It's been a week since i saw 'Love aaj kal' and i realise that i like it even more than i did the day I saw it. How is that possible?? especially when it's a hindi movie we are talking about. Was it the Brazilian beauty and her innocence or was it Neetu Singh in the last scene or maybe the songs or the ... I guess it was all of it and the fact that this love story had a happy ending. There's always something magical about a couple in love. The glow on their faces and the dreamy look in the eyes make them look like characters of a fairy tale. When it all merges into a 'they got married and lived happily ever after' phase, there are tears of happiness all around.
Last year I met a 25 year old girl from some European country. During our conversation I came to know that she had another sister at home and two step brothers. She told me that her mom had got married thrice and that she was single now. "My mom left my dad when I was 7" she said. "Oh! I am so sorry", I blurted out. "hey, don't be sorry" she continued " My mom thought she had met her soul mate and she couldn't stay away from the man. So, she left home, dad and us and went away", she added. I looked confused. "She left him in three months because she thought he wasn't the actual soul mate", she went on. I didn't know whether to be sorry for her or for myself. I felt like laughing but preferred to tuck away my emotions. That is love - the western style.
India seems to have arrived too. Love today is more about convenience.
It's more about - I engineer + u engineer = love + marriage = no kids. When and if Cupid does strike, it is probably a wee bit late. The man/woman is already married and is surrounded with responsibilities. If one is able to heal oneself within the folds of their comfortable existence, the do so and if not, then they queue up outside the Divorce lawyers office. The queue seems to be getting longer by each passing day and the quest for true love is on. Being married for 10, 20, 30 or 40 or 50 years is not too fashionable any more.
Love aaj kal has a new face to it. The innocence is lost and there is a sense of superficial freedom that keeps the youngsters on their toes. The emotions are mere words which can be used as and when it's needed. There is a dearth of time and everything else can be dealt with. The confusion of whether Love has actually happened or not is what Saif Khan goes through in the movie. The last scene in which Deepika Padukone moves down as she wipes away her tears was an absolute treat. And, for a change I was happy she was crying..
Monday, 10 August 2009
Monday, 3 August 2009
We call him Buster
That's iittle Buster with his favourite toy - the tiger. The tiger was shredded into pieces by this little devil and had to be replaced. His new companion is a monkey..
sleeping with the enemy:
sleeping with the enemy:
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Monday, 27 July 2009
Hysterical Mehbooba
Lush green fields, monsoons, wonderful weather, all this and Mehbooba. That makes for a perfect setup. It's everything one ever wanted - An ideal situation. Add a Mufti to the tale and it gets twisted. Today, an angry Mehbooba Mufti, the PDP leader, darted towards the Speaker in the J an K assembly and hurled the microphone at him. Some onlookers sneered, while others sat through the episode in sullen silence, until the lady was thrown out of the assembly quite unceremoniously.
When asked why she took the step in full public glare, she whirled a volley of words at the interviewer and said that it was because she wasn't given a fair chance during the questionaire. "The speaker used derogatory words aginst me", she claimed. Does that give a leader the right to behave like a child?? So much for Indian Democracy.
This kind of show of angst isn't uncommon to the Indian audience. We may be made to understand that there was public welfareat stake in the J an K assembly, but the better side of my brain knows better. It was a show of helplessness at the loss in the assembly elections, and the knowledge that the recent spate of events that had hit the state weren't all a matter of state disfunctionalism. Hence, the need to seek attention in a manner that is averse to anything democratic.
We have witnessed such scenes in other state assemblies earlier too and those scenes had been 'hard hitting' in all aspects of the term. The Uttar Pradesh assembly had seen chairs and mics being used as weapons of 'class destruction'. Class here is my way of addressing the symbols of democracy, who have been chosen by the people. Just last year, the Andhra Pradesh asembly witnessed a similar crisis and before that we also had the Orissa asembly frantically in search of weapons to attack the enemy within the house.
We are not alone in the world to have our leaders at each others throats. Some days back, we had scenes from the South Korean Parliament, where Parliamentarians struggled to strangle every other opponent. Women Parliamentarians ensured that they fought against their women counterparts only!! It was a sight straight out of a comic flick from Cartoon network. Needless to say, it was sheer entertainment. The feeling of sharing the same kind of hysteria can bring countries closer, after all.
As for me, I prefer to chill out with the song 'Mehbooba, mehbooba.. gulshan mein gul khilte hain.....' Mufti is set aside to rest because I know she will rise again tomorrow morning, and this time she'll be in black and white, all over the pages of newspapers across the country..
When asked why she took the step in full public glare, she whirled a volley of words at the interviewer and said that it was because she wasn't given a fair chance during the questionaire. "The speaker used derogatory words aginst me", she claimed. Does that give a leader the right to behave like a child?? So much for Indian Democracy.
This kind of show of angst isn't uncommon to the Indian audience. We may be made to understand that there was public welfareat stake in the J an K assembly, but the better side of my brain knows better. It was a show of helplessness at the loss in the assembly elections, and the knowledge that the recent spate of events that had hit the state weren't all a matter of state disfunctionalism. Hence, the need to seek attention in a manner that is averse to anything democratic.
We have witnessed such scenes in other state assemblies earlier too and those scenes had been 'hard hitting' in all aspects of the term. The Uttar Pradesh assembly had seen chairs and mics being used as weapons of 'class destruction'. Class here is my way of addressing the symbols of democracy, who have been chosen by the people. Just last year, the Andhra Pradesh asembly witnessed a similar crisis and before that we also had the Orissa asembly frantically in search of weapons to attack the enemy within the house.
We are not alone in the world to have our leaders at each others throats. Some days back, we had scenes from the South Korean Parliament, where Parliamentarians struggled to strangle every other opponent. Women Parliamentarians ensured that they fought against their women counterparts only!! It was a sight straight out of a comic flick from Cartoon network. Needless to say, it was sheer entertainment. The feeling of sharing the same kind of hysteria can bring countries closer, after all.
As for me, I prefer to chill out with the song 'Mehbooba, mehbooba.. gulshan mein gul khilte hain.....' Mufti is set aside to rest because I know she will rise again tomorrow morning, and this time she'll be in black and white, all over the pages of newspapers across the country..
Thursday, 23 July 2009
An eclipsed eclipse
"Dis is da problem ven u overwork!!! Poor Sun takes just a 6 minute break an da whole world is talking abt it!!!" - This was a tag line written by one of my friends on facebook. Isn't it right that the Sun is overworked! It's only when it's not there that we realise it's importance. On a sunny day, when the heat is unbearable, we curse the sun, on a cloudy day we curse it again! Come winters and we curse it for not shining brightly. But, one moment of rest for it, and the world stands still.
All the ga ga over the solar eclipse seems to be dying down today. It was after all supposed to be the longest eclipse of the 21st century. All the attention was expected. Did I say suppose!! The eclipse watchers will chase me till I accept the theory that it was indeed 'the longest' eclipse of the century. After all, it did last for appx 5 mins. But, I missed it. I simply overslept. The clouds had anyway taken over the skies and I was faraway from any place where the eclipse was fully visible. Above all, nature was plotting against me and ensured that i do not watch the spectacle unfold itself.
The world watched the dazzling sun being devoured by the moon and in a moment darkness had enveloped the morning, and converted it into five minutes of miraculous night. There was pitch darkness and then emerged the ring - the diamond ring, one that nature had gifted to humanity. Space tourists had created means of watching the eclipse, some travelled by planes, so as to capture the sun through their lenses. They did not want the clouds to play spoilsport and went beyond the clouds to catch the ring closely.
Clouds did cover the skies and barred millions of people from watching the eclipse at Taregna, near Patna. Varanasi, however, was the place that was blessed and the people who witnessed the eclipse will remember it forever. Fortune tellers had the time of their lives predicting future while scientists analyzed the eclipse. The astronomers sat glued to their telescopes to capture each move of the moon and the Sun. The eclipse has passed me by, and all I can do now is wait for the next eclipse. I am sure I will catch it next time. The sun is shining brightly and there's not a trace of darkness left behind. The moon is moving on it's usual route. All is as it was. There is hope..
All the ga ga over the solar eclipse seems to be dying down today. It was after all supposed to be the longest eclipse of the 21st century. All the attention was expected. Did I say suppose!! The eclipse watchers will chase me till I accept the theory that it was indeed 'the longest' eclipse of the century. After all, it did last for appx 5 mins. But, I missed it. I simply overslept. The clouds had anyway taken over the skies and I was faraway from any place where the eclipse was fully visible. Above all, nature was plotting against me and ensured that i do not watch the spectacle unfold itself.
The world watched the dazzling sun being devoured by the moon and in a moment darkness had enveloped the morning, and converted it into five minutes of miraculous night. There was pitch darkness and then emerged the ring - the diamond ring, one that nature had gifted to humanity. Space tourists had created means of watching the eclipse, some travelled by planes, so as to capture the sun through their lenses. They did not want the clouds to play spoilsport and went beyond the clouds to catch the ring closely.
Clouds did cover the skies and barred millions of people from watching the eclipse at Taregna, near Patna. Varanasi, however, was the place that was blessed and the people who witnessed the eclipse will remember it forever. Fortune tellers had the time of their lives predicting future while scientists analyzed the eclipse. The astronomers sat glued to their telescopes to capture each move of the moon and the Sun. The eclipse has passed me by, and all I can do now is wait for the next eclipse. I am sure I will catch it next time. The sun is shining brightly and there's not a trace of darkness left behind. The moon is moving on it's usual route. All is as it was. There is hope..
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Truth and dare
When a person is hell bent on taking revenge, all he/she has to do is speak the truth. That might sound ridiculous, but that's exactly what is happening. The new show on TV, that has people glued to it, isn't the usual 'saas bahu' rona dhona. On the contrary, it is real life unfolding itself. People agree to bare facts about their lives and if all their answers are right, they carry home a goody bag full of money. One yes or no is the answer that decides what their sub conscious mind thinks. That sub conscious mind is the part that is always awake. It's our conscience. The mind when awake, tunes itself to what is politically correct. The lie becomes the truth for the outer world. The person himself/herself starts believing it to be reality.
Truth isn't always pleasant especially the ones that have been hidden away in the deepest crevices of the mind. "Did you have sex with a prostitute"? a not so young man was asked, on TV. His life was being read out in public and he was ready to take on the challenge of truth. The camera moved towards the family members, so that it could absorb each expression they were going through. An ex wife of the participant cringed in her seat, while the daughter just covered her face. It wasn't the viciousnes of the question, but the anxiety over the answer, that was writ all over her face. "Yes", came the answer. That must have stabbed her that very moment, because her face had turned pale. The other questions were equally personal and I did not know whether to appreciate the man for his boldness or to admonish him for putting his family through an embarassing situation. I also saw a woman partcipant, who after a few simple questions, was put through the ultimate test. The answer was 'no' from her side, but the polygraphy test differed. Her husband was choked for words.
We like to sneak into others lives and see what is happening beyond our boundary wall. When we see people revealing the truths of their lives, we are hooked to it. It could be a neighbour, or relative, or a friend or a stranger on a TV channel. All this gets more chatpata if someone's personal life is being disussed. Gossip gets a boost by some people who cannot sustain their excitement and the truth of the victim becomes his/her nightmare.
Truth has the power to ruin lives, not make them. This may seem hypocritical but its a fact. The real self, real ambitions, dreams are stashed away behind the mask of the roles we don. A man may want to be a singer but he dresses up in formals and attends board meetings, till he drops dead. Another might live an unhappy life, but would never admit that he wants to spend his whole life with another woman. The truth would make too many people unhappy, so, he stops living his own life.
Women are experts at denying themselves even a moment of happiness, until it involves their families, husbands or children. They like to carry the baggage of guilt about all the things that have not been taken care of. Not once do women sit back and realise that their families exist because they do. She knows that truth would make her happy and then happiness demands more. So, before the 'dil asks for more', she shrugs off the truth and wears her baggage once again. It's heavy but lighter than truth. That's how heavy truth is.
One man's truth may be the other mans lie. That is only when you are in the company of people. When one sits all alone, in introspection, he/she knows the truth. No polygraphy test is needed. The mind gives us our answers, and we, the civilized inhabitants of a lonely planet, just have to look within us. Some people have the guts to accept truth and live life as they want to, others wane away into anonymity and are forgotten.
Truth isn't always pleasant especially the ones that have been hidden away in the deepest crevices of the mind. "Did you have sex with a prostitute"? a not so young man was asked, on TV. His life was being read out in public and he was ready to take on the challenge of truth. The camera moved towards the family members, so that it could absorb each expression they were going through. An ex wife of the participant cringed in her seat, while the daughter just covered her face. It wasn't the viciousnes of the question, but the anxiety over the answer, that was writ all over her face. "Yes", came the answer. That must have stabbed her that very moment, because her face had turned pale. The other questions were equally personal and I did not know whether to appreciate the man for his boldness or to admonish him for putting his family through an embarassing situation. I also saw a woman partcipant, who after a few simple questions, was put through the ultimate test. The answer was 'no' from her side, but the polygraphy test differed. Her husband was choked for words.
We like to sneak into others lives and see what is happening beyond our boundary wall. When we see people revealing the truths of their lives, we are hooked to it. It could be a neighbour, or relative, or a friend or a stranger on a TV channel. All this gets more chatpata if someone's personal life is being disussed. Gossip gets a boost by some people who cannot sustain their excitement and the truth of the victim becomes his/her nightmare.
Truth has the power to ruin lives, not make them. This may seem hypocritical but its a fact. The real self, real ambitions, dreams are stashed away behind the mask of the roles we don. A man may want to be a singer but he dresses up in formals and attends board meetings, till he drops dead. Another might live an unhappy life, but would never admit that he wants to spend his whole life with another woman. The truth would make too many people unhappy, so, he stops living his own life.
Women are experts at denying themselves even a moment of happiness, until it involves their families, husbands or children. They like to carry the baggage of guilt about all the things that have not been taken care of. Not once do women sit back and realise that their families exist because they do. She knows that truth would make her happy and then happiness demands more. So, before the 'dil asks for more', she shrugs off the truth and wears her baggage once again. It's heavy but lighter than truth. That's how heavy truth is.
One man's truth may be the other mans lie. That is only when you are in the company of people. When one sits all alone, in introspection, he/she knows the truth. No polygraphy test is needed. The mind gives us our answers, and we, the civilized inhabitants of a lonely planet, just have to look within us. Some people have the guts to accept truth and live life as they want to, others wane away into anonymity and are forgotten.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Kambakht hangover
Kareena is at it again. Flaunting her size '0' status with elan. Little does this self proclaimed glam doll realise that the teeny weeny bikini is not what is glamourous. Glamour is in the acting and the elegance, rather than flesh. It is all about the substance that a person is made of. Talent matters at the end of the day. I watched the Kareena - Akshay starrer 'Kambakht Ishq' and don't know how I sat through teh three hours. I want my money back!! The double meaning, so called jokes, were far from being funny and i almost thought I was visiting 'Nude zone'. It was, if i may sum it up in one word - CRAP!! A terrible headche has taken over. It has to be the hangover from that hopeless flick. The only saving grace was the Bebo song, so I guess I'll leave the movie to rest. The hangover will die down by next Friday, i'm sure.
I twitched my thumbs for a long time and later got on with the only sport I am fit to play these days. Yes! channel surfing. Zee, star, sahara, besahara all of which were airing serials that had already been aired. That was when I chanced upon the song 'aa ante amalapuram'. I don't have a clue of what that means, but it sound good. A peppy number from a Telugu movie. I was watching Gemini Tv. It was a programme on music and the next number had Venkatesh shaking his leg, hands, head, chest and well! almost every body part with some actress, whose name is not known to me. After having a dose of pure entertainment, when my mind seemed relaxed, I switched channels and lo and behold! it was MAA Tv, another Telugu channel. I stopped. Nostalgia had it's jaws tightly clenched into my existence, and all I could think of was the place I had lived before. I was having yet another hangover..
I remember having a candid conversation with an old cook, when I first set foot in Andhra. "Amma" he started at which I retaliated with a hiss. Amma! God! had I aged so much! Do I need to dye my hair. Just when I thought my woes were over, I was faced with another googly. "Amma, do papa?", he asked. I knew he had had some misunderstanding. "No, do nai, sirf ek papa" i replied. He gave me a quizzical glance and threw another question at me " Papa school gaya?". This was getting on my nerves. "Bhaiya, I almost shouted, Papa school kyon jaega, Papa office gaya". An attendant who i hadn't noticed till then, laughed his lungs out. It was he who later informed me that Papa means girl in telugu and amma was a word used for the feminine gender. Such cocktails were enough for me for the day. I had to learn teh language, I almost myself. My teachers were my maid and the lady who ironed th clothes. The maid made a sheer fool out of me and did manage to get away without doing all the work, almost every single day, because she constantly used the word 'repu' which I thought meant 'ok', It actually means tomorrow. Counting numbers in Telugu wasn't a tough preposition. Every time the lady who ironed the clothes came, we sat still and waited for her to start off - 'wokati, rendu, mulu, nalgu aaidu aaroo... 1 to 10 was easy.
It's been quite some time since I left Andhra to reside in another place but I still feel connected and every time I feel home sick, all I have to do is switch on the Tv. It was indeed home to me for a while. Nomads, after all have places to go. The only permanent things in their lives being a heart wherein they carry memories. I know I will move yet again, and then I will miss the place i live in today but that's what life is all about.
A nomadic existence leaves behind a sweet taste of the place that you leave behind. Each time a change of place hits my life and jolts it into action, I realise the essence of the place I had lived in more. Even if the stay happened to be for a small period of time, the place lives on. The people, eating habits, dresses, forests, flora, fauna etc come back to haunt. The things one ran away from seem dearer. The smells that made you puke and fume, bring a smile to the face and the things that made you angry, have you in splits. There's a feeling of warmth even in things one found irritating. It is all because we like to hold on to our yesterdays. No wonder, our school or college days seem the best. The memories of our first job brings back tears ( of joy course) no matter how stingy the boss was. It doesn't matter that school or college days were filled with days you wanted to finish it all and move on, because of the peer pressure and family pressures or simple heart aches. We still like to live in the past. It is safe to look back as it can't harm you more than it already has. On the contrary, it manages to give happiness as a present.
The future is yet to come , the present may be a present but the past is the treasure that no one can take away.
I twitched my thumbs for a long time and later got on with the only sport I am fit to play these days. Yes! channel surfing. Zee, star, sahara, besahara all of which were airing serials that had already been aired. That was when I chanced upon the song 'aa ante amalapuram'. I don't have a clue of what that means, but it sound good. A peppy number from a Telugu movie. I was watching Gemini Tv. It was a programme on music and the next number had Venkatesh shaking his leg, hands, head, chest and well! almost every body part with some actress, whose name is not known to me. After having a dose of pure entertainment, when my mind seemed relaxed, I switched channels and lo and behold! it was MAA Tv, another Telugu channel. I stopped. Nostalgia had it's jaws tightly clenched into my existence, and all I could think of was the place I had lived before. I was having yet another hangover..
I remember having a candid conversation with an old cook, when I first set foot in Andhra. "Amma" he started at which I retaliated with a hiss. Amma! God! had I aged so much! Do I need to dye my hair. Just when I thought my woes were over, I was faced with another googly. "Amma, do papa?", he asked. I knew he had had some misunderstanding. "No, do nai, sirf ek papa" i replied. He gave me a quizzical glance and threw another question at me " Papa school gaya?". This was getting on my nerves. "Bhaiya, I almost shouted, Papa school kyon jaega, Papa office gaya". An attendant who i hadn't noticed till then, laughed his lungs out. It was he who later informed me that Papa means girl in telugu and amma was a word used for the feminine gender. Such cocktails were enough for me for the day. I had to learn teh language, I almost myself. My teachers were my maid and the lady who ironed th clothes. The maid made a sheer fool out of me and did manage to get away without doing all the work, almost every single day, because she constantly used the word 'repu' which I thought meant 'ok', It actually means tomorrow. Counting numbers in Telugu wasn't a tough preposition. Every time the lady who ironed the clothes came, we sat still and waited for her to start off - 'wokati, rendu, mulu, nalgu aaidu aaroo... 1 to 10 was easy.
It's been quite some time since I left Andhra to reside in another place but I still feel connected and every time I feel home sick, all I have to do is switch on the Tv. It was indeed home to me for a while. Nomads, after all have places to go. The only permanent things in their lives being a heart wherein they carry memories. I know I will move yet again, and then I will miss the place i live in today but that's what life is all about.
A nomadic existence leaves behind a sweet taste of the place that you leave behind. Each time a change of place hits my life and jolts it into action, I realise the essence of the place I had lived in more. Even if the stay happened to be for a small period of time, the place lives on. The people, eating habits, dresses, forests, flora, fauna etc come back to haunt. The things one ran away from seem dearer. The smells that made you puke and fume, bring a smile to the face and the things that made you angry, have you in splits. There's a feeling of warmth even in things one found irritating. It is all because we like to hold on to our yesterdays. No wonder, our school or college days seem the best. The memories of our first job brings back tears ( of joy course) no matter how stingy the boss was. It doesn't matter that school or college days were filled with days you wanted to finish it all and move on, because of the peer pressure and family pressures or simple heart aches. We still like to live in the past. It is safe to look back as it can't harm you more than it already has. On the contrary, it manages to give happiness as a present.
The future is yet to come , the present may be a present but the past is the treasure that no one can take away.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Baawara mann
Monsoons have finally set in and I am happy for the farmers. I myself am not too enthusiastic about it, but driving out in the rains with a song I like playing in the background is always welcome. I heard this song and have been humming it for the past two days.. It is addictive.. I found the video on youtube and it is from the movie 'Hazaaron khwahishein aisi'
Enjoy the drive and the song..
YouTube - Baawra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna
Ek song ke saath ek song free :-)
YouTube - Guncha koi mere naam
This beautiful song was tucked away in a movie called 'Main meri patni aor woh'. Rajpal Yadav, The gorgeous Rituparna sengupta and Kay kay menon are the actors and it is sung by Mohit Chauhan..
Enjoy
Enjoy the drive and the song..
YouTube - Baawra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna
Ek song ke saath ek song free :-)
YouTube - Guncha koi mere naam
This beautiful song was tucked away in a movie called 'Main meri patni aor woh'. Rajpal Yadav, The gorgeous Rituparna sengupta and Kay kay menon are the actors and it is sung by Mohit Chauhan..
Enjoy
Sunday, 5 July 2009
LGBT, why why??
Tell someone u are happy and gay and you will be at the receiving end of weird glances.'I am gay', is notreally an expression that can be used to convey your happiness anymore. The innocence of the word gay has been lost to sexual preferences. However, the morning papers on 3rd of July looked gay enough in both senses of the word. There were men hugging men and women hugging women - nothing unusual, just that the text that was used to explain the picture wasn't quite ordinary. The headlines read - High Court legalises Article 377.
The law for gays may or may not be legalised, but it has certainly opened the pandora's box and let out the wors 'sex' into the air. Sex is the buzz word and debates on the topic are unplugged. There are people who are uninhibited about the topic and speak endlessly. When there is a debate on gays, everyone has an opinion as most people aren't directly in the line of 'gaydom'. If a person prefers a partner of the same sex, he/she is not ready to air their preferences. So, straight people vent out their angst openly by talking about something that's next to what they aren't too comfortable talking about.
The society isn't very kind to people who stray away from the mainstrem. There is ostracisation of the person or the entire family and in such cases the person is forced to live according to others wishes. His/her life is lost. It is easy to say that gays should be accepted in the society but how many of us would actually accept a near and dear one, if we were to wake up one morning and were told that they
wanted to live with a person of the same sex! Even if we did accept them, it would be an ordeal to live through it day in and day out. The society is in for a drastic makeover, and the picture seems rather morbid. You would be inviting Mr and Mr x or ms and ms y for dinner. The straight woman would be running after her husband, just to see that he doesn't get trapped by the M X and same goes fr the man. Though I am aware of the fact that our history gives us proof of the existence of gays, I dread those times.
LGBT's have been around for a long time. Anyone who has lived in a hostel must have had a brush with it for sure. The forces, where men stay away from their families for long is a soft spot for activities that were kept under the wrap of art 377. Most of the time sex among men in these cases aren't consensual. How many men have actually complained that they were sexually harassed by another man?? none, is the answer. Men are embarassed, for a change! By repealing the act the government would be doing a great favour to the society. This, because the cases of rape of men will then be registered and action would be taken against the criminal.
To make matters worse for the straight world and their sensibilities, there were Pride marches in Delhi, chennai and bangalore. Slogans like 'Hindu muslim sikh isai, homo hetero bhai bhai', were being proudly displayed. Kisses and hugs were a common sight. These are a reminder that there is no running away fom the fact that gayism and lesbianism exist in India. LGBT are here to co-exist. Just because we do not acknowledge a certain thing, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Bhubaneswar of all places also had it's share of gay rights activism brought to the streets. I do hope the Chief Minister was listening. Since I believe in the adage 'live and let live', I personally think it doesn't really matter what people do in their bedrooms, especially if it's consensual. To each his own.. and yet my last prayer fr the day is 'God, take care of my family and keep them safe from thoughts of the LGBT world'.
The law for gays may or may not be legalised, but it has certainly opened the pandora's box and let out the wors 'sex' into the air. Sex is the buzz word and debates on the topic are unplugged. There are people who are uninhibited about the topic and speak endlessly. When there is a debate on gays, everyone has an opinion as most people aren't directly in the line of 'gaydom'. If a person prefers a partner of the same sex, he/she is not ready to air their preferences. So, straight people vent out their angst openly by talking about something that's next to what they aren't too comfortable talking about.
The society isn't very kind to people who stray away from the mainstrem. There is ostracisation of the person or the entire family and in such cases the person is forced to live according to others wishes. His/her life is lost. It is easy to say that gays should be accepted in the society but how many of us would actually accept a near and dear one, if we were to wake up one morning and were told that they
wanted to live with a person of the same sex! Even if we did accept them, it would be an ordeal to live through it day in and day out. The society is in for a drastic makeover, and the picture seems rather morbid. You would be inviting Mr and Mr x or ms and ms y for dinner. The straight woman would be running after her husband, just to see that he doesn't get trapped by the M X and same goes fr the man. Though I am aware of the fact that our history gives us proof of the existence of gays, I dread those times.
LGBT's have been around for a long time. Anyone who has lived in a hostel must have had a brush with it for sure. The forces, where men stay away from their families for long is a soft spot for activities that were kept under the wrap of art 377. Most of the time sex among men in these cases aren't consensual. How many men have actually complained that they were sexually harassed by another man?? none, is the answer. Men are embarassed, for a change! By repealing the act the government would be doing a great favour to the society. This, because the cases of rape of men will then be registered and action would be taken against the criminal.
To make matters worse for the straight world and their sensibilities, there were Pride marches in Delhi, chennai and bangalore. Slogans like 'Hindu muslim sikh isai, homo hetero bhai bhai', were being proudly displayed. Kisses and hugs were a common sight. These are a reminder that there is no running away fom the fact that gayism and lesbianism exist in India. LGBT are here to co-exist. Just because we do not acknowledge a certain thing, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Bhubaneswar of all places also had it's share of gay rights activism brought to the streets. I do hope the Chief Minister was listening. Since I believe in the adage 'live and let live', I personally think it doesn't really matter what people do in their bedrooms, especially if it's consensual. To each his own.. and yet my last prayer fr the day is 'God, take care of my family and keep them safe from thoughts of the LGBT world'.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
health is wealth
When appendicitis strikes, there is just one way out, and that is to go under the doctor's knife. A small, unuseful part of the body can create havoc and if it's not taken care of, can even prove fatal. When u see a family member writhe in pain, there's not much one can do but run towards the hospital. I was in a situation that demanded immediate medical attention and that kept me on my toes. There were tests to be done and a surgery to be conducted. The patient was my child.
Hospitals have always scared me. The typical smell as one enters the place hits hard as it is a typical combination of dettol, phenyl, medicines and bleaching powder etc. My trips to the hospital usually turn out to be nightmares. I walk in there, confident and oh so brave, but while on my way out I am brought out on the stretcher!! So, I don't go to these temples of health unless it's the last resort.
A life well spent is a life devoid of illness, but that rarely happens. Good food doesn't necessarily serve as a buffer for ill health. Exercise does manage to keep the body fit but how do we explain Cancer or Tuberculosis? However, a positive attitude worn with the right amount of good food, exercise, good sleep, clean water and plenty of fresh air is a guarantee to a healthy life. Heatlth is true wealth.
But for now, my mind races back to the bruised child lying in the other room. Hope all will be fine..
Hospitals have always scared me. The typical smell as one enters the place hits hard as it is a typical combination of dettol, phenyl, medicines and bleaching powder etc. My trips to the hospital usually turn out to be nightmares. I walk in there, confident and oh so brave, but while on my way out I am brought out on the stretcher!! So, I don't go to these temples of health unless it's the last resort.
A life well spent is a life devoid of illness, but that rarely happens. Good food doesn't necessarily serve as a buffer for ill health. Exercise does manage to keep the body fit but how do we explain Cancer or Tuberculosis? However, a positive attitude worn with the right amount of good food, exercise, good sleep, clean water and plenty of fresh air is a guarantee to a healthy life. Heatlth is true wealth.
But for now, my mind races back to the bruised child lying in the other room. Hope all will be fine..
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