will know this.. SHAKTIMAAN!!! afternoon siestas, playing endlessly the same old hide and seek , catching cook and all its variations. And yes an evening trip to the beach was a must.

Sundays during holidays were also highly awaited. Parents,reluctantly tagging along kids to fairs, parks,movies. A Sunday morning show was a huge affair: get up early, get dressed and keep asking the grown-ups "lets go??? ", incessantly. Less crowd, less traffic, Empty parking lots, It used to make you smile.

 Sundays, with everybody sleeping in, you would wake up to the chirpy birds, some stray dog hobbling away, and the smell of the amazing holiday special breakfast your mom made.

OK that's enough nostalgia.

Sundays now are totally different, caching up with friends, recovering from hangovers, checking status updates on fb,twitter,bbm,whatsapp and what-not,crazed queues everywhere and anywhere, and don't get me started on the beaches : wannabes, extra cheeky teenagers (actually put them in the same bracket), weirdly dressed tourists and some really gawky locals.

Everybody has their  days, Mine is Sunday. Some would argue and say that it is followed by 'dreadful-pathetic- sad as hell', Monday. But for me, Its about the long talks with my family about anything under the sun, getting my hands messy; painting or cooking. I never could really make my family or friends understand the importance of a Sunday in my life, they don't question it either.

The point of my Sunday discourse is simple. In this mad rush to have more and do more , we forget the little things that made us happy. The very things that you probably intended to do on a lazy Sunday morning but didn't. Everybody has a calling, and there isn't really a perfect time to hear it, but the stillness on a Sunday morning , just makes it  heard a little clearly. May your Sundays be as meaningful as mine.

Always here..

People do not last forever their impressions do.

It's the little things they do that sets them apart from the others, their mannerisms, sense of humor, the uncanny one of a kind style, the funky colorful eye wear and the hard to miss slang.

You'd think that I am being specific.. I am.

You could pick him out of a crowd, the one cheering the loudest of 'em all, that'd be him. You can ask everybody who knew him and they will all have a story to tell you : how he helped them fix their car, how he resolved a lovers-tiff, how he ferried them back and forth from places, how he enjoyed every single moment, how he swept people off by his cooking. A million times over and again, that's how far he'd go to help his friends. 

I have teased, troubled and annoyed him to extents I didn't know I could and he still took it in his stride. He had his ways of getting back but there never goes a day where I wish I could take it all back.Always up for an argument, always at the front of things and always enthusiastic. You'd be amazed at the things he'd do for a dare.. we certainly were.

He had that zing which'd make people get up and dance even if it was reluctantly. Birthday's were incomplete without his trademark midnight wishes and of course the cakes. Always had a tale to tell, long,descriptive and immensely entertaining.

A year has gone by, and it's not gotten any easier to accept that i won't get repreminded for not keeping in touch,that i lost a brother, a friend. 

Prankit.. for all of us.. never gone.. always here.

Food for thought

I was watching Masterchef Australia last night,for those who don't know what the show is about, its a contest where amateur cooks are put through a 3 month boot camp of sorts, at the end of which 1 cook is declared(no prizes for guessing) Masterchef!!!

Now, what's amazing about this show is that,it's REAL!
No drama,no fake tears and no celebrities(yes,I am taking potshots at our desi version). It is about people who love food, people who have day jobs,families to tend to, who have left all of it behind to pursue their passion.

These "home cooks", are put through a gruelling series of tests, challenging them at every step of the show, the goal is to bring out the best in each of 'em. In just a span of 90 minutes, they are forced to innovate and invent a dish or on another day work with a team and whip up something gastronomical and on yet another day,they are put in a pressure test, where they fight for their spot in the competition.

Coming to the episode I was watching, one of the contestants got eliminated off the show, he was asked to sum up his experience at the show, he said and I quote "Being here has re-affirmed the faith I have in myself and that I should listen to my inner voice more often,for now I have realized, cooking is my calling".
And after a few hugs and good byes he was on his way home.
I went into a little deep thinking mode after watching this.

It wouldn't be absurd, I thought, for me to think that the show in a way, resembles our lives. We are expected of ourselves and others to be good at what we do,face a million obstacles and 'pressures' doing them and finding the need of a 'team', people we can count on,a support system.
And in the end we'd sail through this journey of life without any resentments if we'd truly love what we did, to be called no,Not Masterchef, But true masters of our lives and not its slaves. Some food for thought eh?

Lessons from my friends

All my life, of all the things that have come and gone by, most of which I can't remember but what i do remember is always having a friend by my side. Right from kindergarten up until now, the only difference between then and now is , back then I had 1, yes just 1 friend ,she was this cute adorable oddball like me,still is!! And now, I have a bunch of crazies, who claim to own me and call themselves my friends (well i do too.. we agreed to complete ownership rights of each other!!)

As a kid, I was extremely shy,reserved and I only did talk to my family and friend (yes, just the 1), as the years passed by I realized that "other people", aren't that bad after all.. they are in fact quite nice (well most of 'em). I inferred that my friend seemed to get along well with them and the fact that she didn't get eaten up also seemed to help somehow.

Lesson 1: People are nice, Talk to 'em.. Just talk!

Cut to college, I met specimens (still talking about friends). I say this because these guys had to be custom made for me (and me for them). They had and still do have, the ability to make me laugh while I cry, kick my ass while I sit, make me dance and call me Micheal (yeah.. Jackson.. who else?), come up with the most ridiculous and hilarious plans which always seem like a good thing to so. Yes, my friends are closet magicians  ,indeed I am truly blessed!

Lesson 2: Love and trust the people who love and trust you. 
And Don't panic if a dog starts walking behind you, but if it starts running, you better do too ..panicking and running!!

So i continued with my education, bless my parents for having faith in the grey matter of my brain. This time around, when I say crazy i really mean it!! They sneaked around and taught me how to.. drove people nuts and taught me,this now failing art.. eliminated my residual sanity and branded me a complete and certified crazy. They never failed to make my day by just being in it.
Lesson 3: It's never too early to start having a good time, 
if you decide you are not good enough, ask the people who believe in you more than you do in yourself. 
And ..always... have an alibi for your last night's whereabouts.. always!!

I went to school and then college and then some more, most of which I can't remember. But what I do remember is.. the school band I joined because of my friend and found the love for the most beautiful thing in the world: music. Overcoming my inhibitions and fears. Laughing.. a lot!! Making everyday a day to look forward to.. living it...loving it!! 
I could do all of it or rather I can't imagine doing any of it, if it weren't for my friends. They say classroom is the best place to gain knowledge. Agreed. They say life is a great teacher,you learn as you grow. Agreed. But I have to add, friends teach you the biggest lessons ,no school teaches or no teacher can read from a book. You just need to find the right "educators".

Lessons from my friends, 3 and counting.... Now available in Spanish too;)) 

Olympic Woes

"A population of 1.2 billion and all we could bring back from the London Olympics were 6 medals? and not a single gold? . We trusted them so much (read:athletes), they have let the nation down."
The above comment in 1 way or another has been quoted by the rags, the media and any tom dick or harry , who until the commencement of the games didn't know who on earth  is Mary or Sushil.

6 medals is a huge deal. Looking back at India's run at the Olympics, this is the best yet.

All this hue and cry about how we, "The world's second most populated country in the world couldn't win more medals and countries with a quarter of ours won far many medals then us", will die down in the next few weeks and surface again when India goes to Rio for the 2016 games.
Let's face it guys, we don't really give a damn about them. I might as well be a little honest over here, because until the games started we didn't know or cared what these sportsmen and women did.

Whereas on the other hand we have a game that has hooked generations, churned out millions with its own premier league and which to date is played in nearly every gully of India. Yes, cricket, the religion that we solemnly have been following all these years. We worship them, pray for them, stay up nights, chant their names while we watch them play. We know everything there is to be known about them, right from their schedules to their WAG's and their pets and bikes.

In India, Cricket is THE only sport that counts, well atleast for 3 and a half years. Here is a sport that has the best; in terms of infrastructure, facilities, training, moolah, exposure. If  half of the attention we give to cricket is given to the rest of the games, India will be the sporting superpower, we dream of.

But who cares, the next India-England series is coming up and then it will be back to business. We don't care if Gopichand's academy is razed down by the government or that the national archery team doesn't have a premises to practice. No, all we care is that Sacin scores another ton. (not to undermine the great Tendulkar's contribution, he is the best)

We say that its the athletes that have let us down, but the fact is we have. We don"t believe in them, we don't acknowledge their hardwork and dedication. Playing a sport in India which is not cricket is a feat in itself and to represent it at the Olympics, is worthy of more than a few praises.
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Here's hoping that all these remarkable sportsmen achieve their Olympic dreams, that they have a better chance at winning the next time with better training and facilities. And that we, support them more often than once in 4 years. Gagan,Vijay,Saina,Mary,Yogeshwar and Sushil and the rest of the Indian contingent we are proud of you, it takes more then amazing talent and skill which you have, to do what you do. More power to you'll...