To grieve or not to grieve...

So, Sathya Sai Baba passed away on Sunday. And the media turned this moment of stunned world grief into a bloody circus of which celebrity is a greater devotee and who's crying how much (or not at all) and the loudest. Most of us just voyeuristically watched.

I can't get over that instead of getting antim darshan of Baba, I had to repeatedly watch Sachin crying. A) Because he's Sachin, doesn't allow you to invade his grief with your nonsense of "ab aap dekh rahey hain Sachin ki aankhon se chalaktey aansoo". Clowns, let the man cry in peace. He's just another devotee there like anyone else. B) Because he's Sachin, it doesn't allow you to rob me of Baba's antim darshan. I've got the TV on to see the last of Baba as much a I can, not Sachin and his wife and all the sundry men who wanted to pat Sachin just so they could get on bloody TV.

What is our fascination with celebrities that they shed a tear and it becomes a media tsunami? Whether it's Sachin crying in front of Baba's body or it's Bipasha-John's break-up, whether I care or not, the media reports. In as sensational a voice as they can manage, they report. Never mind the thousands of rapes, murders, dacoities that are clamoring to be heard. Never mind the corrupt practices that rob this country of its possibility to be a Super Power. Never mind the natural disasters that are happening the world over. No, we MUST watch a celebrity grieve.

Never mind that they don't want us to watch it. The question that demands an answer: To grieve or not to grieve.

Are We for Real?

'Man gets just 2 yrs for abusing daughter'

whispered a sub-headline apologetically on page 7 of today's leading daily (News). And then it went on to rant about archaic laws and such like.

I'm reading the article and all I am present to is rising bile and a sickly empty feeling in the pit of my stomach - a father does this to his child so he can (in my understanding and how the situation occurs for me) get back at his wife for moving out?!? Bloody hell, whatever the reasons might be, rape, even if digital, of your own begotten child? Unfathomable! There's a limit to perversion, isn't there?

Now before you raise your eyebrow in disbelief and ask me, 'have you never heard of incest?" I have. My childhood friend's younger cousin was forced into sexual intercourse with her real brother from a time she didn't understand that this was not normal. For 10 long years she took it before education made her realize it wasn't. This, while they all lived in a joint family!

And the law takes invasion of a woman's privacy so lightly, it's unbelievable. A man rapes a 3 month old, 83 year old, 21 year old, fuck, any-year old woman and he gets 7 years? How about the capital punishment? WAKE UP people, change the damn law.

The sad truth about incest - you won't find statistics. I did a google search (statistics: incest in India) and it yielded about 3,460,000 results in 0.18 seconds...and the latest statistics were as old as 2009 - that too indirectly in this article. I remember reading the book Bitter Chocolate when I was still in my teens and being so shaken by it that I couldn't sleep for weeks - I would feel guilty about taking my loving and protected childhood for granted and cry so much in pain for those who had been or were still being subjected to incest!

And then came another shocker. Please read this unbelievable page.

I'm still stunned. What are your thoughts?

You and I...The Difference!

There's a stillness in my heart.

And yet freely I breathe.

You see me as my skin

Little do you know,

There's so much more within

All the polish that you feign

All the education, upbringing,

Everything, EVERYTHING in vain!

And while you toss and turn,

Trying to get peaceful sleep,

Nothing you say or how you behave

Can take away my laughter, my joy,

My zest for life, my self-belief.

Things I learnt this morning...

I go to a goshala close to my house for getting milk every morning, and there's something or the other that grabs my attention everyday.

So this morning wasn't any different.

As I turned from our lane to get on to an arterial road to get to the goshala, there stood smack-bang in the centre of the road a Honda Accord and 2 men yakking with the doors open! When I honked, trying to squeeze my car in from the side, one of the men steps nearly in front of my car, peeks inside, gives me a lewd smile and steps back. I'd reached about 20 metres ahead by this time, and stopped soon as I realized what he was up to. Soon as I stopped and rolled down my window, the man in the driver's seat said something, the other two jumped into the car, speed-reversed the car and went the other way.

Then, as I reached Jantar Mantar to stand by Anna Hazare, dressed in my jeans and a tee, I got another lewd comment from a man on the road. This time I really lost it and let forth a volley of choice abuses that left the man stunned - I could see it on his face.

What I learned: In our country, doesn't matter if you're an educated man, a semi-literate one or an illiterate bum; doesn't matter what time of the day or night it is - if you see a woman, no matter how she's dressed, you will at some point or the other in your life (and for some FAR more frequent that that) disrespect a woman. And why? Because that's what you learned from the men you saw around you growing up.

What I'm telling you: First - DON'T underestimate women, especially in this day and age. You misbehave and we'll sock one or two to you.

More importantly, If YOU don't stop now, that's precisely what you'll be passing on the the generations of boys following you - and then your footsteps - in the world.

Anna Hazare and his crusade

Here's a BBM forward I got -

Things to know about Anna Hazare and Lok Pal Bill

1.Who is Anna Hazare?

An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War

2.What's so special about him?

He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra. This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills. In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.

3. What's he known for?

This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.

4. What's he up to now?

He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.

5. How that can be possible?

He is advocating for a Bil, The Lok Pal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), beurocrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.

6. It's an entirely new thing right..?

In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit thier theft (corruption).

7. Oh.. He is going on a hunger strike for that whole thing of passing a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time?

The first thing he is asking for is: the govt should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed. Next, they make a joint committee to DRAFT the LOK PAL BILL. 50% government participation and 50% public participation.Because you cant trust the govt entirely for making such a bill which does not suit them.

8.What wil happen when this bill is passed?

A LokPal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed.The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished.

Interesting message with a request to pass it on. Here I am with a few added thoughts of my own..

The man and his demand are gathering supporters every second. Why? Because this country and her people are sick of being taken for a ride. While most have us may not have the gumption to have stood up for our rights, for a morally cleaner country, we are happy to join someone when they take up the cudgels. Nothing wrong in that - just heartening that it isn't one voice alone. Whatever Mr. Pawar might say, he has been prompted to resign, at least from the GoM. And, I'm hoping there'll be many more who follow. And free up space for a newer, fresher, morally stronger lot to walk in. If peaceful citizen action can do this in such a short span, think of what all it can make possible.

Of course, one may say that it isn't Anna Hazare alone who's responsible. If it weren't for the support he's getting from youngsters, law abiding citizens and law bodies, he may not have been able to do much. Sure. I wonder though - If Anna was to die for a cleaner country, would any of us have what it takes to carry his crusade on?...