The little matyr

For anyone who is wondering why the news of a 3 year boy lying on the beach is breaking the internet, that boy was born to Syrian parents in Syria and since ISIS has taken over, many of them are fleeing from their country. Aylan Kurdi, the boy, along with his parents and brother and 8 other people on a boat in the sea when the high tides hit them and everyone except a few drowned and the bodies washed up over the Turkish sea.

The Syrian Civil war which started in 2011, has forced people to flee Syria and try to get asylum in other countries. However, many countries have been hostile towards the refugees and are not ready to accept them or to let them enter their country. The death toll estimates run into hundred-thousands and the saddest part is that despite the increasing number, the politics of the world is largely deciding the fate of millions of citizens of Syria. It has taken a heart-wrenching picture of a dead body of a 3-year-old for us to realise just how serious the situation is.

So my only question is, what is war fetching us? What religion, what conscious, what sort of fucked up logic allows you to take a life to satiate your thirst for power and money? What has establishing dominance over other given us? What sort of a sadistic pleasure are these terrorist taking in the name of their God that human lives mean nothing? Why do they believe that killing people and torturing them will get appreciation in after-life?

Fucked up logic, fucked up extremism has led to Syrians fleeing their own country. They can't live in their own and the others won't take them. A boy named Aylan Kurdi, who was on a boat with 11 others, was found dead on the Turkish shore and yet we aren't ashamed of ourselves. Why you ask, because politics. NATO countries, UN signatories, so called "peace-keeping" missions, why isn't anyone taking a step against the Islamic State?

How many people need to die, how many more to be tortured for us to do anything? Do we need another world war to realise that things are not working out? Fuck the politics for a fucking minute and look at what is happening in the world. Look at that father crying about losing his sons and his wife, look at those girls captured by ISIS and Boko-Haram who approve of slavery. Why the fuck can we not unite.

What is so inherently wrong with the human brain that the word "unite" means nothing and all it sees is greed, power, money and dominance? Better are animals than us, at least they have compassion. We are somehow completely devoid of it. The powerful countries of the world, what are you doing? Stop thinking about the oil mines and the resources that are present in the depth of the Earth under those troubled countries and work to make this world a better place, a place where a children don't have to die, women don't have to be abused, men not be tortured.

Yes, this is a rant because I'm sick of hearing the stories of people dying, children abused, terrorist attacking and killing people. Why are we wasting our time in making more treaties with one hand and many more nuclear heads with the other when we should be ensuring peace, equality and basic levels of human dignity that everyone deserves? What good is the power when it isn't used for a better purpose? I had tears in my eyes when I saw the picture of a lifeless body of that little boy with his head down on the shore. If we don't do anything now, we're in for a lot more violence and a lot more sad stories.

The joy of giving

It's so many time that most of us wonder whether or not are we making a difference? Whether or not are we leaving something behind? We all wish to make a mark in someone's life in a way that they won't forget. How many of us really achieve that?

Last summer, one of my closest friends and I had a gratifying experience of working with underprivileged children who live in the slums through and NGO. The task that we were entrusted with was to help them with their studies and teach them the subjects they had a tough time with. Since those children go to government schools, sadly, they all fail yet pass on to the successive grade due to the government policy of not failing a child until 8th grade. This means that if I am enrolled in a government school and I go to the exam hall, fill up my details on my answer sheet and leave the rest of it blank, they cannot fail me.

Because of this rule, most of the girls failed their 9th grade exams and most didn't know the basics of math like multiplication division and none of them knew English. This made our task harder. To teach a child, who doesn't know basic multiplication and division, polynomials, surface area etc was impossible. We started with the basics, taught them number line, basic arithmetical operation, rules of divisibility and the like. For English, we could only teach them articles and spellings due to the time constraints.

In our minds, we were just doing some good deed. Helping the society and using our free time productively. We put in all our efforts for those few days that we were there and on a certain level we even cared about the girls but eventually we moved on with our lives, got back to our routine.

Yesterday, however, I put together a charity of sorts. In the spirit of Holi and just feeling like doing something for the children in the slum, I put together an event where we could donate sweets and all and make their Holi special. A lot of people came forward to donate for this cause and to get a smile on their faces. They were immensely generous and donated in huge quantities. When I went over to the sFor the first time yesterday, I realised, how I had been able to make a difference with just two hours of my day last summer in the lives of those few girls. It made me realise that I had left a mark in their lives.

Here are a couple of the pictures from yesterday, something as simple as a cupcake and cookie made their day.  It was wonderful to see how cheerful they were after receiving a plate of goodies. The little ones who were approximately around the age of three even recited poems for me as a thank you. For them this was no less than a party and I'm  glad I could do something for them.lum, the children were getting anxiousand asking the teacher "Didi kab aayengi? Didi humare liye kya laa rahi hain?"


As I entered, all the children, wide eyed looking at the huge boxes I carried, wished me good afternoon and all of a sudden the tiny little room was filled with smiles and happiness. It was a good change from a usual day in school. We gave goodies to over 60 children. Including the girls I taught. When they met me, they took their plateful, sat me down and told me how much they missed me and Nehal didi( my friends who taught with me), they wanted us to come back and teach them because we seemed to have motivated them to do better. They made sure I took a bite from each and everyone's plate and again before they left, they asked to come back soon.  

(Note : I would personally appeal to you to engage in such volunteer work and help the children of our society do better at academics. The NGO that I worked and would continue to work for is ACT For Children. The link to their facebook page is : https://www.facebook.com/actforchild .  A couple of hours of your day could make a massive difference in their lives. Thank you.) 

The culture and the day of love.

My morning started with an early morning delivery of a beautiful bouquet and chocolates. It's apparently the most romantic day of the month. Some might even say that all of a sudden all the love is in the air and the couples can't keep their hands off each other. But Hindu Mahasabha  wants to get these couples, who choose to display any sort of affection, married. You ask why? The answer to that would be that they want to teach these youngsters that with love comes responsibility, you know like spiderman got responsibility with power.

Now, I have lived my entire life in India. I come from an open-minded background. My family has given me the liberty to find myself a guy and I know they will stand by me in case it tuns out otherwise. In fact, most of my friends have that liberty and their families are fine with them finding a boy for themselves, who they are in love with and would want to spend their lives with. But the Hindu Mahasabha think that finding love corrupts our "Indian Culture" and whoever is seeing be intimate should be married there and then because in the name of love they might do some activities that will ruin our "culture".

Now, I haven't read the Vedas. I have not read all the religious texts neither am I the kind to go to the temple everyday. Although as a kid I remember watching Ramayana, I loved hearing mythological tales and I was awestruck by the fact that every Hindu God had a shakti (power) with him who was portrayed  as a woman, his better half and without whom he was nothing.

Now, I might not know my religious text, I might not know the shlokas. But I sure know that our "Indian Culture" that the Mahasabha talks about includes everything from out society to our spirituality. Our culture is not as rigid as they think. I would request the people of the Mahasabha to go back to our texts and see how these Goddesses have had the liberty to choose their own husbands. Janaki had the liberty to choose and there was a swayamvar for her. Sati fell in love with lord Shiva and finally immolated herself to uphold the honour of the man she chose to marry. Lord Krishna never married Radha but she was his best girl. Our own God have preached love and given it importance throughout.

Our Indian Culture that we are so proud of is not of staying away from the opposite gender but of respecting our elders, of treating our guests as Gods, of having big huge joint families, of being spiritual, of believing in the best of people, of communities and of respecting the diversities of our country. It makes me sad to see these comments passed against the show of love today. Why should the young not be allowed to do something that out own God did why should they not live our culture because our own relics have given it importance. It's time that we changed that rigid definition of the Indian Culture and embraced what India is really known for. As for today, I hope each one of you go out with your loved one. I hope each of you find the one you want to be with. And the last time I checked, India was still a free country.

The Irony - A tribute to Robin Williams.

 So I am not easily star struck. I am not the one to mourn the death of every celebrity. Yes, maybe they were brilliant at what they did but I don't think I would gravely miss them in my life. Sure I hope that their souls rests in peace but its only a few celebrities you remember forever, only a few who touch your lives.

With his art, we all chose him to be a part of our world

Yesterday at 7AM, I woke up with my alarm ringing in my ear. I looked at the screen to put it on snooze and I had a notification of a friend's status update on facebook that read as "RIP, Robin Williams". Half asleep, I read it as "RIP, Robbie Williams" and fell back asleep thinking that the good singers are dying and we'll soon be left the crappy new generation "singers".

Anyway, after a while my soonzed alarm went off again, it was time to get out of bed, I started my day and finally when I found time I opened the news apps and facebook only to realise that it wasn't Robbie Williams but Robin Williams who had passed away. All of a sudden it felt like something was missing. I just couldn't figure out what it was. I googled the news about him and found out that it was a suicide. Again, I continued with my day, still feeling empty. I got back home and I read more about his death, I found out that he was suffering from depression and that moment it felt like some had punched me in my stomach. It was something that was hard for me to believe, all I could imagine was his crazy expressions and wide smile.

Now, why am I writing this post, you would wonder. He wasn't someone I knew personally, he wasn't related to me. So why is it that I feel obligated to write a post in his honour? Here is the reason why. That evening I was discussing with my friend about how I was sad to hear this news and how I grew up watching Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Flubber, Alladin and so on, I talked about how Robin Williams had been a beloved star who always made everyone laugh. That is when this friend of mine told me that he had no idea who Robin Williams was because he had never seen a movie and mostly spent time either playing outside or reading. That was the moment I freaked out and I said "What kind of a childhood did you have without Robin Williams in it?!".

Seriously, how? Mrs. Doubtfire was the best!

I am in my early twenties and till today, Mrs. Doubtfire makes me laugh. I can't imagine a childhood without those movies, without the fantasy world of Jumanji or without loving the character of Genie who'd stand by Alladin and help him in all his adventures. Robin Williams gave me a childhood and memories of watching his movies with my family and laughing at the funny expressions he made. If I had to comment on his acting skills, I'd say I haven't seen a man as versatile as him and yes, his presence in my life will be missed because it wasn't like he was just a comedian, he was someone who inspired me, someone who would do different roles and ace them thus, teaching me excellence.

Wise and inspiring words. He was more than just an actor.

What makes this event sadder is the history of substance abuse and depression. It's funny how we think that that the person who makes people laugh for a living must be happy himself. This incident shows us just how ironic life is. This incident tells us that depression is a disease that not only kills, but affects even the people whose job it is to make everyone else laugh, affects people who are rich. It's a disease that needs to be treated. This incident shows us how such a disease lurks behind the widest smiles.

This got me,  I don't know what to say.

It makes me sad that there won't be more of the Robin Williams awesomeness in this world but the movies and shows he's left us, shall always remind us of his greatness , of his inspiring thoughts and the fact that the ability to make someone laugh is always in you, even though you are batteling with your own demons yourself. I write this post not only to wish that his soul rests in peace after the struggle with depression in his lifetime, I write this post to show my gratitude to someone who made my childhood amazing and who inspired me. He really convinced us that he was a happy man. I hope is his finally free and his soul is finally at peace. This is one of the saddest deaths in Hollywood and all that I have is a childish hope that he isn't dead but waiting for someone to roll a 5 or an 8 so that he can get back from the jungle.


RIP, Mr. Williams. May you finally get the peace that you were struggling for.

Goodbyes

So I've bidden adieu to a few friends already, more would be leaving over the next few months. While most have graduated, are carrying on to live their lives on their own, make their choices, I'm a student with three more years of school left.

Not that I haven't said a fair share of good-byes earlier, but this time, it has a more finality in it. Somehow, it feels more grown up than when I wished a farewell to a few friends who went off to college right after high school. This time it feels like a part of me is going away and not sure if I'm going to get it back again.

Just bidding everyone adieu made me think about the word "Goodbye". Yes, it has a sense of finality in it. Yes, everyone seems to be scattered around. The people you grew up with aren't around as often anymore. And for someone like me who doesn't get close to anyone as easily, it's harder. It's a feeling of growing up and leaving the childhood behind. One by one, each tie with is breaking too, as every friend moves out. You are stuck with new people to celebrate your birthday with, new people to trust yourself with, new people to be a part of your life. Yes, farewells are hard but if we had a chance, would we want to be in a place where we had no one to say good bye too?

I see everyone attaching these deep meanings to one word, making it sound like a bad thing, something hurtful. But just because its emotional doesn't necessarily mean its bad and for the worst, right? So what if good-byes are hard, bidding farewell to a friend every week makes you cry, wishing them luck for their new lives makes it seem like they are moving on?

What we fail to realize is that they are moving on, not from us but from their childhood. They are going to work, to study further, to live on their own but that doesn't mean that people back home don't fit into their lives anymore. Goodbyes are as final and as temporary as you want them to be and if you ask me, I would choose giving an old friend a farewell over being in a place, so alone, where I don't have a single opportunity to say goodbye.

Goodbyes are hard but your journey with those people makes the farewell worth it. To each one of the people in my life, who have left or are leaving, I wish you all the best in your life and if I failed to send you a sappy message, this is my way of saying I will miss you. :)

Happy

What is "happy"?

It could be sitting over dinner and laughing hard till your stomach hurts. It could be passing a level in candy crush. It could be eating chocolates. It could be playing Assassin's creed. It could be a glass of wine. Or maybe just a high five.

A five letter word and just endless number of meanings to it.Its impossible to define it. The meanings can range from a good cup of coffee to some great times spent with the loved ones. Its funny, how one little word can have so many definitions.

There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of a care free laugh. There is nothing more beautiful than a smile that reaches ear to ear. The happiness that doesn't reflects in the eyes, isn't true. Its real happiness when you don't have to try.

As of now, at this very moment, for me, happiness is writing this post and leaving all the rest behind. Its time to laugh, smile, cheer, to look forward to new beginnings, a chance to make new memories. :) 

For the Respect of the Game and the Man.

For me the name, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, brings back a lot of memories. If today I am sad, its not because I follow cricket like its my religion but because there are just too many memories associated with that name. Might it be the memory of picking my bothers bat up and pretending to hit a sixer (yes, I remember doing that on numerous occasions as a kid) or begging my brother to let me play with him and his friends or the memory of a huge poster of Sachin Tendulkar between the twin beds in the room that I shared with my brother.

So today is an emotional day for most of the Indians. Entire media, social media, everything is filled with updates about Sachin Tendulkar retiring and log on to just about any site and you will see the grief of people. Admist all the grief, there are idiots and absolutely thankless creatures who have statuses like "Enough with the Sachin Updates Already" or "Yes, fine he retired. The cricket fanatics can shut up now.". Some even went to the limit of wondering whether or not Sachin deserves a Bharat Ratna. This post is for all those people and I am telling you if I hear you say anything like that again, I will punch you in the face.

I am not a cricket fanatic. I don't follow i.. Heck, I don't even know the names of all the 11 players in the Indian team currently. I just follow it once every 4 years during the World Cup or if any India-Pak series is on. But sure as f*ck, I am sad about Sachin retiring. I have heard Sachin's name from as long as I can remember. The fact that I didn't follow cricket did not stop me from being glued to the TV. every time Sachin Tendulkae set his foot on the field to play. And here are the reasons why you should be thankful that he played for India, sad that he retired and most of all, shut the hell up.

1) He was an amazing Sports person.
Cricketers came and went but he played for the last 24 years. He has played with THREE different generation of cricketers and if you cannot identify with Sachin, then you should be sad about the fact that a great sports person who will be an inspiration for the aspiring cricketers in the generations to come has retired.

2) His achievements.
If I started listing his achievements, that list will be longer than this post. His list of achievements do not end. So by saying "He has retired. No big deal" you are just disrespecting the person who has been regarded as one of the best sports person in the field of cricket.

3) 24 years of a career.
Do you even know how long twenty four years is? I mean don't you feel a little sad for a person whose cricket career outdoes your age? You all have heard about Sachin from the day you were born and you all have had your hopes on him when India was losing. So really people, if you aren't feeling sad, at least don't try to act cool by posting crap like that. It does not make you cool but just petty in the eyes of millions of Indians.

4) He is one of us.
One of the reasons why everyone is going crazy and why I want to kick all the idiots who are acting like its no big deal is because Sachin Tendulkar is one of us. This one man has united most of India and made us cry with his speech. Its not some firang footballer or tennis player over whom we are crying. We are crying over the retirement of a great player who represented India and was respected by everybody internationally. We identify with him and we identify cricket with him. He deserves all the #ThankYouSachin posts and the crazyness that has taken over the media.

5) He is an amazing person.
You do not need to know people personally to now whether or not a celeb is a nice human being or not. So many times, Sachin started walking away from the pitch before the umpire gave his decision. Not once did he stay on the pitch to fight against a wrong decision. You can see just how genuine he is and you can see just how humble he is every time he gets an award. So respect him for the person he is.

No body HAS to be sad about Tendulkar's retirement. You aren't obligated to to put up a status message either. If you aren't a sports person, you aren't even asked to understand the gravity that this one name, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, holds but yes, maybe you should just keep shut and not log into your twitter and facebook accounts if it annoys you so much. Face it, you might not have been in love with cricket or Sachin Tendulkar or you might not even care about any bit of it but every time when India was losing, you all have had your hopes set on this man and hoped that he will save our ass and make us win. The respect that he is getting is justified. He deserves every little bit of it. So don't ask us to stop already.

#ThankYouSachin