Chaai,Paani,Biskut etc...

Food.

2014-06-08T21:53:00.001+05:30

At some point in every fat girl's life, she is told that her existence faces an imminent threat from the afore mentioned fat. At this point, you are made to swear on all you hold sacred (including pani-puri) that you will stop indulging your lust for unhealthy foodstuff (including pani-puri). For a while, scared by the revelation that your extra kilograms may do worse than just ruin your dreams of shopping at UCB and Zara, you actually make the effort to stop eating crap (including pani-puri). This, is a big mistake. It will, lead to disaster.

I went cold turkey, quitting chocolates, chips, candy, various other junk food items and pani-puri in the same day. Now, for a girl who has probably been comfort eating since she was 9 years old, giving up the very foundation of content leads to a considerable amount of emotional and existential angst. I actually got over my ex because I had food to re-bound with. This translates into many unfortunate incidents. It starts off by becoming hormonal. Not the usual PMS hormonal, but oh-my-fuck-this-is-adolesence-all-over-again hormonal. It's the maa-behen-nani-dadi of PMS. And to add some more fun to it, you don't even realize it's because you've suddenly corrected your skewed body systems.

Then, you start becoming moody, since novels aren't the same without chocolate and gourmet and nothing is what is used to be without pani-puri. Even Comedy Night with Kapil fails to cheer me up.

After a few weeks of this hell, where you feel happy, then sad, then suicidal, then homicidal then everything and homicidal, the doctor who has ruined your life so far says, "You need to stay away from Maggie." By now, your emotions are no longer complacent viewers, content with their hoard of pani-puri. You rebel. Pani-Puri is indulged on the sly, chocolate is gained from ill-conceived means and By God, you eat Maggie till you WANT to stay away from it.

Amidst all of this, you see that your body has reacted well to the lack of mind-altering substances and has shed cholesterol and WBCs are multiplying on their own. You start questioning your decision to take up Pani-puri again. This is where it all falls apart. This is when you become depressed, irritable, sleepy, unable to focus and the whole schebang. At some point, you will find yourself wandering aimlessly at a park while not knowing where you're supposed to go. But it is 8 and you better head back home before your mummy calls.

Contrary to what you may believe, this has nothing to do with anything but your brain telling you that it cannot function solely on human sympathy and what not. It needs pani-puri, dahi-puri, chocolate, brownie and you can't negotiate on that fact. But you can't be taking those drips and capsules that artificially multiply your WBCs all the time. And someday, you might want to look look-able to impress a selected few.

#LessonForToday: I am pissed and bored. Stay away. No, talk. Ping. Get lost. I want to eat chocolate. Fuckers.

Distance

2014-05-25T16:55:00.002+05:30

We meet people. We become friends. We share moments, coffees, chocolates, lives. We fall in love. We fall out of love. We separate. No, not the Bollywood level dramatic separate, but separate physically, distanced by the lack of time and/or energy that comes with having a job or a college in different cities perhaps.

Distances happen. They're an inevitable part of life, really. Sometimes we have to move away, sometimes we drift apart.

The deal with long distances is, you can't afford to be weak. Not because it's a sign of you being a wuss, but mostly because it's futile. Your being upset over them not being here, won't bring them to you. It only serves to ruin your nights, and to confuse the other person, who currently is living a completely separate life and can't really help you out either. This doesn't only apply to the girlfriend-boyfriend love. People who've been staying away from family would well understand this.

But of course, that's another thing that makes long distances challenging. Odds are that you haven't met each other in over six months, but you've grown used to their routine and significantly adjusted your own to the same. So even a slight change tends to throw the other off balance, inducing feelings of loneliness, and an oppressive sense of being too far away, even if the other person's geographically closer. Being in a long distance relationship for too long ensures that you have a defense mechanism ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. You need to, for you can't be wailing and yearning for their comforting presence every night when you settle down for bed. You know you'd have to fetch the Saridon yourself, when all you need is a mother's hug to calm you down. And some unnecessary irritating lecture on how mobile and laptop is the root cause of your headache.

What's the best defense? Hmm.
NEVER BARE YOUR SOUL TO ANYBODY. But then what about that priceless vulnerability that comes with loving someone freely? Is that unleashed, unbridled experience worth the loss of power over your own self? Of knowing there are no secrets, no mysteries left? The feeling of wanting to reinvent yourself, and knowing the other person can see right through your facade?

It is. If there's a fair balance of sharing. It's scary and unnerving if things fall apart.

Sita's Curse - The Language of Desires

2014-05-21T18:28:00.003+05:30

Somewhere behind closed door,

in her solitary world;

Somewhere, under the sheets with an indifferent lover;

Somewhere, is a woman

who will not be denied..

Sita's Curse is an Indian erotica that revolves around life and longings of ~~Mrs.~~ Meera ~~Patel,~~ a middle-class housewife trapped in loveless marriage with a symbolic Mohan, her flights to fancy, disappointments and hypocrisy of Indian society towards a woman's sex and sexuality. The book is a dialogue of a woman to herself, across the stages of her growth, innocent questions, discovery about her body, soul and demands. (Sita's Curse apparently has nothing to do with the Sita of Ramayan.)

Meera is a stereotypical exceptionally beautiful woman with luscious descriptive full body. And that is the only stereotype about the character. Breaking the stereotypes, Meera speaks and demands. About her desires. And sex.

Born in Sinor, a village in Gujarat, Meera is a twin to Kartik. Growing up with Kartik, her soul-mate, Meera plunges into innocent discovery of her and her brother's growing bodies while playing 'touch-touch' and so on, begins her tryst with her own desires.
Her first teenage sexual encounter with her teacher who on realizing she has periods (first) shames her with "chee..how could you do this to me?", her attraction for her friend from the city, Binal and with a stranger on river-bed after her first suicide attempt are few chronicles of her discovery to the hushed land of sex before marriage.

Meera gets married to Mohan, an emotionally and physically sterile husband who very often indulges in marital rape to camouflage his own guilt over his impotence [Read: To prove his masculinity]. Meera is labelled "barren" by her mother-in-law after she couldn't conceive a child due to her husband's dysfunction. She is taken to Guruji who is asked to "heal her womb" by her in-laws and husband, with whom Meera has her "divine" sexual encounter. Meera happens to be the most talked about woman of Byculla among men. She gives into desires of a dance teacher in the neighborhood. Learning to use internet, she stumbles on an adult website where she meets Yousuf, the first man who respects and satisfies Meera's desires virtually and a few weeks later, physically; whom Meera loses to the Mumbai floods. Meera's mother too comes with the traditional advises of maintaining her body's vital sizes to keep her husband glued to her. It is after the news of Yousuf's death that Meera gathers the courage to step out of a dead marriage, a dead house. The point where she learns how leaving home wasn't hard. It was about choosing what part to leave behind.

A brave step by the author to name an erotic fiction over a Hindu mythological character, thanks to the indifference and hypocrisy of Indian society towards a woman's desires - emotional and physical. Sita's Curse is more a dialogue of a human being with itself while growing up into adults, irrespective of the sex. While it is easy to label and treat the character of Meera as a "whore" given her unquenchable sexual desires, the author draws a fine line between desires, passion and desperation. The book deals with un-talked details about masturbation, marital rape, impotency, superstitions, marriage and desires.
The plot construction is lucid and constrained, central characters well rounded and developed, language upright, the message clear; engaging the reader with Meera and her life throughout.
Among the few things that I couldn't digest is the stereotypical description of Meera's beauty,why everything about Meera and her life is only sex and to an extent, the stereotyping of masculinity as an adequate organ size, something that has the power to either disappoint or elate Meera.

Sita's Curse is one the few decent erotica by Indian authors that carefully tip-toes between human emotions, desires, social structure, feminism (which here, doesn't become female chauvinism) and reality making it a good piece of art for readers, irrespective of their gender.

About the author: Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, a former lifestyle journalist with publications such as TOI, MetroNow and Asian Age and a PR head, is a full-time writer based out of New Delhi. An alumnus of Loreto House & Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Sreemoyee is also a prolific poet. Sreemoyee has just completed her third novel.
Publisher: Hachette India
Genre: Fiction/ Erotica
Pages: 344

Do I recommend Sita's Curse?: AYE!

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

The BRTS

2014-05-18T16:11:00.003+05:30

BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) has reached almost every corner of Ahmedabad and near by. With increasing ridership, the varieties of passengers have also increased.
Here is a gist of some legendary BRTS passengers, that will always stay:

1. The opportunity grabbers: Their eyes are only stuck on butts of passenger sitting comfortably. They figure out most office goers (ones in formals) will get down on Shivranjni and stick themselves next to their seat, their hips perpendicular to the seat so that they don't miss a single chance.
Somebody gets up and they hurriedly move towards it like a raging tornado, only to realise that the other person got up to dust himself/herself. They see space next to the door, they rush towards it bumping into 2 others who were trying to do the same!

2.The Pretty Young Woman: She is always formally dressed, has a figure to kill for, long hair that is always left open in an attempt to show-off the hair colour/straightening on which she spent almost half her salary. She moves and you hear tinkles coming from her bag that makes up for the bling factor that is missing on her clothes. Her phone is tightly held in her hand and it is then that you notice the well manicured okra-shaped fingers. The men ogle at her. She doesn't give a fuck. End of the love story.

3. The Angry Birds: He/She can pick up fight at any damn moment for any damn reason! She puts her hankerchief on adjacent seat at Danilimda stop to reserve it for her friend who'd board from Kalupur. The bolder one picks the cloth and sits. Everybody in the bus gets their bunch of entertainment. Intellectual people get-in and solve the fight.

4. The lost puppy: He/She is the innocent first timer, who made life's biggest mistake by stepping into BRTS that starts from Anjali or Shivranjini. They carefully hear to the announcements in all languages and are seen asking fellow passengers about which will be the next station.

5. The love-birds: They enter from the same stop. She has her face fully covered with bandhani duppatta so that her relatives/friends/parent's friends etc. do not recognize her. He is all eyes on her. They hold each other's hands, hush some jokes/flirts. He keeps looking at her. I am sure he knows the exact number of Bandhani dots on her duppatta.

6. The Cool: They are a mall. Head to toe, everything speaks of brands. Nike/Reebok shoes, PUMA t-shirts, RayBan goggles (in AC BRTS), Spikes...they are the cool ones. Style it up. Travel in BRTS. Life is awesome.

7 The little pole -dancers: These are under-aged passengers who travel for half-ticket with their mothers.While the mother keeps calling out to them, they suddenly find a sense of belonging to this yellow pole that doesn't match the pleasure of sitting on the mother's lap. They go round and round and round and... until you start feeling nauseated at the number of chakkars that they've taken.

8. The NID/CEPT/Xavier-ites: They can wear whatever they want, however they want to. You won't question their style, you will only admire them because they're the Gen-Y. iPods plugged to their ears, a book in the hand, a set of spiral bound notes, unimaginable colors. Yes, they are NID/CEPT/Xavier-its.

Know some more? Let me know!

A letter to the 16th Lok Sabha Opposition

2014-05-03T16:04:00.001+05:30

Dear Opposition,

I will begin with congratulating you. For being the other half, without which our Parliament is incomplete.

Today, India shall welcome the 16th Lok Sabha. Oaths have been taken, affirmations made, portfolios allotted, ministries taken. The majority is naturally, glowing in victory. But I hope, this time you, like always, aren't retorting to the blame game because you've lost.

India is happy today. With hopes and aspirations. And trust in our choice, in the promises they made.

But do you remember, you too had made similar promises to us? That.

Will you stand up to the task assigned to you by us to hold the government accountable? How effective will you be in that? Like the outgoing government, will you also adopt an adversarial approach and push us and the media in vacuum?

The fifteenth Lok Sabha since our independence, has been the worst performing one in a record 50 years. The United Progressive Alliance coalition proved itself to be one of the most tainted and corrupt alliance to govern our nation. However, I'd dismiss the idea of placing the entire blame on them. It is important to question the Opposition's indifferent approach in performing its responsibility - providing constructive criticism. This report shows the real picture of Parliament's performance. And do you, opposition, see what last opposition did?
They let only 61% time allocated to be used productively. On the other 39% time, news headlines read:

“India’s parliament paralyzed by inflation protests”
“Nation loses Rs 13,000 crore; Opposition to continue stir”“Opposition disrupts parliament over price rise”“BJP leader calls Lalu and Mulayam, dogs”.
And oh, how do we forget the chilli pepper, table chair in the air scenes?

It wasn't necessary. Is it too much on our part, to ask you behave in a civilized manner? Could you not

show your difference of opinion by engaging in a meaningful dialogue? Is our demand to see our MPs challenging bills inside parliament and not on Dharnas, too much to ask?

We do not expect to see that anymore. Do you promise it on your part?
Do you promise that you shall treat the limits of Lok Sabha as democratic house that sorts and solves contrasts, unearth scams and demand accountability?
Do you promise to not use your chair in the Opposition to disrupt and damage the respect of that very lace?
Had the CAG calculated the total time lost due to disruptions with notion value, the net loss would be no less that that due the 2G scam. Do you promise you wouldn't let the government fool us by any next "Lok Sabha collective disruption scam"?
Would you ensure that any move by government to divide the nation on the grounds of religion and caste
doesn't yield fruitful?

Promise, because we are used to it.

As a citizen of the nation, everytime I switch on Rajsabha TV or Lok Sabha TV, I expect to see quality debates, passage of bills, issues discussed in party's manifesto. Unfortunately in past, this expectation was butchered badly by the Lok Sabha. The last tenure, only 179 out of 328 bills were passed as compared to 297 and 248 bills in previous two Lok Sabha respectively. We would still consider it a decent number. But what wasn't decent was that the 64 bills of 179 were debated for less than 30 minutes. Of which, 20 bills were given a meager time of 5 minutes for 'debate'

When I compare this time with time these leader's spent on the podium begging for votes and making promises to get us on their side, I feel cheated.

Do you promise that you wouldn't let us get cheated again?

Do you promise you won't make Parliament, a space to make personal potshots for your gains?

Will you ensure our faith is not shattered from the system all over again?

Do you promise you shall not paralyze the Parliament any more?

Promise, because we are used to it.

I was baffled when none of the contesting parties in their manifestos mentioned their role if they come in the Opposition. Why such ignorance towards our Constitution and Parliament?

If you missed to recall what your role now on would be, given that you'll be shattered by your defeat as you call it, here is something you could go through.

“A kite flies against the wind, not with it.”

― Winston Churchill

Now, do you promise to serve to the Parliament and hence the nation with all your heart, contributing your bit for the welfare of the country?
Promise, because we are used to it.

Cheers and wishes!
A hopeful Indian.

How constitutional and ethical is declaring PM candidate before Lok Sabha elections?

2014-04-03T01:03:00.001+05:30

This is my favorite season. The Lok Sabha elections. I love the tempo of this country. From nukkad discussions to corporate parties. That is what I perceive from the social media activities happening on my wall these days. Any 'opinion' about anything is often spammed with "Vote for Modi", "AAP is the only solution" or funnily, " Har hath shakti, har hath tarakki" comments and tweet backs.

Cribbing apart, let us get to the point.
On 13th September 2013, Mr. Rajnath Singh declared the PM candidate of BJP after party's meet at Goa.

“ The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra

Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections. The announcement
came after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board here this evening, which unanimously decided to project Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. “We have projected Narendra Modi as our PM candidate,” BJP President Rajnath Singh told media here after the parliamentary board meeting .”
Narendra Modi undoubtedly is the toughest and strongest competition for others, thanks to powerful projections. However, I doubt the ethical stand of BJP when it is playing the election game on name. BJP's TV advertorials openly says, "Abki baar, Modi ki sarkar"

Questions arise in my mind about the constitutional validity of such announcements in current electoral system and parliamentary democracy.

1) Isn't BJP (BJP, because other parties have so far not declared their PM candidate) violating the rights of Member of Parliament, who as per the constitutional provision choose their leader? The PM then on heads the council of minister.

2) Doesn't the entire scene about declaring and projection the PM candidate by a party violate the provisions of Representation of People's Act 1950?

3) According to the constitution, the PM post doesn't represent people. When projecting a person as a PM candidate already before elections, claiming on whose government it will be and asking people in rallies to vote for, in this case Modi (which is very clear and loud), doesn't the party violate the right of citizens to elect MP and allow citizens to participate in electing the PM?

BJP's advertorial across media

4) What would be than role of citizens of India, how during elections the votes would be accounted for the declared candidates? The current declaration of Prime Ministerial candidates can be honored by whom, the political party, the current parliament or election commission? Is there a provision for the direct election of Prime Minister?

5) Were the candidates who stand for the post of MP/MLA present in the meet when the declaration of PM candidate was done? Were they already given tickets? What if my to-be representative, my MLA/MP doesn't approve of this candidate after citing his public's flavor?

6) What actions does the election commission take on these?

Infact, Manmohan Singh too wasn't a member of house when he took on to become the Prime Minister and it was then when BJP had itself raised legal question on this.

How much does a party like this respects and values constitution and democracy?

Correct me if am mistaken, enlighten me if there are answers.

A compulsion.

2014-03-23T16:09:00.003+05:30

As a student psychology I would be mirroring the needs, aspirations and plight of the society. However, being driven to college every morning to meet the attendance requirement as a prime motivation makes me feel like a donkey. Led to the desired destination by a hanging carrot, the striking similarity of the situation and makes it highly demeaning. The 75% minimum attendance requirement for student in St. Xavier's College/ Gujarat University hangs on our head like a double edged sword. Did the authorities get confused between minimum and maximum? By what standards is 75% minimum?

It's almost like I am sleep walking. We go to college because... uh, to get education. Why? Didn't you get enough education in your 12 years at school? Well, but that's what people do after high school. You need to go to college to get a good job (good job= great money = fabulous life-style)and you need attendance, both in tutorials and lectures to take University Examinations and to be eligible for promotion to the next class. All those required classes are just obstacles one has to climb over to get the highly solicited degree.

For most students, college is somewhere between a stepping stone and the first taste of freedom.
The reasons for not attending classes can range from, a genuine family emergency, a serious health issue, inability to wake up in the morning, a test in another class, time out for recovering from a bad breakup, an incomplete assignment, a beckoning novel, a sudden urge to sit by river-front or even a hangover from the night before or because of your hatred for the class with every ounce of your being.
The reason to attend the class can range from a fabulous professor, boredom at home, NEED to run away from you nagging parents, insane dedication and determination to copy the dictated notes, a genuine interest to attend lectures and feel intellectual or may be a crush in the class.

Coming back to the issue, is attendance the most convenient thing you can do to succeed? And is the lack of attendance the single easiest thing you can do to fail? Or is attendance just another innovative whip in the hands of faculty to bring wayward students on track? I am not against attending classes or the attendance rules requiring students to attend a particular number of classes. I agree that a certain amount of discipline is required but what's the point of attending lectures of the courses which have only instrumental value? All you need to pass these courses are a couple of reference books and notes which have been and are being passed to us by the seniors year after year like some sacred legacy.

In such a scenario caring about the course content or attending classes where the lecturer will dictate the same notes which he gave last year and last to last year and the year prior to that, well seem like wasted effort. Rather than making a grand show of attending classes of the courses which any student with an average IQ can handle on his or her own wouldn't it be better to attend various seminars, film festivals, workshops etc. instead which would help in the over-all personality development of the students and equip them with practical knowledge required to handle real life situations.

Skills like original thinking, problem solving, critical ability, creativity, thinking out of the box, handling people etc and experience can't be taught by a lecturer reading out from his/her notes. What's the point of forcing some rules on students just so that the lecturer has a decent number dozing in his class that he can boast? Laying so much interest on attendance makes the entire system attendance centric rather than education centric thus defeating the entire purpose.

Apart from being shameful, using attendance as a stick to rear students to college manifests the shortsightedness of the authorities.Let's face it; students will study when they want to study. If authorities really want the students to attend college, they need to look beyond attendance and should try to give the education system the much needed make over.

Open letter to the blue man.

2014-03-07T23:23:00.001+05:30

Hi Blue Man,

As a part of this universe, I have the divine right to ask/ demand/ clarify (for) a few things and you, have the glorified part of answering them (or atleast justifying your actions) or not (In which case, you may lose my vote of confidence).

How is it that you, being something so vague, have the power to draw millions when I, something so tangible have the power to draw none?
Why don't most people question YOUR intentions and what has made them believe that all that you do, is for the betterment of man?

How in this world do you have the power to make people kill each other, just to acquire your birth place?

Why are you blue in colour?
Why do you bless only a few with everything and the rest with a few remnants of a few things?
Why do some people strive all their lives to get ONE thing done their way while some others get it laid on a platter?
Why does Karma apply only to some situations and is there a way to beat it? Because HEY, there is someone who really needs a punch.
Do you really think that I would be convinced of your existence in a pandal where middle aged women taunt me to shed of their personal frustration?
Is there really a secret? Or is it just another one of your contrived plans for humanity?

I know this sounds stern and even, manipulative to an extent. But I need anwers. Solid answers. You should know that I hardly think of your existence anymore, even in times of crisis. Infact your presence has been reduced to being that of the blue man with a set of arrows in his backpack and a monkey worshipping him. There is a woman to his left and another man to his right.
I believe, for you are everywhere as they say, you must be on earth. Probably India or Srilanka for most of your life revolves in these places. Hence I also believe you have an internet access and you might come across this post somewhere.

My mother believes in you and has a picture of you in the mandir. But she seems happy and content, which is why I have given you one more chance to prove to me you aren't a poet's imagination but infact real.
If you call yourself God, give me a reason to call you so.
Until then, blue man with arrows, you affect me not.

Waiting for a response in anticipation.

Regards,

A being with flesh and bones and soul.

Never date a girl who reads. Or writes.

2014-02-25T00:11:00.001+05:30

She will correct all your spellings, take screenshots of your typos and then post them on your Facebook wall for the rest of the world to see. Even though, secretly you'll thank her for the all the likes that made your day.
Chances of her correcting your spellings and grammar while sexting are high.

She will use a metaphor and simile in every second sentence of her's and after a point, it just wont be funny anymore.

Sometimes you will take her out for some coffee and then crib about your day, when all the while she will dream about the first chapter of her novel.

Because coffee does that to her.

And you will realize how maybe you were never a priority when she says "Huh? Sorry, what? I didn't catch that."

She will let go of your hand while walking down a crowded lane when she spots a book sale. She will bargain and then ruin her entire day because she just wouldn't have enough money to buy it.

Her mood swings will kill you and some days she wont text you at all.

She'll sound too poetic, most of the time.

You'll be annoyed how she would never be excited to do something more important in her life, as she is for reading or writing.

She will never reveal in you.

You might find her two-faced, even.

She will sell her soul to all the publishing houses in the country, trusting them with her writings but will shy away from letting you read that note she wrote about her father,hidden inside her closet.

She will never ask you for a gift and yet, expect you to buy her books on her every birthday.

She may write rant posts about how you annoy her, once in a while.

Your ego may take a hit on reading the comments posted on your annoying behavior by complete strangers.

You'll wonder where the line is.

She will roll her eyes and then nod when you tell her how you found her latest article brilliant. She'll never take your compliments too seriously.

Some days when the routine life would start to bore her, she will start inventing new Aunts and enemies in her life to obsess over and then kill them off randomly,once it starts becoming a burden.

That would be the day you will realize she was always partly a sociopath.

You will laugh at her imagination and inability to lie.
Sometimes you'll find her words for you, too flattering.

Some days you will wonder if she does it with everyone. Including you.

She’ll be diverse.

On rainy afternoons, you might decide to be sweet to her and make her some tea. She will take it and drink it in silence, without mentioning a word. Not even a murmured thank you.

Instead she will thank the skies for the rain.

You will wonder what goes on inside her brain, when you catch her smiling without any reason.

You will wonder if the reason may have be you.

Then again, you will never know and curiosity will kill your insides.

She'll switch off her phone someday, just to spend time with characters of her novel and expect you to not interrupt. You'll feel miserable.

She'll get very passionate. About social issues like human trafficking and Syria. You will hold her as she cries on hearing the news of infants being slaughtered on TV and sigh about how she didn't cry the day you went broke. You will have to live with her impracticality.

She will never really tell you how much she likes you, unless prodded and you might find it easier to talk to her over long, sappy text messages.
You will be careful with your spellings and the number of smiley faces you put after the 'Goodnight'.

When she'll talk intellect, philosophy, behavior and ideas, you'll feel stupid.

She'll have friends who will make you feel stupider.

She will not be socially presentable piece most of the times.

She'll not look like the girl in the image. That's a stereotypical Google image.

One day she will tell you how no one gets her and you will try to fake a smile.

But secretly you will rethink the whole thing.

Then one day you will leave her to her words and her punctuation.

You will think for a moment about what to write on that post that you leave behind and finally decide on leaving it empty.

This time the silence will be from your side.

Years later, you will spot her in a coffee shop, typing away furiously.

You may gather enough words to say Hello and she will tell you how well she is doing.

You will realize then; You knew all her secrets.

Never date a girl who reads. Or worse, writes.

Just leave her to her words and her commas.

P.S. Not a generalization, just the usual rant :)
After this.

Strange creatures

2014-02-16T15:07:00.004+05:30

Strange creatures, women.

We turn and twist. And ask for simple life.
We remember.
Every single thing.
Every text. Every smiley. Each word.
Every date.
We fret. At color of our stockings.
The unruly strand in the picture. Everything.

We take our photographs all the time.
Selfies. #100HappyDays.
We pout and put our hair on a side.
We edit the pictures.
We remove that tan, lighten the dark circle, blur that pimple.
We + the contrast and increase the brightness.
So that our skin looks smoother and fairer.
We stick to black and white effect for a double-chin picture.
And then we say looks don't matter to us.

We save things like that tissue paper with a signature of that person. Because there is a memory attached to it.
And then we crib how we just can't let go of our past.
We want to be more masculine.
We stick to bermuda and daddy's shorts.
Because its the only comfy outwear in the world.
And then when we look manly in our pics,
"Oh God! I look like a hulk"
Strange creatures, women.

We want to dance in the rain.
Like Kareena in Jab We Met. Or Madhuri.
But we run into bus-stops and shops every time because it ruins our hair.
We wish a Deepika figure.
But we still order the extra cheese.
We over-think. And imagine.

Adrita. At Sandesh's green room. 2013ish.

We can't decide what do cook for dinner.
But we call ourselves decision-makers.
We love sale.
We block people from Facebook and Whatsapp after a fight.
And unblock.
We stalk.
Beautiful people. Ugly people. Friends. Friend's friends.

We dream.
And forget.
We love business women. And artists.
We wonder how one day we'll wear heels and run a big company.
But we are afraid it won't bring us joy.
We read of sex.
But never discuss.
We imagine a scene to a song.
With everyone pouring their attention on us.

Strange creatures, women.

Happiness Is Really Simple

2014-02-12T12:42:00.004+05:30

The question is not if you can do something with someone. You can almost always find something to do with anyone but the question is if you can do nothing with someone.

All our lives, we try to fill our time and mind with meaningless some things. We believe that if we could fill that void with something, we will be happier. But its not about the something. True happiness comes when you can sit with someone and do absolutely nothing, and not feel like you have to. Happiness is when you don't feel awkward about it, when you don’t have to continuously please someone to get their attention or get their affection because they are already pleased just because you are in the room. Happiness is when you don’t have to plan every single evening. Happiness is when you can be spontaneous, and you can only be spontaneous when you don't fear that you're going to be judged for being silly or downright crazy.

Happiness is simple. Its not what they make it out to be. Happiness is not in expensive gifts and restaurants and crazy amounts of work. Happiness is in holding hands and knowing that you can hold that hand. Happiness is having paani-puri on the street and laughing at how the other person's mouth is too small to contain a Puri. Happiness is when someone kisses your hands - if you haven't tried it, try it. You'll know what I mean.

Meme

Some people don’t get it, but happiness really is simple.

"I will keep my room clean"

2014-01-02T00:45:00.004+05:30

It’s that time of the year again when everything will start from the start.
Like, "I will start losing weight from today"

You will write in your new jazzy 2014's expensive diary, things like:

"I will write blog regularly"
"I will join a gym and lose weight"
"I will diet"
"I will work my asses off for college"
"I will not smoke"
"I will make a boyfriend"

"I will become smart and outgoing"
"I will write this diary daily"
"I will keep my room clean"

Every year same story, same you.

The cells in your body are constantly dividing, regenerating and dying. You are no longer the person you were at age 7. Your body doesn't wait for the year to end or your birthday to come. It changes.

Change with it, compliment it.

You’re fit now, you’re young. You are 20..

Why are we always waiting? Depending on the future so much, not realizing what we have is now.

Now is beautiful, now is real, now is the place where you always wanted to be, now is what you have earned, now is what belongs to you, now is the result, now is the test, now is the chance to read that book, to beg that person to stay, to ask that person to fuck off, to lose weight, to write more, to sleep less, to earn more, to think straight, to watch that movie, to swim, to cycle, to rest, to thrive!

Now is the time. Now more than ever

Days and dates don’t matter.

Don’t wait for those 5 mins to pass away before you wake up.

Don’t start it from tomorrow

Don’t wait for it to happen

You have always known this, you knew it before reading! You know the secret, it’s always been there. Why aren’t you happy then? Why don’t you just do it? What is holding you back? It’s your life, turn it in any direction you want.

Do it now.

Also, I shouldn't be so preachy and wish you a Happy New Year!

Of Green Bucket and Relating

2013-12-14T15:22:00.002+05:30

The oldest memory I have of ~~my existence~~ other's existence is very weird. I was seated on my mother's lap in a jam packed auto rickshaw. She wore a red sari and her sindur smudged because of sweat. There were other kids with their mothers. I do not exactly remember where we were going. But trip was about something important. I presume it was my first day at kid's school or may be a vacation to nani's place at Mathura.

Papa was washing his scooter. A blue scooter. Or may be it was something else, but he was definitely washing something, for he had a green broken bucket and a mug.

As the rickshaw kept moving, the image of my father waving a good-bye kept getting tinier. I then didn't know why. May be it was a foggy morning or may be I had weaker eyes.

As kids, I believe we do not really value our only family - Parents. For us, they are simply two individuals who are supposed to feed us Lactogen in milk and change our nappies and get along with our mid-night tantrums. For us, they do not hold any significance, any emotion or a background. They are just there.

May be it was then when I first realized his importance in my life, when he stood their waving his hand for me. The only person on the road, whose silhouette I could recognize, whose bucket I could relate to. This realization could be one reason why I remember the scene. Or may am just making things up, because when I asked my parents about this, they didn't remember it really.

May be it was the first time I learnt relating myself to people in my life.

Few months back, I was admitted and my father had to leave for Bhopal, the usual. The flight wasn't available. As he approached gate, saying me a goodbye, tears rolled down on his cheek. That was the second time I could really relate to him. Probably the only man who didn't want to leave me 'alone' in a five-star hospital with well-trained doctors, a caring mother and a few ready-to-help relatives.

Fathers don't change.

Woman, what is so special?

2013-11-22T21:54:00.002+05:30

I surfed for a few newspapers of last few years reading about the "firsts" to do something.
Almost all the headlines read the same except when the other gender of the planet, the woman, did something for the first time.

When Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the president of India, almost all the newspaper headlines read, " India gets its first President" or "Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first president of India"
And then, when Pratibha Patil became the president of India, EVERY newspaper headline read, "Pratibha Patil becomes the first woman President of India"
As if, all together, something strange happened and a woman became a President of the country.
And so was the case when Kalpana Chawla went to the space. First half-Indian woman going to the space, how strange is that? Why does her being a woman in space makes headlines?
How does Arundhati Bhattacharya becoming the chief of any bank makes things different? Why weren't same amount of interviews and features written when Pratip Chaudhuri became the chief of State bank of India?
A friend recently stood up for the most senior position in an organisation I am associated with. After her presentation, all her co-competitors, all men in their most gentle-manly way, stood up to salute her because she was the first female applicant for that post in history for the organisation.
How does that make a difference? What made them think that it needs some supreme power for a human with a different sex needs to possess some supreme power to do something that men have always been doing?
How does a woman not being able to meet her targets make her more forgivable then her male colleague?

Since a last few years, women of India have been enjoying a lot of extra attention and effort that has been put on them by the concerned people.
Special laws, Special government quota, Special railway seat and umm..and extra attention as always!
To all those who followed up my case when I reported for the harassment at Bhadra fort, of a few things that still resonate in my ears were by that man sent by the police to help me. When the shopkeeper told him that he did nothing (shockingly) but me and my friend were trying to steal things from his shop (ridiculously) the man told him that no one would believe him because we were girls.

"We are doing it to empower and celebrate achievements of a women" is the most un-thoughtful statement some could come up with.
Do we realize that it is this special attention and emphasis for woman that has made eradication of sexism impossible in the world? Yes, by this, I put forth the fact that it is not just in India but everywhere in the world!
Do we realize that it is this special attention and emphasis that has encouraged gender inequality?
Do we realize that it is this special attention and emphasis for woman that made this man say things as if me and my friend were taking undue of advantage of being women.
Do we realize that it is this special supposed empowerment schemes and actions done for women that subconsciously affects the psych of people emphasizing the fact that women are a weaker sex and need special attention and activities for making them equal to men?

Well, we women do not need your special attention for uplifting us. We aren't a feeble-minded child in a class room who is given special tutorials after school.
Just do not oppress us and take away our right to take exactly the same lessons as men do. Simple request.
Same is for blacks and white, fats and slims, upper castes or lower castes, everyone!
Just let equality happen, please!

Do watch this video shared by gotstared.at, a clip from Scandal to get a clearer picture of the point am trying to make:

Regress, because Progress is too Mainstream

2013-11-20T01:02:00.000+05:30

We Indians are very cool. We never do Mainstream. While rest of the world thinks of progressing, we are setting a new trend - Regression.
Here are top personalities of our nation who are the game-players of the regressive India:

A) "Desh ke Yuva Neta - Rahul Gandhi"

You remember Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai? Roshesh? That!
Roshesh Sarabhai was a parody of Rahul Gandhi. Ok, vice-versa. No, wait. Whatever.
Also there is a reason why this point is written in Pink. Haha just saying.
Advice: Don't let this fair-skinned, cute-dimpled ~~Roshesh~~ Rahul fool you. He is just 5 years younger to my dad.
The only thing whatsapp can do to beat BBM and WeChat in emoji race is to introduce a new emo - Rahul Gandhi

The only difference between Rahul Gandhi and Roshesh is that RG can never be that funny!

B) Mitron..

y u do dis Mudi?

The reason why he doesn't have a lady in his life is because he has Mitro-zoned everyone in the world.
Everytime he goes around to ask for votes, he addresses the audience with Mitron, so ideologically, he believes in friends-with-benefits funda.
This "Mitron" fame just 5 year younger to my grand-father and they call him 'Youth Icon'. He is also a wannabe PM of our nation.
He takes credit for EVERYTHING!
His recently acclaimed super-power is to MODIfy all chapters of history of India but his supporters think it is wise to let-go of his-past-story and make him PM.
Write anything against him on Social media and brrr....its Error 404: Forbidden to write anything against Modi!
He is a political leader with highest number of followers on Twitter but the sad part is all this followers have 'egg' DPs and 0 tweets.
His recently discovered hobby is spying on women for their protection.
Hmm..

C) Theek Hai?

If you do not know what am talking about already, you are already missing a lot of national fun!
Like Kapil is so known for his "Babaji ka Thullu", we have our very own "Theek hai" fame, Prime Minister of our nation, Manmohan Singh! Ask me why would I call him Punjab da sher and I would spill on! I mean, doesn't it take guts to face the nation on television condemning a heinous rape incident and ending the speech with Theek Hai?
He is a pseudo mime. He doesn't really speak usually and whenever he does, he makes sure he makes all of us laugh!

D) 1...2...3...STATUE!

If there is someone who has surpassed the obsession of statues after the Mitron fame, is her.
Statues are the only erections in her life. JK.

She loves wearing garlands which are usually not made up of flowers and likes men going down on her. No not that way. The other way.

She didn't discover Instagram years back and hence she made sure her selfies are stuck everywhere across the state. And by everywhere, I literally mean everywhere.
Irony committed suicide after she joined Ramdev Baba along with Sharad Pawar to eliminate corruption from India.
Her USP? Cntrl+All+ Dalit.
She is Mayawati.

E) I am an IITian and IIMite. Implies,I am a writer.

My heart actually breaks when I see his books in 'Classics' section of Crossword.He got out of IIT, wrote a book. Hit. He came out of IIM, wrote a book. Hit.
Now this is the reason why I say India is regressing. What has even happened to readers?They say never judge a book by its cover. But I do, if it has Chetan Bhagat written on it. Not that he is a horrible writer, which he is, but he is also an unlucky guy. He is often seen accidentally tweeting random things to people, often political and in OP-eds which eventually turns into "chutkula" section for most of us.

The frequency has become so frequent that even if he makes sense, people mock.

With success, comes detractors!

But the point is, let's not keep his books in 'Classics' section please?

F) "Desh ki Yuva Pidhi ab jaag chuki hai"

There is always one friend in all our group who smirks an hour before exam with "mujhe toh sab aata hai" and scores peanuts. That's over confidence.
Then there is a bunch of people who have access to smart phones and then Facebook, Twitter and Opinions and suddenly start serving the nation on the basis of Social Media presence and Speeches by people like A, B, C, D and E, but will smirk while reading a post like this and umm...also elect them.
I'll quote Rumani Trivedi, a friend of mine who has a very interesting opinion,
"There are 3 groups of people in the youth category:

1. They don't care.

2. Get easily influenced by others. Be it the leaders or peer or media.

3. They are aware but have no faith in government and hence either work at a personal level by joining an NGO or making films etc etc.... or sit back and make useless satirical comments and act like a lazy know it all.

Basically youth is too energetic and aggressive... but dont know where to channelize their energy.."
And then, end up contributing greatly to regressive India.

P.S. Views/Jokes are personal.

And all the characters mentioned herein are real and bear full resemblance to their real existence.

I'll see you tomorrow

2013-10-30T21:03:00.002+05:30

An innocuous statement. A harmless set of words, used as farewell. But how unfortunate, that we almost never appreciate, how lucky we are, to be able to say to a person, 'Hey, I'll see you tomorrow'.
Having been in relationships, both friends and otherwise, that render me unable of seeing the person for more than half a year sometimes at a stretch, I can very well relate to the intense yearning on watching people hanging out. You sit there, looking at people hi-fiving each other, and as you wait for a phone call from your special person, you long for a normal day. You know you'd give up anything, just to ask them if they could join you for lunch that day. Just to let them know at the end of the day, that you would see them tomorrow.
With people living close, we tend to take them for granted. Take for granted the fact that they'd be right there the next day. If you like them, they'd be there to listen to you rant about the miserable night that you had. And if you hate them, you resent the fact that you'd have to see their ugly mug the next morning, oh the harbingers of misery! But you take for granted, that they'd be there, all the same.
Fact of the matter is, time will run out one day. The weekend would arrive, you'd go on a vacation, they'd move to another place, college would end, you would get married, they would go abroad. And when you walk on that road by their house, or in the corridor next to your class, you won't see them. All you'd have is a handful of memories, good or bad, perhaps this desire to share a good cup of coffee with them, but they'll be gone
My Birthday resolution?

Meet friends, family and love as much as you can. Share the silliest conversations. Laugh at the lamest of jokes. Ask them out for lunch, even if they're
busy. Drag them out for a movie.
And be grateful, when they say, 'Hey, I'll see you tomorrow :)'

Courtesy: Archana

And this is to all the people who made my day awesome!

Thank you! :)

Journey

2013-10-06T00:55:00.000+05:30

The moment I step into a book shop, I am already having a mental orgasm with the stories I have not yet read.
No am not what they call 'avid', 'voracious', etc. reader in their bio.But there is something about books that not only attracts but makes unaware of any human presence.
I partially remember Jensy screaming at me day before yesterday from the entrance gate of the book fair and I somehow failed to respond.
I partially remember that the moment I entered the book fair I took out my mobile phone to take a snap of this beautiful place, infrastructure-ally undeveloped but lucky enough to encompass so many stories, so many pages, so many writer's soul and journey.

A few days back I came across Eat.Pray.Love. which was gifted to me by someone very special. I touched that book after 2 long years just because I was missing the person who gifted. Cheesy love you know *wink wink*
It's creases had dust resting on it. I had not bothered enough to clean something as wonderful as book all this while.
The pages contained in them the fragrance of old memories, of the songs I mumbled while reading this book, of my conversations with the characters of the book and of my own voice mind-reading the words on each page trying to visualize it.

I have this habit of underlining the phrases and sentences I love in a book. I don't just read the books, I study them.
But naturally, when I opened this book, my favorite once, I could feel each underline I had then done and my love for those very sentences.
I began reading them all over again, word by word.
I began reading all those underlines sentences and phrases. And somewhere in the middle of 'revising' the underlined sentences, I began to read the entire book once again.
And this time, I am making square brackets around the words that interest me. At times, am overlapping the sentences I had chosen then.

Stay.

Somewhere today, in those underlined words is me; a girl so new to wonders, a girl believing stories of hearts and mumbles of fantasies.
In the phrases am bracketing today is a woman who appreciates marvelous struggles and glory of dedication.
Then I had underlined the words that depicted pain and suffering and get over.
Today I bracket the words of commitment and courage.
Of love and jealousy. Of conscience.
And with a few sentence I marked then, I wonder what even made me underline this?

The book is now a new journey on the same road for me.

Ordinary Lives #1

2013-09-29T15:51:00.001+05:30

The year Noni, they called her so with love, turned four, she began to sense a strange movement deep inside her Mummy’s body, a pulsing beneath the skin. There was a change, for sure. Noni, who was so sensitive to every touch in her mummy, felt a change in texture every time she mounted on her lap.

As her mother sat motionless at their drawing room door, her vision stretched to its limit, seeking nothing, little Noni sensed this wasn't one of her moody silences. She had lost her completely.

Most of the times when Noni bumped into her lap, she would push her gently away, pleading in a lost voice, "Baby, I am tired, go and play."

Noni was suffused with a helpless jealousy against the thing that had stolen her mummy. Not even his pappa's hugs and his stories about an elephant who fell in love with a steam engine diminished her hurt.

"Come my cutie Bandaria, I'll tell you a story about the Lakshaman Jhula bridge. It is hundreds of years old. It is made of wood and rope and prayers. With faith and ambition. It hangs like a dream on the River Ganga. Noni, babu are you listening?"

She closed her ears to her father's tale and asked instead, "Pappa, why is mummy so quiet? Does she have a ghost in her? Ayyah told me ghosts occupy beautiful woman's body. Mummy is so beautiful"

"Oh my child. Your mummy isn't a ghost. She loves you but you are too heavy for her. She has a baby inside her tummy now"

Noni had three months to get used to the idea of having another child in the house.

Shamed again.And again. And again.

2013-08-23T09:05:00.001+05:30

Just when we still haven't got over the shame for being an Indian after reading Michaela Cross's 'India: The story you never wanted to hear' which is making round across the globe, a 22 year old photojournalist gets gang-raped in Lower Parel Mill, Mumbai at 6 pm while she was returning from an assignment, a father rapes his three year old daughter because his wife refused to have sex with him, a self styled saint Asaram rapes a 16 year old and a few more of those unreported unseen cases.

Follow-up: Shivsena blames Bangladeshi intervention for the rape.

"When are we going stand up and say 'enough'!? When do we grow enough courage to rip this sickness out of our society?"- Vishal Dadlani.

When do we something more sane than a candle light protest or changing our DP to black? When do we do more than blaming this ass politicians on social media?
And how?

Chew it.

2013-08-14T23:27:00.003+05:30

People around me are interesting.

Some are slaves to their own assumptions. Few have habits and the other few judge the former's habits.
I've learnt how assuming things spoils the beauty I would have otherwise cherished had I been any less judgmental.
Few people around me demand attention.I've learnt to give them their share of attention and ask for mine.

Then there are these people who look down upon others for the choice they had or they never had. They will show-off the life they have chosen and will hide their weaknesses as hell.
I've learnt to not point them out. If they don't want others to know something, I OWE them that space.
They would read books and watch movies whose names can't be pronounced without referring phonetics dictionary, but that is okay!

Then there is social media. A few people around me argue that you need to give more time to people in physical world, but, these real people have work to do at times you need them.
I've learnt that it's completely alright to talk to someone or anyone around, be it on Omegle. They are, at the end of the day, people. You are any day, human and an evolved human.

Being in relationships is a bliss.The ones that cannot be named are alright too, as long as you'd want to be in them.
I've learnt that at times its a bliss to be possessed and not possess. I've learnt that love can happen with just an idea and if that idea has a human form I can either grant myself the freedom to chase it or stick to prescriptions and guidelines.

I've learnt to accept people regardless of their loopholes because everyone deserves to be loved and not because I have my own set of defects too.
And most importantly, I've learnt to appreciate people more.

Folder

2013-07-27T13:38:00.003+05:30

He stays in folders with her.
His teenage, his youth and now.

In organized folders that are properly tagged in adjectives that are ridiculously cheesy and cute.
Encrypted.

In a machine where the desktop is a mess and files lie here and there (a part in D, a part in E, a part in the bin) he shares her space at a path that’s been carefully addressed.

Not in a computer. But in her life.

I'm Inadequate. What can you do?

2013-07-04T14:22:00.002+05:30

(After innumerable bombardments of each moment I have experienced at JNC 2013 of AIESEC India, a lot of my Twitter followers have unfollowed me and my Facebook followers are complaining if I have taken up Marketing department of the organisation.

To both, I only smile. For only I know what those 6 days mean to me.

Here is a blog to one of the motivating interactions I had at the conference with this girl from Jaipur, whose name I forgot to ask, whose face I do not remember.)

We were supposed to be sharing "STORY OF YOUR LIFE" with the unknown person on our left. Icebreaker.

I started with "I am an engineering drop-out" and sat dumb.
As if my life had nothing more than that one year I wasted jumping from one engineering college to another, in pursuit of satisfaction.
"So your one year is gone?", she questioned curiously as I mentally tried all the 'cool-down' techniques to stop myself from punching her on face.
"Yeah"

I felt a year behind.
For the last one year, I have taken immense proud in telling people about my 'The Bold Step' but deep down, I have felt like a loser.
Loser who took wrong decision and wasted her parent's money.
Loser who didn't enjoy Calculus and all that jazz.
I questioned my potential and doubted my ability

And no, 3 Idiots had no impact on that one decision I made- shifting from Engineering to Psychology.

And that moment suddenly, I felt guilty for that one year gone.

But I shouldn't be. This girl said so.

She made me count my that one lost year. Like major events of the year.

She said it would help.

That one lost year..

I made friends with amazing bunch of people.These 6 friends I am telling you about, are the ones who stay forever types. Hopefully.

I became Miss Fresher's (NOW STOP LAUGHING!) in that college, participated in almost every event of cultural fest, did good, took up fights with a few professors (Also the trustee of the college) and enjoyed the shit out of my lost moments.

I got selected for IIT-B's Techfest and won 3 competitions.

I loved.

I battled a medically unfit state for a year or so. I had ample moments when I cried, felt helpless, developed suicidal tendencies, couldn't take the pain anymore.I challenged my body and won. I learned overcoming my own limits.

I worked in a news-channel for 4 months, earned quite a lot with a lot of experience. I also learned how to tackle seniors who see you as their competition for no specific reason. I went on field and learned how being a Deepak Chorasia isn't easy.

I worked in a couple of online magazines, contributed some articles which made sense.

I joined a couple of NGOs, taught some 50 kids, made them happy and jived at the end of each session. I learned how much making others happy makes me happy.

I made a little place for me in the virtual world. This blog.

I succumbed to what they call yellow magic pill - Alprax .My idea of consuming it everytime I felt disturbed was simple - Escape. To run away from reality. I loved the feeling of how everything seemed sorted, thoughts arranged and emotions unaffected for the next 3-4 hours.With this, I not only made my health more miserable but it also shook up my life everytime I woke up after the magic effect.
I gradually realized that it is not what emotional state you are in that matters, but rather how you deal with it to create a stable permanence.
I also learned that picking up "bad-habits" is easy. Getting rid of them is tough. With this, I mean very very tough.

I do not regret being inadequate now. I am happier than I could ever be.

Thank you Jaipur girl.
For making me realize that all that matters is to recount past and appreciate yourself for all the mistakes made and all the achievements gained.
For making me realize that all that matters is THAT one step in pursuit of happiness.
I have a better story of my life now.

Floods, death, destruction and our 'Leaders'

2013-06-19T20:01:00.001+05:30

I see the media coverage of Uttrakhand, Delhi and other destroyed places of India with floods.
At the very second moment, News-channels have debates with 3 heads blaming each other for the condition.
Next flip, there is Nitish Kumar vs Modi debate.
All this for a change.

What is more disturbing is when we have HUNDREDS of people have already lost their lives, innumerable people have lost their family members, houses, cattle and savings which took 40-50 years of their lives, our politicians find it more important to grab the chance to blame the other party and fight like dogs.

One party which is in power surely hasn't done anything and when they make 5% effort to save lives, the opposition is making sure to distract them from working and instead give them answers.

If the opposition, who itself has history of no work done, finds the scenario so 'disturbing' why don't they donate their party funds and ask their Karyakartas in respective states who are so ready with 'valor' on their sleeves to kill people of other religion, to take a dip in roaring water and save people?

Tweeting and Facebook-ing how upset you are with the situation is something helpless people like me do. This is NOT what is expected from self-proclaimed 'Leaders'.

With such people RULING on our country how do you even expect youngsters of the country to even know who in the world is this BJP or UPA? And then you expect us to vote?
How can 5000 soldiers save 60,000-70,000 people? How can help of Re 1 lakh to affected people compensate for what they have lost?

I am 19 and I am frustrated with the plight of my country where 'Rajneeti' is more important than 'Raj-dharm'.
Rains doesn't please me anymore for now.

Conflictorium

2013-06-14T00:12:00.004+05:30

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.”
― Dorothy Thompson

Conflict is essential to one's existence. And how we as an individual as well as a society resolve conflict reflects our maturity.

A lot of conflicts or no conflict at all in a society an imbalance; a disorder.

India as a society has been budding tree of thought masters like Kabir, Buddha,Ambedkar and Gandhi. Even then, we haven't really progressed beyond the 'win/lose' logic when it comes to dealing with conflicts.

Located in the old-city of Ahmedabad, Conflictorium is journey of resolving conflicts you take along participating throughout.

"Gujarat has witnessed various instances of conflicts and differences. Worth noting is the fact that Gujarat originated because of linguistic difference on 1st of July which we celebrate as 'Maha Guajrat Day'. It has been long we have been struggling to curb inequality and have failed. But we think it is all about celebrating differences and plurality.", explains Avni Sethi who is one of the brainchild behind the concept.

When asked 'Why' this theme? Avni says, "It is high time we move beyond the satisfaction and otherwise we get by winning or losing. Most of the time, we ignore the importance of apology from 'victor' team to that who has lost families"

Okay, hold on. If you live in Ahmedabad, you aren't reading ahead. You simply got to be there. If you are a non-Amdavadi, go ahead!

As you enter the once about-to-fall-apart building housed by Gool Lodge, you walk through various verses and quotations by India's thought leaders till you land to the Conflict Timeline.

You don't have any judgmental representation of unfortunate events. You have only have representation of events and it is then up to us to resolve the conflict, understand ruler's perspective and public Psychology behind that behavior. To decide what could have been a better choice. To voice out your opinion if it would have been a better idea to be at peace or to kill each other at the name of religion. Decide it for yourself here.

Theatre of Conscience

This is a restoration of conscience from where it is, to where it must be; if at all we believe truth must win. A short animated story a father tells his son.

The third phase of the museum left me awestruck. A small toilet with different size of brooms on the wall. The blurb read 'Inner Purity'.

I have switched on to Astha channel several times and have heard gurus talking about inner purity in never-understandable terminology.

This is the BAAP of all gyan. Inner purity is purity within us. If only we take pains to clean ourselves physically and emotionally, and our surrounding, the world would be better place to be in.

Empathy Alley

There are these people, who talk to you. They tell us, if they could why can't we?

Exemplary personalities like Chacha, Gandhi, Ambedkar etc. have so far carved our destiny and continue to do so even with their shadows. Here, shadows talk.

"Independence is no doubt a matter of joy. But we must not forget that this independence has thrown us great responsibilities. By independence we have lost our excuse of blaming Britishers for anything that goes wrong. If thereafter anything goes wrong, we would have no one to blame than ourselves", says one of the Ambedkar's poster at Moral Compass. This room confronts us with moral lessons and our own original constitution of India.

It resolves our conflict of how we can balance our ancient values and modernity in a way that they help us solve present dilemmas.

Memory Lab

From "I have shifted with my new roommate to new flat today and our first outing is at Conflictorium, irony" to "I lost my family in 2002 riots and we aren't still able to put back the pieces of our lives together. I really request people to not give in to politics ever again"

various visitors who have visited the place put down their memories when they have felt conflicted and are now resolved.

This is followed by "In this house and in that world"'s beautiful experience where you feel Bachu Nagarwala, Ahmedabad's first beautician of its kind who lived in the same place. You sit where her customers used to sit, you look at her picture and then your reflection in the same mirror her customers saw themselves as she beautified them. You cut your hair with the same scissor she used for her customers and drop it in a bowl. With lovely sound installation by Avni Sethi herself, one can feel oneself beautify with every moment passing.

Same as Bachu Nagarwala's customer felt.

This is the Power of New. A new you. Beyond polarity is a 'third space'.

We've often come across the glass 'half full' or 'half empty' concept. It is only the perspective of the person that matters. And that is exactly what this Perpectives will make you figure out for yourself. You stand in one circle and you see a road and vehicles. You stand on an adjacent circle and you see an altogether another world which has an old house and goats wandering.

"No two people see the same thing as we all stand in different positions. Which is why conflict happens and can be solved if we start looking from other person's point of view", says Avni.

As I move ahead, I come across Third Side Cafe, a cafe of its own kind, which is soon going to start serving food that can put you in conflicts!

"Ahmedabad is divided in two by Sabarmati. One side has a different taste and the other is completely different. But both are rich in their own-selves", Avni says as she explains the concept behind this cafe.

"Cafe is somewhere we get food while we hang out with friends. But what then after? What when you can't eat more but still want to hang -out more? Youngsters today need to have a different space."

A Gallery of Disputes puts us in front of unpleasant conflicts that have been. Definitely, we cannot solve any issue until and unless we accept and acknowledge it.

This is followed by a 'Sorry Tree' where we apologize for our ignorance as one leaves notes of sorry on tree branches. Something that sets us free - Apology.

The last but our favorite spot is Conversation Quadrangle commonly known as Chowk where people sit down and pour their heart out, once they are done exploring their conflicts, through conversations and interactions.

Already conflicted whether to go or not? I'll resolve, GO.

Where?
Gool Lodge, Opp. R.C Technical High School,

Mirzapur, Ahmedabad.

When?

11:00 AM onwards.

Contact: 079- 25620747

Someone

2013-06-08T16:13:00.000+05:30

I want to meet someone interesting. Someone new and refreshing. Someone radiant.
Someone who loves reading books which aren't just Salman Rushdi, Harry Potterish or bestsellers but Khaled Hosseini. Someone who doesn't give a shit about how his/her frizzy hair look. Someone who doesn't care to take bath for days but still doesn't stink.

I want to meet someone who loves music which isn't metal or rock. Someone who loves songs for its lyrics; not loud and noisy music. Someone who'll cease to think about the world for a while.
Someone who'd just be. Someone who would sit by my side or stick his/her ears to the phone for hours without uttering a single word. And feel everything that is unsaid.

I want to meet someone who won't get bored of me, someone I won't have to make efforts to converse with. Someone who is fresh and energetic and lively. Someone who doesn't talk about Football but some current news he/she saw on a news-channel. And make fun of it. Someone who prefers Amitabh Bacchan over Hollywood celebrities. Someone who isn't stuck to mobile phone for life.

I want to meet someone unsure. Someone as unsure as me. Unsure about what he/she wants from life. Unsure about love. And be cool with it because it is okay to be unsure. Someone who takes life as it comes rather than ranting about what-ifs. Someone who thinks life isn't a bitch.

I want to meet someone who isn't scared to believe. Believe and stand by it. Someone who isn't scared to imagine beyond limits. Someone who isn't extra-ordinarily intelligent but average.Someone who'd not be related to me in any way.
Someone who wouldn't give an English name to his/her pet but stick to names like Ramu and Shyamu.
Someone who'd take me to long rides in wild rains. Someone who'd make tea and Maggie for me.
Someone who can chill without help of alcohol or cigarette.

I want to meet someone who won't leave me. Someone who would rant, "Did you listen? I am not talking to you?" minutes after deciding he/she isn't talking to me. Someone who would die on the same day as me.
Someone who wouldn't make me insecure or jealous. Someone who would stimulate me to live and love. To this beyond. Someone who'd tell me it is cool to be fat and mean it.
Someone who'd clutch my hand and take me out of my routine life.

In the population of 7 billion humans, I want to meet someone interesting. And fresh. Now.