Pinku-Enchanted Life

From very early in life I have always believed that I would die off at 40. The reason I had arrived at this unique conclusion was the fact that both my granddad and dad had popped off in their 40's and in my romantic notion of things I had just assumed that I would do so too. It didnt trouble me much cause at age 20, forty is a hoary old age and I was pretty sure that I would have lived life to the utmost by the time I turned forty so there really was not much to worry about. Things however started turning a bit unpleasant as I approached the mid thirties. With a young kid around popping off in another five years time didn't seem such a pleasant thing any more. Three more years rolled away and then the second kid also came along and now the thought that he wouldnt even remember me much if I were to go at forty really started to bother. At a lil after 39 I underwent a surgery which if not done in time could have resulted in something fatal and post my gaining consciousness...

I lost my dad the same month I turned 15 years old. Dad had a brief illness of about seven days from which he never recovered. Just before he fell ill he was teaching me how to ride a scooter, I would perpetually get confused between the clutch and gear combinations and dad would lose his patience. He was a natural with vehicles and my less than perfect handling irked him. I grew up eventually learning to ride an automatic scooty (my friend’s) and much later I bought my first car.  Initially I had a driver however a few months later I guess my latent genes kicked in and I dismissed the driver and started driving on my own. I had observed him for the few months that he was there and that coupled with practice helped me perfect my driving skills. Having a car literally gave me wings, no longer did I feel insecure, I could go anywhere at anytime, I need not be dependent on anyone. I and my car became an inseparable pair. I applied for my learner’s license and one Sunday whil...

In a country being governed by the Parivar as the BJP and its allies are called it is obvious that the religion I was born into would be a matter of great importance. Not that it ever is anything but important, being the religion of the majority of people in India. However in the past year or so Hinduism has crept up in news and views far more frequently than before. One or the other leader of the so called parivar and even parliamentarians have been remarking on various aspects from how many childrena Hindu ought to have , to eating habits , to the patriotism quotient of Hindus versus any other faith etc. Incidentally parivar is how the ancient Hindus looked at the entire world enshrined in the phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam i.e. “the world is one family” Nowhere did they say that every member of this gigantic family has to follow the same belief system.   All of this has made me feel amused, harassed, furious and most of all disgusted. These so called guardians of my religi...

For a long time now every story of abuse against women has boiled my blood. Four years ago becoming the mother of a girl child added a few more notches to the temperature as I became more acutely aware of the inequalities and challenges a woman faces at every step of her life. Media reports on the brutality being meted out, the growing gap in gender ratios and the total lack of empathy amongst the powers that be coupled with remarks too often heard - what can we do....and the helplessness echoed in that statement, propelled me to think of something WE COULD DO. We can go on STRIKE and force men and the society to realize our importance and the need to treat us with understanding and respect as fellow human beings. So here is what I have started and I hope you will join in, for without you it wont work. #WomenOnStrike

Technology, potential, resources, youth we have it all and yet the joke is that ‘the Chinese grow because of their government and the Indian despite it’. How do we manage to gather so much ridicule as a people and as a nation when as individuals we are amazing? The world’s biggest democracy has elected its leaders and the world is watching with interest what it will do with itself. Having become the world’s 3 rd largest economy what happens in India has the potential to make or mar the fortunes of many across the globe. The energized questioning atmosphere has made me think about what I would really like our leaders to talk about and the direction we as a country ought to take to ensure that we develop truly and not just in the breadth of our roads. Here’s my wish list: 1.     Truly Secular : we need to learn to live with the Other in camaraderie and not just co-exist in the same space but in separate mental ghettos. For that to really work our only hop...

Delhi and almost the whole TV watching, Facebooking nation is in the throes of a debate around the Aam Aadmi Party. Whether for or against it doesn't matter. Atleast for a change cricket, Bollywood and the neighbour's daughter/son has been forgotten as we congregate to discuss the latest news on Kejriwal, Bharti and Birla.  In the given atmosphere the fact is that I am again and again getting over excited and asking people questions they feel are silly, too bookish and not in tune with the day or time at all. All this made me do a self analysis and figure out why I couldnt think like the majority of my country men and be able to ignore the crass, illegal behaviour and manners of the self styled leaders of the 'common man'. I finally arrived at the conclusion that I AM NOT A COMMON MAN. let me tell you how: 1) I dont try to save on taxes and am quite proud of my ability to pay a certain amount of tax as I feel it will somewhere help my country progres...

1984 – The PM is gunned down by her own security guards. People spontaneously take to the streets and start butchering their neighbors (we are told). The entire bureaucracy is stupefied and allows thousands to die before they can recover and take control. 1992 – The governments both State and Center stand by as the Babri Masjid is demolished. Riots follow – finally the center steps in to restore peace after letting things go horribly wrong. 2000 people are killed in riots that spread as far as Delhi and Mumbai.   2002 – A train is set on fire, in retaliation a whole state erupts – kills, maims and rapes. More than 2000 people are killed, lakhs are reported missing. The selective killings go on for almost three months before an uneasy peace can be restored. All this in a state where the CM otherwise runs everything with an iron hand. 2013 – A solitary eve teasing case ignites inter community riots. A state government which takes pride in bringing down elephants...

Hi, Facebook, TV, newspapers to radio everyone seems to be talking about CWG. Here is my little effort to mark the event...pictures from across Delhi during the games...

My grandma, Thakuma as we used to call her loved to travel. From her small distant village in Assam she managed to travel across the country, post the death of her husband. I am talking about someone who were she alive today would have been about a hundred years old. Her great regret in life wa s that she couldn’t manage to see the Andamans. Travel to the distant islands was not so easy in those days and by the time things got better her chil dren wouldn’t allow her to travel alone. So when I saw the islands for the first time I silently dedicated that moment to Thakuma. Deep blue seas running on for miles on end and then you suddenly spot the startling green in the midst. As the plane approaches the islands, one is startled by the contrast in the colours and the fact that the green seems to shoot straight out of the sea, so dense are the jungles. That is the first view of the cluster of about 572 islands which make up the distant Union territory we had read of in school books as Anda...

I was a small kid when this happened. I remember catching it on a B&w tv set and Rakesh's reply made me have goosebumps all over. It still does. Its just a small reminder that India is wow after all. Inspite of the naxals, the road rage, the under-construction forever sites, the fraud and the corruption. We have it in ourselves to excel if only if we find the will to.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkks!!!! Thats all they inspire. eeks for the taste eeks for the waste eeks for the state! Hope you do notice the caricature of the National emblem using her election sign the elephant. Isn't this supposed to be punishable by law? If wearing a flag dress is then this should be, me thinks.

Is this where it all started? This murder of brother by brother? This raping of the Motherland? We were fooled then, are we going to continue doing so for ever? Will we never learn any lessons? (Please read the english text on the image to understand where I am coming from. Frankly I have'nt verified the authenticity of this statement but I can't help believing that this or something similar was planned to bring my golden country down to its knees. )

The Taj Heritage building has been destroyed. The landmark which was as much talked about as perhaps the Gateway of India, is badly burnt and it will take months perhaps more to recover its glory. The Taj management promises to rebuild it brick for brick. In the meantime, can we ensure please that those bastards dont get to ever touch a single brick or life in this country again. I am upset and I am crying. For my country, for my countrymen and for the sad state we have brought ourselves to. My humble request is: Please lets be strong for each other and reach out a hand to all those who need it. AND PLEASE lets remember that those terrorists when they fired, fired blindly killing everyone in the line of fire be they be sikh, muslim, hindu, buddhist or atheist. Dont let anyone turn this into a debate about religion. Those guys who did this have none. Lets ensure the guilty are punished with the most exemplary punishment possible for this dastardly act and every such act that this count...

She was a stunner, green eyes, great body and an exotic dress to boot. Anyone would give her a second glance even a third. She was selling cowboy hats at the Chirag Dilli red light, wearing them all one on top of the other as she walked through the maze of cars. Everyone from the autowallah to the bus passengers to the car drivers and their owners looked out to see her gliding past. She made for a good shot for me while I waited for the red light to turn green. And then we all went our ways forgetting her, forgetting her plight. She belongs to a tribe from Rajasthan that had to move from their ancestral dwellings in search of money and food. She is a bewildered person, who has been made poor and a destitute by the unthinking, uncaring attitude of the powers that be. She is someone who has recently joined the ranks of the poor in Delhi. How do we help? Buy one of her hats perhaps? Does that really solve the problem? Today an initiative was on to talk about poverty through Blog Action D...

Thanks everyone for the responses to the last post. From your comments I sense two things: 1) We are ourselves to blame for the relaxed attitude to law and order and even basic hygiene and good manners that we face in India. 2) A better enforcement would ensure more compliance I have only one suggestion can we get to work on it right away? Who better to enforce any law than our own conscience? I am listing here 5 things we could do to bring about a change.These are very small things and executable on an individual level, hence not dependent on anyone else but us. That should make it easy to achieve success isn’t it? 1. Garbage goes only into garbage bins – this includes no dropping of nutshells and empty bottles out of your vehicle in an attempt to keep it clean. 2. Using Mobiles necessitates knowing mobile etiquettes and FOLLOWING them. 3. Use minimum plastic – look at an option where you can carry an eco-friendly bag with you so that you can say no to those extra plastic bags while ...

I received the below letter as a forwarded mail, it said that this is the speech that President Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam made. Whether that be true or not, I feel the issues raised and questions asked are immensely relevant today and each one of us needs to answer them. Spare ten minutes and read on, it may ensure a better tomorrow for our children. Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I w...

May the Goddess destroy all evil and give us all peace and prosperity. May she teach us love, brotherhood and tolerance. May she give each of us the ability to see things from the other's point of view also. May she make us a superpower not because of our ability to harness nuclear energy but cause of our spiritual strength. May she unite us not by painting us all in one colour but my making us resemble a beautiful collage of unity in diversities. May she bless us with wisdom.

Its Gandhi Jayanti….(hurray a holiday in the middle of the week and if you can afford to take the Friday off, you got a long weekend infront of you to relax, shop or prepare for Durga Puja too). Gandhi, a much abused in private and revered in public, man. When I was growing up I blamed Gandhi for dividing the country into two and creating what seems like an eternal enmity between two countries. It was stylish to say things like: Gandhi: that guy who spoke of abstinence and couldn’t walk without the support of two women under his arms. Gandhi: who with his blackmailing techniques of fasting didn’t allow any decisive action to be taken and would hold the country to ransom for the smallest thing. Gandhi: who slept with his thirteen year old granddaughter to check whether he has been able to control his body completely. Gandhi much like God was to be blamed for everything that was wrong with us. But now that I am on the other side of thirty and I see the rampant violence that’s engulfing m...