"Upper" House stoops low

The nurturing side of a woman is known to bring out the child in her man, who starts throwing tantrums and acting possessive and silly. This time however, it's the women's bill that has brought out the child in several men. Or were they immature to begin with? Rajya Sabha is also called the "Upper" House and I assumed that was so because they were better at maintaining decorum, what with famous and educated personalities being a part of the "party". However, I guess there must be other reasons for that, because to oppose the "Women's Reservation Bill", Rajya Sabha members from Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party went the "Lower House" way and resorted to tearing drafts, smashing mikes and trying to beat up the presiding member, Hamid Ansari. After several adjournments, the parties in favour of the Women's Bill finally gave up trying to pass it on the Inturneshnal Wimen's De.

So what's all the hullabaloo about? Which party in its rational mind would oppose Women's Reservation Bill and draw the ire of almost 50% of the voting population? Obviously, politicians have infused "politics" in this simple issue also. To understand their opposition to the bill, we'll first need to understand what the bill proposes. The Women's Reservation Bill proposes to impose 33.3% reservation for women at each level of legislative decision-making, starting with Lok Sabha to state and local legislatures. This would increase political participation of women to a great extent. 

The "immature" guys, namely SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad, have politicised the issue by claiming that the Bill would only enable women from elitist groups to gain seats. As a result, it is their "mike-smashing" demand to introduce quota within quota, where some seats from the reserved 33.3% would be kept aside for women from Muslim and backward communities. Other opponents state that men won't get adequate number of seats to contest with. It seems "A woman is a woman's biggest enemy" is true as Chief Minister Mayawati is opposing the bill COMPLETELY stating that it is impossible to find female candidates in Uttar Pradesh and that currently the state government is completely male-dominated, save for the Chief Minister.

While it remains to be seen whether the Bill in its current form will ensure fair distribution of seats amongst men and women of all classes, the Upper House has definitely stooped far below its expectations...

Image courtesy: http://www.cbc.ca

Happy Women 's Day...

My first post on this blog petulantly asked a question - "Do all girls hate being girls?" I can't believe that was almost two years ago. Ok, so that was my original cribby post! Coming back to the topic, I've realized that we are all severely bound by expectations. I used to think that only women are bound by them, expectations of being a good daughter, good wife and a good mother. It used to irk me that a woman has to give up on what she wants in order to fulfill all these expectations. When I heard stories of rape, female infanticide, I thought and still think, that its not the girl's fault that she was born a girl. She didn't even have the right to choose! In my eyes, this world was severely balanced in favour of the boys.

A lot has occurred since then. I realized that we all are bound by expectations. Yeah, men too! I learnt that you will be loved for the person you are and not for the sacrifices you make. I opine that people who are a part of female infanticide don't deserve a girl child in their house. I felt that you cannot pretend to "love unconditionally" or love "cooking and cleaning" forever just to show that you are a good wife or mother. I observed that there are girls who are much more sporty, funky, impulsive, sexy, crazy, b**hy as compared to me, but they've all got excellent life partners and fulfilling lives. Its not about fitting into a framework of an ideal girl. Its ultimately about being yourself. 

I realized that I could be myself only when I kept myself happy. So I stopped moulding myself according to expectations and asked myself what makes me really happy? The soul searching took almost a year but now when I look back I feel, the answer was right here! Since I started my journey on my chosen path, I'm feeling so much at peace with myself. My affection is genuine, my sacrifices are genuine. All the love I need is coming from within and whatever I do externally is purely out of compassion. Women give up a lot to get love. But I believe if you can love yourself, you can keep others much happier.

It's not a Happy "Women's Day". It's a "Happy Women"'s Day! 

Image source: http://www.womansday.com/

An open letter to Shahid Kapoor

Dear Mr Shahid Kapoor,

I just saw your movie "Chance pe Dance". The title misleadingly suggests that it's a movie about dance and I had visions of Bollywood version of  "Step up" or "Stomp the Yard". Then I realized that emphasis was on the word "Chance" and not on "Dance". Although the story of a struggling actor trying to make it big did touch my heart, the choreography in this movie was highly disappointing. You have danced better in movies that had absolutely nothing to do with dance. I wonder why your guru Shiamak didn't choreograph for this movie? Ken Ghosh couldn't afford "the great dancing legend"? I'm sure he would have done a much better job than Ganesh Acharya. 

My pain point is, if you had to show an actor "who can dance", why not ensure that stunning choreography is a part of the movie? Shahid dear, if you had spent half as much time practising and improvising on your dance moves, as much as you did building those Popeye muscles, this movie might have been a hit. It seems all you did in the movie was "back straight, little attitude, ho jaayega". Nahi hota boss, itane se dance se nahi hota! If you couldn't do stunts, you could have asked a body double to enthuse us with some awesome dance moves. Apart from that, the poor children whom you spent half your movie training, were made to dance in slow motion. Where is the justice in that!

Will you also please tell Mr. Ken Ghosh that if he wanted to make a movie on a struggling actor, the promos shouldn't have showed dance as the main theme. Apart from that also inform Mr Ganesh Acharya that he did a terrible job of choreography. Or was it your muscle-building-blindness that restricted him? Oh and why didn't you just sell your car to pay rent for a few months? Is it better to live in a car than a house? I'm sure many guys wish that when they say "I love you" to the girl they wish to patao, the girl would sharmao just the way Genelia did when you said "I love you" to her for no rhyme or reason. Terrible terrible letdown I must say.

I end this letter with a fervent prayer that Bollywood makes some sensible movies based on dance. Naach gaana is our USP and we are not making any use of it! Oh and Shahid, better luck next time...

Regards,

Dance-enthusiast

Reading Habits...

As most of you know, I co-author a blog which exclusively contains book reviews of all the books that I've read. For the uninitiated, here's the link:

http://esolitmaniac.wordpress.com

I started reading books during my preteens. Or maybe even before that. My parents bought illustrated classics for me at an age when I didn't even know the meaning of the word "classic". I was simply happy reading about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe and following Hans in his Journey to the Centre of the Earth. While Captain Nemo intrigued me with his SS Nautilus in 20,000 leagues under the sea, I hoped for Edmond and Mercedes' love to conquer all in the Count of Monte Christo. Although I've only read illustrated classics and I'm raring to get my hands on the original unabridged versions, I still feel as if knowing those stories is a very important part of my life.

I've observed that people usually like 2 kinds of literature. The first is one they can relate to. Though this seems to be the easiest to write (you just have to tell what's happening to you right?), it is the rarest to come by. At least one that touches your heart. The other is total make-believe fantasy fiction. This can be Harry Potter style or even Science Fiction. It HAS to be out of this world! Stories that you can relate to soothe the heart whereas out-of-this-world fiction challenges your mind and forces you to imagine and think. For some reason I strongly stand by stuff I can relate to, though I secretly love imaginary-fictional stuff.

I have never been too fond of descriptions. Usually supporters of reading say that it is better than watching television because with the help of words, you can create the scene in your mind as opposed to being "spoon fed" via tv. Although this argument is true to some extent, I encourage reading for an altogether different reason. Reading is a very personal hobby. It helps you to develop your thought process in your own personal space. Its much more enjoyable to read a twist than to see it. The "Oh my God!" for me is more impactful while reading. Reading also improves your vocabulary (unless you're reading Chetan Bhagat... no offense, I really like his work, but its not the best in terms of vocab). 

It seems a bit unfair to compare reading to watching tv. Both have their own advantages. When you picture any scene written in a book, you unconsciously try to match it to some image that you've already seen. This would either be something that you've seen with your own eyes, or watched on tv or internet. I would say, both complement each other. Just like we find time to watch tv and surf, it is very necessary to find time to read a good book. Currently my time is half an before I sleep, which is not the best but its better than nothing. Its a must for me to at least read one chapter before I sleep. So, when's your reading time?

Note: I haven't mentioned about non-fiction because I haven't read much of it. This post is related to reading fiction only.

In loving memory of Tiger

 

This is a picture of our tom cat in Dubai. His name is Tiger and he was the sweetest cat I ever knew. He used to hate being cuddled (like almost all tom cats) but he never ever scratched or bit any of my family members no matter how much we troubled him. He also said sorry to me once when he hurt my feelings by kicking me in the stomach and running away as I was trying to cuddle him. He used to hate tuna food and wouldn't even smell it if it was put in his bowl. He was the most pampered member of our family as Dad used to say "give the poor thing what he likes to eat" whereas if we ever called such hunger strikes, we were sent to bed hungry. When he was young, he used to love playing football with a piece of french bean. 

When Dad would come home in the afternoons, he would play with my Dad's tie. Most often than not his claws would get stuck in the tie and pull out a few threads, but Dad never used to mind. Tiger would patiently sit on the microwave when Mom used to cook and Mom would say to me and my brother "See? He's the only one who cares that I'm cooking alone here in this heat!". Whenever we used to trouble him, he would push his ears back, bare his fangs and give the most plaintive yowl he could give. One day though his puberty was much more than he could handle and he ran away. We all missed him very much and hoped to get a glimpse of him somewhere, anywhere, happily catching rats or chasing pigeons. But it wasn't meant to be. He really was the sweetest cat ever and I hope wherever he is, he is happy.

Quaking in terror

First Haiti and now Chile. Earthquakes seem to be coming in quick succession to cause mass death and destruction. So many lives lost, all that rubble. Its like Mother Nature is poking fun at us. We build and we build and it all comes down with one small crack.

Its quite ironical to think that I am sitting here with my laptop, wireless internet, electricity and full water supply. I can easily look down on a homeless person or a person dwelling in the slum and be grateful to God that I wasn't born in those places. However, if an earthquake struck, would it really matter? Its mind-blowing to think of the transition. One moment you're sitting in your perfect house, the next moment, you're on the road. No food, no water, no possessions to call your own! It is simply unimaginable.

Although completely incomparable, I remember experiencing a mild seismic shock in Pune. I distinctly remember I was sitting in my college reception. Suddenly the ground started to shake. It lasted barely a few moments and nobody even noticed anything unusual. But the moment when the ground shook, I remember being absolutely panic stricken. It is extremely necessary to immediately find a door-frame to stand below or something to hide under. The first 2 seconds though, it is complete disbelief and panic. In Chile there are still aftershocks coming through at Richter scale 6. What a recurring nightmare...

Not to forget when massive seismic shocks struck closer to home at Bhuj. I was in Dubai that time but I remember our school had collected funds to send help to the stricken areas. When nature decides to play, there is really nothing man can do apart from pray and hope for the best. My heartfelt condolences to all residents of Haiti and Chile who have lost their near and dear ones in this devastating tragedy.

Indo Pak talks