Can we pretend that airplanes land safely back on the ground…!

Breaking News: Air India Express flying from Dubai to Mangalore crashed and caught on fire while landing on the Mangalore airport. People all across the world stunned, shocked, agitated, disturbed, horrified, and daunted… Boeing 737-800 was carrying 166 people from which 158 were burned alive and only 8 survived. My heart aches for the families who lost their loved ones. My deepest condolences to all of them…

The plane crashed into the thick forested valley off the runway after slamming through a boundary wall. Our Mangalore airport falls under a ‘special’ category. By special I mean, airports which are not entirely safe while landing and taking off. Also, this particular airport is sitting on a humungous forest and deep valleys. Anyhow, of course we can bypass that because our politicians have all the excuses in the world to save their gaddi. This is a symbol of corruption and negligence. At one point our national airlines used to be India’s boast to the rest of the world – we were so proud of it! It was ranked in the Top Ten airlines of the world. And now, I feel disgraced and disheartened by this disaster. This crash is considered the most disastrous in the India’s aviation history. Some of the stories on TOI have made my blood boil… Our so-called-democracy has humiliated us completely. So many innocent lives lost, so many dreams shattered, so much of pain, so many words left unspoken, so much turbulence, so much provocation, so much… This collision left nothing but remorse for every living soul.

Just like many disasters, this one was short-lived too. The breaking news came down from Page 1 to other stories. Bravo to our media! If the saying is correct that, ‘a media can make or break news’, then why not make a much bigger hoopla of this news? Why not force the politicians to take stricter actions towards corruption? Why not dig deep? Why not? But wait, that’s not how it works here… Air India crew members went on strike today [Tuesday 25 May 2010]. Reason being, Air India’s decision to defer salary payments. Bravo to our politics! How do ‘mango people’ survive in this democracy? I wonder… Oh well, hats off to all ‘mango people’ who helped the survivors from the burning flames in Mangalore. Hats off to the three sisters who lost their [pilot] husband in three major Air India crashes: 1979 and 2000. The perfect scapegoat for any crash is the pilot… if he’s alive nail him; if he’s dead blame him! This is the painful truth. Mano ya na mano!

My heart goes out to all the families who lost their loved ones in the crash. Rab Rakha…!

Thank you God for not making me a part of this…

Khap Panchayat – the name sounds familiar? Yeah, it’s been haunting me for quite some time, so decided to spread some awareness via my article. Khap Panchayat – a system of social administration and organization of different communities in our country, hamara desh; India.

Back in ole’ days, elders had nothing better to do but to barge in other’s lives and eventually came up with their own absurd rules. Alrite, I agree, there was no such thing called ‘democracy’. Fine! Purana zamana, eh! However, not anymore! Times have changed. Recently, we’ve been hearing about Manoj-Babli case. A massacre which took place in Karnal; only 30km away from my birthplace; Panipat, Haryana. Allow me to shed some light on the case: a random girl and guy fall in love and decide to get married; notwithstanding the consequences of their act. The couple regrets to follow the bull shit tradition of Khap Panchayat. So what, if they belong from the same Gotra [clan within which men and women are considered siblings; hence cannot marry]? What the heck? Firstly, we live in a free world, where so called man-made ridiculous traditions has taken over by the civilization, education, development of knowledge, idiosyncrasy, eloquence, and the most important; liberty & freedom.

And now back to the man slaughtered destruction witnessed by many. Babli’s own family members brutally killed her and her husband. She got poisoned while her husband was being inhumanely bashed by Babli’s brother and relatives. Later on, the dead bodies were thrown in a Canal with their hands and legs tied up. As if, the couple still had a breath left to untie them and start a life. I ask the question to thee? Why should we live like slaves to our old tradition? Who gave them the power? Accept the change. Today’s generation want to live life freely, want to choose their partner and live as they please! Then why these restrictions, confinements? Why the old-parampara? The Panchayat leaders acted as ‘partners-in-crime’ and performed a splendid job by taking the lives of this innocent couple. Bravo! Even our so called ‘desh-ke-rakhwale’; police officers had their share in this cold blooded murder - the height of desperation and frustration. Desperation for more money and frustration of not earning enough money. And when the verdict came out, Manoj’s family was not present due to apprehensions of threat to life. And mind you – what is our Rajneeti doing about all this? How are they helping out the aam-junta? Well, forget helping out, the bastards are busy filling their Swiss bank accounts w/ as much money as they can. Speaking of Rajneeti, let’s see how the movie will turn out? Not that it will do wonders to the aam-junta as we all are aware of how our Rajneeti works! Thanks to Prakash Jha for mimicking the reality into a blockbuster entertainer.

The aam-junta is screaming on top of their lungs: Jiyo aur jeene do !

Knock on the door. Who’s there?... Death !!!

Surprised to read the title? Yeah, me too… I don’t want to die like that. On one unexpected day, unexpected hour, you get a knock and that’s it, you’re knocked out!.... Nah.. Too lame!

Dasvidaniya would be the right way to execute a life. An outstanding, simple, commendable, congenial, a straight-forward script. “A memorable experience, one that will leave you richer.” Yup, that would be correct way to describe this film. Usually our Indian movies have very catchy names, you know like DDLJ, KKHH, Fashion and so on… Something we can relate to, however, this movie went somewhat unnoticed. Reason being - the enunciation, the dull characters, none slim figures, no masala number and just the overall picture. Per contra, I watched it this past weekend. Well well, I must say, I just loved it. A simple, hard-working, average looking guy finds out that, ‘he’s dying.’ Now what??? Cease the moment! Accept it! Relinquish life as ordinary-extra OR extra-ordinary? Guess what he chose??? Extra-ordinary! Right choice, without a doubt. So, he came up with 10 things on his ‘Things-to-do list.’ Nothing too fancy, just things a common man would dream of. Fortunately, he accomplished all of them and passed out peacefully with spreading joy all over his horizons. And mind you - now that’s called a memorable [not painful] death. At last, everyone has to perish away from Earth. Why not fulfill all the dreams before shedding this body? Why not remain a happy thought in other’s heart as oppose to one painful nightmare, an unpredictable demise? Let’s do our 10 things we desperately want to before dying… Dost, let’s make our life noteworthy, bodacious, and celebrated.

Are you too sensitive?

Don’t feel shy – Gladly admit it! Because one should always accept just the way they are… I am too, there I said it!

Spending too much time on anguishing a remark, feeling lonely even with a group of people, holding yourself back, talking but still not saying what’s in your heart, assuming a million things, over-reacting to innocuous remarks etc etc. Some of us lash out, which just compounds the problem, while others say nothing but endlessly analyze. Analyzing too much without any concrete evidence can lead to many problems such as stress, migraines, depression, anxiety and so on… A small comment from a close relative or friend can constantly haunt you to the verge of making you absolutely nuts. What’s more brooding? While only a few of us get the supersensitive label, it doesn’t mean the rest of the world isn’t susceptible, too.

In evolutionary terms, being sensitive to criticism could be a lifesaver. Back when we were hunter-gatherers in high school, being excluded from the group could be dangerous. Our sensitivity to others negative opinion is extremely strong that our brain stores the entire emotional dictum right next to the physical pain. Thus, a negative remark hurts as much as being hit by a car. Bummer ! This is because so many people live in big cities, have tons of friends or family, interact with so many people on a regular basis which breeds anonymity and insensitivity to what others think. Let’s get this straight guys, we live in 21st century, human race has become intensely audacious.

It turns out gender matters in sensitivity as well. Women are more prone to think about other’s feeling, whereas men can care less. SO, while it’s okay for men to be blunt, it’s absolutely intolerable and ill-mannered for a woman to traverse. Anyhow, I’ll still take it as a positive point because at then end of the day it’s always; Woman, who rules!!! Hell yeah, we rule…!!!

Few easy steps can help a lot in life. When a comment stings you, take a deep breath and excuse yourself in a very subtle way without making any announcements. It’s always recommended to wait for 24 hours before responding, if at all. Focusing on your breath distracts you from the initial surge of temper that follows a barb, and leaving the situation gives you time to form an appropriate response. Most of us make a poor choice of words when our pulse goes above 100. Yup, been there, done that! Let’s take a couple of scenarios, so a colleague at work passes a remark by saying, how careless of you to leave your 20-yr old daughter on a road trip? Now, before you come up with a punch line, think of how well does that colleague knows you? Who is he/she to judge you? Absolutely no one! Run this comment by someone who actually knows what kind of a mother you are. Maybe your critic has a point, and you’re reacting defensively because you agree.

For teenagers and youngsters, just this once, don’t discuss your hurt feelings with your friends. Just let it be, go for a walk or read a book. It’s a fact, excessive focus on a problem makes them feel bigger and harder to resolve. Also, if a comment hurts you, mediate don’t ruminate. Go to your room, listen to some soothing music, watch a movie, dance/sing, and distract yourself. Once you have gained enough composure it’ll get easier to talk with that person again. Sensitive people often take a criticism to their entire personality instead of just one tiny aspect of it. Never do that! Not only can it affect you mentally, it can give you immense health problems as well i.e. headaches, migraines, stress, depression, anxiety, etc.
Just for a change, next time a person passes a remark, say these words:
Excuse me?
I wonder why you would say that.
Can you elaborate on what you said?
Ouch! That hurts my feelings.

These are few comebacks which can make the other person think twice. Also, being sensitive is a little positive too, “when there’s tension that makes everyone squirm at a party, sensitive people save the day by saying exactly the right thing.”

Enough is enough !

I believe everyone is fully acquainted with the Shahzad dude and his terror-plot in the heart of the most happening, attracting, glamorized, sophisticated-in-style, busiest place on Earth; New York City. It’s a place where people fulfill their dreams, expectations, career, and plan terror attacks.

The bastard not only tried to gorge a car with explosives/gun-powder/ammunition/propane-tanks/fireworks/gasoline, he also tried to fly out of the continent. What was he thinking? He’ll be able to escape by playing this maneuver? Or was he thinking of living peacefully by burning down streets of Manhattan, killing as many as hundreds of innocent people, destroying ‘The Times Square’, creating havoc all across the globe? And now the most expected news: Shahzad has connections with Taliban. I’d like to personally thank the media for pointing out the Obvious! Thank you…

A bunch of guys sitting somewhere on the cliff, hidden from the world, loading up on as many nuclear weapons as they can, finding innocent people all across the world, getting them trained in the name of God, explaining them the purpose of their life, clenching their family on gun-point, seducing them for some money, and BOOM! The next thing you know Twin Tower collapses, a bus filled with innocent people explodes, a plane gets hijacked, an entire market burns down in flames, hostages get sealed up in a 5-star hotel, a train station has a view of blood flowing as water, dead bodies lying everywhere, a city sleeps in fear, a country in devastation mode, the world on high-alert.

In this Armageddon, a mother weeps over her son’s dead body, a father weeps to see his daughter with a bullet in her heart, and twins mourn to see their parents’ mortal remains. These are the scenarios shown while Mumbai Terror attacks in India. Ditto happened when WTC deflated.

I’d like to raise a question: Should we [innocent people] worry about the natural calamities happening all across the globe or terrorism? Isn’t it enough that we have seen such massive earthquakes, tusnami’s, volcanoes, and what not? Isn’t it enough that Mother Nature is already slapping us? Then why this man-made destruction? Why the terrorism? Why the fear of walking out on the street and never coming back? Why???

These bastards should mind their own bloody business. Damage is done, now let the world rest! Let the innocent people live their life peacefully. Each individual has their own share of problems, to add terrorism, would be pushing them off the cliff. In that case, Fight Back! Fight Back! Fight Back !

The Reality – Face it !

Sitting in my cubicle, I thought of taking a peek into the world just to remain globalized. As I was surfing through CNN.com, I examined an astonishing story on the front page. The very first line antagonized me.

“Geeta was 9 when she began wearing makeup, staying up until 2 a.m. and having sex with as many as 60 men a day.”

SIXTY MEN A DAY – pause and think what happened with Geeta. A nine year old girl living in a third-world country, who has absolutely no knowledge of what sex is, probably no education either, belongs to a poor family and above all no money! Even though there are countless similar stories on every news engine, I still feel despondent on every encounter. Girls like Geeta, are sold to brothels by their own parents. The reason is quite simple: money to survive. I fail to understand how can parents sell their daughters for money? Can’t they try to find a job even with the minimum wage? It might not provide those lavish products but atleast it will provide them the basic necessities. Selling your own daughter to some pimp is extremely atrocious, and that too because a bastard demanded some pleasure and in return gave pain to the girl forever.

Statistics show that every two seconds a girl gets raped somewhere around the world. Some live in fear, some silently accept it, some try to get justice, and some commit suicide. Only one plunder is needed to permanently damage a girl’s image, self-respect, appearance, confidence, and dignity. Even though Geeta was thrashed, sexually assaulted by sixty men a day and only God knows for how many days it went on for; there was a lady somewhere in Nepal who devoted her life to help girls like Geeta. Fortunately, Geeta was saved by an angel name Anuradha Koirala. Perhaps, an angel for several girls. The 61-year-old woman and her group have been fighting for more than sixteen years to rescue and rehabilitate thousands of sex trafficking victims. Hats off to Ms. Koirala! She definitely deserves applaud from the entire world.

Anuradha’s own history in an abusive relationship led her to her crusade. For most of her young adulthood, she was a teacher. However, when her relationship took a violent turn, her life’s purpose changed. She was battered by her husband every day, had three miscarriages which certainly happened because of the beating. Eventually, she ended her relationship and started living on her own terms. She initiated her retail shop and supported sex/domestic violence victims. This lady is a pure symbol of Durga.

Our blue moon is filled with woman’s like Anuradha who put others first. We have such reputed, successful woman in our time. To name a few: Mother Teresa, Rani Laxmi Bai, Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Anuradha Roy, and now lets add another name to the list: Anuradha Koirala.

Jai Mata Di !