How blessed 'THEY' are???

I love India. I love every bit of Indianness in me!!!
I love saree, kurta, choodi and bindi. I love colours. I love festivals : crackers of Diwali, euphoria of Holi, dance of Ganesh Mahotsav, smoke emanating from a burnt Ravan, the 'eidi' of Eid and not to forget the grandeur of Indian weddings!
Yes, I love all this despite the fact that I am an environmental activist, I get irritated by noise pollution and abhor the stupendous amount of money splurged during weddings!
If you know me you will find it difficult to accept that I love 'paan' and more than that I love 'paan ki peek' :P
ohh yess!!! I love spitting the red fluid :P
I am amused by the madness of crowd and entertained by the rib-tickling ads pasted all over the local trains in Mumbai  like "Laabh ki 100% gurantee. Kisi bhi prakar ki pareshani jaisi ki prem vivah, manshahi shaadi, pati ki daru, sautan ka dukh, court mamla, dhanprapti, film me safalta atyadi ke liye miliye baba bam bam ji se !!!(vashikaran me maahir)" ROFL!!!
We are a country of crazy people for sure and we have valid reasons for all the above mentioned craziness...
But there are certain things which beat me and after a lot of contemplation I accept defeat.
The thing that made me write this post is "Why do we think that an eunuch is blessed?" Just because they are different from us?? Why don't we budge even a little and give a penny to a blind beggar but we hurriedly, without fail shower all the change in the purse on a begging eunuch!!!
They are not blind, they are not handicapped, they are not demented. In my opinion they are well capable of working and earning atleast as daily labourer. I don't blame them because they are a largely ignored community. Their rights to work and live a normal life have been violated with impunity. They are spread all over the country but there population is uncertain as there is no provision for this gender in the census form because they neither belong to the male nor the female one.
They've always been projected as a dark and sinister group of people, to be avoided at all costs. There is hardly any empathy and humanity while giving alms to them.They are a close-knit community who appear to care little for social acceptance but looking at some of them going around begging in the local train I wonder "Do they not get hurt when people make fun of them or laugh at them because God made them the way they are? Do they not wish to participate in elections, be members of parliament, be a part of other decision making bodies of the country? Do they not desire to express themselves on various platforms? Will they not love to be educated, develop themselves and live the way other communities live in our society?"
If we think they are blessed then are they not blessed enough to deserve these common rights???

Temple at a glance

What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for Beauty, and never see the Dawn!  ~Logan Pearsall Smith

I acknowledged this quote just recently, very subtly on a trip to Tirumala (Tirupati).
Sitting at a restaurant, waiting for dinner to be served, we googled Tirupati. The demigod informed us that Tirupati is a huge pilgrimage city, abode of Lord Venkateshwara and attracts millions of devotees every year. Its the country's richest temple (temples are also rich and poor!!!!) and the collection on 1st January alone was 3.80 crores (no comments)!!!!!
But you can access this information online. I'll tell you what you'll not read anywhere. 
Early morning when sun is still sleeping, we get up, take bath and leave for Tirumala hills. Its a collection of seven hills and on the top of the highest hill is the sacred shrine. The 30 minutes drive up the hill offers a panoramic view. The unending expanse of lush green valley, the pristine scenes and beautiful rest places for people to bask in the beauty. But no car stops here as all are in a hurry to reach before the queue for darshan becomes longer. We reached the top and its not just a temple on the hill top its a well planned town where everything is FREE!!!! Yes, free accommodation, free food, free toilets, even free buses. Tirumala resembles The Mall Road of Shimla a lot with an exception that never in the history of Shimla will so many people be present together on The Mall Road. Yes, the people came in buses, taxis, private cars and even on foot. They came like waves in an ocean, they came like angry bees from an upset beehive, they came like soldiers trying to seize a city from the enemy during war. 
I was amused and very soon saddened. The multitude had come for a trip- a religious one but a trip. They had travelled miles from home, had taken leave from work, packed bags and come for a trip. But hardly anyone on reaching Tirumala saw the sheer beauty of the place. No one saw the morning sun peeking between the green hills, no one saw the birds calling each other. No one seemed to smell the scent, no one seemed to inhale the fresh, cool air. No one saw how clean the roads were, no one saw how peaceful and serene Tirumala was. No one saw the nature's extravaganza touching the sky, no one. All were in a hurry to reach the queue and quench their thirst for the divine darshan. I agree that the town owes its existence to the temple and an ardent devotee is preoccupied with the idol darshan. But there is a small question that refuses to leave my mind unanswered-How can someone overlook the beautiful and breath taking creation of the Almighty for a man-made temple???  
Tirupati is a place where a man has to forget his comforts, his peace of mind and run like a mad man, suffer like a poor fellow. I saw police beating people to get into the line, I saw police insulting old men who couldn't walk fast, I saw pickpockets taking advantage of the queue and I saw corrupt people taking advantage of the few facilities given to the old and handicapped.
I was spared by all this, thanks to my father but I wonder those who come to Tirupati with their hearts full of religious fanaticism, ready to stand in a queue for hours, to be abused by other men, do they lock their self respect at their places and then arrive here???
There's one more thing which disturbed me a lot. God is perhaps the only object which is at the disposal of every person despite his rank, reputation, power or money. The shrine is acclaimed as the holiest of the celebrated 108 Tirupatis. The place where Lord himself came down to settle in Kali Yuga differentiates people on the basis of money!!! Yes, if you can spend more then you can have a better darshan. A person stands in a queue for 4-5 hours without any refreshment, not even water and finally when he enters the glittering room made of gold, he is pushed by petty policemen and forget a look, he is not even allowed a glance . A devotee who has spend money, stood in line for hours does not deserve to be treated like this. If he cannot be respected then he should also not be disrespected by policemen who themselves are morally degraded.  
Behind this expensive room of gold is another room where fat pandits sit and count lakhs and lakhs of rupees and a devotee dishevelled by ill-treatment watches them playing with the moolah!!!!
I have no hard feelings against the pandits or the devotees or the temple administration. I do not mean to disrespect the feelings of people. I am not an atheist and I do not appreciate blasphemy against God or traditions. But I am extremely anguished to see that the system is not correct. 
You pay to watch a movie, a dolphin show, a circus but you are not meant to pay to see your God. If you are a respectable person in your society then you do not deserve to be treated like a beggar when you wish to see your God. Temples are meant to give you peace of mind, relieve you of all worries, make you a better person by retrospection and introspection. They are not there to take away some peace that you have. I have always felt that the vibes are so positive in a temple that they have the power to transform thoughts, feelings and emotions. I just wish that this potential is not stolen by the disguised pickpockets present at the administrative corridors of temple. 

SANKALP-YUVA UNSTOPPABLE

PC (Priyanka Chopra) smiles at me showing those pearly-whites on TV , playing smart and saying,"Why should boys have all the fun?"... Well to be true, I feel no one has as much fun as girls these days ;)

We have the world falling on our feet literally... Nopes am not being arrogant... Naah! Naah! I, the girl, am not arrogant. 

We are shining bright and we are sought after.

Advertising industry has taken a complete turn when it comes to portraying women.

I feel so elated to see 'US' shining... We are everywhere, we are CEOs of organizations, we are ruling the film business,we are ruling the health and beauty industry, we are towering people in IT now. OMG, I am so happy for us. 

Men are advised to use AXE, Fairness Creams and what not just to land an impression on their women. ;) The whole perspective is changing gradually. 

Long gone are the days when women used to give in to what came in their way. Now, they demand, they explore and they 'call the shots' too.

Things are changing and I hope they are for good. I feel blessed that my family educated me and will, as long and as much I want to study.
I know there are many who are still caught up in the low-side.
I know we still have a long way to go... but I am glad atleast we have started walking in the right direction. 

Yes, my dear friends, we have started something under 'YUVA UNSTOPPABLE'. Today Jaya, Megha, Poonam (one of our juniors) and I went to a nearby slum, collected few children, talked to their parents and will be teaching them English every Saturday. Isn't it amazing?Four girls, 20 year olds, all on their own, took a step to contribute in a major way to the society for the upliftment of the underprivileged. OMG!!! I am sooo happy. The enthusiasm of the kids and the treatment we received there was exhilirating. We have zeroed in on the name 'SANKALP'. :D  Its not just we four, we have a chapter with a few members and the sankalp, I am sure u know what it is by now.

 

For once, I want to say that women are not all about suppression and pain. We have moved on. We have evolved and We are here to conquer the world. :) Enough of blame games and enough of crying behind the curtains. Optimism wins it all at the end.

Kisi mere jaisi kudi ne kaha hain :
"Bas ek kadam badaaney ki baat hain, raastey khud-ba-khud ban jaatey hain. Manzil par kadi nazar rakhney waaley hi ant mein jeet paatey hain".

Let's Keep Walking!!

SAY NO TO RESERVATION

Today I added a logo to my blog (see the sidebar) which says I'M AGAINST RESERVATION. Now adding this logo doesn't really mean that I am completely against reservation. I have my own views regarding this topic.

I have always believed in equality and caste was nothing for me anytime in life. Earlier when I was very young, I was absolutely against this concept and my blood boiled on reading or hearing anyone getting preference over other just because of his caste. The question which pops up in my mind always is, how can a caste of someone determine whether he needs some relaxation from the prescribed criteria or not? There are many SCs, STs and OBCs who are better off than people of general quota.

A few years later when I got the taste of real life and I became a little politically correct, I analyzed that there are actually a few people who need reservation but the criteria which our apathetic government has decided is faulty. Is it not one's background, his upbringing, his family history which determine his standing and claim for reservation?

From my perspective I really don't see the need to offer such high percentage of seat reservation to few castes. But the issue is not that simple. It has a lot more complexities and ramifications that my young mind can comprehend. So just to make you understand some part of it, here are the links for the blog 'I AM AGAINST RESERVATION'  http://imagainstreservation.blogspot.com/  and a very sensible comment by journalist Ms. Barkha Dutt http://amit-chopra-bawa.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/05/an-article-by-barkha-dutt-ithought-u-should-read/comments.htm
Please take out some time and go through them.
One thing which I found very amusing in this link is a comment, "why can't we have 49.5% of our loksabha and rajyasabha seats reserved for weaker sections of the society? why can't we have have 49.5% berths in the cabinet reserved for obcs / scs / sts? why can't we have 49.5% representation given to bckward classes in our cricket team? why can't we have 49.5% of consultants and engineers postings reserved for backward classes at infosys which competes with accentures and ibms of this world? why can't we have 49.5% postings of our scientists at isro reserved for backward classes? why exclude army / navy / air force from reservations?"
HE HE !!!