Whispering Shadow

The more I read about the gang rape of the 23 year old student in Delhi, the more I feel helpless about not being able to do anything about it. Having learnt the details of the gruesome crime, I left for work feeling both aghast and extremely angry. I  wondered that in a country where only one in four rape accused gets convicted, what the odds of her getting justice were. And more importantly, I hoped this will be one of the last sacrifices a woman will have to make before our country wakes up to creating a system that is a strong deterrent to such acts - including others such as abduction, dowry harassment, molestation, domestic violence, honour killings, female foeticide, forced prostitution or even verbal harassment and eve teasing. (No wonder India has been ranked as worst country for women of the G20 countries, even behind Saudi Arabia!) I am not going to talk about stuff that we read in the headlines. I will talk about the lives of the ones I know and my own. I ...

A prospect recently mailed one of my friends giving a brief introduction of himself. I couldn't help writing down the probable reply (in italics) she could give to the expressive bloke (names changed for the sake of everyone's privacy). I mean no offence to him, but the world can live with a few more SMILES :-)  Hi Anita, This is Nilesh Piramal. I am pretty sure you might have heard about me from your family. Our parents/relatives are trying to find best companion/life partner for us. You are the first girl that my parents strongly suggested to get in touch with. So, let me take a moment to thank you and your family for sharing your profile with my family. Hi Nilesh, As you already know, I am Anita. I don't introduce myself in third person. I haven't heard anything about you so your mail comes as another shocker. My parents are trying extremely hard to find me a companion (don't know about best) and you will not be glad to know that you are just another...

It is Diwali. I woke up at 7.30 AM today. I woke up not because of my endeavour to see the break of dawn on an auspicious day (anyways, that happens way to early for me). I woke up because of the noise of firecrackers and the blaring sound of my neighbour's speakers. Today, like many other festive days in the past, it was just a question of my sleep, which was far more disturbed anyways due to the allergic sneezing from the smoke of the fireworks. I can live with that as I have in the past. The photography keeps me going, but unfortunately there is far less light and far more noise during Diwali these days. That is my personal regret and not the objective of this post. However,  there could be an old lady suffering from asthma who had an attack that ruined her Diwali. There could be a mother trying to put her baby to sleep, only to find it has woken up yet again to the sound of a chain bomb. All her festive preparations could still be pending. There could be a person d...

The mail subject reads "Congratulations". It is a simple word, of which I heard a lot this week at my engagement. However, it didn't hold as much meaning then as it held now. Then, I was getting a stamp of public approval on my relationship, which would have had no impact on how things would turn out between us in the long run. Now, I was getting a licence to make my dream a reality - a dream that will add meaning to my life, that will allow me to impact the larger problem in my own small way, that will teach me lessons for a lifetime, that will set me free and above all, that will make me a better person, a stronger person. On reading the mail, I ran to the bathroom and screamed. A few tears rolled down my eyes. At the same time, I was also smiling. I wished I had the one person, who had made me believe in the dream, with me. Of the memories that I vividly remember, only one other had managed to bring out such emotions in me - when I had told this same person what she...

Today, I can understand what must be going through Arnold H. Glasow's mind when he quoted the above statement. I took the first step in my journey towards excellence, moving away from mediocrity. I have been excellent in the past - when I have given those speeches in the debates I have won, when I have got my class of novices together to perform and to win a street play competition, when I have accepted nothing less than perfection from my club teams during certain events or when I have deleted 95% of my photographs because they haven't made the cut. My focus on excellence had reduced only recently in the corporate environment, where the means often don't justify the ends. In some way, the mediocre way of thinking had started seeping into the other activities of my life. It felt good to make an attempt at being excellent again today. It  would be over stating my performance, but I would at least take a great deal of pride in saying that "I put in my best." T...

A journey arduously long To begin writing your life’s true song You think you had planned it all Underestimating the height of Murphy’s wall Only a few miles to go But with resources depleting Every mile worth four More uphill the task seeming Many say shortcuts are easier To me, compromise is  a stranger What’s the joy of a journey? If you make satisfaction your enemy A task is meant to be done well Only then can your heart swell The sense of true achievement and pride show On the retrospective road when you go The chosen path you must walk The set objective you must stalk For being a man resourceful Material wealth is less meaningful You draw the power of your will The ability to focus on the path uphill Your creativity is limitless, moral fibre strong Why even think you will go wrong? You won’t if only you know Why you take the path you do For the reason is the source Of the belief – your driving force Believe in y...

Coincidentally, it has so happened that two of my friends, who are completely unrelated to each other, have asked me - Is my blog dead? I would dare say yes but I realize that their fear is not unfounded. The last time I wrote a proper post was probably June . More importantly, the last time I wrote straight from the heart was in December . My blog has not died, but it is surely breathing its last breaths. If it dies, the more appropriate phrase would be "I killed it". From June to September, I have been making different excuses whenever it comes to writing. The most convincing one probably has been the lack of inspiration, ideas and time in that order. The alternate explanation has been having other forms of expressions that have kept my head clear from clutter. To be honest, I know in a deep corner of my heart that both arguments are without basis.  Inspiration and ideas do not come knocking on your door often. Ideas and inspiration are both ephemeral, like a b...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The time it takes me to get one good photograph is probably thrice as much as it takes me to write one good post. However, the effort it takes me to get inspiration for writing is probably thirty times as much as it takes me to click a photograph. While it may seem between the two, I frequently choose photography over writing as my preferred means of expression, it is often a third medium that exhausts the will to practice either of the two, which is experiencing aesthetic or creative brilliance itself.  Many a time, I end up seeing a work which is a representation of an creative thought in me. Though not my own, it works well to release the vent up creative energy within me. There is only so much more I can do to portray a thought better than the one I have witnessed and enjoyed with immense pleasure. I automatically run out of the will  to recreate what I have already seen before my eyes for the few days that follow....

This is the conversation I had with the driver of the auto rickshaw I was travelling in: Me (M): Aaj aapne auto kitne baje shuru ki? Auto Rickshaw Driver (A): 5 baje. M: Subah nikle the? A: Haan, lekin dus baje gaadi band kar di M: Achha, kya hua tha? A: Sahab faltu mein jokham kaun lega. M: Kyun aapko pakda kya gundon ne? A: Nahin, par baaki driver keh rahe the ki raste pe rok ke bol rahe the..."Ghar jaao, nahin toh auto ke saath saath tumhe bhi jala denge" M: Aur TV pe BJP-Shiv Sena waale keh rahe hain ki logon ne mann se bandh ka samarthan kiya hai. Sab bakwaas hai. Mujhe bhi aaj office jaana tha par subah koi auto hi nahin mil rahi thi. A: Sa'ab aapka toh theek hai, bahut logon ke paas ek din kaam nahin karne ka matlab hai us din bookha sona. Main bahut logon ko jaanta hun jo vada paav pe din guzaar te hain. M: Hmmmm. A: Aisa nahin hai ki humein samarthan nahin karna. Mehengai toh sabko chubti hai. Par hum dhandha bandh nahin kar sakte. M: Sarkaar keh r...

Those are the good years The ones in which you Learn to run You fall, your recover quickly and run again Like a reset button in a car racing game Those are the good months The ones in which you Travel places Meeting people, soaking cultures Like a sponge Those are the good weeks The ones in which you Meet your loved ones Feeling pampered, getting spoiled rotten Like a prince or a princess Those are the good days The ones in which you Don't wake up to an alarm Remembering your dream Like the visions of another life Those are the good hours The ones on which you Spend dedicated time with your music Humming along, feeling the rhythm Like a meditating yogi Those are good moments The ones in which you Experience the first rains Transforming the world around you Like a flick of a wand on Cinderella Those are good blog posts The ones in which you Philosophize casually Making silly comparisons Like someone who is not you ;)

I love listening to music on my iPod while looking out of the window of a vehicle. The ability to set the tone to a mundane scene of city hustle bustle is empowering. The reason for the empowerment is abstract though (as always is the case with my posts :-P) Only God can use the play, rewind, forward, pause and stop buttons of life. How you want to perceive life around you is only your prerogative. Someone else is listening to a different score on your life too. Thus, feel free to indulge in this harmless pleasure and amuse thy self. The truth is incomplete without your interpretation.

lim·bo The abode of unbaptized but innocent or righteous souls, as those of infants or virtuous individuals who lived before the coming of Christ. A region or condition of oblivion or neglect: Management kept her promotion in limbo for months A state or place of confinement. An intermediate place or state. The state of my life Notice definition number 5. This is the one place I hate being and that is exactly where I am. I am a big rock in a gushing stream, being subjected to a constant erosive force of the water, until it wears it out so much that it cannot hold on its own. The current is deceptive. From the outside, I seem in control. I seem strong, apparently directing the flow of the stream. On the inside, I know I am stranded and tired. It is not the one big knockout punch but the many tiny needles that the cold water pierces through my layers. It is loosening me up layer up by layer, till I become nothing but particles of sand and dust in the stream, like the million others there ...

Dear Shadow, At the very outset, let me wish you an awesome but belated sixth birthday! Apologies for missing out on the celebrations but hell, it was the first time this happened. I will not make excuses seeking forgiveness nor do I promise it won't happen again. All I can say is you have been missed. I have had my reasons to stay away. Firstly, there has been a paucity of interesting day to day experiences that trigger a creative thought. Work is not what you discuss when you are taking a break from work. Secondly, there has been a dearth of aesthetic experiences that are a stimulus to positive emotional expression. My camera has captured whatever few there have been. I have set even higher standards for you as the years have passed and have not found inspiration that gives me such a quality output. The initial apology also does not mean I am going to come back to you more often now. As long as the above reasons remain, I will be doing gross injustice to you. What I can promise...