Ungroomed Groom? A Big No!

Snigdha looked at her reflection in the washroom mirror. Perfectly arched eyebrows, big kohl-lined eyes with a hint of mascara on the lashes, and glossy pink lips - the light makeup look suited her. Generally she was averse to makeup, but given the occasion, she had decided to put some effort in looking presentable. And now as she looked at herself in the mirror, a smile of satisfaction lit up her face. Touching up her lip gloss, she mentally complimented herself for the effort she had put in, in preparing for this first meeting with Sarthak, the guy her parents had shortlisted for her from a matrimonial website.

They had been talking for two weeks now, getting to know each other before meeting in person. And finally the first face to face meeting was fixed for today in this cafe, close to where Snigdha lived. Taking advantage of the proximity of the meeting point, she had arrived early, to get some extra time for her nervousness to settle down. The tactic was worth it, as half-an-hour on her own here had eased her up and now she eagerly awaited Sarthak, looking up every time the café door opened.  When it did open to let Sarthak in, Snigdha was taken aback by what met her eyes, for the man in question had sauntered in wearing what looked like two day old stubble!

 Stubble is trouble

The unshaven look was a big turn off, to say the least. It seemed suggestive of a callous attitude towards personal grooming and hygiene. ‘This is not how one comes for a first ‘date of sorts’, careless about unsightly black and white stubble,’ she mumbled under her breath. Ungroomed - this was her first impression of Sarthak. And for obvious reasons, it turned out to be the last too.

*This post is inspired by a real incident, the names, of course, have been changed.
**This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.

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I tag my blogger friends –

Ranjith, who blogs at A Light Hearted Talk,
Manjulika Pramod who blogs at Pendown
Nandini Deka, who writes at Nandini Speaks,
Swarna Rao, who blogs at Swarna's Diary, and
Khushboo Motihar, who writes at Munni of all Trades to share their take on #WillYouShave activity. The word limit is 300 words. When you write, please mention that you picked the tag from me.

Here are the suggested prompts for the write-ups –

For men - 

• Missed chances - Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a non-shaven face.
• Luck of confidence - Will you leave your fate in the hand of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well-groomed face to be your best every day.

For ladies - 

• An instance when stubble came in the way of a man's chance to make a good impression.
• An instance when a well-groomed look ensured that they stuck gold on an opportunity given to them.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.

Photo courtesy: iamdavegray.com

Little Black Things

Some call Black powerful

for royalty it stands,

some dismiss it as evil,

strengthening wicked hands.

When Blogadda asked bloggers to list 5 black items that they wish for, it got me thinking. What the black! Black is all around us - in sophistication and in mundane. From elegant couture dresses to expensive luxury cars, from sleek fancy gadgets to hi-tech DSLRs, from handmade footwear to rough and tough cookware, black adorns all aspects of our lives! From the physical to the metaphysical, from the tangible to the intangible, black is everywhere. A colour that is eternal. So if I were to wish for 5 black things, what would I wish for? I do not long for designer dresses, Lamborghinis, BMWs and Aston Martins do not tempt me, there's no longing for fancy accessories - watches, handbags, footwear, et al.

Fancy cars tempt me not,
gadgets do not score,
Little things make me happy,
and that's what I wish for.

Yes, it's the little things that I yearn for, and they make me happy. A cursory contemplation and 5 black things that I would love to have is ready. You might consider them mundane, but I know that they will make my many a dull days exciting! Here they are!

1. BLACK MARBLES

Glossy black marbles,
they glitter and they shine,
wish I had a bagful of them
So I could boast they are mine!

2. BLACK PUPPY

Tiny little puppy,

to love and care for,

We both will play together,

and none will be a bore!

3. BASKETFUL OF BLACKBERRIES

A basket full of berries black
would fill me with delight,

it's tasty and healthy too

Oh I am craving for a bite!

4. BLACK COUTURE HAT

Couture hats intrigue me,

so creative they are

a black piece I would love to own,

and act like a Hollywood star!

5. Black Tea

Black tea is healthy,
for body and for mind,
you would want to share a cup,
it's taste is so refined.

So this is my list of 5 little black things that I desire. Hope you enjoyed the post. There's another list too, but the items there are not so little! You can read that list here, and let me know what's your take on the items listed! :)

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

The Black List

Borne out of black,

to its solemnity we'll return,

Some will rest under the earth,

On pyres some will burn.

The colour black - solemn and eternal. Science calls it the absence of or absorption of light. The darkest colour, the opposite of white, it never ceases to intrigue. Generally associated with all that is intimidating, this mystical colour stands for the depths of the unknown, all that is beyond the earthy realm. But when it comes to fashion and luxury, black is big. It is bold. It's glamorous, it's royal, it's sophistication personified. 

When Blogadda asked bloggers to list 5 black items that they wish for, it got me thinking. The symbolism of the colour attracted me towards it - black magic, black humour, black cloak, a meeting with Sirius Black  - I wanted to it have it all. Maybe sometime in future. For now, here are the 5 black things I desire.

1. A Black Sheep

Baa baa black sheep,
Do not feel unloved
You have me to care for you,
Isn't that enough?

Strange that a thing so lovely and innocent epitomises worthlessness in our materialistic, obsessed-with-success world. The popular idiom related to black sheep describes someone who is an outcast in the family and society - someone who is not very mainstream and instead refuses to conform. I wish I have a black sheep for company, and together we will roam the distant pastures. Two creatures who are different and yet alike, an unlikely paradox. We will make for good company.

2. Black Belt

Training in self defence,

is now need of the hour.

To protect thyself from harm,

To fight back and not to cower.

Expertise in a self defence art is not a fancy skill any more. It's the need of the hour. Every day we are subject to atrocities of different kind, some subtle, some very in your face. Women are being manhandled, beaten and raped. For many, the atrocities are mental - in the form of harassment and verbal bullying. High time we all learnt a self defence technique - to not just equip our comparatively frail body to fight back, but also train our minds to always remain alert.

3. Black Clouds

The sun is beating down on us,

Heat taking a toll,

Black clouds come bless us please

Soothe our stifled souls.

I am yearning for black clouds. In my part of the world, the harsh sun is busy burning the already baked earth. Fear of a drought looms large. Everyone's listless - humans, animals, birds. Roads smell of burning tar, mirages far down the burning road are driving the drivers delirious, and the humidity is stifling. I want the black clouds to come rolling by, to stay put here for a while. Wish they come visiting soon, shower their ware around and make the wait worth the while.

4. Black Starry Sky

Twinkle twinkle little star,
The rhyme is now a myth
Cut down the skyscrapers please,
get a magical scythe.

My beautiful black sky has gone missing. It has disappeared beyond the many million skyscrapers. From the little windows of my house, I look up to catch some corner of the sky, but its the concrete of the neighbouring buildings that mocks me instead, smirking at my incredulous wish to gaze at the black star-lit sky. How I wish to go camping in the open, and lie down by my tent at night and gaze endlessly at the black sky with its many million glittering stars smiling down at me.

5. Black Box of MH370

A plane flying high,

disappeared from the sky,

its black box is still not found

despite many a try.

The last item on my black wishlist is the Black Box of MH370. This is just another wishful thinking, but how I wish this comes true and the experts are able to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. While this will not bring back the victims of the crash back, it will most definitely give a bearable closure to the family and friends of the victims of this baffling tragedy.

So this was my take on the 5 black things I desire. Hope you enjoyed the post. Do share your thoughts and also your black wish list. It would be fun to compare notes!

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Memories That Zest Up My Life!

Happy memories zest me up. On dull mundane days, when it feels like inanity has crept all around, there comes a whiff of a happy event and nostalgia takes over, charging me up with energy and enthusiasm. On days, when nothing seems to be going right and self-doubt attempts to overtake my mind, I take a break and go back to the happy memories of achievements. These, and a good cup of green tea, and there I am, all zesty and raring to take challenges head on. 

They say every passing moment becomes a memory, while whatever we consider mundane gradually fades out, the special ones hinges itself to the prominent corners of our heart and mind and remain there, making an appearance and cheering us up very now and then. Here are the five memories close to my heart!

1. My First Swimming Lesson

It took me a long time to overcome my fear of swimming. My parents had been insisting that I learn this life-saving skil for quite a while, but no, I was sure I would not even last for a minute in the pool, and the 'life-saving' skill would actually turn 'life-taking' for me. Every time I convinced myself to learn this skill, paranoia  would strike the moment I got near the pool! But then one fine day, after enough of convincing and cajoling from parents, friends and the swimming instructor, I just gave in! Just like that! Some hiccups and there I was alternatively floating and splashing around in the shallow end of the pool! It was magical! And now every-time I am inside a swimming pool, leisurely lapping across its length, I cannot help but laugh at my silly notions!  While the thought that I was once mighty scared of pools amuses me, the fact that I overcame that fear fills me up energy and enthusiasm. It motivate me surge ahead and tackle all challenges head on.

Swimming pools are scary? No!

2. My First Job

What an incredible feeling it is to be called a professional, to be at work, and to be responsible for the growth of an organisation! I know, I know, you must be smirking here! For many of us a few years of working has already taken its toll, boredom or exhaustion has set in and this feeling of graduating from being a student to being a working professional has worn out, replaced by stoic acknowledgement of mundane office work-life routine! True that, but still every time I think of my first job as a news trainee at ABP News, it zests me up!

3. My First Salary

Oh the joys of receiving my first salary! The crisp SMS arriving in my phone announcing that my salary has been credited in my account! So many years and I can still recall the day vividly! Eating out with my own, shopping and splurging on gifts for my loved ones! And no one, absolutely no one to play spoilsport in my shopping spree! One happy, fulfilling and thankful day it was and the memory of the day 

4. My First Solo Trip

My memories of my first solo trip zest up many a travel conversations I have with traveller friends! I went all the way up to Mcleodganj in Himachal Pradesh and stayed there on my own for a couple of months.

The lovely family I lived with!

In Mcleodganj, I lived with a local family who took care of my lodging and boarding, and my days there were spent wandering deep into the mountains exploring the waterfalls and local tribes settled there. I also participated in quite many adventure and volunteering activities there. One volunteering activity that I always cherish would be working at a child care centre looking after Tibetan kids who either had a single parent going to work daily or were parent less. I think this was a great experience, contributing my bit as a traveller, and memories of this trip always keep inspiring to surge ahead and never shy away from trying something new.

5. Nano Drive With MTV

Tiger(s) spotting in Maharashtra, surfing on playful waves in Andhra Pradesh, scuba diving in rough Orissa sea and last but not in any way the least, ghost hunting in a West Bengal hill station - these experiences and a hundred more - I lived them all in one epic road trip that I was fortunate enough to be a part of. And this road trip was Nano Drive with MTV Season 2 – a travel show that involved 21 days of travel across the country in Tata Nano. 

Nano Drive with MTV - 21 days on the road

This was the best trip of my life! For one, never in my wildest imaginations I had ever thought that a road trip this long, covering this great a part of our country could ever become a reality for me. But as they say, strange are the ways of the world, I was chosen to be a part of the show with a few other travel junkies and experience India like never before! Whenever I feel down and out, exhilarating memories of this incredible trip do their bit to add zest to my life!

So that was a bit about my favourite memories! Hope you enjoyed the post! Do share thoughts about your favourite people, places, memories and experiences! Would love to exchange notes! :) 

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com

Raising a Toast to Mardaani

'I've often thought it unfair that women are expected to stay at home when there's a fight to be won. If a woman has the strength to bear a child, she can swing  a sword as well as any man.'

Karen Hawkins, How to Abduct a Highland Lord

We women are a strange specie. Fragile and yet strong, yielding and yet determined - the perfect paradox, that’s what we all are. But the fact remains that there are so many shades to our personality. Yes, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US has many different shades within us. We might be all laid-back for days, but push us to an extreme, and there you see a different woman, all geared up, picking herself up and emerging stronger than ever.  She’s a mardaani, for she refuses to give in and blame it all on fate.

And here I proudly present one such mardaani from amongst us - Mrs. Aarti Goel

Aarti Goel with her husband

Aarti comes across as a petite every-day woman, your friendly next-door neighbour who loves supervising the household chores, picking her daughter from the school and spending time with her family. So what’s so special in that – you must be wondering, and rightly so. So many us do these and more. Yes. But what makes Aarti special is the fact that when is she is not involved in the mundane household and office routines, she is trained enough to ply passengers on Delhi roads. You read that right. Aarti is the second registered woman auto-driver in Delhi.

Aarti Goel - Challenging stereotypes

Always ready to take challenges head-on, Aarti is an inspiration for all. I first met her while on a road trip to Lansdowne. We had stopped over for a tea break at the same dhaba. Her's was a regular family, chatting away delightfully about this and that, and since my friend and I were the only other people eating there, they invited us to join them for tea. And it was there, sitting with them, and lazily sipping my extra milky tea that I discovered that the husband whom I had started addressing as Sushil bhaiya, only had one hand. I also discovered that they too were headed to Lansdowne and it was the wife Aarti who was driving them all to their destination. There was an awkward silence after this discovery, and it was Aarti who dispelled the quietness that had suddenly taken over our group. Calmly she narrated to us how many years ago her husband had met with an accident, resulting in the loss of an arm. Initially she found it difficult to get over the cruel incident and faced difficulty coping with the unfortunate developments. But she soon realised that the onus to reclaim her family's happiness was on her. She had to get a grip on not just her life.

That's me with Aarti Goel and her daughter Samiksha Goel

And she had to start from scratch. While earlier she had been a happy-go-lucky middle class wife who was dependent on her husband for all things big and small, now it was time to take the steering wheels in her hand - literally as well as metaphorically. Soon she learnt driving and was assisting her husband at his petrol pump and motor workshop. One thing led to another and now she's a trained auto-rickshaw driver too.

Aarti Goel is a mardaani in every sense of the world. Like the proverbial phoenix, she has risen from the ashes to reclaim her family's happiness. She did not give in or blame fate for the misfortunes that came her way. Rather she worked around the misfortunes and wrote a new destiny for herself. 

Aarti Goel's story has been covered by a couple of newspapers already, but it would be great to see her story inspiring people beyond Delhi. Hope the stories of grit and determination of all such mardaanis motivates us all to be positive and determined in the face of challenges.

Blogging: Writing, Inspiring, Networking

As I think about what to write for this prompt, my mind wanders down memory lane, and stops around the nooks of the building where I am a trainee journalist writing report after mundane report on this and that, and sulking about the inanity of it all. Some where around this time a colleague introduces me to the big and wondrous world of blogging. A blog, he explains, is an online diary of sorts where one could share their writings and photos. And that if I wanted, I could start my own blog and could unleash the creativity that I always cribbed about. And that's how I make my own blog - finalizing a name for it, gradually putting all the layout together, and finally getting down to write the first tentative uncertain posts.

Now that I reminisce about it all, my blog was my virtual diary indeed, where I could pour my heart out - I could WRITE about anything and everything. Random conversation with the rickshawala, an hour spent observing the mad woman across the street, a story about a lovelorn girl, musings about a hindi film from the 60s, comments on the lyrics of a particular song - my blog was the place where I could write anything without the fear of it being edited or modified to suit someone else's fancy.

Blogging for me initially was just about venting my observations and musings, and readers did not really matter. Though I must acknowledge that when friends and random readers came visiting and left a comment or two, it felt good and I would beam around a bit and would read and re-read my own posts, wondering what was in there that captured someone's interest.  The comments and interaction encouraged me to write more. It also helped me NETWORK with many fellow bloggers - blogger shared what they wrote, who read my posts, helped when I faltered, complimented when I won and pulled me up when I fell short of words. Bloggers, who with the passage of time have now become my buddies. 

It's now been a few years since I have been blogging. From writing about random observations and musings, I have moved on to experimenting with many creative themes and prompts, all thanks to the many blogging communities. From posts on big and small social and political issues to fictional tales about car tyre going flat on a deserted road, these communities give me ample opportunity to write more often and write on topics beyond my comfort zone. Just recently I got an opportunity to write on gendercide - deliberate and systematic killing of the female child, and the post was very well received and remains one of the most read post of my blog. The detailed post inspired many readers to do their bit against this heinous practice. It gave me a high too. Yes. A sense of pride in the fact that the what I write is motivating enough to INSPIRE people to do their bit towards the cause. Isn't it an exhilarating feeling to read comments where readers say that your post was beautifully written and it has inspired them.  You bet it is! :)

I am no slogan shouting, placard holding activist, neither a big-shot writer who has best-sellers to her name. I am just another eager soul who wants to share the incessant monologues that go on inside her head. Incesant monologues, random asides, musings, sane thoughts and insane tirades, quips, banters and what nots. It feels nice to scribble them down on the blog. And it feels even nicer when somebody stops by to read them all and leaves a warm comment or two. 

Blogging indeed has been a big, big blessing. 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

This week the entry must contain the words - write, inspire  & network.

Love

Love helped sell everything - from cosmetics to lingerie, from whole wheat bread to even washing powder - one just had to weave a story around love and it would sell.

And now, after years of helping sell commodities, love too was reduced to being one of the lot - a commodity that could be sold, bought, showcased and flaunted. They who materialized the world, had now materialized love too. Like you flaunted your worldly possessions, you had to flaunt love too - to show the world that you loved to love. Whether or not you carried the flame in your heart was a a different story altogether.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

This week's word prompt is love and sentence limitation is 5.

Gifts I Would Gift Thee

Dear Rehaan

What gifts do I give thee?
A cupboard
full of books
or a hundred
seas to see?
Or do you want something
that excites you more
Dora's company
and a new world to explore!

My nephew Rehaan is a curious little boy of four. As a toddler he developed a liking for books, thanks to the many bed-time stories that his mother read out to him, night after night. As he grew older, the love for books too grew and soon enough he was taking unsteady steps towards his book shelf to pull out random books and browse through the pages. Many a times, thrilled by the big colourful pictures, he would bring back the book to whoever was sitting close enough and would make them read out the stories therein.

Now as he is getting older, his interests are getting diverse and much more amusing. From dismantling his little bicycle to joining track after tricky tracks of his toy train set, he enjoys it all. Then there is his ever increasing love for story books. Besides the many books he keep getting as gifts, he also enjoys the company of Peppa Pig and Dora the Explorer, popular kid characters from the world of cartoons. 

For long  I have wanted to gift him something special and often wonder - what should I gift a young boy of four? Toys, toys and some more toys? Box-full of favourite animation series? Chocolates galore? No, if I am his Santa, I'd rather give him something else. Something more lasting than a toy or chocolate hamper.

1. Gift of Healthy Body, Mind and Spirit

Oh this sounds pretty philosophical, right? But wouldn't these make just the perfect gift for a child! Body, mind and spirit, all healthy and in sync with each other. Since childhood we have been fed on the adage - 'Health is Wealth', and yes it indeed is. All our worldly riches and material possessions are pointless if our fragile health does not permit us to enjoy them. So as Santa, I would want to bestow my little Rehaan with good health, and with it a healthy mind and a positive and happy outlook towards life, that is, a positive spirit - for this triumvirate indeed holds the key to lead a happy and harmonious life.

2. Gift of Good Conscience

This might start sounding like a moral science lesson now! Preachers say conscience is a gift of God, and by default it guides as to do good and avoid all that is evil. But as we grow older and the material world starts manifesting itself on us in its myriad ways, many a times the conscience finds it difficult to have a stronger say during moments of evil temptations. Gift of good conscience will ensure that while ambling along in the journey of life he sticks to the road of goodness. The gift will stand him in good stead when faced with treacherousness choices between what is good and what is just seemingly good.

3. Gift of a Strong Spine

No, no - I am not talking abut some magical relief for back pains here! Rehaan has none and I thank God for that! I want him to be someone who is not afraid to take a stand. Some one who is not weak-willed or 'spineless' so to say. As Santa, I would gift him with the gift of a strong spine, to ensure that he grows up to be a brave young man, someone who has a good mind of his own and who knows to stand for what is right.

4. Gift of Good Humour

Gift of laughter and the ability to make others laugh - this would make for a wonderful gift for anyone. In recent times good sense of humour is slowly turning into something of a rarity. Sarcastic jokes, racial slurs and jokes replete with innuendos often pass off as humour. No, none of these for Rehaan. The gift of good humour would ensure that he brings cheerfulness and gives out positive ibes wherever he goes. This special gift would not just help him make light of life's difficult phases but would also help him cheer up others too.

5. Gift of a Deep Piggy Bank

Since childhood we were taught or rather preached about not attaching much significance to money. 'Money cannot buy you happiness', was every elder's constant refrain. But the way things are in the present scenario, it seems money, even if not the only means of happiness, sure is a deciding factor in sizing up your happiness quotient. The new mantra people are debating now is whether or not money makes the world go round. Well I have my opinion reserved on this, but yes, one must add here that with the inflation rate skyrocketing, I would most definitely gift a deep piggy bank to Rehaan to inculcate the habit of saving from an early age. The piggy bank would ensure that he not just learns the importance of saving but also the importance of spending money wisely.

 So these are the 5 gifts I would gift my baby nephew Rehaan. Of course this is not a definitive list and there's so much more to add here - the good values of honesty and integrity, good education and of course sound and secure insurance and investment plans. By and by these would be joining the gift list too. For now let me watch him practice being an elf for the his school Christmas play!

I Err, I Learn

Ah, speech time. I will try and keep this short. And simple. I say simple because many a times in the maze of fancy words, the essence of what you really want to express gets lost.

It gives me immense happiness to win this blogging award, though a part of me - that always keeps nagging with its incessant questions - is also wondering if I really deserve this one. But now that I have actually won the award, for a while I have all the authority to ask that incessantly blabbering part to shut up and let me enjoy my five minutes of fame.

I cannot thank BlogAdda enough for acknowledging my blogs and my intermittent efforts at penning down all my big and small, random and concrete musings therein. I created my first blog way back in 2007, when almost every other person around me was creating a blog to show off their extensive grasp about every topic under the sun. But my blog was primarily to vent and ramble, for I had no expertise on any subject that I could show off. And this remains the case even today. I remember, the first labels I used for my posts were ‘random’ and ‘musings’, for that’s what they were - random observations about this and that.

I was never a very focussed blogger, abandoning quite a few blogs before finally creating one that I decided to stick to. And the good people at various blogging forums ensured that I kept scribbling regularly there – through their various writing prompts and blogging drives. A great high was when I won the blogging competition to be a part of the MTV travel show - Nano Drive with MTV Season 2, and got to represent BlogAdda on the incredible 21-day trip across India. The memories of that beautiful journey, I will cherish forever. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity I was bestowed with.

I am not the brightest of bloggers around but I am happy that whatever little I write and share is coherent enough for readers to read and appreciate. I err too but then I look around and learn from fellow bloggers and from concerned readers. Whenever I have doubts, they are addressed pronto by the good people here. Thank you Team BlogAdda for driving all bloggers to write more and write better. Blogging is one of the best medium for self expression, and it’s humbling, rewarding and motivating to see your efforts getting rewarded. Thank you BlogAdda. Keep motivating us all. 

This would be My Winning Speech on being rewarded the BlogAdda Blog Award!

My Delhi, My Manifesto

Delhi, a city that has been my makaan for the past 5 years now. I say makaan and not ghar because there are times when I don't take pride in the fact that I live in Delhi. When some random relative or distance acquaintance says - 'So you have settled in Delhi?', I am quick to defend -'No, no. I just work there.' Ah. 

And then there are times when I find this city so beautiful and inviting.  Its lush gardens, tree lined boulevards, the history, the monuments, its aesthetic sense, it's affinity to culture. So in a sense there's always this turmoil going on inside - live in Delhi, or not? What paradox, isn't it?

If given a chance, what would I change in Delhi, I sit back and reflect. 

Safer Delhi

Quite rhetoric this is. But yes, like every Indian, I want to push for a safer Delhi. Like every Indian  I want to take pride in the capital of my country. And if that has to happen, there's a need to ensure that it's big and small streets are safe - not just for women, but for every common citizen. Much has been written about Nirbhaya and her unfortunate death. But there are so many Nirbhayaas that go unreported, there are so many girls who live in perpetual fear of becoming another Nirbhaya. We need to change this. And yes, the onus is on us too. We too have to become more aware, more self reliant rather than always expecting the government to ensure our safety. 

Greener Delhi

South Delhi is beautiful. Tree lined boulevards, spaced out roads, well planned housing societies, lush gardens and greenery everywhere. Why can't the rest of Delhi be as green, or may be even more, why not. My manifesto for the city would push for a greener Delhi, not just on paper, but on the grounds too. Tree plantation drives, big and small parks depending on the area available and awareness campaigns to make people more tree friendly.

Roads or Spittoons?

This one tops the list of the my pet peeves. No matter how many instructions you put up saying 'Yahaan thookna mana hai', your average dilliwaallah will not budge. Not at all. Drive in an auto, and at every traffic stop, the first thing he is likely to do is spit his paan out, or probably cough out a deluge of snot. People please the roads are us to walk/drive on, it's not your spittoon! How unsightly (oh, of course, obviously)! 

Pissing in Public! Why?

'Yahaan peshaab karna mana hai'. Walls lined with tiles of sundry gods and goddess. Lines full of profanity, warning you to not to piss on a particular wall. But nothing works. Nothing really works for the Delhi man. If he wants to relieve himself, he will do it wherever he wants. Despite the many sulabh shochalayas, his favourite haunt is a wall.  The wall is his bathroom. No amount of admonishing can refrain him from spraying his bladder out on a wall. My manifesto for Delhi will push for strict fines and punishments for those found pissing in public. Unless and until there's no strict stand taken on this, bringing a change in this attitude of everything goes would remain a challenge.

Beggars and Buggers

Stop at a traffic signal and you will be accosted by not just beggars asking for alms, but also buggers bugging you to buy anything from a pirated copy of a best seller novel to a cheap perfume bottle. Then there would be those perpetually pregnant women asking for money to help with the delivery expenses, little kids doing random entertainments acts, and those amputees with fake blood oozing out of their wounds. I am afraid I might be sounding insensitive here, but these scenes experienced on a daily basis have stubbed out my sensitive nerve. Most of the beggars are a part of gangs - they do not want paltry amount of  10 bucks, and moreover if you refuse to offer help, they are quick to hurl abuses. Yes sir. My Delhi manifesto will ensure that they go off the roads soon. Enough of this menace.

This is just the first draft of my manifesto, a basic outline of the changes I would love to bring about. There are many other issues too - honour killings, encroachment, littering, neglect of many a historical monuments, traffic violations  - let me delve into these issues some other time. For now, I will be happy if these basic grouses are dealt with and addressed in an effective manner

This is My Delhi Manifesto in association with BlogAdda.com.

How I Wish She Had Smart Suraksha

Much has been said and written about Nirbhaya, the brave Delhi girl who lost her life fighting her molesters.
Post that unfortunate incident, there have been protests and debates galore about how unsafe Delhi is. Unsafe, not just for the Nirbhayas, but for the many Nirbhays too. You can be a victim of a road rage, you can be mugged or killed over any minor dispute. Any vindictive mind can take you down for any reason that justifies his criminal mind.

There is absolutely no sense of safety at all. Even the sense od women empowerment is such a fickle one, more so when I recall the news of the murder of my then colleague Soumya Vishwanathan. The year was 2009, the month, September. As I walked up to the lift to get to my office, another colleague joined me, looking unusually serious. There were no pleasantries exchanged as we stood there, waiting for the lift. And then after he could take it no longer, he uttered, ' Do you know about Soumya?'

The question was framed in such manner, that the first instinctive reaction in the mind was - God, something bad has happened! And with great effort all I could utter was - 'What happened?'

'Shot dead last night.' A statement uttered with no emotions at all, very matter-of-factly. My heart skipped a bit. Did I hear that right? Soumya? Murdered? That smiling face that I saw in office everyday, she's no more? What kind of joke is this? My mind and heart were not in sync. Just these questions in a loop and nothing more. But who makes such jokes. Who am I fooling. I asked no more.

Inside the office, everybody I came across seemed to be dealing with the loss in their own ways. The details trickled in. Returning home from an afternoon shift that was extended due to some emergency at work, she was shot dead in the wee hours, shot dead by unknown assailants. So this was no bad dream. This was a cold fact now.

As I think about that day and and reflect upon the agony of her family and friends, how I wish she had the Smart Suraksha app on her phone. How I wish she had some means to alert her family about the ghastly situation she was stuck in. 

As much as I want to forget about this incident I am dusting the file so that it brings to light the fact that something as unfortunate as this can happen to any of us.  Let's better be safe than sorry. I mentioned about the Smart Suraksha app, here's how it works -

Smart Suraksha, is a mobile application, that can track your whereabouts and at a single touch will send an sms to the pre-listed 5 simultaneously and also the police. An additional feature of this app, is that if you are in a situation where you are able to give details of the would-be offender, you can even record info like model of the car or clothes he is wearing, in your sms.Yes, use this app as a weapon that can prevent you from becoming an unfortunate victim. Stay safe with Smart Suraksha.

I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App