Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Gods must be crazy !!!

Man is said to be God's greatest creation. So when I hear this line again and again I wonder if this so called greatest creation needs to have a quality check done before being sent to Earth. With all that is happening around us these days, I wonder about some faulty ones who have made their way through.

Every few months this country sees an incident so gruesome it shakes people out of their slumber. It shakes the very foundation of values we consider human and our faith in humanity is uprooted. The recent rape case in Delhi is the latest to be added to the list of such incidents. I am sure a million blogs have been written on this incident but they way this case has taken the country by storm; it is but impossible to ignore it when you switch on the news, pick up the newspaper or log into twitter.

I have nothing to say on the incident besides the very real fact that it is gruesome. It would only be monsters who are capable of a crime of this brutality. But what astounds me is how or government still won't wake up to the very real fact that these crimes are getting more and more rampant and heinous by the day. Over the weekend, we saw citizens from all over Delhi gathering up and demanding justice. They demanded an audience with the President to appeal for the harshest punishment for the offenders. The angry crowd was obviously not welcome by the police force who badgered them with water cannons and tear gas. Ironically some news reports even mentioned some women in the protesting crowd being molested. Can you imagine the scene, you are shouting for justice to the victim and someone is trying to grab a piece of you !!! The newspapers and websites are covering the stories by the minute. So a few days after the incident when i open a news site to get my update, i see this as the main news article and stories of 4 other rape cases around the country.

I get exasperated when I see the govt's reactions and decisions. There are some comments that say women should not roam around at night Well now that's an idea !! While you are at it, why not put GPS trackers on our feet so you know where we are at all times. The newspapers are filled with different decisions the govt is taking for "women's safety" - making women leave from office at 5 pm; setting up fast track courts, more patrolling of policemen at night time. Yes some are ridiculous changes - so we have to leave work early and focus on getting home safe rather than focusing on the work at hand. But more patrolling, faster actions on such cases etc is a welcome change provided it actually happens. But who is going to change the attitude of men towards women ?? We want to be part of the global leaders, we want to achieve the status of a super power but when the women who constitute nearly 50% of the Indian population has to worry about walking on the street and getting home from work I don't see technology and money helping us in anyway.


I will never understand the psyche of the Indian man; what goes through their damn mind and what will it  take to get them to stop looking at women like objects. Mind you it's not only the illiterate ones who carry this notion; the educated ones are no different. They see girls sitting at the bar alone and having a drink so it is an excuse to comment on their character, the girl is seen smoking and she is assumed to have no reputation. Bars and clubs while trying to bring in the best the west has to offer, also shows m the sick, masochist side of men that is brought out with an intake of alcohol. We are there to have a good time just the way you are. So keep your grubby, dirty fingers off us and back off !!!


Winston Churchill once said "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference". So aptly said and such a needed change !!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Au revoir Bengaluru !!!!

Any quintessential Mumbaikar would agree.. it's hard to leave this city behind... Everywhere you go, a part of the city latches itself on to you and shows its sneak peek in everything you do.

Four and a half years in Namma Bengaluru and I was still referred to as 'that Mumbai girl". So when the mother ship called back to me, I came running back. But I had bid adieu to a city I grew to love in the past years. Bengaluru gave some priceless memories, it taught me many many things and most of all, it introduced me to some of the the most beautiful people in the world.

As I started packing, reminiscence was an uninvited guest. I looked around my house, my "bachelor pad" house. That house contained memories of the first meal I ever cooked ( rice and chicken in case you wanna know), my every weekend schedule of cleaning and scrubbing it from top to bottom and how it would get destroyed after any Saturday night party. I remember 3 awesome birthday parties I had there, all my friends who came to celebrate with me and made those nights legendary. My weekend trips to the grocery store; the city taught me to carry 3 heavy shopping bags and still manage to have BBM conversations with my friends as I crossed the road. I pack all these memories in cartons boxes and strollers and bring them with me to Mumbai.

As I complete my last few days at work, I sit around the cafeteria table with the usual 4 30 coffee break with a bunch of fun people. We crib about work, laugh at each others' stories and share details of the interesting characters we come across. Two and a half years of working there and I take back some super friendships, people who were sad to see me leave. The learning from the work place is never just about functional or process knowledge; it is a learning on dealing with different people. People you don't like, people who don't like you, stubborn ones, arrogant ones, ignorant ones, level headed ones, smart ones .. every kind !!! They bid me farewell and say the world is a small place, we shall meet again... Yes we shall !!!

As I pack and load my bags into my cab and head off to the airport, I take one last look at all those places that held dear for these years. The watering hole that I frequented with girl friends to blow off steam after a hard day, the gym I pulled myself and dragged to shed those kilos, that Sunday brunch place which gave me so many memorable times.I will miss complaining about the 11 30 deadlines, the house parties.  I drive down those roads one last time, the roads and directions I had memorized over time.

It's been a pleasure Bengaluru ...