Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Unreadable


Even if I were able to write, what could I possibly write??  A handful of words couldn’t fill those blank pages, left unwritten. Neither a stamp nor a watermark had made their way into this book. And yet the book remained for centuries, accumulating dust. It exuded a sense of secrecy, a feeling of being left away from the eyes of this world.

The world tried to read it but it remained there, narrow minded and unwilling to budge. To it, the world appeared selfish, waiting to exploit its genius writings. He remains yet to be deciphered to everyone’s chagrin.

So in vain the book was set aside; even the greatest scholars could not decipher its mind.

Story of an Indian Girl


The darkness within me grew stronger and stronger. The rays of the harshest sun couldn’t subdue it. My eyes drooped with hunger that I endured for ages. I had laughed with others, smiled when forced to smile, bent when everybody wanted to mould me into their desires and yet survived amidst the swarm of normal people ( as one calls them ).

Yes I am a girl; wanting to break free of those chains we call traditions and values. I wish to dictate my own set of norms and conditions.  I wish to be the master of my own world.

I listen to all the scolding yet do not utter a word. I look at the people riding off in their cars and secretly desire to do the same. I look at the shiny bikes and sensing the blast of air. But I am a girl; I need to keep my desires in control. I am not a boy. Things could have been different had I been one.

I look at the new clothes in the shops and hope to make them mine one day. I want to buy everything fancy but then I can’t buy excess of it. I want to roam the world but it’s a dangerous world out there for girls. Girls are subjects of heinous crimes; it makes me wonder why we were born. Some of my sisters do not get the equal amount of education they deserve because of their fairer sex. Some of them are killed even before they are born.

 Yet I have to be satisfied in what I get because being a girl is all about making adjustments. We were born to please not to be pleased.



Sunday, September 25, 2011

ANSWERS


Every day is a search for something. A missing person, a way to achieve our desires, a way to avoid routine, a way to make life more interesting. But when does life really gives us the answers we desire for??
I don’t think there is really an end to its search. According to me, life is all about exploring its various facets. When one facet discloses itself, the other starts to undergo the same process. Life makes an attempt to astound you with its intricacies. But in the end, the choice rests with you. You can either be intrigued with it or try to remain in your own cocoon. But even beautiful butterflies arise from their cocoons.
Yes it is not easy to let go of all the chains that hold you back but you will never know unless you try. The initial path may be full of difficulties. But you hold the key to its achievement. The more you think of the difficulties, the more impossible will the path seem to be. You cannot complete your quest for anything with this approach. There will be downfalls and heartbreaks on this path, but one day you will rise above from it. And the questions won’t stop here either.
‘If life throws lemons at you, make lemonade out of it’. Learn to understand life and everything will seem clearer to you. If you don’t appreciate life, it will seem meaningless to you. Do not forget that you only start your own journey and only you can learn something from it. Then can you finally say that you received the answers you had been looking for.
Do not look out for answers, for they will come to you when you are ready to see life for what it really is.
Life is Beautiful…….

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

IT’S A WOMAN’S WOMAN’S WOMAN’S WORLD



Man made electric light to take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark

Come to think of it, man may have invented a lot of things, but what would they be without women? Today’s woman is catching up with the men in all fields of work. Women Empowerment is what today’s generation is all about. Women want to walk hand in hand with the men. Although gender equality is lacked by many areas of workspace, women are retorting to this unjust treatment. A well known example is that of Wal- Mart, a U.S supermarket chain. Women employees have claimed to be paid less salary than their male counterparts despite working for the same number of years. Also they have to wait longer to obtain promotions as opposed to their male colleagues. A lawsuit was also filed for asserting the need for equal treatment of men and women employees of Wal-Mart. Earlier no one would have lent their ears to such problems but the time is changing and so is people’s perspective.
Ø A  JOURNEY
 But for a common man like me, you don’t need to read articles, to know about the world problems regarding women empowerment. Just travelling a few hours by train is enough to tell how women are overcoming the traditional barricades. You hear women bickering over seats. “ Aapko kahaan utarna hai? Yeh jagah mere liye rakhiye.”This single sentence has power in it. A women in the local trains never goes back on her word. She’ll ensure that her seat is taken over by the women who told her to save her this seat. Such is the power of women. And let’s not forget, a lost seat leads to fighting beasts. Women will be enraged if their reserved seat is occupied by some other lady. “ Yeh meri seat hai.” She’ll demand the seat as if it were her birthright. This is just one of her aspects. A local train journey ensures good friends of all ages and of all communities. They have their own parties; they share their stories and make a journey worth remembering. One will find various empowerment stories. A woman whose husband used to beat her finally decided to separate from him and give a worthwhile life to her daughter, a story of a female vendor who educated her son and made sure he doesn’t face the same situations like her, a young woman trying to make a career in showbiz ,are just some of the stories you’ll come across in the journey. As you saw, a train is one of the modes to study women coming from different fields united by just the local train journey. There are exceptions as well but I feel women empowerment at grass root level comes to light through such journeys. You don’t have to hunt for such women. You just need to listen to the people around you and such situations come easily to light.
Ø THE SAVIOURS
There are numerous women like Sunita Williams, Kiran Bedi,etc who conquered the impossible. But one such case which I really found interesting was that of the Gulabi Gang. Gulabi Gang was started by Sampat Pal Devi of Banda, Uttar Pradesh. Known for being far from non-violent, some of the gang’s members have faced abuse themselves at the hand of their husbands and in-laws. Sampat Pal Devi started this organization with the help of local women, which later expanded to the nearby villages as well. The story goes like this:  Once Sampat Pal’s neighbor was being beaten by her husband. She was screaming. Sampat could not bear this and she charged to her neighbour’s house. She beat up the husband with a lathi. Her story spread across the village and she became the local hero. Other local women started joining in and the gang was formed. They take local political issues in hand too and see to it that  justice is given to one and all. They have also taken up issues of female infanticide and dowry harassment. Lathi beatings are their usual form of punishment. Their story has reached the world thanks to a documentary made on them. In areas where women are still treated poorly, GULABI GANG shines as a beacon of hope. They truly depict ‘A Woman’s World.’


Ø AN UNENDING ROAD

Although the scenario’s changing in our country, many issues still persist. Female infanticide remains a problem. Illegal sex determination is prevalent in many clinics throughout India. Dowry system is still prevalent. Birth of daughters is shunned. In Punjab and Haryana, sex determination kits are being ordered from USA making it impossible for women to survive.  Women suffer from malnutrition due to lack of sufficient diet whereas men are given more food than women in many backward families.
In spite of all the injustice being meted out to them, today’s women are crossing the age-old barriers and breaking the shackles. Jhansi ki Rani, Rani Laxmibai showed that even a woman can protect her kingdom, Anandibai Joshi, the first Indian women to become a doctor showed that Indian women can achieve the impossible and many more Indian women have showed us that we have travelled an impossible yet attainable path. The future is not too bleak. A whole new world is waiting out for them to come and be its integral part.

This is a man's, a man's, a man's world
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl