Ye Dilli hai...meri jaan?

Manual to avoid rape? 

The horrifying rape case has once again, brought to surface what people prefer to ignore. The ‘dark’ sides of the world. We do not want to acknowledge that it exists, for it might make our illusion of a perfect world less of a reality. Every time such an incident happens, there are protests and debates and concerns about the safety of an average woman in the city, and as time passes, everyone soon forgets it. Except the victim, and until the next time. And, the next time anything like this happens, the cycle repeats itself, without any meaningful changes taking place. I’m not trying to blame the government or the general citizens of the city here. I myself am a citizen but what am I doing to prevent such incidents from happening in the future? Nothing! Except vent out on my blog. And will this help in any way? I don’t know. Except hope that someday someone reads this and feels what it is like to be a woman in the capital city of India. Is being born a female such a sin that we have to be cautious of our lives daily? Or is working and studying and being out late at night an offence that we must be punished for? Delhi talks of being a metropolitan city with opportunities for anyone from any walk of life. But what good are these opportunities if the basic safety of its citizens and especially women remains an issue? I do not have freedom of expression (fear of being arrested under some IT act prevents me from voicing most opinions now!) ; I cannot be sure about my safety if I am travelling alone in the city. But the girl in the said incident wasn’t travelling alone. So maybe I shouldn’t travel at all, and not voice my opinions as well. I should just sit at home and accept all that is happening; perhaps praying to God that something like this never happens to me or my friends….and that the city that I have grown to love maybe wouldn’t provide me with reasons to hate it every day.

A Silver lining in the Darkness...

My Blackberry had been trying to get my attention with its blinking red LED before it finally went out of power. "There goes my connection to the world!", I remember thinking; and indeed it was true! Without a computer or any sort of internet connection, the phone was my gateway to the world, and suddenly I felt all alone.
No, this isn't something I experienced while travelling through the high reaches of the Himalayas or through the deserts of Sahara. This was experienced in the comfort of my house in the capital of India, when a power grid failure left almost 18 states powerless for about 20 hours in 2 days. Power backups last only so long before they also die out, and for busy professionals (or for pseudo busy student like me!) the hours without power seem daunting!Technology has seeped in so deeply with our lives that we realize its importance only when we do not get access to it. Seemingly easy works became a huge task for me without power and without any gadgets to use; and thus began a series of many "firsts" for me.

For the first time in a very long time, I could see nature in its purest form (or as pure as it can get in polluted Delhi!) The chirping of the birds combined with the gentle drip drop of the rain, produce a music so peaceful that I couldn't help but wonder why hadn't I ever noticed it before. Without the computer,internet or a TV for entertainment, I got once again carried into the charm of reading books, and not the e-books, the actual, paperback versions of novels I loved. The yellowed old pages seemed so familiar and welcoming, like home. As I sat down to write this article on a piece of paper; my fingers missed the strokes on the keyboard and I half expected the red wriggly line to appear every time I wrote a word whose spelling I wasn't too sure of.....yes that is an alarming (or maybe comical?) situation, I realize that!
With all that, this was the first time in months I got to spend some time with only myself for company, and it wasn't so bad! True, power failures like these cause a great inconvenience and chaos in general, but they also give an opportunity for people to spend some "me" time. So, maybe, it isn't all bad !


  

Happy Father's Day

Father’s Day- An American concept, celebrated with equal gusto in India. It was probably started as a male egoistic issue (if they can have a Mother’s Day, why not one for us too?!); but today it stands much larger than that. It stands for the celebration and recognition of the one man in your life who continuously sacrifices his present just to secure your future; and does so without any complaints on the way. His dream is not to see himself on the top of the world, rather his children, when he can prouldly say – “That’s MY child up there!”

It is said not a thousand fathers can replace a single mother, but doesn’t the same hold true for fathers as well? Can anyone ever replace a father? The feeling of safety when you’re with him; the feeling that everything will be alright; that nothing can ever go wrong as long as your father is there.  Your father may not always express his love, may scold you sometimes, may make fun of you, but that’s what makes him your dad! Without him, you wouldn’t have anyone to conspire against your mother, no one to share secrets, no one to joke and goof around with.

When I think about my father, I realize that all of the things I’ve written above have been written with him in mind. He is the one person I know I can always rely on, regardless of the situation. I know he will always sacrifice his own needs just to complete my wish, and for that I respect him. He’s the pillar of patience, and rarely, if ever, he gets angry with you, you must know it is completely your own fault.  In the family he’s the ever smiling one, the one who always cracks jokes (and laughs loudly at  them while we wait with a straight face for him to finish) to lighten us up.

My father has a deep wish that his two daughters go for a walking spree at unearthly hours (for us, not for him maybe!) and/or go with him wearing red top and black jeans.  While the “walk at unearthly hours” is not going to be possible in the near future, I can promise to go somewhere with him wearing that red top-black jeans combo (he surprisingly has a good dressing sense when it comes to his daughters, thank God for that!)

Pa, please know that while we’re always fighting with you , we love you a lot!

(With inputs from the Elder Sis)

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY PAPA!!!