The bully looked menacing and frightening to the scrawny, eight year old. He started scrambling backwards, away from the large boy with a large chest and big knuckles. He stumbled in the process and fell down on his back. Tears flew out of his eyes as he imagined himself being clobbered and beaten black and blue. The bully bent down and lifted him up with the collar of his shirt. The small boy whimpered and the bully laughed cruelly, his big face bloating up so that it seemed difficult to distinguish his cheeks from the rest of his face. Suddenly, his laugh dissolved as he realized that someone was shouting and calling him names.

‘You imbecile, you disgusting piece of shit, you dog, pick on someone your own size!’

He took some time to process what was being said but when he finally realized that he was being insulted, the big, bad bully saw red. He turned to face the person who had the gall to be cheeky and slight his great, god-sent self. He saw a boy with thick glasses shouting at him and before he took a step forward, the boy charged and started beating him on his chest. Or at least tried to for he was failing miserably. The bully raised one hand and it took just one blow to fell the spectacled boy, so different from him in terms of size, character and temperament.

The boy fell to the ground and he whimpered in pain as he found blood coming out of his nose. He could feel a throbbing pain in his head. The bully laughed and jeered at him.

‘That should teach you not to mess with me, you weak puppy!’

The boy lay on the ground. His eyes searched for his friend who had been the original victim but in vain. He had fled, taking advantage of the sudden interruption. He lay there for some time, upset and disillusioned. When he finally went home, his mother further broke his spirit by scolding him for interfering in other people’s matters. ‘No need to play the hero for anyone in the future, do you understand? It’s none of your business.’

That day, he learnt an important lesson. He grew up to be a strong and resilient man. He got a good job, made lots of money, married a nice girl and had two kids. One day, when he was going to his work place, he witnessed two bullies harassing a girl. He sped fast from there without any guilty feeling. The next day, he read in the newspaper about a girl being raped at the same place. He read the whole newspaper, page by page. He had breakfast, kissed his wife goodbye and took out his car to go to work. He drove past the same place that he had from the past some years and passed the same corner where the rape had taken place. He didn’t feel any remorse, any shame. He didn’t even think than he could have prevented it or saved some poor girl’s life. He did not think about the condition of the girl’s family or the fact that her life was ruined.
You see, it wasn’t any of his business!

Walk The Talk

I wrote this for Graffiti Times (A wall magazine that we have in my deptt at college) and all my friends liked it so I felt that I should probably post it here. I hope that it will leave an impression on you and inspire you to do something about things. If it does then please do leave a comment. I'll be really glad to know what you have to say.

WALK THE TALK

Newspapers and television programs speak out about a myriad of issues. People across the globe, in your own country, your own town or locality, are suffering or have been a victim of some or the other social evil, whether it is female infanticide, poverty, communalism, sexual harassment, unemployment, corruption or anything else. We feel strongly about a lot of issues but when have we ever expressed our opinions so that the whole world could hear about it? It’s a sad world in which we live where passersby ignore the atrocities happening in front of them on the streets.

Yeah right, we are all busy people. We do not have the time to devote for something that could change things in the society. Why not just be selfish and think about ways to spend time in something which will make us earn more money? Why should you spend your time on something which will not benefit you and only you? We have a million excuses about why we don’t have the resources to do something instead of just talking about it. But isn’t it amazing how we can always manage to find time to see a movie every weekend, go on a holiday every six months and dance the night away at a party?

Today, take a moment in introspecting yourself and make a choice. What do you want to do? Do you want to keep on being satisfied with the wrongs that happen in YOUR country or do something about it?

Take advantage of the freedom that is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of people who died to secure independence for us. You have the right to question and do something positive. Just for today, try to do something meaningful. Doing well does not mean donating thousands of rupees to some organization. Sometimes we can initiate a change through small things. Just for today, teach your maid the alphabet. Help that old lady cross the street. Stop your friend from ogling at a girl and making vulgar comments at her. Discourage another from smoking dozens of cigarettes a day. Raise your voice against something unfair. Speak about things that matter by writing to newspapers and express your opinion instead of remaining quiet. Just for this day, don’t throw the chocolate wrapper on the road. Switch off the lights whenever you leave the laboratory or classroom. Wear the helmet and snap on the seat belts. Demand to know why the shopkeeper is selling something at a price higher than the MRP. Register a complaint if you find something unfair is happening instead of keeping quiet about it.

For once, try to picture yourself in the place of that street urchin who’s trying to salvage some food from the Municipality dustbin. Think about the small boy who is selling tea in the train and wants desperately to go to college like you too. Imagine yourself to be the father whose daughter was burnt alive because she didn’t bring enough money in her dowry. Place yourself in the shoes of the beggar who never had an education and cannot earn. Think about the birds which will end up wounded or worse, dead on Sankranti, when you play with kites. Feel the pain that a tigress feels when her mate is hunted down by poachers for its skin to make fashionable rugs and coats. Try to feel the ache of social ostracism and personal violation that a victim of rape feels after the dirty deed is done. Place yourself in the heart of the mother who had to abort the tiny infant in her womb because it was a girl. Think about the child who has problems in learning things due to dyslexia and no one understands him. Imagine that a family member was murdered and the police didn’t do anything to convict the murderer because he happened to be the son of a high profile politician.

Today, think about the issues which you care about and have touched some strings in your heart. Decide what matters to you. Do what you always wanted to do TODAY for now, there is no past. There is only the PRESENT and the FUTURE. Just see the difference that you can make. Yes, YOU really can kick off a chain of events that could trigger a revolution of change that the country desperately needs. So have you decided? Are you going to continue to be a coward and ignore what is happening around you? Or are you ready to step forward to make a difference?

Power to vote

Everyone in India has a view and every one of them will express it irrespective of the time, place, and occasion and whether anyone is actually listening to them (Of course, I wouldn't be a true Indian if I didn't express my views on my blog even if no one will read). People will tell you that you should pursue your masters in the US because it’s the land of opportunities, never mind the fact that India’s economy is growing by leaps and bounds. They will also tell you to apply for a government job rather than going in the private sector just because their son happens to be working there. They will tell you that taking risks is, well, risky. Politicians are only in the race for more power and they do not work for the greater good. You’ll only burn yourself if you enter politics, that’s what they say. Don’t try to change anything because you can’t help it. What difference will one vote make?

Hello? One vote DOES make a lot of difference. The right to vote means that you have the power to change and that power is as priceless as the right to freedom and liberty. Young people are normally very passionate about what they think and feel abut different things. And so am I. I do not like it when people blame the government/politicians for everything that happens. Especially if they are themselves responsible for bringing in the same politician to power or worse, if they hadn't voted in the first place. And so, I wanted to vote too. But I found out a couple of days ago that my name hadn't been included in the list of voters when I went to get an Electoral Identity Card. Looks like I wouldn’t be voting in these Elections after all.

I went with my Mom to the polling booth because unlike me, she was perfectly able to cast her vote. There was a long line of people waiting to exercise their right to vote. The crowd consisted of an assortment of people belonging to different sections of the society. Some of them belonged to the lower class and probably didn’t enjoy some of the comforts that we all take for granted. Today, I felt envious of them because they could vote and I couldn’t. I felt ashamed that I never thought of the ways I could change the society instead of complaining about it. Somehow, it was never important to me whether I vote or not. I never cared about who’s going to win the elections. But it suddenly, it really matters. Because I care about what happens in the country. I want society to be a better place to live in, for everybody and not just me. I want REAL development to take place.

I just hope Narendra Modi doesn’t mind. He missed my vote.

Seven Habits Of Highly Annoying Small Sisters

When I was a little girl, I used to pray to God to give me a brother or sister. At that same time, God happened to have a spare baby and so gifted her to me. Its been 12 years since she came into this world and my life's turned upside down. What is it with smaller sisters and their habits which make you SCREAM !

Seven Habits Of Highly Annoying Smaller Sisters

1. They always have to turn on the air-conditioner even when they know it makes you sneeze continuously for fifteen minutes.

2. They steal your clothes which mysteriously never seem to fit you afterwards.

3. They would die if they didn't completely read your diary .

4. They spill its contents in front of the girl you hate most.

5. They always have to listen to loud music when you're talking on the phone and shout at you when you listen to loud music.

6. They keep ringing the doorbell till you open the door.

7. They add you on Orkut so that they can read all your scraps.

An adult but yet on-the-brink-of-entering-adulthood

Yeah, so officially I am an adult. I am 19 years old. I can vote. I can marry. I can watch adult movies (ahem...)

Let me look at myself in the mirror. It is kinda hard to think of myself as an adult when I haven't exactly done any adult stuff in my entire life. For me, I am still a teenager. I do not take life seriously. I think education (read my engineering education) is a joke. I like eating junk food, watching movies, listening to rock and hanging out with friends. I have an Orkut and a Facebook profile with a 'Friend' list. Thats what a typical teenager has and does (apart from the occasional studying thingie).
But wait....I have started thinking about issues that matter to me. I care about what happens in my country. I really really WANT to vote, take part in the process to shape my country. I have started caring about environmental issues. I reprimand my friends when they throw chocolate wrappers on the ground instead of taking a few steps and throwing it in a dustbin. I now know what I want and how to get it. I do not want to live my life with regrets.

DOES THAT MEAN I AM GROWING UP ?