Kab Tak Pukaroon???

The hapless victim is there, lying on the roads, naked, exploited by the all those who could (read the wealthy, influential and the powerful). She cries for justice and pleads the judiciary to punish the guilty. Tired of the long wait she seems to ask "Kab Tak Pukaroon???". Does the voice ring in our ear drums? Are we able to feel anything at least? May be slowly we citizens are able to feel the pain, thanks to the huge protest by the the TV channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN. But the question is will the judiciary hear it and more importantly will the "Andha Kaanoon" see the truth and punish the guilty?

No, I am not talking just about the Jessica Lall murder case. I am talking about the "victim" in the Indian society in general. 7 years is a long time. Why does the judiciary take this much of time ? How can one leave a "murderer" scott free on the roads? Isn't the judiciary risking the lives of many others by doing so? By doing that, we are giving a chance for the murderer to to commit more crimes( that's what I believe has happened in the case of Jessica Lall's murder case). Worse still, justice is not guaranteed to the victim at the end of this long ordeal for things like the "witness turning hostile" might always happen. I was moved when I heard what Sabrina Lall, Jessica's sister said in the NDTV programme.This is what she said when Barkha Dutt asked her if she was hopeful of getting the guilty punished.

Yeah, I have a glimmer of hope now. But there is always this fear that we might have to wait for another 7 years only to find the guilty escape without being punished.

That tells the entire story. And mind you her fears are very much realistic given that the Delhi Police are reluctant to carry out an inquiry again.( even after the nation wide protests).

A few days ago many youngsters like me all around the country were excited when a group of IITians established a political party. It is not difficult to see why there was so much of excitement. India needs good politicians and may be to begin with we need good citizens. Citizens who dont shy away from their responsibilities and instead fight for the truth whenever their fellows are metted out injustice. Till then, the "victim" will be there langushing in the dark, letting out that "Kab Tak Pukaroon" cry.

Don't police me !!!

It's been a while now since I have posted. These days I start writing about something and then after going through it half way, I loose the motivation to finish it, and proceed to click the "Save as Draft" button. Now some of my thoughts are lying around as drafts, waiting to assume a concrete form.( that of a post)

Breakfast before bath or after bath( on hoildays). This is a never ending argument between me and my parents. The idea of "breakfast only after bath" really puts me off. Dad always wants me to take bath early in the morning ( 9:00 am is really early when you get up at 8:30 am.). Sometimes I feel that he is too obsessed with water. I hardly even open my eyes and I get to hear the bathroom call "Hey.. hot water is ready. Go and take bath". Urghhhhhhhhhhh!!!! One can always bath after breakfast. Wiser souls in my hostel often used to preach that a "bath" should not be considered a daily excercise ( like brushing your teeth) irrespective of the avaibility of water. Some enlightened souls even used to tell me that act of bathing (rubbing one's body daily with a soap) daily would make one's body melt like a soap. Some soap for thought this now. However,I don't like to have lunch without taking bath. I don't like to bath early on a holiday only because a "bath" takes away the lazy idyllic delight from a holiday. An early bath robs the "holiday feel" out of it and makes it just like any other day.Hmmmm... I haven't been successful in convincing my parents yet.

Now that was an advice from my parents. If I can get pissed off for that, then what about the advice that any other guy on the road gives me? How do I react if some outsider imposes rules on me? Yeah.. I am talking about "Moral Policing". As long as one doesn't cause any trouble or nuisance to the society, why should one's actions be policed? I fail to understand why people get worked up when an youngster decides to spend an evening with his girl on a day called "Valentine's Day". And it's just not a few people who feel that way. There are quite a few organizations out to uphold India's culture and traditions. The dictionary defines culture as " the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought". Why is it then that the culture which is supposed to be a socially transmitted behaviour pattern forced on the youth? If the organizations are really serious on their intent, I believe they should preach the youth about the culture instead of policing them. After all an idea like the "Valentine's day" is also a socially trasmitted behaviour pattern( although from a different culture).

I sometimes wonder if the "moral police" and the various "Protect Indian Culture" organizations have a serious intent. Their natural reaction seems to be "To protest"- to protest against Valentine's day,to protest against Sania's dress code, to protest against the Danish cartoons. These protests can vary in the intensity and can go on the extent of claiming the lives of innocent people .( now we need to start another "protest" against this). The idea of salwar kameez clad women playing tennis never struck me . Also, I never imagined that the words Cartoon and Violence could ever come together to form the word "Cartoon Violence" . Now all these are possible( and have happened) thanks to these protests.

What does the "aam junta" think of the Moral Police? Do they take them seriously? Recently, on Valentines day some of my collegues in the office played the "Game of Moral Police" where they did'nt allow my friend who was recently engaged to speak to his valentine for the entire day. It was fun. Everytime they stopped him from receiving her call, the disgruntled exprerssion on his face was funny to watch. The excitement with which he called his girl at the end of the day ( when the Game was over) was a real "dekho" ( didn't deserve to be missed). May be an year or two down the lane, we will see kids who don't have girl friends playing this "Game of Moral Police" with the ones who have girl friends. Finally, Moral policing seems to be nothing but a joke. Haa.haa!!!

Who could it be?

I had just escaped the Red Signal. As my bike made its way through the narrowest of ways between the car and auto-rickshaw, the green signal turned red. But my bike was in no mood to relent and speeded away. Now then on the busy roads of Hyderabad, the traffic doesn't mitigate just because you have passed a traffic signal. Instead you are exposed to the risk of an UMO( Unidentified moving object) hitting you from any corner. Your ears are also exposed to the relentless horns of the corporate cabs whose drivers drive as if on a highway. Not surprisingly, driving is no longer a pleasure.

Amidst all this buzz, I can feel something buzzing in my trouser pocket. It was my cell. Who could it be now ? May be it's "her" ( No matter what.. no matter how many times my ego gets crushed by my "crushes",the romantic in me never ceases to exist. Is it really "her"? Or is it "he"? ( Now then don't misunderstand me.. Of course,I am straight.. "He" stands for my boss who might be pulling his hair because I slipped out of office without informing him.) Or may be it is a regular "When will you reach home??? " call from Dad. All these thoughts flash across my mind in less than a second as I slow down my bike and move towards the footpath in order to lift the call. On my way, I need to overcome the "Will you run me down" looks of the Hyderbadi Nawab ( In Hyderabad the pedestrian on the road does walk like a Nawab ). Fighting all these, I manage to apply the brakes, stop the bike and take off my helmet( bloody hell isn't it a pain). The call is from some "anonymous" number and that only increases the curiosity. I say "hello" and this what is what the person at the other end has to say "This is free call from Airtel....". Huh.!!!!!$#@#$%#!@#&%@!#@!#$@^. Life never ceases to surprise!!!