Let's!

Like the couplets we two rhyme

But it’d be so cliché to do so all the time

So here I am, giving it a miss

Let’s be like the chalk-n-cheese, you roar while I, chime…

Maybe...

Maybe, if we would've hugged, we would've known how fond we are of each other.
And it would be completely alright for you to not know my favourite colour or my type of movie.
It would've been good to know you're one type, my type.

Maybe, if we would've hugged, your comforting arms would have made me realize that it isn't love. Just love. That it is something more; something more precious than love. Something that I would have looked forward to a lot more than I have looked forward for love.

Maybe, we should've hugged...

#Prelude

“I promise I will never let anything come between us.”

“I trust..."

Before she could complete what she had to say, the baby cried. 

That was just the prelude to his broken promise. 

Dear Life. Yes, Pun Intended.

What do you like or dislike about Mumbai? When posed with the question, my first thought was that phrase which often sums up Mumbai – ‘City of Dreams’. And that’s both what I like and dislike about the city. It fulfils some, it breaks some, and it mends some.

People come here with expectations to rise and make it big; many cannot and leave the city with their morale down… With a low self image; there are others who are left on tenterhooks.

Then again, I’ve seen people fall in love just so that they can make it big. And not falsely in love, okay. Like really in love. And later, they’re shattered. They hold up themselves in front of people, but within them, there are pieces that are waiting to be gathered. And there comes a time when you lose hope and begin with that endless anticipation of something magical that you’re awaiting.

I don’t want to categorize Mumbai as a place of despair; it has given rise to some really big people and there are crimes taking place in other parts of the world, too. My only concern is with the place being hyped as the City of Dreams. People need to be told that this city of dreams only fulfils dreams of a handful from the hordes that come here. Not every dream comes true. You’re still in that spellbinding state of illusion when here. You need to know the right things with the right approach. And I’m not trying to keep astray any kind of experiences. Just not at the cost of losing oneself completely to circumstances.  

Most people who I know are in the wrong profession only because they have no option. That’s alright. My advice, for whatever it’s worth, to them would be ‘Keep Trying’. 70% people are doing things due to lack of options. They’re placed wrongly, just like their counterparts. We need to figure our respective places. And with this, I don’t only mean professionally. Even personally. We’re too scared to be left alone just because that means you’re a loner and want to keep aloof, when that is not what it means. We’re ready to go out with different-random-strange people even when we know it doesn’t work. Why be puppets in the hands of our Id? Suffer, if you want to. All of us do. But for once, let’s do it for things we really love. Let’s not give in for small time joys that you know will lead you nowhere. Let’s invest that energy elsewhere to do something vehemently than slaying it for trivial ones.

Trying your hand here might be chancy. For some, it might be a master stroke, for others, it is an entire shot gone wrong. This phenomenon has stayed since forever and will continue to remain the same as long as we’re not contented with what we have in store for offer.

But then again, these risks are chances for hard willed people to turn events in their favour. To not stagnate at that tight spot is the catch and not catch 22! Do not lose heart. Not every dream is tough to turn into reality. I’ve come across people who have taken baby steps and turned into giants by diligently working towards their goal.

The fact that their dreams make people do things they didn’t know they could do has captivated me on occasions more than one. And that is mainly, I figure, because as someone who is born and brought up in Andheri West, I choose to ignore what the entire city has at hand to offer and leave it best for the outsiders to judge it for themselves.

But the fact that it leaves you optimistic and drives you – whether crazy or sane – it’s certainly worth it all. The city is spirited. And that is only because people and their exuberance mingle in the air to bring about that bubble of dreams. One that may encircle you, and also the one that may burst anytime.  

(PS: Kindly excuse if you find random references here. I’ve used the method of Stream of Consciousness)

sometimes...

sometimes, not reacting is the best reaction

sometimes, not saying it says it all

sometimes, no revolt is a sign of evolution

sometimes, standing alone is the biggest call

sometimes, it's just a ray of hope that turns into a beam

sometimes, silence is the loudest scream...

The Right Time...

She was the best thing that happened to him.
She didn't know this.
Good things take time to happen; they don't want to act desperate.
She was the best thing that happened to him...

How long before we react; how much longer before we speak?

I write on behalf of the million voices that have been speaking up against the brutality faced by women in our Country - via media, social media – in the form of harsh words, protests, candle light marches, discussions on news channels and so on. And being a part of that very clan I write to just vent out the same frustration caused due to the high incidence of such crimes against women.

But it is evident that all of this is in vain, since there is no response from the concerned authorities in the form of some amendments that our law needs to make.

I've contributed to all these voices in the form of flimsy statuses and flimsier tweets that go unnoticed by people who need to work on it the most. I see no point in going for all these candle light marches; while it stands for the peace of mind that we need from all such acts, what we only get is a repetition of it. Probably, the wax that melts and returns to its original form has been mistaken far too much by the concerned authorities to be a trait of our existence, too. We melt with the wax when such incidents occur and cool down as soon as it does. I don’t intend to make the analogy take over the point, but why should we only melt when there’s fire? Why can’t we let the candles be? It’s vexing enough. (Sorry for the pun, but wordplay is one thing I can safely claim to have some command at). And then again, I’ve never been to any of these protests, most often than not covered by news channels. Why should I? What difference did it make when it happened eight months back, what difference will it make eight months after?

What principles are we working on? When, according to the Indian tradition, women are supposed to wear “decent clothes/traditional clothes”, does the violation of the definition of “decent clothes/traditional clothes” give liberty to men to rape them? Is that justified? Is there an Act that gives them the right to be barbaric?

A girl who goes out with a colleague for some official work, and a girl who was returning with her friend, at people-friendly time are raped. And there are a few cases that come to our notice and are candle-marched. What about the ones that go unnoticed? If we were to count them in, too, we should all perhaps walk with a box of candle daily and light it after every half an hour. I don’t propose to demean those who go for these marches but just highlighting its frequency.

Even if these criminals are hanged till death, what is to be done about the girl’s psyche post the incident? The nightmares she’ll have every night, the scars left on her soul, the touches that she’ll fear, the repulsion that place will hold for the rest of her life, the looks that she’ll come across. What about that? How is one to cure all of that? No amount of sessions with the psychologist will be able to heal it. Throwing acid on women is another concern. We’re all aware of what’s happening around us. Why is it not on the top of our mind? Whatever happened to priorities?

And is not stepping out of our homes the way to get rid of such incidents? So have we not come across incidents where young girls have been raped by their own brothers and father and any other relative? Really now… we need to step out of the zone where we’ve limited our thoughts to and fence our girls better. And by fencing, I don’t mean limiting them. With fencing, I mean allowing them the right to go wherever they want to, whatever they wish to do and whatever they want to wear without the fear of being groped at.

Kindly excuse me for bombarding so many questions. The rhetorical ones are taunts and statements by many of our esteemed Politicians and the ones to be answered, well, need to be answered.

According to what little I observe as an inside outsider, I believe that it is lack of fear amongst all these individuals that forces them to take such steps. No amount of education can civilize people; we know the distinction between the two, don’t we? There have been cases of many who are well to do and but don’t do quite well. (The Acid incident by an Event Management Company owner, if I’m not wrong)

I write this at a time when I strongly feel for it. I was supposed to put up another status on this matter and I thought, before commenting on anything, I need to do my bit. I’m sure you’re doing your bit well, but we need to ensure that the bit coming in from each one of us contributes positively towards the society’s well-being at large.

For many mumbled voices will not be able to do what a man in power can. Thus, while most of our ministers strut their words with their foot in mouth, will the real Minister unzip his lip(s)?