Raise Your Voice

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There is so much to protest and fight for and so much to question, but where are all the affected???

India is the world's largest democracy and we did not become one overnight. Thousands struggled and lost their lives on the way to achieve this freedom that we are enjoying today. In each struggle, lives were lost and lessons learnt. The one thing that kept the struggle going was the active participation of people. The history of Indian struggle for independence is a lesson to many but equally forgotten by many. There is callous disregard for all the sacrifice as it remains just in the history books. But my topic is not about the struggles and protests that our forefathers put forward. My topic today is about the fights and protests that we are not doing today. It is what we have become as a society.

As I said in the opening, we are all affected by so many small to major devious issues in the society but we have learnt to live with it. Isn't it close enough a crime, not to raise a question/protest against evil in a society which has seen great inspiring fighters? Isn't it a deadly crime to stay passive to all the injustice happening? Isn't it a sin to stay passive to the sufferings and struggles of our own kind? Let me explain in detail the concern that is eating my mind.

A petty shopkeeper sells things at a cost higher than the MRP but we never question him. Road rules are flouted by everyone and no one questions it. People throw waste on the road and make the place unlivable but we never question people who do it. The roads are always in a bad condition which leads to heavy traffic blocks but we have no time to question the authorities. The schools charge exorbitant fees and make education a business making it inaccessible to millions of poor kids but who cares? Officials ask for a bribe to do their job but we never question them as long as our work gets done. There are so many criminal and corrupt politicians in each political party but we still keep voting for them and bring them to power. We have no time to question them or protest against them. Women and children are molested, abused and raped everywhere in public and in private but we turn a blind eye towards it. There is a person on the road bleeding to death, but we have no time to help. The list is so long that I may need two more articles to list them. These are just few which keep eating my brain. These are smaller issues compared to the bigger scale issues that are plaguing the country.

We know there is wrong happening. We know that it is wrong to do certain things. We know that there are people suffering. Or have we become a robot or zombie to a level that we cannot even relate to human emotions? I believe, we have not yet reached such an abysmal situation. If we have an even little amount of humanity left in us, shouldn't we react? Shouldn't we feel frustrated and start protesting against the injustice, the rampant misgovernance and misuse of power?

Though the answer is a YES, we never say it. We are too engrossed in setting up a comfortable living sometimes even scrambling through the day without any aspirations that we have no time for such aroused sensitivity. We feel safe in the comfort of our home and office and imagine that we are living in a safe environment. We do not want to run the risk of getting into any kind of issue that does not affect us directly. Even if certain things affect us directly it is easier for us to just leave it unseen rather than stand up and question or protest.

The reality is we are selfish. I agree some are helpless. There are few who don't have the resource to question or are powerless to stand up and ask. There are few who are ignorant about their own rights and hence are doomed to live in fear. But what about people who are educated and who have access to the resources to eliminate the ignorance? How many of us are even aware of our rights as a citizen of this country? We never feel it is important to know our rights. We consider it a waste of time.

What I have understood from the news that is coming out every day is that it is high time we stand up and fight for our rights, fight against the injustice and misgovernance. It is high time we become active in the daily politics. It is high time we as citizens of this country start joining hands and stay together and gather power. Various kinds of powers are starting to take control of our lives through all indirect ways. If we don't become active, we are bound to get into another kind of slavery which unlike the British will be from within this country. We need to start from our daily issues. We should raise our voice against every evil, start questioning every wrongdoer. I know it is difficult. But as citizens, it is our responsibility. For that being aware of our rights is the first step. I hope more people become aware and stand up for their rights and also for fellow citizens. We cannot remain passive.

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Truly and Fabulously Feminist

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. ~ Arundhati Roy

What is Feminism?

Feminism is the movement which fights for equal rights of a woman as a man. Since we live in a patriarchal society, fight for equal rights for women in every aspect has been gaining momentum. From surviving the female infanticide to living a life of choice the female population in this world faces discrimination and oppression at every stage. Feminism fights against each of this discrimination and strives to get women equal rights.

Feminism is for all

When we fight for feminism we always talk about women empowerment. We talk about educating girls there by making them socially, economically and emotionally independent. But we forget the fact that men also need feminism. As Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stressed in her speech at the TED Talk, even men need feminism. How many of you have heard someone telling a boy "Be brave, don't cry like a girl"/"Only girls cry, boys don't cry" ? Most of us would have heard someone using such statements to a boy. By saying so we are bringing up the boy with a mentality that it is a shame to cry and such shameful activities are done only by a girl. The boy feels ashamed if he cries, whereas in reality crying is as natural an expression of feelings like laughing or getting angry.

My own definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, yes there is a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better. All of us, women and men, must do better. ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Hence a boy has to be a feminist as equally as a girl is. He needs to understand that it is not a shame to cry. He needs to understand a woman is not born to cry and that she need not be protected always. She needs support like he needs at any point in his life. She needs respect the same way he needs. She deserves to stand up same as his entitlement. By not doing this we are putting pressure on men to behave in a certain way like we do to women. When making women strong and self-sufficient we also need to teach our men to respect such or any kind of women and not feel threatened by a woman. We need to teach both men and women to be a good human being. A person should be able to be true to his/her self-innate nature and not bound by the difference of gender that a society advocates. A weak man is as much a man as a strong man is. This way we liberate him of his insecurities and make him more sensitive to issues around him rather than concentrating on his ego.

A Feminist is anyone who recognises the equality and full humanity of women and men. ~ Gloria Steinem

Feminism Vs Egalitarianism

Many people feel ashamed to call themselves a feminist even if they believe in equality. They are afraid of being looked at as a man-hater, a problem creator, a rude and harsh woman which is completely against the common traits expected out of a woman. They are afraid of offending men and all those people who impose the belief that women are supposed to be submissive and the epitome of sacrifice. Hence they take refuge in a much neutral and pleasant term "Egalitarianism".

Every kind of discrimination is wrong. Feminism is different from egalitarianism by the way that egalitarianism treats every person the same no matter what their social, economic and cultural background is. This is theoretically good but practically not workable. Every person/group needs different level and type of empowerment to reach the equal level. In that perspective, feminism looks at the gender- related issues which affect women and works on those issues to resolve them. Similarly, there are activists who work against various kinds of discrimination which is much more specific and fruitful than the general egalitarianism.

Be a Proud Feminist

There is nothing wrong in being a feminist. There is nothing hateful about being a feminist. A true feminist is not a man-hater in general. But a feminist reacts when a woman is treated lower than a man. A feminist questions and fights any system that advocates gender discrimination in any form. Feminism is nothing but realising that women are human beings too and that they are entitled to every natural and man-made resource on this planet as much as a man. In fact, every woman should be proud to call herself a feminist.

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The Smell of Rain

She walked into the store to escape the drizzling outside. She was not dressed for the rain. She felt a sudden pang of worry as she wiped off the water from her neatly waxed hands using the tissue paper from her . She was wearing the wristband in dull gold that Kevin had gifted her. Kevin had always surprised her with gifts. Though she liked all his gifts, she had a personal affinity towards this piece of jewellery - The wristband. She had chosen to wear this almost to all special occasions. She never knew why, but she just felt very calm wearing it.

The rain was pouring now. With a worried look, her eyes browsed through the store. It was a toy store and it was colourful. She started walking through the store looking at the toys. It felt good to get distracted from worries for some time. Walking through she saw a child dressed in a yellow and blue trousers holding a man's hand and looking at her with an awestruck expression. The little boy was cute. She smiled and winked at him. He stared at her with his wide eyes without blinking. She remembered she was overdressed for a place like this and she wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. But it was still raining.

The girl in the city radio had predicted heavy rain but when she had started from home it was not even cloudy. She was surprised how quickly nature had changed her mood. The blocked roads had forced her to get down a little distance before her destination and walk. But then the rain. The worry pang was back. The boy was still staring at her. His father who was looking through some toys noticed that his son was distracted. Turning around he saw her smiling at the boy. With an embarrassed smile, he tried to pull the boy away, but the boy would not move. His father was now a bit irritated as he had noticed that she was surprised at his behaviour. He apologised, and forcefully pulled him away. Walking away the boy was still staring at her.

She remembered how Kevin had stared at her with the same look the first day they met at a friends' place. She had gone to the party on her friend Riya's insistence. There was music, dance, booze and food. Though she liked all these, on that day she was not in a mood to party. But from the moment she met Kevin, her mood had changed. A friend's friend, he turned out to be more than just a party friend with his witty talks and caring nature. He was the one who had readily agreed to drop her home as her friend Riya was too drunk to drive and she herself could not drive. Well till now she had not learned the art of driving. She remembered, how even after befriending her with his endearing personality, Kevin had continued to stare at her all through the evening and all through their relationship for the next four years. He said he loved to stare at her, well he hated when she used the word stare, he called it admiring. He admired her till the last moment of their relationship when she bid her last goodbye to him breaking their relationship forever.

She was the one who had ended their relationship. He was the perfect lover any girl could dream of. He had respected her for what she was and had helped her carve her character as a strong independent woman. He loved her with no conditions or qualms. He let her be what she wanted to be. But she knew he loved her dearly. He cared for her safety even when encouraging her to travel a lot. They were in love which was full of respect for each other. But it had to come to an end.

Mark was the perfect choice for her life. Kevin was the love of her life. When she told Kevin about Marc, whom her parents had found for her, he knew she was stuck between her love for him and her parents. Her parents would never accept him. He was just a budding photographer with no great means to live and no family to support. She was the princess of her well-off father and he would never want to see her spend the rest of her life with a vagabond like him. All through their relationship, he had struggled to build a successful career but he had failed. He was still struggling after four years. What was the point in bringing a pampered girl into his life against her parent's will and put her through all the struggle? He convinced her to get married to Marc. A family friend with a successful business career, Marc was the perfect man for her life. Kevin was indeed a man of his word and had never tried to contact her after the last day they met and bid goodbye. Last she had heard about him he was married and happily lived with his wife.

She walked to the billing counter to pay for the doll she had selected. The rain had stopped by then. She saw the small boy being carried out of the store by his father. He looked back at her, waved his hand in a goodbye with a smile. She smiled back at him. As she hurried out of the store to meet her client, she could not help but think about her daughter who would be waiting impatiently for her to return home. The traffic had by then dispersed and the roads were clear. Even after building a successful business on her own she had never managed to learn to drive a car. Well she had learnt never to feel guilty about anything, thanks to Kevin. She felt relaxed that Marc would be coming to pick her up after her meeting as she did not want to get wet again in case it rained. She checked her watch, there was no need to worry anymore.

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My simple encounter with nature

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As I stood there looking at the evening sky, the soft wind caressed my hair. I could smell the wetness of the soil and the freshness of the greenery around me. I was feeling light and fresh. Standing like that I wanted to dissipate into the cool breeze like sawdust and travel through all the plains, flying between the trees, touching and playing with the soil, hitting the mountains and splashing the mighty sea. I felt aroused by just being present there at that time.

The lady of the house came around explaining how much she enjoyed staying in such a quaint place away from the busy city. Taking her seat in a chair she explained to me about her small vegetable garden in front of her house. I could sense the child in her while she was talking. She said “I plant one seed of a bean and that one seed sprouts into a plant which bears about 20 beans and each bean has at least 10 seeds inside it. Look at how nature is giving back to us”. Wow! It was such a powerful statement.  I could not help but wonder at the power of nature. But how much do we appreciate the nature that gives us so much? 

She said that every evening she sits in front of her little garden and watches the tiny garden lizard come to the garden and hide in the plants. They sumptuously feed on the moths that come to eat the plants. And thus this small garden sustains an ecosystem. It felt wonderful listening to her speak with the enthusiasm of a kid. Being a gated community away from the city, there is vast empty land around her house. She believes in natural farming and hence she simply throws various kinds of seeds all together onto the empty land around her house. She waters it daily. All these seeds of various plants sprout and grow together. For her, it is more about the happiness and satisfaction than the outcome of it. In this method she has grown beans, ladies finger, green chillies, Green leaves, tomato and may other vegetables all together like a vegetable forest. Initially, the residents of the colony were against her using up the free land. But she convinced them that anyone could bulldoze her garden and she would not feel for it as she looked at enjoying the current moment than worrying about the future. 

I stood there listening to her words and it kindled a sense of happiness within me. All my tiredness of the travel and the long day’s work vanished. I wanted to leave my life in the city and move into that small village. I felt like I could stay there forever and would never want to return to the city life. Nature truly is a magic. We get so much engrossed in our race to earn a living in the city that we have lost touch with nature. Like she said, we are stuck in an imaginary world filled with man-made comforts. We don’t know the real comfort. Comfort is not living in a busy crowded fast paced city and spending a rare weekend in a village paying for the experience. Real comfort is living in a village and living life with nature forever. I wish to live such a life soon. I look forward to those days.

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Why are You Happy?

Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think. ~ Buddha

What makes you Happy? This is a difficult question for me to answer. Why are you Happy now? At times, this is an even more difficult question for me to answer. That's because sometimes I feel happy without any valid reason. Today, I and my mom had an argument. It was about being Happy. She is a woman who has gone through too many hardships in her life. I love and respect her a lot. All her experiences and struggles have made her believe that an episode of happiness and joy in life will definitely be followed by a tragedy and hence she is afraid of being happy. But one question to all the people who believe in her theory - Do you ever think about the impending happy moments when you are in great pain/grief/sorrow and get excited about it? NO, right? Okay, I guess you have got my point.

I am a person who believes in being happy even during distress. Sorrow, pain, sickness or grief is a part of life. One or the other will definitely pay a visit now and then to make life a roller coaster ride. There is no escape from it. But what I believe is even in such a moment a person should believe in Happiness and not be afraid of it because happiness is not an object, it is a state of mind. It cannot be bought. It has to be created in our mind.

This society, through its various mediums, has trained us to link happiness to certain objects, activities, and situations. And that is the source of all these negative thoughts about happiness. Happiness is definitely not shopping, partying, watching the movie, cooking, buying expensive stuff or laughing out loud at silly jokes, marrying your loved one or even having children. These are all goodies - things that make us feel good for the moment. These are things we have been made to believe will make us happy. If these were real happiness why aren't we always Happy? Why be afraid of losing happiness? 

Real happiness is to be able to undergo a pleasant experience that will stay with you and make you feel peaceful throughout your life. It is a state of mind. It is to be at peace with oneself even in the most difficult situations. It is to look beyond these endless search for happiness. It is a bliss that you feel, a flying feel that keeps you aware of every moment. 

For me, real happiness is helping someone in need, however, small that help is and not feel great about it but feel humbled by the situation. It is again a state of mind. This we can do anytime and anywhere. What is required is the right mindset to do that. This is where the difference lies when someone says it is not right to be happy when there is a death in the family. When there is a death we grieve and it is natural. What is important is to deal with it. Not by doing shopping or watching a movie but by feeling humbled about the short life on this earth and seeing beyond materialistic pleasure the real sense of happiness. Help someone not because you are capable of, or not because someone needs it. Help because you feel like giving.

Is there a better way to convey this? Maybe there is. But I am lost for words. It is simply a state of mind. When it is that way, there is no fear of losing it to any kind of sorrow or pain. Don't link happiness to anything but to you inner self. I wish I could make it any simpler. Just stay Happy even when you have not got what you always wanted. :-)

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Unique, not Different

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Every topic I write here has an inspiration. I believe it to be the same with almost all writers. Certain incidents arouse a strong feeling to write. Today I read a story about a girl and her differently-abled brother in a website. It was a touching story and it brought about a flush of thoughts into me. 

The way we treat every different person. We as a society have defined a particular way to look at and judge a person. It has been invisibly taught to us by our parents, teachers, friends and the people around us. The first thing we do when we meet a person is, try to know as much about him/her as possible even if the meeting is just a casual one and the chances of meeting that person again are bleak. But we ask all sorts of questions and through their answers, we build an image of that person and then compare that image to the image that is imbibed in our computer brain and check if they fit that image. If they don't then we get uncomfortable. 

We cannot accept anything that we cannot understand. That is the crux of the whole problem. We want to understand everything. We like to believe that we can understand everything. We understand that there are man and woman. We understand that a man behaves in a certain way and a woman behaves in a certain way. We understand when they each dress in a certain way. We understand that they get educated. We understand that they do the job and earn. We understand that a man and woman fall in love and get married (or) get married and then fall in love. We understand that a man and woman have children biologically. We understand that they build a house. We also understand that they are civilised, well-behaved, well earning and well settled. These are what we understand. This is what we have seen from our childhood. This is what has been happening for ages since this world was created.

What we do not understand is that a human being need not always be a man or a woman. What we don't understand is that a man need not always behave like we know him to be and a woman need not always be like we know her to be. We do not understand that a man need not dress always like we know him and a woman need not always dress the way we know her. We do not understand that all human beings are not the same. A man need not always fall in love with a woman and a woman need not always fall in love with a man. Not all human beings have the same abilities. Not all like the same things. Not all can understand the same rules. We don't understand that some human beings are born differently. Some cannot walk, some cannot talk, some cannot see. We do not understand that some human beings cannot think, like others. Some do not have the abilities like others. 

As I said we are afraid of what we do not understand, and hence, we are afraid of all those human beings and their abilities which we do not understand. And when we are afraid what do we do ? We stay away from them, we avoid them, we curse them, we hate them and sometimes we try to harm them. Just because we cannot understand their existence referring to an image that we have created about a human.

A human being is just a human being with or without hands/legs/eyes/nose/skin/face. Human is a human whether it is a man/woman/straight/lesbian/gay/Bi-sexual/Transgender/Queer. Like you were born with a head, 2 hands, 2 legs, a brain that thinks in a particular way, a body that appears in a particular way, ability to talk, laugh, cry, think, analyse, somebody else is born with 1 leg/2 heads/4 hands/hollow eyes/ability not to think, ability not to laugh, ability not to understand, ability not to analyse. That person is a human being too. Simple. We are all made from the same atom - just the formations and permutations and combinations are different. We are all created by the same God who you believe created this whole universe - just that he created you with a specific structure and created the other in a different structure.

It is inhuman to sideline them, ostracise them, insult them or torture them just because they don't fit into the common mould. Every living thing has the same amount of right to live in this world. Accept each one a unique creation/formation. No one person is same as the other. What we need to learn is to accept the uniqueness and stop trying to fit everyone into the image that we know of. Stop calling them different. Just call them by their name and nothing else. Just address them by their name and nothing else. Respect them for what they are because they are unique like you. If you can help, do it, else just leave it. Is it so difficult?

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WED - What we can do

Yesterday was "WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY". This has been trending in the social media. My recent interest in social, political and economic news prompted me to google the significance of this day. As a matter of fact, till this year, this special day has never grabbed my attention. Thanks to my active lingering on social media, I got to read some inspiring posts about the deteriorating status of the environment. I was taken aback by the awareness that the social media has been able to generate among the general public about the importance of a healthy environment. While it feels good to see some serious discussions about the environment, there are some things that go unnoticed.

Planting trees has become a rage among people. This is great as forests are a great wealth to the well being of our environment. Trees control temperature, help in purifying air, play an important role in holding the wealth of the soil, contribute to increasing the water bed of the soil and so on. But does planting trees alone make us an environment friendly person? There are few other small but significant practices that we follow which has contributed to the deterioration of the environment all through the years.

The most important environmental issue is one that is rarely mentioned, and that is the lack of a conservation ethic in our culture. – Gaylord Nelson, former U.S. Senator

Uncontrolled use of Vehicles:

On one side we speak about preserving the environment and on the other side people go about buying cars and other vehicles without any control. It is not a new information that air pollution is one big factor for global warming. The exhaust from vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate. In a larger picture the pollution caused by vehicles may seem very small, but over a period of time this keeps increasing and blot starts looking bigger than we thought. As of 2009 India was the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China and the United States. And 9% of India's emission were from transportation. 9% may seem small but this can be reduced by taking some serious measures. Controlling number of vehicles per family, making car pooling compulsory (On Chennai roads 80% of the cars that ply between 8 AM to 11 Am has a single passenger - this is my data) , phasing out old vehicles, ban inferior technologies and diesel, impose heavy duties/taxes to curb huge number of vehicles, improving public transport. These measures can control this type of pollution.

Unscrupulous construction:

This is indeed a direct contributor to environmental destruction. People have this thought that only big dams or factories have adverse effect on the environment, which is not correct. Though these biggies contribute a largely, we individuals are contributing our bit by buying/building houses on reclaimed farm lands, water bodies, environmentally important marshlands etc. And how many of us own more than one house? This is a question we need to ask ourselves. A house is made of sand which is mined from river beds, bricks that are made from soil, cement whose production and consumption is a bane to this earth, steel which is again mined and which in turn has contributed to huge destruction of forests and killing its inhabitants, Wood - yes this directly points to the trees cut. So as the number of houses to build or buy increases, your contribution to environmental destruction directly shoots up. Oh, how much is 2 or 3 of my houses going to destroy nature? Let me tell you , that destruction is not calculated on a one to one basis, it is always exponential. 

Consumerism:

We have become a consumerist crowd. We like to indulge in all the latest technologies,pamper ourselves with the most expensive items one can buy. The consumerist culture has made us buy things that we don't want or never use and also to buy more than we want. Mobile phones, Television, Refrigerator, Laptops, Air coolers - all these we buy and keep changing models every year to satiate our indulging self. But what happens to all the items that we discard? Where do all these items go? Do we have any idea the kind of damage that e-waste is doing to the earth. I would request each one to read a little about it. Then comes eating food - oh yes we love to order food more than we need and we waste it just because we can afford it, no matter it is meat or vegetables - we don't know or don't care for the fact the food we eat also contributes to deforestation and greater emissions. It is all linked. Forests across the world are being destroyed so that they can be converted into grazing land for animals so that we can eat more meat which in turn is ultimately going to make us live a unhealthy life. How sad that we can't see this. Deforestation kills the natural habitat of wild animals and will lead to many more extinct species on this earth.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. – Mahatma Gandhi, Father of India.

These are small things that as individuals we can be aware of in our life. Does this mean we should live a pathetic life without any facilities or advancements ? No, it just means that we need to live a simpler life. Buy/Use only what we really need. Why is it so difficult? What is needed is awareness of what we are doing and little bit of determination.

The theme of this year's World Environment Day is "Zero tolerance for the illegal Wildlife trade". For many of us this earth and its resources were created for the usage of mankind. We don't consider animals and plants a part of it. But when we trade these flora and fauna for money and better sophistication we forget that they are not dependent on us, we are dependent on them. If animals go extinct it will disturb the food chain and the impacts can be terrible for the man kind. This is as simple as i can say it. If Bees go extinct, we will all start scrambling for food. And as per studies bees are disappearing faster than we can imagine. We should start taking environment much seriously. It is the duty of each homo sapien to leave this earth a better place for the future generation. 

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Educate, Equip, Elevate every Girl

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There is something i want to tell myself - I am a feminist. But not the type who jumps into all issues related to woman without trying to understand or study the details of the issue. I believe in equality in every aspect of life: political, economical and social. I believe education is a must for every girl child. Freedom to move around, mingle with people and learn from experiences is also a very important aspect for the growth of a girl into a strong and independent woman. I also believe that a girl should be brought up with conviction to take any decision without fear and guilt. She should also be given the strength to live by her decision and change it whenever she wants.

When i beleive in all these, i also have to acknowledge the fact that it is not easy and it is not going to happen over night. It will take years for something as basic as education, which we take for granted to reach some girls in our country. There are many girls for whom school is a dream.

Every girl is born into a unique environment. The environment consists of her family, neighbours,community, religion, geography of her location, economy of her community, so forth and so on. Every aspect plays an important part in shaping her as a person. No common rule is going to be suitable for the whole girl child population of a country. Because the effect they are going to have on a child will also vary according to her environment and the impact of her environment. This has to be accepted. The environment and needs of a girl born in a remote village of Rajasthan is not the same as a girl born in Mumbai or a girl born in Delhi or even in a remote village of Tamilnadu or Kerala.

But one fact can never be denied, that education can create a common platform for all the girls from various background, religion and communities to mingle with each other, learn and share. This is the first step to growth that many like me dream about. Education might not give them complete freedom like we dream, as most of the girls are bound by the rules of the family, community and religion, but it definitely empowers them to think differently and fight for a change. That is the need of the hour. Education is the window to the world. For some girls it might open the gates to great opportunities, but to many it will be a weapon to fight against oppression at the basic level like their home. Quality education can equip them to question baseless practices and norms in a society with confidence. Knowledge is powerful as it raises voice against beliefs. Education also gives strength to women to organize, take control and lead. Education has the capacity to liberate a woman socially and economically.

To achieve this i believe education has to be made holistic. Education should be designed in such a way that it fosters good reading skills. Along with a curriculum, it should provide them an opportunity to read works of great authors. As part of education, every school should be provided with a good library which should be well stocked. Also every school should have an active forum where these girls can read, discuss, analyse and debate about various topics. Making education compulsory till higher secondary level for girls is a must if the government has a strong opinion about changing the lives of girls in our country. Public education system should provide for the education of girls till higher secondary. It also should provide enabling facilities like time to time counselling and guidance to girls in schools which will help them deal with the stigma they face regarding various issues in their day to day life. I understand it is difficult for a government to counsel each parent in this country, hence it is imperative that strict action be taken against parents who do not send their girls to schools. Also by giving free education to girls till their higher secondary, a great burden it alleviated from the shoulders of parents who are poor and cannot afford to send their kids to schools.

Girls should grow into woman of substance. In a patriarchal society like ours education is the only key that can slowly liberate women from the deep rooted dogma. If men need to be educated on how to respect a woman, women need education so that they will start respecting themselves and will start questioning boundaries with the backup of a strong ideology.

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First and foremost - An Expectation

A new government has taken charge in Kerala. The expectations are running high in the minds of people who are tired of the shoddy governance, high-profile corruption scandals, and an insensitive ministry during the previous government. This led to a massive landslide victory of the Left democratic front in the state. People have voted them to power expecting rapid transformation to happen in the functioning of the government. There is no doubt that the present government is under immense pressure to revive the lost faith and build confidence in the minds of people and stand by each of the commitment given in the manifesto.

I hope the LDF government will take all steps possible in order to justify their victory. They also have a huge task at hand of proving to the whole country that a LDF government can bring about an inclusive development and equally preserve the secular status of the state which is under threat today. We are in an era where communal unrest is begining to gain momentum across the country.

But in between all these political drama taking place at the helm, people like me are curiosuly waiting to see the stance of the new government on the case in which a dalit girl - Jisha was raped and murdered recently in Perumbavoor. The carelessness with which such a henious crime was dealt with by the police has raised many questions in the minds of people. News papers and channels have been full of speculations about the motive of such lackadaisical enquiry by the police. There have been reports of evidences not being collected or protected properly, a hasty postmortem which was not even recorded and burning of the corpse which is not as per rule in such cases. The crime scene - single room house was not even sealed by the police after the enquiry which is the minimum standard to be followed in such cases. We see that in so many movies. But all these regulations were flouted in the air and today even after almost a month not even a single arrest has been made.

With all the dreams of a flourishing state in my mind, i can't but stop myself from wishing that a drastic step be taken by the government in this case. A girl was raped and murdered. She was a representative of lakhs of such girls who belong to the cornered groups in our society, With no means to proper living conditions these girls struggle all through their life in each step to establish a decent life. When one among them is raped and murdered and if our justice system is unable to deliver justice even after death, hopes and dreams of lakhs of such girls are being trampled. It is an insult to the struggle that many go through to bring about a positive change for their ilk in this society.

I only wish that strict action is taken against the officials who handles this case with so much of indifference and carelessness. If this is done immediately by the government, they will succeed in taking a positive step towards strenghtening the confidence of people like us in this government.

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Ode on the Old

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A smooth surface once,

is now rough and scratched.

Time has etched its lines, 

and the joints are now creaky. 

The hinges make screechy noise; 

when I try to swing its door open.

It has been in my family for so long; 

that I forget when we actually got it.

My father got it done with so much of attention, 

for it was the first in my family.

It was green in color with a glow, 

but now it has brown patches - signs of old age.

Unattended it has stood at a corner always, 

guarding untiringly all our secrets and valuables.

I want to throw it out just because it looks ugly, 

all though I know, to my mom, it is a memento of Dad.

She asks, why throw it when u can fix it to perfection? 

Why do old things irritate you so much when you just need to care for it?

A little bit of touch up is all it requires, 

to become the strong beauty it was long ago. 

Replacing it is easy but, 

nothing today is as durable as it is, even today 

It stands in the memory of so many things of our family; 

How easily you decide to throw it away. 

What will help you kindle your old memories, 

If you don't have anything that connects you to them. 

Throwing away is so convenient, but remember, 

that the replacement will not carry the memories so dear to you.

And what is a human without memories to talk about; 

They are all that we have, to prove our existence in the past.

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