GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

Today, there are many kinds of wars being fought in the world– we see the rich fighting with the poor, the rich fighting with the rich, the poor fighting with poor; we see terrorism in its most horrifying forms, we see people dying of hunger, we see corruption and we see numerous of shades of injustice. Rarely do we see equality or peace around us.

At the very base of the naxal movement which is gaining greater ground by the day lies injustice, injustice that is driving the poor people living in rural areas to starvation, extreme poverty and oppression. The struggles that these people go through are unimaginable to us. These naxals or Maoists that we hear the government criticise all the time are actually people that have almost no money, no proper home and almost nothing to survive on. They are people who are fighting; fighting for the land that is rightfully theirs but was so easily snatched from them by the government. They’re fighting for they too have the right to live a life of dignity, not only the Ambani’s; they’re fighting against private companies that continue to exploit the poor endlessly, they're fighting for justice. They want the government for once, to give equality a chance and bring them out of their misery and oppression; and finally do something to bring back some balance to this tipsy turvy world with over 60% people living below the poverty line. The government, very typically didn’t give in to the protests of these tribals and extremely poor people; and so, they took their vengeance by resorting to extremely violent and horribly cruel means to overthrow our government. No, what the Maoists do isn’t right. Killing innocent people and kidnapping people isn’t right – it’s absolutely terrible and outrageous. You cannot blame the entire population including innocent children for the current situation and crisis that they’re going through. If the government only listens, wouldn’t it be easier? Wouldn’t it be beneficial, because they’re probably a huge number and fighting them would only aggravate the situation? Maybe, it’s more complicated than it seems and I don’t fully understand it. What is right and what is wrong? We’re supposed to be a democracy, where there is equality…but where is it? Where is the humanity in this situation?

I was recently reading about this law called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act which confers unrestricted powers to the armed forces to shoot, arrest and search people in so called "disturbed" areas. It’s absolutely appalling! There have been quite a few incidences of arbitrary detention, shooting, torture and even rape by these armed personnel! The law was apparently passed to prevent the north eastern states from seceding from the Indian Union, but it has only lead to the armed forces taking full advantage of their special power to the dismay of the common people. There have been a number of protests against this ridiculous act by the people of the north east. I don't understand how can killing be legal? How can you give these armed personnel full immunity and full freedom which will only urge them to be more brutal? But you can’t really blame the soldiers, can you? They’re doing their duty! How is the government being fair in this situation? How can they, without blinking an eye order their soldiers to kill people? What a quandary. Quite a few human rights organizations have criticised the Act, and very rightly so. It’s just not morally correct. In school, we had this poem in English class that nearly always brought me on the verge of tears. It was called “Survivors” by Siegfried Sassoon, who was an African ex-slave.

“Of course they’re ‘longing to go out again,

these boys with old, scared faces, learning to walk.”

These are a couple of lines from the poem in which he talks about how war cripples these soldiers, and leaves them physically and mentally broken and shattered to extents we cannot even comprehend. We always seem to think that these soldiers protecting us from all sorts of danger and terror are always raring to fight and make their country proud. Do we ever think about what they go through out there, the inhumane tasks that are left to them, the amount of people they have to kill during battles or how they watch their fellow combatants or friends die in front of their eyes? No, we don’t. So, it’s a misconception- everything we think about war being glorious and all that. It isn’t. It’s brutal. In the same way, how is it right to give the soldiers the right to kill? It’s not like they want to do it or enjoy it one bit. Why should violence be the answer to everything? Why should the government resort to violence without even thinking or giving other alternative solutions to a problem a thought? It’s just the easy way, isn’t it? So predictable, so obvious. Why give humanity a chance? Why think about the human lives that are being lost? Why think about the people who are suffering, the families being torn apart?

A few days ago, I was watching an interview with Imran Khan, the politician, in which he made the statement that killing Osama was wrong. He said Osama should’ve been tried in court by the USA, just like Kasab was in India. It really made me think…and I felt he was right. By killing him, they just did what he did all his life – murdered someone. The difference was that he murdered innocent people. Killing people, I feel just isn’t a right that we have, however heinous a crime anyone’s committed. Then, how is it done so easily?

The biggest question – should violence be used for reasons of justice? I’d say, like ‘the Beatles’ said in the 1960’s – “Give peace a chance”. We've never tried it, so we don’t know how different the outcomes in so many different situations could have been, if we just gave in to our conscience and tried solving problems without using violence; without taking the easy way out.

Cruelty or just Poverty?

I'm always reading articles in the newspapers these days or hearing people talk about animal cruelty, hunting, illegal poaching - about how horribly heartless and brutal these poachers are. Just today I read an article about leopard poaching. It spoke about how these poor villagers, living in a remote place also sell leopard skins in a tea stall, which is of course, absolutely appalling. The article also said some other interesting things that don’t strike us usually. It said that poaching won't stop, unless it becomes unprofitable, and that's when the demand goes down. Now that creates a bit of a dilemma, doesn’t it?

However, we ought to take a few other perspectives on the issue into consideration, before branding these poor and helpless villagers as cruel, heartless murderers. It’s a little odd to think that these people, who have to struggle to make ends meet every single day and provide for their family, also go around killing leopards and tigers for their own entertainment, isn’t it? Also, the people killing cattle or pigs or chicken aren't doing it just for some sadistic pleasure, are they? They're doing it because they want to survive in this big bad world, just like we do. They need to earn money for a livelihood, to give their wife and children a decent meal for dinner, because they want their children to be happy and literate and doing something meaningful with their lives, and not living the painful life of misery and struggle like they are; and if selling leopard skins is going to help them earn some money, then why not? They're poor, illiterates - on the brink of poverty, desperately trying to make ends meet. They don't know that it is in every sense, the wrong thing to do. It's not these poor people that we ought to blame. It's us - people living in the urban areas with all our everyday luxuries. Animal skins are in demand - because we use it, because we use leather or fur coats. Because it is in demand, the poachers do what they do. In spite of this, it's almost always the poor that get arrested; it's always the people living in rural areas getting accused of these crimes. Yes, what they're doing is wrong, but not for the wrong reasons. However, I’m not saying for one moment that there aren't other cases of animal cruelty out there that are absolutely outrageous!

I'm just saying that we can't just blindly accuse these people of animal cruelty without blinking an eye. If that's all that we're going to do, then we should also be the ones giving them better jobs to keep their homes running.

The Hunger Games!

JUST ONE SPARK

So I finally decided to give in to the unending hype going around and give ‘The Hunger Games’ series a try, just to see what all the hoo-ha was about. I hadn’t really expected much of it really, but I was eventually proven quite wrong. This latest fandom was surprisingly worth all the hype it’s been creating! In fact I don’t think I’ve read a book that’s had me this engrossed me and glued to my seat, and left me almost in tears in quite a while. The whole series is incredibly intense; it overwhelms you with emotion and leaves you anxious to know how the story proceeds. The most important thing for me in books, apart from an interesting storyline, would be the depth of the characters created. Katniss, the main female protagonist in the story exudes an aura of immense courage and determination, unlike Bella in the twilight series, who had about as much personality as a dead rat and was hollow to the point of being unbearable annoying. No, Katniss isn’t the stereotypical flawless heroine – she’s moody, stubborn, hot tempered, makes wrong decisions and may not be a very amiable person; but she’s also gutsy, ballsy, independent, strong and inspiring in her own unique way. Most importantly, she’s incredibly realistic and a brilliantly written character with a lot of spunk. She breaks the gender stereotype so blatantly, that it leaves you pleasantly surprised. You may hate her or love at different points in the books, but you can’t help being left awestruck by everything she says or does and by the sheer strength she has. She’s the key to the whole series and without her, the hunger games would never be the success it is. Peeta, of course is brilliant. He’s one of those characters you can’t help but love! His beliefs and principles are always so inspiring… He gives the story a positive feel. He’s like this shining, flawless prince; but in spite of all that he’s still quite believable and realistic. Whenever I think of Peeta and Katniss’ relationship in the book, I think of the Eagles song ‘love will keep us alive’! So apt! I personally think Suzanne Collins created Peeta as a symbol, telling us that there’s always going to be a few really genuinely good people who care and love with true intentions, amongst a bunch of ridiculously selfish and indifferent people like us! I was just very disappointed with the ending. It really wasn’t necessary to kill off everyone but the 3 protagonists! It made it a little too melodramatic. But overall the books were great, very gripping, and extremely original. It really makes us think and introspect, the entire concept of kids being thrown into battlefields and told to fight to death seems absolutely incredulous at first, but as the story proceeds we see the deeper reasons behind everything. The post apocalypse scenario, the cruel government, the people suffering seems all too familiar to just dismiss as fiction. We can draw so many parallels in our world, with the population explosion and the corruption, people dying on the streets of starvation, the horrible economic imbalance. There’s something so eerily real about the series. One can’t help but wonder. What if we ever reach a state like that, just not so dramatic? What if our present scenario with the growing discontent among the poor leads to a war just like that one? Because I feel that with one spark, this country just might come ablaze. And that would be so ludicrously dangerous, because the poor comprises of probably 80% of the population. What if? There’s something to think about.

Super Moon!

This was the day of the super moon. I was left so utterly awestruck by the proximity and beauty of the moon that day, that I actually wanted to become an astronaut for a while!

Out and about, in Calcutta

And some more of the buzzing city

The city with all the hoo-ha!

In Calcutta...Every picture does tell a story doesn't it?

Peace, in the heart of a city

My mother and I visited this remarkably beautiful Buddhist temple during our trip to Calcutta. The peace and quiet in the atmosphere inside the temple was just breathtaking; it was something that we seldom experience in our fast paced liveS buzzing with chaos! We sat there for a while, enjoying the divine peace and joined them in their prayers. What an absolutely wonderful, calming experience. If only i lived there! I'm sure it would do my mum and me a world of good if we just went and sat there every evening! These are some pictures i took..

The End in the Beginning

11 yrs ago, when we shifted to this city, swarming with cars and a ridiculous amount of people, I was most intimidated. I was just a kid, scared of what the city had in store for me, scared of having no friends in the big, new school and heartbroken about leaving my grandparents behind. Well, that was only the beginning – the beginning of the most eventful and exciting 11 years of my life. I met the most wonderful people, made some crazy, insane, amazing friends – friends I’m going to keep forever. They’ve inspired me, taught me so much in their little ways and without them i would never be who i am today. We may all go our different ways now, but the memories that we created together are too precious to ever be erased from our minds, leaving us always entwined and entangled in a web of memories. I’m reminded of so many of my old school days when i was much younger, and i know the bonds won’t ever be severed and I won’t ever forget it all, however old I get, for these aren’t just fond memories – they’re the memories that built my entire childhood. I met an old friend after 6 years recently, and even after all those years, it somehow didn’t feel so different- it almost felt like we were 11 or 12 year olds again. I hope it’ll always be that way with all my friends today, because with all that we’re been through together, with the weird puberty phase and the silly fights, i doubt there’ll be any sign of awkwardness!
Now that the high school days are over and i’ll go to college, life will probably be quite a different ball game. I’m reminded of that time 11 years ago; and again, the uncertainty of the future scares the daylights out of me. But now i know that getting intimidated doesn’t help the situation, it just worsens it. So this may be the end of an era, the end to some of the most beautiful, unforgettable years of my life, in which i’ve learnt such an incredible amount from almost everyone i’ve met on my journey in tiny ways; but it’s also the beginning of something new, a chance to start afresh, to not repeat my old mistakes, an opportunity to prove myself. It’s exciting and frightening at the same time. But I’d like to ignore the fear and just let the excitement overwhelm me.

A Parallel Universe

There's nothing more i want to do just now, than delve into the imaginary, fantastic, beautiful world of a book. Throughout my life, i've always let the books i read define me, define who i am. I was always much more inspired by the fictitious charaters in story books, than the people around. Strange, yes i know. I let the books take me to another place, a place i enjoyed being in infinitesimally more than my reality. i let the mystery, suspense, fantasy of it overwhelm me and completely take over my senses. It's a feeling that makes me so incredulously happy! When reality weighed down on me, i always found my comfort zone, my personal haven or refuge in my favourite novels. If only i could still escape the annoying troubles of life even today and just lose myself in the alternate reality of a book! If only i could get back those 2 month long summer holidays when i was a kid, which without my famous fives, five findouters and malory towers to name a few, would have been an absolute nightmare! I remember pretending to be one of the famous five when no one was around. My poor mum - how much i tried convincing her to send me to boarding school after reading malory towers! Then came my Harry potter phase, although i hate calling it a phase since it'll always be the only book that i feel has changed my life i many ways! i could read it even today, even 20 yrs later. With harry potter i began my craze for fantasy fiction novels. The world it transported me to was so much more spectacular, fun and exciting than my boring world full of complicated humans who could not stop misunderstanding me! I cannot begin to explain how terrible the urge to leave my studies and start a new series is just now! But i as much as i love reading fantasy, i love reading non fiction and classics as well. pride and prejudice, jane eyre, little women will always be books that i adore. i cried like a baby while reading marley and me - it's one of my favourite books.
You're probably wondering why i can't slip into my alternate reality now. Well, because my present reality refuses to let me do so. The ever- increasing burden of exams and academics gives me so little time to spare! I'm learning that now as i'm growing older, i can't always get addicted a novel; i have to take into consideration my responsiblities and duties. But i know one thing for sure, whenever i'm free of all the pressure, whenever i get the time, i'll always slip right into the alternate reality that a book creates- and delve right into a parallel universe.