LETS PLAY CATALYSTS !

Finally the fiasco called IPL is over and so once again there is dearth of controversy and glamour for our news aka noose media.Its cousin daily soap media however is still ruling the roost by portraying women regressively,only as powerless victims or vicious witches.However it is also true that off late some of the soaps have touched upon real issues. Though the exaggerated dramatised treatment of the subjects is questionable it is heart -wrenching to realise that even today girls in remote villages never see the face of a school.
We the lucky ones,born into educated liberal city families should be grateful to have the fortune of being where we are ,however some recent studies indicate that scratch the surface and there is a little difference.
Our struggles are no less but only different.Most of us are as prone to crime against women as our rural sisters.Our economic independence and education are often seen as threats by male counterparts.Women bosses and drivers are subjects fit for crude jokes for men ,and often despite your education and independence confirming to the norms is the expectation,whether it is your job or your marriage.
The situation has changed for better but the change is too slow and the demand for it immediate.
Someone had said "be the change you want to be."
So I gues once again the onus is on us to be the cahnge we want.To bring up our sons nd daughters in a way that they see the world without gender prejudices,to groom the men in our lives(partners,friends,colleagues,family)to be respectful and gender sensitive.May be we all can play catalysts!

GOA

To find consonance in contraries
to let life take its own course
just like the waves that crash
on your shore,
You welcomed with open arms
even the conquerors
and made them your own
and in the process
effortlessly became their heritage.

The tall palms and the salty sand
witness to wild parties and sober prayers,
romantic escapades
and calm rendevouz .

A curio shop nestled between
a small church and a rest-o-bar
Agnel,Satish and Aamir
working together
partying together.

Goa ,you are an icon
of sustenance,vivaciousness,
love and life.

MAY PEACE WIN !

Each year, over 1.6 million people worldwide lose their lives to violence. For every person who dies as a result of violence, many more are injured and suffer in multiple inexplicable ways. Religious and political ideologies have been the cause of interpersonal violence throughout history.Shakespeare had said," Violent delights have violent ends."What happened in Dantewada on 6 April ,2010 has proved this right.
      In India ,violence has many ugly faces ranging from the very personal domestic one to the social cousins like caste and religion based violence,terroerism and lately the worst of all naxal violence.A struggle that began in Naxalbari in 1957 with its aim to replace the old feudal order with one that would implement land reforms and free the poor from the clutches of landlords has metamorphisised into a deadly war.
     Claiming that they are fighting on behalf of lower-caste Indians, the Naxal outfits in different zones have imposed illegal taxes; demanded food and shelter from villagers; abducted and killed ‘class enemies’, government officials, police officers and others whom they consider to be opponents; and hampered the delivery and utilisation of funds meant for the development of isolated countryside, adversely affecting the lives of the people they claim to represent.
     Seminars,conferences,books ,articles,political statements,none of these change the harsh reality of naxal violence.We cannot shake hands with clenched fists.So hands and hearts need to be opened on both sides so that incidents like Dantewada are not repeated.
Yes ,the easy way out would be more violence as an answer but that is not a permanent solution.Ignoring the root causes of widespread social unrest should not continue.Force is not a solution to any problem. Some times using force becomes counter-productive and enhances any movement. As the Naxal issue is deeply rooted in the social and economic disparities in the remote and tribal areas so using force is only aggravating the problem. These areas are deprived of fruits of development .
The Red corridor is trapped in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment and violence. The foot soldiers of the movement believe that the Naxalite movement will bring about development and prosperity.
The answer doesn't lie in cutting off the infected organ but trying to integrate it back into the mainstream.
May peace win!

BLACK AND WHITE !

A tennis star (more a celebrity off the court than on it) decides to get married to a cricketer   across the border (involved in a controversial first marriage) , makes more news and catches more eyeballs than 74 CRPF jawans massacred by naxalites in Dantewara.
My media person husband has explained to me many times what news cycles are and how and why they are short.He has explained to me many a times why only new info is news,but somehow my mind can't help juxtaposing the two events.
Yes I too am guilty of being involved in the murky mirza-malik melodrama,but despite all its typical bollywood style masalisation by news channels I couldn't just push away the images of our men being brutally killed by the naxal rebels.
Another stark contrast that emerged today was in context with the World Health day .We are a nation 1/3 of whose children sleep hungry every night and  a large number of other battle diseases caused due to over-consumption.
When will we put the right emphasis on the right things?
Is everything then a contrast ,a juxtaposition?

EQUALITY MARRIAGE MANIFESTO

Manifesto for equality in marriage (advertised by a popular matrimonials service)

1. Personal preferences including those related to dress,food and hobbies will be respected with no pressure from in-laws or relatives.
2. The couple would share the responsibility of caring for each other's parents--while each would remain the primary caregiver for their own parents.
3. Both partners have an equal rightto pursue--or not pursue--a career and play the role of primary breadwinner.
4. If both choose to work,the responsibility of  child rearing and home management will be shared equally.
5. Together,the couple will resolve to overcome attempts by extended family to interfere in their key life choices.
6. The bride does not leave her home to merge seamlessly or fit into her in-laws scheme of things:she now has another home that she might choose to call her own in addittion to the home she comes from.

Would like to hear opinions from all quarters.please share your viewpoint.