'Beti bachao, Beti padhao' - a need in ancient times?

Today we see  pan-India campaigns being run by the government to spread awareness about the welfare services for women and the declining sex ratio in the country. The catchy slogan of ‘Beti Bachao ‘ is seen all over the cities and town walls , on banners and posters , printed on auto rickshaws and buses , in the markets as well as government offices. 

‘Beti Bachao’ clearly points at the cruel practices of female foeticide and in todays time , the deaths due to rape could be attributed to the need of this slogan. ‘Beti Padhao’ slogan is significant in the wake of poor state of women literacy in the country. As per 2011 census , the women literacy was merely 64.60 percent in India and that meant only that percentage of women of age 7 and above could ‘read and write with understanding’ as that is all being literate mean as per the definition . So congratulations if you can read my article , you are literate! 

Has this always been the case with the women in our country? A little study from different sources point otherwise!

A study published in International journal of legal developments and allied issues states:

“During the Vedic period, there was no kind of gender discrimination in India. Women were extremely respected and revered by the male members of the family, they were considered goddesses. In those times, women took part in several professions, they were free to marry as per their choice, study and gain education until they get married, etc. They had a special place in the society. The gender discrimination in India started in the post-Vedic period and it reached its highest peak in the Mughal period. In this period, crimes against women became highly dominant and women were treated as objects. They went from the highest position in the society to the lowest position. They were subjected to constant suffering and they had no fundamental rights. Even minimum freedom was denied to the female members of the society. This continued even in the British period and it remains unchanged for a long period.”

Likewise, Will Durant (1885-1981) ,an American historian , states in his book Story of Civilization:

"Women enjoyed far greater freedom in the Vedic period than in later India. She had more to say in the choice of her mate than the forms of marriage might suggest. She appeared freely at feasts and dances, and joined with men in religious sacrifice. She could study, and like Gargi, engage in philosophical disputation. If she was left a widow there were no restrictions upon her remarriage.”

So have we really gone a long way on the path to women emancipation?  A point to ponder upon !

The desire for male child !

Did the ancient Indians only pray for a male child ? May be, as where else these ideas of male child preference take their origin but from vedic texts! 

But wait ! The texts from ancient epics give interesting insights into the perception on daughters vis-a-vis sons in those times. 

According to verse 6.4.17 from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad dated to between 900 to 600 BCE , the birth of a female child who would be a scholar is desired. 

The quote prescribes the specific rituals for obtaining a learned daughter. The verse states:

"One who wishes that a daughter should be born who would be a scholar and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked with sesamum, and both should eat it with clarified butter. Then the creators (would-be parents) would indeed be able to produce such a daughter."

This might appear strange to most modern thinkers , but the fact that there is a mention of the way out to parent a daughter in a text as old as Upanishad is an indication that daughters were not always unwanted in the history of India. It rather indicates that daughters were expected to be scholars as much as sons were and ‘Beti bachao’ would only be a redundant slogan then . 

The text in Mahabharata, generally thought to have been composed in the 4th century BCE or earlier, gives an insight into the position of daughter in those times. 

As Yudhishthira seeks guidance on Dharma from Bhishma, the Anushasana Parva compares the value of daughter to a son, as follows:

The daughter, O king, has been ordained in the scriptures to be equal to the son.

— Bhishma, Anushasana Parva, Mahabharata 13.47.26

Grandfather Bhishma further explains to Yuddhistira before his death : 

“O ruler of the earth, the lineage in which daughters and the daughters-in-law are saddened by ill treatment, that lineage is destroyed. When out of their grief these women curse these households, such households lose their charm, prosperity and happiness.” (Mahabharata, Anushashanparva, 12.14)

Manusmriti that includes many contradictory statements on the status of women, at one point states :

“Yatra Nari Astu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devataa”

“Where women are honoured, there the gods rejoice; where, on the other hand, they are not honoured, there all rites are fruitless.”

I can only conclude that the need for ‘Beti Bachao’ didn’t stem from the ancient times. It was only in the course of history that the daughters were looked down upon as burdens and  instances of female foeticide increased drastically. 

Was dowry prevalent since time immemorial ? 

Its well known that the evil practices like dowry are the major cause for females being undervalued in Indian society and a major cause of considering them as burden. Though there are other reasons too , as in the lineage of family is only carried forward by male child in India, but that alone cannot be the reason for the rampant female foeticides despite ban on pre-natal sex screening.

But what about those earlier times? Didn’t the parents have to pay to get their daughters married ? Lets check from some accounts of the historians and travellers to India.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Scholars are of the view that ancient and early medieval Hindu society did not practice Dowry. The practice became widespread sometime in the 2nd millennium CE due to socio-political developments in those times. 

Michael Witzel, the professor of sanskrit at Harvard university , states that -

Ancient Indian literature suggests dowry practices were not significant during the Vedic period. 

Arrian , belonging to Alexander the Great's conquest era, in his first book, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, mentions a lack of dowry in India during those times :

“They (these ancient Indian people) make their marriages accordance with this principle, for in selecting a bride they care nothing whether she has a dowry and a handsome fortune, but look only to her beauty and other advantages of the outward person.

Arrian's second book, Indika , notes:

“They (Indians) marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women as soon as they are marriageable are brought forward by their fathers in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running or someone who excels in any other manly exercise.”

In fact there were practices of Swayamvara at ancient times when the girl was free to choose her groom from amongst the eligible men. Such was the freedom entrusted to the women of ancient times . 

Even the cruel practise of Sati started in the later times to prevent kidnappings of young widows by foreign rulers.

David Brick, from Yale university ,in his 2010 review of ancient Indian literature, states

There is no mention of Sahagamana (Sati) whatsoever in either Vedic literature or any of the early Dharmasutras or Dharmasastras. “

So looks like our ancestors were more tolerant when it came to a girl child.

‘Beti Padhao’ - Relevance in ancient times?

Was there a need to propagate the ‘Beti Padhao’ slogan in ancient times. Was education of girls considered unnecessary?

A sloka from Rig Veda gives an interesting insight about the status of women education in vedic times . It states:

O women! These mantras are given to you equally (as to men). May your thoughts, too, be harmonious. May your assemblies be open to all without discrimination. Your mind and consciousness should be harmonious.I (the rishi) give you these mantras equally as to men and give you all and equal powers to absorb (the full powers) of these mantras.” Rigveda 10-191-3. 

Its clear from above that ancient Shastras extended education right to women.There were also women rishis who revealed the Vedic knowledge to others. In fact there were female rishikas who contributed to the composition of vedas.

An early vedic phrase from Atharve Veda indicates that women were encouraged to study vedas even after marriage and use the knowledge henceforth for daily conducts. It states:

“O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your centre and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed be illumined in your husband’s home.”  Atharva Veda 14-1-64.

Further , interestingly the sloka 9:12 of Manusmriti states:

‘A woman who is kept constrained in a home by noble men (husband, father, son) is still insecure. Thus it is futile to restrict women. Security of women would come only through her own capabilities and mindset.’

This indicates that women were not meant to be confined to household duties as is claimed by many orthodox individuals. There is a clear indication in various texts of ancient India that women were considered as deserving as men when it came to attaining knowledge from scriptures and were indeed meant to pursue knowledge and grow to the fullest of their potential. 

From all of the above, it only means that we have not always moved in forward direction when it came to gender equality. Over the years , scriptures were misinterpreted to degrade the status of women in Indian society , be it for the influence of foreign invaders or the interests of few sections of society. Despite all this , its strange that we have not stopped worshipping the female Goddesses over the years , probably because we fear the wrath of Kali or the curse of Durga , but have failed to see that the Durga and the Kali in our homes are only the manifestations of that divine feminine power. 

I only wonder what if there were a scheme named ‘Beta bachao, Beta padhao’ , if somehow the vedic scriptures were still followed where women were held in high regards , even higher than male section of the society many a times. Gender equality is highly discussed because there has been enough of gender inequality and hence the need of a scheme to protect the girl child. 

Its high time that daughters of this country are protected and educated , for educating a girl is educating a generation, a fact that the vedic people understood the best!

A generation of idiots ?

Those were the days , when we wanted to sit around the bonfire as the evening sun would set and the darkness engulfed the skies . We would want the gate man to put on the fire so that we could get some warmth in that chilling night and roast some daily dose of sweet potatoes.

Those were the days, when the night skies with amazing star-line would draw our imagination to the mysterious world above . When we would wonder what lays beyond and let our fantasies grow to far off places where we knew we couldn’t reach.  

Those were the days, when we would sit idle in our rooms and wait for the evening supper to be ready. Time was never short then. We had enough of it even after the home-work was completed and the favourite novel was read. We still had time for that old book in red cover - feynmans lectures in physics or the brief history of time !

The technology has taken over now. We have stopped filling those pages of PD that we would write every other day. There are online diaries now. We don’t have to take the pains to move our fingers and try to get it more beautifully written for there are fonts styles in abundance for our convenience. 

Most of our time is spent looking at a light emitting screen that has become our second world. This beautiful creation around us has been taken over by the filtered world of instagram and facebook. We do not sit around the fire discussing people and gossiping. It has become easier now , we can sit comfortably in our rooms and see people make themselves gossip-points on their own by posting their personal life for others to see. 

Surely things have become easy now but why is it that we don’t cherish these little joys of life that we used to do earlier. We don’t remember the last time we gathered together to have wonderful discussion on life. Yes , some days back we had gone  to the best restaurant in city , all of us ! But I only remember each one of us staring at our screens most of the time . We did click some pictures of the food and some selfies and even uploaded them on social media . Everyone knew we were partying together and yet we do not seem to be excited about it all . We smiled to look good on those filtered pictures and not because we genuinely were happy meeting each other ! 

Times they are a changing ! But how we wish we could get back to those days when we genuinely had time for each other and would crave for company . Each one of us have a best friend of our own , our dear screens. We are virtually closer to each other but in real we have moved away from our own self. 

I remember reading a quote by Einstein long back when the small screens did not come up and when I had enough time to spend in the library! 

‘I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots’ ~ Albert Einstein.
So, are we there yet? 

The idea of 'Love"

Being in love is the best feeling ever. You try to give your best version to someone. Initially it all feels new , fresh and mysterious. Every little tinge of feeling that you get about the person is exciting . Its like going out of your boundaries and reaching out to someone completely new and different. Finding out their secrets , the likes , exploring their world and their lives is all so wonderful.
You slowly start to dissolve the boundaries and linings between the two of you . The emotional barriers break , the metaphysical boundaries are crossed and in no time , she becomes a little bit of him and he becomes a little bit of her . Two souls , who started their journey as lone ones get a companion . To walk the world together , to see the sun rise and set as they sit besides each other , never having to feel like a lone soul ever. His pain becomes hers and vice versa . The bond of companionship feels the best thing in the world and the world outside of this  stops being of too much importance.
Love as we know it , changes us , makes us feel closer to the divine . Its just the two who matter . The two become  one . And as we know it , there is consistency only in singularity . The duality is always inconsistent . This brings us to the basis on which any relationship survives . How much oneness the two can bring in a relationship . How much oneness the two are willing to bring in the relationship . There are two things here- 'willing' and 'can' . The former is the basis of the later .
Its difficult to put this 'oneness' in perspective . It encompasses all the dimensions of life , be it emotional , spiritual , physical , metaphysical or intellectual . Being at ease with the other person is possible only when this balance of different dimensions is sought by the two. And by 'two' , I mean a full involvement by the two . You cannot be just you at a moment and be selective about being the 'two of you' at some other time . As the say , pain demands to be felt , so does love. It constantly demands to be attended to ,  else the friction develops . Remember now , there are two very different entities involved in the process .And mind it , no 'two' can ever be same . We started as two , got closer to the 'one' and unless the two try to be close to 'the' one constantly ,  the seeker called 'LOVE' would not sit back quietly and let it go. It plays all its tricks and tantrums to budge the 'two' and in the event of unwillingness of the one , love strikes at the core of the  other. The two-to-one concept plays it all , in the game of love. 

What have we done !

The jipsy moved briskly through the uneven terrain , a road that was carved out amidst the forest that was now a national park. We were entering the Agratoli range of the park . I sat there, looking at the dense forest around,  occasionally jolted by the impact of the vehicle on the bumpy , irregular track . I was constantly looking through the glass , hoping to see the majestic creature this place was famous for  - One horned rhinoceros .
Lakhi da ( elder brother in assamese )  slowed down the jipsy to halt .
" Gaur asse... " ( There is a wild Buffalo )  , Lakhi da exclaimed .

And in a minute a wild Buffalo emerged out of bushes and passed our vehicle with only few feet to spare . It crossed the road and moved to the other side of it , towards the beel .

" Its time for them to get back after the day out along the beel "  , said lakhi da.  Lakhi da has been driving in the park for years now . He would often sing assamese songs to entertain us on way .  " Chol Gori lei jabo tuke mur gaon ... "  being his favorite . But today he looked serious , probably because he had to be careful inside the park .

Soon more wild buffaloes followed . A few stopped to give a confused glance to us with tilted heads . They were used to seeing the vehicles on road.The tourists often passed their way . We stopped and they moved on . Once the way was cleared , we moved ahead .

We were close to the watch tower now .

Once there, we climbed up the steps to have a wide view of the park and spot some animals . Facing the watch tower was a large beel  , beyond which we could see grasslands and plains . Dense forests followed the same .  Its was time for the rhinos and elephants to have a final dip in the waters before the sundown .

Watching them through the lens of my binoculars , I saw the spectacular animal trudging along the waters. Probably he was done with the days job of wallowing in mud and water and was ready to recede back to the forests . The 'tick bird' rode on top of the rhino , being accepted by the giant as a symbiotic partner . 

On the far end view , a herd of elephants made their way to the tall grass called the elephant grass , and into the dense forest .

A pod of pelicans flew past the beel .  The view was serene . The creatures looked in harmony with nature . I could sit back there for hours , looking at the seemingly untouched wilderness.

'This was how it was suppose to be ! ' , I thought .

...Didi, darwaza kholo...

It was 4 in the evening . Shobha didi had come to clean up my room . She had left assam years back and had come to Delhi to earn livelihood .She would work in more that 10 houses a day to make her ends meet . Obviously, she was always in hurry .

I realised I was late for the class. The dream had taken me back to the days when life was different . The place that had no traffic , no heavy vehicle noise  , no pollution  , no rush , no crowd . There was  peace and harmony . That was the creation in its pristine form .

Soon I got ready , moved down the  stairs and to lane leading to the main road. As I moved , the water from the ACs dropped on my head.  One of those on the ground floor blew hot air  on the lock of hair on my forehead , spoiling the way I pinned them .

On reaching the main road , I sensed a foul smell . Oh yes !! Delhi municipal corporation was on strike . It had dumped the garbage on roads. The view was appalling .

I had forgotten to tie scarf today in hurry . PM 2.5 would soon invade my lungs . We didnt even have to smoke a cigar here. It all came so naturally.I could see some using the masks to reduce exposure to deadly pollution .I was too lazy to get one .I had tried to buy it from one of the stores the other day , but the guy increased the price with increase in the reported PM 2.5 level . " Chuck it " I thought . Let the pollution reduce a bit , it will  become cheaper .

I hurried towards the class bumping on some fellow pedestrians . I moved past the local park .That was the only green patch in the area nearby. I stopped and looked at those sitting in the park . They seemed to enjoy the open space and little greenery that was left in the city.

 I was reminded of the dream.

 'What have we done ... !'  , I thought .

(Images are for illustration purpose only )

A social animal !

"Man is a social animal. He who lives without society is either a beast or God"~Aristotle

Being social animals , we are constantly trying to fit ourselves in this social structure. In the process   we meet many people, good and bad (a subjective opinion). Some stay for long, some don’t. Some though stay with us for a short time yet leave a deep impact on us and we consequently have everlasting memories of them. Some do not leave very good impressions on our minds and we loath to recollect them. In the whole process we and our minds in particular are so engrossed in the societal issues that we forget there is something more to us than just being a social animal. 

Consider a situation in which a person wakes up in the morning and the entire humanity has vanished. There is just him and him alone. The society that had so far shaped every thought of him, had been so deeply engrossed in his mind that he could not imagine a day without it  , had vanished. What then?  

The first thing that would probably happen is denial. His subconscious would take a little longer to come to terms with the fact that it happened. And finally when he realizes that it happened and that he was all by himself now, he would feel the pain of being alone.  Those whom he loved deeply are no more.  There is void, there is silence, there is nothingness! Possibly the same feeling he had when he lost the person he loved the most at some point in life earlier. But then there were others to substitute the lost friend. The endless list of people who kept coming in his life made up to the loss in some way or the other.  The time healed the wounds  to some extent if not entirely and life went on. But this was a different situation. No substitute. Just him!

What now?

This is a question we confront at some point of time (Most of us, if not all!) But the substitutes in life are so readily available that we do not get enough time to ponder over it. And why not, we are social beings after all. We are craving for company. For our survival!

But what if …?

We, the philosophers...

Philosophy as a term means the love for  knowledge . A philosopher on the other hand is one who is in quest for knowledge and the one who is seeking answers to the whys , hows and whats of life.

The very first image that strikes ,  when we talk of a philosopher is that of someone with a long beard , sitting somewhere aloof under a tree ,  completely uninterested in the happenings around him , occupied in the thoughts that might seem alien to others .  But contrary to this the fact is that each and everyone of us , irrespective of age and backgroung , are philosophers in some way .

The sense of wonder has been an inherent thing in each human being ever since he or she was born . Consider a small child of 2 to 3 years of age . The curiosity that a kid of that age shows in everything around him is unparalleled . But as he grows up , he is conditioned by the society to accept things as they are . The curiosity in him slowly subsides and he is no more fascinated by the beauty of life . But there are some who do not let the child in them die . The sense of wonder prevails as they grow and in fact becomes stronger than ever . These are the men who go on to become the great philosophers .

If it was not for the philosopher in Issac Newton  , we would not have come this far in the field of physics  and science . An apple falling from a tree was a thing people have been seeing for ages . They were conditioned to believe  that this is how things happen . An apple always falls to the ground and not go up in the sky  . Newton was the one who questioned this simple thing  , and the rest is history. In fact , every great scientist was a great philosopher before he turned the quest into a verifiable entity . The only difference between the two is that science tries to verify and philosophy is not something that can be verified .

When some misfortune srtikes us  , the philosopher in us awakens . The loss of a dear one make us question the meaning of life . We seek answer to the mystries of life . But then , as the life goes on , we leave these queries behind and once again flow with the time and become busy in the daily lives . Every one  , invariably , has in some part of his or her life has been a philosopher . We only fail to acknowledge it .

Humans are the only species , of 8.7 million life forms on the earth , who have the ability to reason . Let not this sense of wonder die . Let not the philosophers in us evanesce…

Not getting it easy !

Those who get things easy in life are considered as the lucky ones . But I also consider the ones who do not get things easily as lucky,  because the rough times teach us things we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Through all the crests and troughs I experienced , there are some things I learned which may seem not so obvious to others because all of us are unique and all of us learn same things in different ways. We may also differ in our opinions and ideas . Mine might seem totally disgusting to others and I think this is perfectly OK . 

Some things that I would want to share , not because they are some exclusive experiences or universal truths but because they helped me through the twists and turns !

One most important thing I have realised over the time is that the change is the only constant ! Quoting Charlie Chaplin here ~ “nothing is permanent in this world , not even our troubles”. Worst things happen on times unexpected ,yet if we hold on and realize that things will change for better because that’s the law of nature , we can face things straight on. Accepting change makes us coherent enough to face any tough situation in life .

I learned that there is a power above us that is unfathomable ( The atheists out there , I have nothing against you . This is totally my experience and yours can differ ). I cannot say much about it because this is something I can’t express but only feel . Call it God or the supreme power . My consciousness is too small to understand it ! 

I learned Karma ! Believe it or not , what we give is what we get . As they say – ‘ Life has a funny way of making you deal with what you make others go through ! ‘ This law of nature applies to all without exception and I have over the time become a strong believer of the same .

I learned that we are all complete on our own . We are all extremely strong as individuals . Some of us only fail to realize the immense power we have within. But somewhere we all know it , we only fail to acknowledge it . The circumstances teach us the same . As Swami Vivekananda said ~ “ If there is a sin , this is the only sin – to think that you are weak or others are weak” .

I learned no matter how bad things get , there is always someone out there for us . Help comes from unexpected sources . I read stuffs like these while in school and sometimes later too . But when I look back through the rough patches , I find this is absolutely the case ! If you hold on , aid will come . It’s only a matter of time!

I learned that the path appears when we are ready to walk and the journey never ends . Life goes on...

HAIDER!

Haider was one such movie that I couldnot miss . The most important reason being the IMDB rating of 8.9 and the second being the reference to AFSPA that I read in one of the reviews ( Hamlet part did not prompt me much though! ) . Once I secured the tickets in Satyam cinemas , it was time to browse through the details of the AFSP act ( already there were too many acts that had to be mugged up , but the movie had aroused special interest in this particular act. I wish that bollywood had initiated making a movie on every act passed by parliament so as to fecilitate easy memorisation techniques for UPSC aspirants!!)

 So what is AFSPA?

 In May 1958, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India, in response to the continued unrest in the northeastern territories of the union, including self determination activities by Naga tribes that spilled over into the state of Manipur, promulgated the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance. The ordinance entitled the Governor of Assam and the Chief Commissioner of Manipur to declare the whole or any part of Assam or Manipur, respectively, as a “disturbed area”. The AFSP Act replaced the ordinance later that year. The Act was passed by both Houses of Parliament on 18 August 1958 and received presidential assent on 11 September 1958.

 Today the Act is applicable to the northeastern territory of India, comprising of seven states, namely, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. In 1990, a similar Act was enacted to cover the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

 AFSPA is often termed as the 'Draconian law'. The act grants extraordinary powers to the military, including the powers to detain persons, use lethal force, and enter and search premises without warrant. These powers are formulated very broadly and framed in vague language. Despite the inherent risk of possible abuse in the context of such broad rights, the act doesnt contain any provision to safeguard the rights of the citizens. The overall effect of the AFSPA has been the defacto militarization of northeastern region. This has resulted in unaccounted deaths , dissapearances , arbitrary killings , and suppression of human rights as par the constitution and the international human rights law. 

Coming back to the movie 'Haider',though this movie wasnt completely based on AFSPA and most reviews were more concerned about the HAMLET part of the story, but I chose to focus more on the act! But Haider had a mixed blend of almost everything .Of late , I have come to believe hat there are broadly two types of Indians ~ One the UPSC aspirants and other the rest. The thinking methodology and the analytic process of both the species being very different, this was one such movie that has done justice to both of them . There was a philosophical side to the whole story and that was precisely and very concisely shot in the song ~ ' Aao na ' written by none other but Gulzar ! At first listening the song seemed creepy and funny at the same time . But the intricacies of the simple wordings kept one thinking .The seemingly mad Sahid kapoor scene that detailed the act with insane touch was one epic scene. The equally beautiful and complicated character of Tabu ,paralleling Gertrude of ' Hamlet'had its own significance. The fantastic idea of integrating the Hamlet and AFSPA is what made the movie even more intriguing. By highligting the plight of the locals being effected by the AFSPA in Kashmir , the movie raised issues of legality of the act .

 Ever since AFSPA was imposed , there had been cases of frequent violations of basic human rights in the hands of the army . For an instance , the military, while driving along the streets of Kohimain 1995, mistook the sound of a burst tyre from their own convoy for a bomb explosion and opened fire indiscriminately. Individuals who were considered to be terrorists’ accomplices were dragged from their houses and arbitrarily killed. As a result, seven civilians lost their lives. In another instance , on 11th July a 32 year old was arrested from her house in Manipur under the act and later her badly mutilated and bullet ridden body was found nearby. After the investigations the Indian army vice chief of staff stated that the incidence was indeed an unfortunate one . 

These being a drop in the ocean of the atrocities inflicted under the umbrella of AFSPA . The fight led by Irom Sharmila has its relevance in the history . But the irony is the person who has been fighting for lives, for 14 years now ,through a fast is being imprisoned under different provisions of crpc and section 309 of IPC for attempt to suicide. Sometimes the laid down text defy the common sense. I wonder if the law differentiates between the 'Jauhar' and a protest ! 

So, finally , the movie was one worth watching and I enjoyed it to the fullest in an uncertain afternoon!! But ' Maktub ' as it goes! I was destined to watch the movie.

Pehle AAP !

It’s the time for yet another Lok Sabha election. Though I am not a political commentator, nor I had been keenly interested in politics ever, but this season around there is too much happening in the political front and ignoring all that is a luxury very few can afford.

The most interesting of all has been the recent Delhi elections. Though there were other four states too, but the show was clearly stolen by the Capital city.  It wasn’t the usual two majors putting up a fight, but the golden triangle was completed by the majestic AAP!

Being the first timer , AAP not only managed to be the second largest side of the triangle but also put congress  , the three time major , in a condition that they barely managed to be the smallest corner. What could have been a more interesting show for all?

Despite all sorts of attempts made to defame the party AAP stood victorious that stunned not only the entire nation but our neighbors too. No wonder ours is the biggest democracy in the world and the strongest as its strength has been proven once again!

I had always been an admirer of Sir Arvind Kejriwal. Not because his party has done so well lately, but ever since the anti corruption movement began and all the Anna Hazare crusade took over our nation, Arvind Kejriwal appeared as the most genuine and sincere personality to me.  Someone who wasn’t always in limelight while being in Anna’s team (remember there were others more prominent leaders then!)  

The Modi effect has been huge. But what made the AAP movement different form the modi wave was the way AAP connected to the people. On one hand people were  busy debating over late Sardar Patel statue , there were others going to the root level to win the trust of common man. There were no huge hunkar rallies, no high profile meets, but the work at ground level was such that they managed to win the confidence of common delhiites. There were Jhadu stickers all over Delhi, be it the shops or the chaiwala stall or the taxis. Not big posters with catchy lines, just the small Jhadu stickers were enough. This was the beauty of AAP. Though outside Delhi the AAP effect wasn’t very prominent, but people of Delhi had clearly chosen the Jhadu.

With the new party begins the new hope for Indian politics of being changed from a ‘dirty’ one to a ‘clean’ one. I wish all the luck to the Aam Aadmi party and hope this would inspire few incumbents to work in a similar way (as Rahul Gandhi had put it!)

Rat race

During one of my journeys from Delhi to Dehradun I happened to meet a guy studying in NID (national institute of designing). As a small boy, he dreamt (in his own words!) of designing cars. Why design a car?....Well he belonged to a small village where a car coming in the village was a rare sight. He kind of developed a fascination with cars and made up his mind to be a car designer when he grew up (am not sure if there is any such vocation!). Coz of lack of awareness in his village he didn’t really know how he could get to his dream. But because he felt he had to keep going he finally ended up getting into mechanical engineering in some college I don’t much remember. During his engineering years he still dreamt of designing cars. But once his engineering was over he had to face up to the fact that there was no car designing in mechanical engineering!...on the contrary he had to work rather with the pedals. This guy was broke emotionally… All these years of hard work seemed worthless to him. But he didn’t want to give up to his dreams. He wouldn’t spend his life working around with pedals. So he decided to gather all the information he could on things related to car designing and concluded that it was only through an admission in NID that he could get closer to his dream. He gave up engineering and started all over again. Finally he managed to get admitted in the institute and guess what??....he was just designing a car and drawing its layout while on the way to Dehradun- the thing that he always wanted to do!
This encounter kept me thinking. What on earth was I doing in an engineering college when I never ever wanted to get into this stuff?
I guess it’s always been a kind of rat race or whatever one calls it. Each one of us wants to do what everyone else does. If you are different and want to stay out of the track you are tagged as crazy or still better a loser. This fear of being alienated is precisely what keeps us from taking up the roads less traveled. Also the fear of the unknown makes the idea of going the other way appear to be less appealing as everyone would prefer to live in comfortable zone. But at the end of it all I don’t know how much satisfaction one can derive by going on in an aimless journey while we follow everyone else (provided the race wasn’t the aim).
Following ones dreams was never easy…It’s never been! But I guess it’s the uncertainty on the way that makes the journey stand out from the rest and only those who have the will can conquer the way!