The Battle of life

From Steve McCurry's Journal:
Brindavan, India 1995
I was walking down a street in Brindavan when I saw her. I was fascinated at how someone in her condition could move around the ancient city streets.
I followed her and after a few minutes she noticed me. My translator explained that I was interested in her and wondered where she was going. She invited us into her home for tea and told us her story.
She told me that she had married and was widowed by age 13. In some places in rural India, being a widow carried a stigma, because it was a sign of bad karma. This woman had survived her entire life by accepting a few coins from people for whom she would recite prayers in a temple.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and I was touched by her indomitable spirit.
One can look at her image and feel admiration or pity, but the magic of the picture is its ambiguity. She symbolizes everyone who faces difficult challenges and has the will to persevere and survive.

WHITE RAINBOW is a movie based on the life of widows in brindavan. It is conceived by the nephew of the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan - Dharan Mandrayar.
Statistics say there are about 10,000 or 15,000 widows in Brindavan, a very small town.
Why is the woman to be blamed when her man dies?

We have come past the days of SATI when women are burnt alive. Now we see living images of women lying like beggars in the streets of brindavan just because their spouse' have reached the end of the road. Why is she the vanquished?

This is not about women's liberation. This is about beleifs.
Question yourself about the thousand beliefs that encircle you and keep you tangled in their web. Are you willing to break free or can you break free? Do you have the freedom to make your own set of values and live by them.

We are the generation who have the power of knowledge with an oppurtunity to view different cultures. If we cant question the past and dictate the future for ourselves. Nobody else can.

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End of an Era - Maradona

One of colleagues told me that if i give a link to the world cup then he cant comment on it.
So here goes, my feeble attempt to revist some of the pages of this great sport.
Disclaimer: Am a amateur when it comes to soccer, but this year am more than engrossed in this sport. So any errors in judgement or events, feel free to point them out.

When i think of soccer, the first personality that crosses my mind (and many more) is none other than Diego Armando Maradona. He is a legend in this sport. Google has many videos about Maradona Vs Ronaldinho - a separate post on that.

Born on 30 October 1960 in Villa Fiorito, Argentina, Maradona went on to become one of the most famous personalities in the football arena.

Maradona is nothing short of divine in the land of Argentina.
Maradona made the ball an early friend and it was his constant companion in the games of street football that taught him how to compete with older and bigger opponents.
Maradona's physique, or lack of it, almost cost him his career.

Balance was the key - which was ironic given his struggle to find equilibrium elsewhere in life.He shot at journalists with an air rifle, insulted the pope on TV and always roused the extreme of emotions. It was impossible to stop 'El Grande' as he slalomed towards goal; and just as unerring was his accuracy from set pieces.

The last chapter in Diego's FIFA World Cup history was also the darkest. It unfolded at USA 94 where he helped Argentina triumph over Greece and Nigeria. Then, however, he failed a drugs test - showing signs of the banned stimulant ephedrine - and was banished from the competition. The team followed soon after.

Maradona was banned in 1991 after testing positive for Cocaine whileplaying for Napoli. When he returned to play in Argentina the Championship wasplayed over two league stages. He was banned a second time after testing positivefor performance enhancing drugs during the 1994 World Cup.

Its amazing how one person who shot to fame comes tumbling down faster.
Neverthless, anybody who watches him play would accept that this man was a born footballer.
His agility in passing the ball and sledging goals is quite unmatched.
The crowd erupts into a frenzied applause everytime his foot touches the ball. Such is the thunder, we hear long after he has stopped playing.

Maradona - A legend !!!

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Hand of God

After keeping the mighty Argentinians at bay for much of the first half, England had started to come into their own - but six minutes after the break Maradona took centre stage.
The next 20 seconds would be imprinted on all our minds.
Steve Hodge slices the ball into his own area.
Out comes Peter Shilton, though, and he'll surely punch it clear.
But somehow Maradona - who must stand no more than 5ft 6in - has beaten him to the ball and it loops into the net.
The little Argentinian wheels away towards the corner flag to celebrate, but not without glancing over his shoulder to look at the referee.
Shilton races out of his area with his left arm in the air screaming "handball, handball, ref, he's handled it" (or words to that effect) but the official gives the goal.
The fact that four minutes later Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time mattered little then, it was only years later that we could appreciate the quality of that strike.
England had been cheated out of a semi-final appearance.
(Courtesy Reece Killworth )

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The Da Vinci Code

The most awaited movie this year The Da Vinci Code

I, for one wanna catch it as soon as it hits the theatre. Want to check out if the movie is as fast as the book!!! Couting the days..

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Still Standing!!!

In 2006, nearing 82, a man who did not attend the Tamil Nadu assembly even once these past five years, citing ill-health, decides to plunge into the campaign once again. He travels the length and breadth of the state, promising voters freebies that must make the state's bureaucrats wince.

On Saturday, May 13, M Karunanidhi will be sworn in as Tamil Nadu's chief minister a fifth time.

Rediff has a full fledged article on this.

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Hoganekkal

Start Time: 7.30AM
Distance: 170-200kms
Travel: Hosur Road to Dharmapuri
Reached Hoganekkal around 12.00 noon.
Pointers:
Was suspicious about two people following us till we parked the car. Later, we learnt that they were the coracle drivers :P
Its easier to pack some bread and jam or you have to wait for an hour for a not-so-delicious lunch.
Bargain with the coracle driver for Rs.200/hour for 8 people. If your bettern than me in bargaining, try your luck. Am a amateur in this.
And then enjoy the water flowing in all directions and the enchanting sights enveloping you.
Take the three hour ride - covering the falls and the island.
Island has about three-four feet deep water, where you can learn to swim, float and play and beat the heat.
Coax the driver to take you back through the falls and enjoy getting drenched in water.
A time to cherish and chill out!!
Drive back to Bangalore where the roads will tell you when you crossed the border into Karnataka :-)

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Count your blessings!!

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A Time to Rule

My roots are in the southern most part of India - TAMIL NADU, more precisely Chennai.
Nothing is more heart warming than stepping foot on this dusty, hot and active city. Its very difficult to understand the passion i have for my dear city - Singara Chennai.

Its Election time now in Tamil Nadu. No one knows how the ballot is goin to be sized. "Tamil Nadu's cliffhanger of an election"

We have been ruled by two major parites alternatively. The DMK led by Karunanidhi and the AIADMK led by Jayalalitha. Some say its like choosing between the devil and the deep sea and its really not democratic when you dont have good choices to make. The most popular channels Sun TV(DMK) and JAYA TV(AIADMK) has been airing campaigns and mostly i find it a releif that it has stopped. We have a new player in the field. Another film star turned politician - Captain Vijayakanth. It would help to have a new face and a fresh hand but will he be able to beat this race? We also have a Lok Paritran - Alums from IIT standing in selected constituencies. Would this new breed of young blood be able to shake it off?

In the next 24 hours, it would all be known. The fate of my world's best place.

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My element

find your elementat mutedfaith.com.

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Fierry eyes

Photo Courtesy : Steve Mccurry (National Geographic)

What is about this picture that makes my mind run at 100kmph?

Those fierry eyes, tattered clothes or steel like determination that it vibrates with?
The fire within her, all-consuming rage .. Do we all identify with that?

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Leave India to God!!

Watching CNN-IBN @ 8 gave me a weird line of thought. So i pen along..

"Mob burns man alive in Vadodara" - A 1500 strong mob burns a man alive in Vadodara by setting fire to his car.
The only mistake Mohammed Rafiq Abdulgani Vora did was pass through Ajwa Road's Mahavir hall crossing on his way home from work. Communal riots, fights in the name of religion is a common scene in India. Today its Vadodara, tommorrow it could be mumbai and day after in Delhi.
The clock keeps ticking and the numbers keep rolling, more senseless deaths.


"New find strengthens Darwin's theory" - Scientists recently have discovered well-preserved fossils of a fish that provide the vital transitional link between fish and land dwelling four-legged vertebrates — tetrapods
Evolution is a concept i studied when i was a little girl. I was taught that man evolved from monkeys. Is the evolution process complete? I would say not. We kill each other heartlessly, we dont care about the world, we would drive other species to extinction, we would think of new excuses to kill each other. Have we evolved?


Why has it become so difficult for us to co-exist with fellow humans? How are we able to compartmentalize and segregate our love and care based on our faith on god. Why are all our sixth senses sleeping when it comes to religion. Where did we lose it? Why can't we stop to think that this war would never end until the last man on this earth.. there can be no winners in any war.


The angry mob torched a man's car killing him.. did they stop to think that they were killing a son, a husband, a father, a brother and a friend. What does it take to stop this? An awakening?

Leave India To God.

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Rising to Power

For long the United states of America has weilded power over its latin american nations. But in the past few months, it has been releived of this power and put to rest.

The trio - Cuba , Venezuela, Bolivia have strong leaders.
Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors and teachers.
Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million fund for development programs and a $30 million fund for other social projects.
Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without a market after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States.

In every second newspaper or magazine you will find aticles about China and India and the ground breaking development, rapid growth and economic reforms. Little has been said about these Latin American nations who are making strong but steady progress in improving their worldy conditions.

Cuba's Presiden Fidel Castro, Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are rubbishing American policies and social reforms. Bolivia has taken a step to nationalize the oil and gas sector. Fuel prices are the highest in Europe 1.53euros/litre but in venezuela an entrire tank can be filled for less than half an euro.

The rise of the these three nations will sing high and would send a shudder to the world. USA has been the pivotal point in the world's history for decades together. Is the focus shifting? This would be a million-dollar question for the years to come!!!

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Role Models

I'm currently reading the book Freedom at midnight - it is an epic drama of india's struggle for independance. Then there was this article in hindu about the real role models of today. Where are the leaders, people we look up to and learn from. Icons we idealise?

Some excerpts from the article
"India is passing through a critical phase when the crisis of values is so serious that words like idealism and altruism sound like the wearied notes of an old song "

We seem to have a ailing memory - people who we admired a few days ago are already gathering dust and growing cobwebs in the back of our minds.

"Look around today. Who are the leading lights of any fields and what are they doing? Take a Sachin Tendulkar. I like it when he scores runs and returns back from his father's funeral the next day, and scores a century. But when my young daughter asks why does he endorse Coke or Pepsi, which we have been telling her is bad for health, what do I tell her? Who cares for a Pullela Gopichand who refused to endorse the drink saying he could not recommend something which he thought was harmful. Can we visualise a Dilip Kumar or Guru Dutt promoting products as Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan do?"

Sometimes we pass through a lot of things, a lot of images drift pass us, are we a generation lost in this, trying to carve a space for ourselves? Only time will tell.

You must be wondering why i chose the pictures of bhagat singh and rahul gandhi?
Well one was a martyr and the other .... i was trying to think of an icon i could place beside bhagat singh and frankly i cudn't find any.
These people are prob of the same age, one decided that he had to give up his life for the love of his country... do we have a youth icon who would match up to him in this day & age?
What good is the independance to us today, that which resulted from great sacrifices and innumerous deaths?

(This post wud be continued... as i turn the pages of freedom at midnight)

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Reservation!!

STAND UP and Make a Difference

Vote against the reservation bill

QUOTA CONTROVERSY: Students have reacted with shock and outrage of HRD Ministry's proposals.

"Human Resource Developmet Minister Arjun Singh may claim that it's just a proposal, but UPA Government's attempts to increase reservations from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent in prestigious educational institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and other institutes of higher education, is brewing up a storm. "
-CNN-IBN

Should there be reservations in colleges? Should education be streamed and made easy for people who are economically weak? Should people be deprived of graduation jus because they were from a specifc community and not because they were not good enough?

This is a very sensitive issue, but certainly worth debating. While i was ready to pursue my higher studies, reservation was a curse for the Forward caste people. Luckily i made it to a university that had an insignificant percentage of reservation and people were choosen only because they deserved to get in.

Now, if people are economically weak and financially broken should graduation be offered to them easily? what problem are we solving by this system? We have doctors, engineers, archietects et al who have no clue about what they are doing.

Shouldn't the focus be to uplift these people so that they are able to compete with the rest of the society? By offering them reservation aren't we ostracizing them further and insulting them?

Education should be given to students who deserve to get in, this would retain the fire to reach greater heights and would benefit the country. Ensure people get in to school with reservations but colleges and universities should be spared of this reservation.

Caste and creed should not make education easy to acquire.

Let the best man win!!

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FRIENDS

I started watching friends when i was in college and they have become a part of my life. It seems to me that the characters of this TV show have grown on me. Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe are a part of my world. I've watched every episode on Z Cafe and Star World and bored my apt-mate to death. I say FRIENDS Rule. They make me laugh, smile and feel sad. I could sit tight in a place and watch friends for 2 hours straight.. no questions asked.

There are some funny things i've read abt friends. For instance, every man wants to be like joey, thinks he's like chandler but is actually a neurotic like Ross. I couldn't agree more ;-))

From cheesecakes to pumpkin pies, from frooseball to name-all-the-states games, from young girls to moms these people have gone thro a hell of a time!!

Somehow when i saw the last show of Friends i was as sad as they were .. 10 years of acting a part, its very difficult to let it go!!!

I've watched them in the Oprah Winfrey show.. i've watched the BLOOPERS and i love watching FRIENDS and sadly i make no secret of it. I wish this show is never taken off the air but i can just wish.

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INDIA - The MIRACLE.

“You want to know what India is like…right now…? Take a champagne bottle…shake it for an hour…and open the cork…! You don’t want to come in the way of the cork…!”
- Friedman, Author (The world is flat)

A method to madness, self-organized existense!!

India - 1 billion reasons to care!!!

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Ribbon cutting Ceremony

After a long wait, i gave my space a face lift.
From a colorful green, its back to black and white.

The absense of colors adds to the beauty

I cordially invite all of you to be present for the ribbon cutting ceremony @ 2.00-2.30PM .

Today is HOLI "Festival of colors"- bring them out and smear them on my face but spare my blog for it likes this serene silence.

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Under Construction

Curently under construction. Hang on...:))

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Burning minds

I had chanced upon the Blank Noise project and decided to write this post.

Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with Women's liberation, women's day or equal rights!!

I learnt what you wear doesnt matter!!
If you wear western clothes, men will size you up, pass lewd comments and will prob stray their hands on you. If you clad yourself in traditional clothes, its easier for them. So what would you do? Never mind what you wear, they would do it anyways!!

I Learnt being alone in public places is a curse
What would you do to commute from home to office on evenings? Take the local bus. You have just given yourself away to men waiting to clutch this offer. I had done that once and sworn never to do it again. When men press your back with their crotch, when their hands are crawling on your body and your trying to keep your feet on the ground in a jam packed bus, When the man next to you has white hair and no teeth slides his hand down you front.. your love for 'man'kind jus diminished into a thin invisble line. What had you done wrong? You had boarded the local bus.

Justice is unheard off when it comes to exploitation and harassment.
Everyday when i listen to the evening news, there are stories about women raped in
trains, buses, toilets. Your father-in law, brother-in law, uncle, boss any of them could be the demons waiting to strip you off your pride.Did anybody tell you that its not your fault. You shouldn't be ashamed of what happened because some men are born without morality or humanity.

This is not about men in general, this is about men who cannot see a woman with straight clear eyes without wondering how she would be in the nude or fantasizing ur hands drawing patterns...you cannot claim what is not yours. Your one moment of raging lust would leave a scar so deep it would take a lifetime to heal the wounds. You CANNOT Undo it!!You lewd souls are to be slashed, whipped and hung till the tears stop.

We are the weaker sex - that was nature's order. And that is no excuse to exploit us!! If you have the power to commit a crime and do a wrong and still you let it pass and do nothing.. that my men is what is strength.

I cannot stop all the men in the world from such shameless acts but i will protest.
P.S:This was written after reading Ponc's and annie's post.

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Two Down!!!

Couple of weeks ago, one of my college friends got married. And that makes it Two Down!!

I have written a lot about matrimony so i wud save this space from that. This is not about matrimony, not as a whole that is.

I remember the times we were all together in BITS. A bunch of girls, born to have fun and we dint have a care in the world. There was always a smile, a bounce in our feet and a cheery attitude. We had whacky ideas, wild dreams - some came true others.. well,we still have time dont we?

I landed in the marriage hall the previous day for the reception and decided to camp for the night there. There was much catching up to do - I hadn't met some of them for over a year and so much would have happened.

It was nice to watch my friend getting dressed to stand in front of a hundred people alongside the man she loved and was to spend the rest of her life with. I was so happy for her. It was nice helping her around and fussing about. After all this was her day, she was the only star the would light the sky.

As gorgeous as ever, she walked center stage, beamed at her fiancee and a small tear rolled down my eyes. Sometimes when ur whole heart is choked with such emotion, a queer display happens.

We enjoyed looking at her from a distance, teasing her and letting her enjoy these precious moments.

I spent the night in another friend's house and we talked abt this and that and slept. When we arrived the next day, we had missed some parts of the wedding.

Finally when it was time to tie the knot, i went near them to take a picture.
I like doing that.
Freezing that moment into eternity.
When ur thoughts fade and become memories,
this one frame would help you bring those moments alive again!!

Now was the time, they had become man and wife. They were entering into another dimension in their lives. Till death do us part. And that makes it Two down!!

I slowly slipped back into my chair, remembering those together times!! Time races past us and instead of racing with it, i let loose my reins, laid my guards down and enjoyed this moment....!!

Viji, this is to you.. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.
May the romance and the insanity never end!!!

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