Horizons - Filled with Hope

If I have to state my “Resolution for 2010” in one word it'l be Prioritize. But that's not really measurable, is it? Elaboration time.

One: Spend Less time in the Online world...

... and more in the real world.

How?

• Fewer blog posts (this is my 62^nd post for the calendar year 2009 – that's too high don't you think?)

• Less time on Facebook – no, I'm not one who spends endless hours playing Farmville or Mafia Wars; or taking “What-kind-of-extra-terrestrial-creature-are-you” quizzes. Yet, I think I spend way too much time updating my FB status. So gotta keep a check on that. BTW, did I mention how much I had to shell out for GPRS and for the SMS'es which I use for updating FB from my mobile?

• More tweets. Twitter is the perfect tool for people who want to voice their opinion but still want to keep it short!

• More posts on SCSB.

• READ MORE!

Two: More outdoor activities

• Travel more

• Take more photographs (and spend less time processing them :)

Three: Be Healthy, Stay Healthy

• GAIN WEIGHT :D

• Be regular in some physical activity like sport/gym/cycling – anything.

Four: Learn more household tasks

Currently I'm only good at washing utensils, or operating the washing machine. This year I want to learn cooking, cleaning, shopping, provisions, grocery – basically contribute more towards running the house!

Five: More dedication to my Social Responsibility

I want to take any one cause (like TeachIndia) and make a more meaningful contribution to it in 2010 than I have been able to do all these years. This is opposed to what I've been doing so far – dipping my fingers in everything and not making a meaningful impact in any!

Six: WORK-LIFE BALANCE

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. This point, in conjunction with the five above will ensure I get myself a life in 2010, which is more then just work and a good virtual presence!!

I came across this talk by Sunitha Krishnan at TEDIndia through this post at IndiaUncut. Sunitha, who was gang-raped at the age of 15, now works towards rescuing victims of sex slavery; and she has rescued more than Three Thousand girls and women till date, often at great risk to self and colleagues in the form of violence from traffickers. This talk is about her fight against this lowest form of human abuse. I'm embedding the video here.

WARNING: This video has a few graphic slides and is Not Safe For Work. Moreover, it is pretty hard-hitting.

The take-away for me from the speech was the point that Sunitha put forth so forcefully towards the end of her talk – and that is this: The biggest hurdle to rescue and rehabilitation of people who have been sexually exploited; is the so-called “Civil Society”. A society which, keeping with it's notorious trend of hypocrisy, refuses to accept a victim of sexual abuse. A society that completely cuts itself off from a victim of sex slavery. A society that only further victimises the victim.

Is it so hard to realise that the girl was raped, trafficked or enslaved for no fault of hers? Is it so difficult to digest the fact that she has as much a right to lead a normal life post the incident as any of us? Is showing some compassion for such victims really such an unthinkable proposition?

I've written a couple of posts previously on this topic, but I have only been harping on the “raising awareness” part, but not been doing anything. Here is my chance to really do something about this. I have decided to implement what Sunitha appealed to us to do in the video – talk to people about this; get them to change their mind-set, get them to accept rescued women in mainstream life – in jobs, as household help.

Supporting Sunitha in this fight does not necessarily mean going out and rescuing girls. What she needs from us is a far more challenging task and that is to change the way our “civil society” treats the victims. Let us resolve to start sowing the seeds of change in this regard.

Looking forward to a society where the victims; not the criminals; feel safe and welcome!

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Edited to add:

My previous posts on this topic:

• Minor Victims in Open Courts
• Poland to Castrate Paedophiles
• Book Review: "Bitter Chocolate - Child Sexual Abuse in India" by Pinki Virani
• Innocence Snatched

This is the highest partnership for the third wicket, screams [insert-the-name-of-your-favourite-commentator-here]; and it gets me all excited...

.. for India against [insert-name-of-opponent-team-here], he continues ..

“Oh well, that's still good”, I say to myself ..

On this ground.. By now I feel the excitement draining ..

...

under Dhoni's captaincy ... WHAT??..

since P Chidambaram took over the Home Ministry from you-know-who (hey, wasn't this soon after 26/11?)!!!

And I scoff at those cricket statisticians who can make even the most mediocre achievement seem like a “record”.

Then I tell myself: But isn't this what life is all about? Making the best of each situation – seeing it from an optimistic viewpoint?

And then I answer the question myself: Not Always. Many-a-time, I try to find solace in fabricated so-called-positive-sides of the matter when in fact, none exist. Why should I try to falsely convince myself that a situation has a sunny side to it? Who am I kidding and WHY? This is more harmful than a purely pessimistic dissection of the issue at hand!

I conclude with a quote that I came across in Rashmi Bansal's book, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. It quotes Anand Halve of chlorophyll:

“Define your Do's and Don'ts before you start. Post-facto, any act can be justified”.

Dealing in drugs, liquor, adulterated food, pirated media, porn, flesh is all passe. What's the latest? Dealing in babies. How any human might want to sell her own baby is beyond me.

• Perhaps it is the poverty?

• Is it because of too many children? (this opens the topic of awareness about family planning – but that's taking this post off-track)

• Is it because of the demand for baby BOYS? (so people who have a girl child sells her – which they perceive to be more humane than killing the foetus or the new-born infant; and people who don't have a baby boy are ready to pay for one)

• Where do childless couples come into the picture?

Whatever the reason, baby trafficking is a HUGE blot on an already blotted society. The fact that it is a booming business speaks volumes about our character and our humanity. What can WE do about this?

Looking forward to a society which treats its children better than mere commodities!

Dear Indian Mediarazzi,

During the past few weeks, you have raised a big hue and cry; wasted newsreel by the kilometers; (and tripped and fallen over each other in a bid to prove your one-upmanship) regarding the following matters:

• 25^th “anniversary” of the Bhopal Gas Tradegy

• 25^th “anniversary” of Indira Gandhi's assassination

• 1^st anniversary of 26/11 (if you remember – you started hyping this up more than a week in advance)

• Liberhann committee report.

... and the list goes on.. and on .. and on..

Now, if you could be kind enough to publish the results. What did you achieve by doing this? What improvement/betterment has your several-pages-long worthless junk on these topics brought about?And oh, how come you have already forgotten about the incidents now that the “landmark date” has passed?

Waiting to hear from you.

Yours Sincerely,

Disgusted Consumer of your Disgusting Sense of “Reporting”

The year is 2200 A.D. There has been an outbreak of nuclear war. An overwhelming majority of the world's population has been wiped out.

There's destruction and desolation everywhere. Buildings have been razed to the ground.

Mega-cities have been become mega-cinders.

Forests have disappeared.

To top it all, global warming has taken its toll on the earth.

Islands have submerged.

Several species of animals have become extinct.

In short, the earth has been reduced to ashes.

And from these ashes, rises the phoenix – A New World, New Order.

A world free of religions, unaware about “races”. People are divided only by their geography and culture. There is nothing to die for or kill for.

Boundaries there are, none political – only those created by the topography - rivers, mountains and seas.

Vehicles they have – only those which run on solar energy. No petro-wars, no pollution.

Banks exist – only those that serve the needy. Sub-prime lending is not something they know about.

Competition lives, and the competent thrive. There is no room for corruption.

Inequalities exist – but only in small proportions. The majority work towards wiping out the inequalities of the few (not the other way round).

Children have a future, a world to look forward to – the world which they will inherit from their previous generation.

Life in The new world is not a bed of roses.

There are problems, there are issues, and each one has to carve out a living. However; it is a world worth living in. It is not a doomed life.

Survival is not the primary objective – continuous improvement; and conservation of the earth, the world for the next generation are.

Looking forward to The New World, The New Order?? Or looking forward to preventing the Doomsday in the First Place??

In a recent post; I had posed a question (that I had been asked by a British couple): “Are you happy with your country?”

I got quite a few responses. Among these, the very first one (by Mihir Modi) is very close to what I had in mind when I responded. I just could not express myself as well. And well, most of the responses were along similar lines – that there are problems; but every country has them; and that people are happy with India.

However, I was not convinced with that answer. Somehow, for some reason, I could not convince myself that I am indeed happy with my country. And that is when two other comments came in (by Deepak and IndianHomeMaker). I agree with their comments. Now, its all very clear to me.

I love my country and am strongly patriotic. I know we have lot of potential to make it big in any field. BUT, I am not happy with the current state of affairs in my country. Not even close to. There are too many things that are wrong. Forget about politicians or the other “hated” breed of people. I am not happy with even the common man. The way we common people vote, drive, conduct ourselves, practice the highest degree of hypocrisy - we just may deserve the detestable politicians that we get.

This does not mean that I should sit and crib. No. I want to do my bit in improving things around. I want to play my role in a slow revolution. I want to show the world what We, as Indians, are capable of. But the answer to the original question is: "No- I am not happy with my country."

I leave you with this video of actor Rahul Bose giving a speech (at OASIS 2k9, BITS Pilani) on what his Dream for India is. Do watch it if you have not already.

Original Youtube link here.

Looking forward to the day when the answer to this question will be a resounding YES. JAI BHARATH.

CNN-IBN ran an interview on their talk show “Talking Point”; and the topic was “Sachin versus Sena” (transcript here). You've got to read it. Do you notice how the Shiv Sena's supposed “spokesperson” Rahul Narvekar seems to have taken a course on “how-to-appear-as-unconvincing-as-possible” before attending this show? He almost appears to be a pet animal of Balasaheb Thackeray and not the spokesperson!

And that thought conjures up interesting behind-the-scene visualizations. I can imagine the scene at Thackeray's house just before Rahul Narvekar was dispatched to attend the interview:

Bal Thackeray (BT): Kuthlya tari channel ni aaplyaala interview saathi bolaavla aahe. Kon zaanaar? (Some channel has invited us for an interview. Who wants to go?)

Rahul Narvekar (RN): Bow-wow

BT: Rahul, tu zaanaar? Nakki? (Rahul, you'l go? Are you sure?)

RN: Woof-woof

BT (in Marathi of course – I do not have the patience to translate and type all of it in Marathi): Ok. Go ahead. But do remember that whatever I have stated on the issue is the final word. Do not contradict anything that I said.

RN: Bow-wow. Ooooooo, Woof-woof,, bowowowoowow woof?

BT: Yes, they are sure to ask that question. Make sure don't paint a negative picture of Sachin. I have already dug my own grave by making that totally uncalled-for statement.

RN (Tail between his hind-legs): Waaiill, howwwlll, barkbark wowbowwoof?

BT: Rahul, you are the spokesperson. Do I have to tell you everything? Anyways, if they ask you “Sachin just said he's an Indian first; what's wrong with that?”, just change the topic, stall, or deflect it, or say our Supremo has spoken and that is final.

RN: woooooooof waaiiiiilll?

BT: Well, if they ask you “What is the Shiv Sena trying to prove by this outburst against the national icon?” - just say something unintelligible like “A clear reading of the article in Saamna will resolve the issue”. Don't forget to end the statement with something like “Our Supremo has spoken and there is no question of anyone speaking after that”.

RN (tail wagging, ears cocked up): Bow-wow.

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And that, dear friends, is how we got to witness this most enlightening interview in recent history.

I just returned from a trip to Europe (snaps here; and travelogues to follow shortly). Met lots of interesting people and had nice little experiences and anecdotes. I'd like to share one here.

I was in a villa in Spain run by a retired British couple, Liz and John. One fine evening they were entertaining me with stories from their travails all over the world (they've travelled far and wide); and I was giving them snapshots into Indian life. Suddenly, Liz asks me:

“So, Kiran, are you happy with your country?”

Now I know this is not a question that can be answered in a yes/no manner. But I'd still like to know how you'd respond to that. Are you happy with your country of origin? Your country of residence?

As for me, I stuttered and stammered and changed my answer between “yes” and “no” several times before throwing up my hands and saying that it is a really tough question to answer – especially when asked out-of-the-blue.

Its amazing how people you barely know and whom you meet far away from home can inject such stimulus into your thought process!

It makes driving on Bangalore's roads exciting:

I'm pretty bored with the mundane driving experience in Bangalore (dodging cows, people, autos, sweepers, what-have-you) everyday. Diwali gives me an opportunity to test my driving skills; which begins with spotting the cracker bang in the middle of the road. I get the chance to test my alertness levels; scanning the footpaths (well – whatever is left of them) for any sign of a person holding an incense stick or a matchbox. These are pointers to crackers on the road. And the fun that I have avoiding these crackers and driving on! Boy-oh-boy!!!

Weeding out the sick and elderly from our population:

Our population is bloating. And there are many who are sick, who have asthma. Bangalore is polluted enough even without the fireworks. Now we have a chance to choke them even further. Then, there are people who have heart problems. It gives me sadistic pleasure to sometimes drive very close to them and then honk loudly. The look on their faces! Heaven. And in spite of all this, such people want to stay on in the city. How dare they? I am glad that God gave us Diwali which is an excuse to weed out such people from amongst us healthier, more responsible citizens. Now I can burst these fireworks right in their faces so they either collapse because of the pollution; or get an attack because of the sudden explosion of the fireworks!

Opportunity to take revenge on my neighbours:

I vividly remember the time when my next door neighbor parked his horse in front of my gate. The mutt! Now, what better time than Diwali to get back at him? I can fire those rockets at will – in whatever direction I wish. Yesterday I fired 2 into his balcony, one into his bathroom; and one under his car. Serves him right – the wretched fellow. But oh! This is Deepavali. I should not be having such negative thoughts. But anyways .. what is done is done. God bless him.

And this list is just the top three reasons! Now, let those “Please-have-a-fireworks-free-Diwali” types better THAT! Ha!

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Update [20th October '09]:

In case you are wondering what the other reasons I love fireworks might be, well here are some

• They give me an opportunity to render several people nearly blind (including pregnant women)
• They ensure that pets and animals have a particularly bad time, both physically and mentally
• Hey - I might as well burn a power transformer or 2 - nobody will ever know. They might think I'm just bursting crackers!