I Am Just Menstruating

When you see every second advertisement about sanitary napkins and specially reading an article about menstruation myths on a website jaagore.com , it is not time to just shy away but to deliberate over the issue. Specially when even after reading such article one is not able to rationally reach to any opinion.
        The article talks about how women are barred to enter into kitchens or temples and put an end to this myth there. Nothing was said as to why such customs are followed even today and what is the way ahead. This sanitary napkins has replaced cotton clothes only recently. Therefore the menstruation process was not so hygienic as it is today. Such customs can be justified in old days on the basis of hygiene and health. Hold your thoughts ! as there is other side as well.
       Nowerdays when I see the frequent advertisements of sanitary napkins over television I wonder whether it is just a marketing strategy or menstruation which is a very natural process in women since she exists, suddenly began to bother them so much. Actually neither of the two is completely true. However these napkins have made such periods more comfortable and hygienic for women. So following this logically and rationally the old archeac customs must be discarded now. Women are more aware and can handle this situation well. Our society needs to be more pragmatic rather than accepting old traditions and customs blind fold.
       You will be surprised knowing that in Assam people worship the Goddess of menstruation. They cherish the women's power of creation through such worshiping and so does our mythology. Here I tried to bridge mythology, traditions and customs with modernity and science. We need to be more logical and rationale in our thinking. And why not should we reason ?
       If a woman stops menstruating the human specie will be extinct one day...
Jaaaago re !

Who an Aam Aadmi is ?

Mango man... This was the phrase most popular for a common man just two years ago. Now Aam Aadmi has replaced the term. Why not, it seems more explicit and more acceptable even to the illiterate of the country. Though the essence of the phrase has remained the same a lot more has been changed.
       We will be looking at this change with a layman's view. When I look at the present circumstances people's perspective towards aam aadmi seems complicated. This insisted me to think who an aam aadmi is. Is she rich ? Is she poor ? Is she a government official or a businesswoman ? Does an aam aadmi lives in a 5000 sq ft bungalow or in jhukkis ? Or does an aam aadmi owns a car or not ?
          If you are thinking that some of them belong to the aam aadmi category and others not, I am sorry but you are wrong. Is the financial condition is the only aspect determining of a mango man ? I guess not. Then why Mr Kejriwal refused a 5 rum house and an Innova car in response to little opposition on the name of being an 'aam aadmi'. So according to his logic everyone in this country who owns a decent house and a car is not a aam aadmi. Is it not a dangerous trend to be followed..?
       And if at all you represent the aam aadmi of the country then you must shift yourself in a jhopdi and travel in public transport as majority of aam aadmi in India does. But it would be very difficult for you and people like you. I am not being critical to him, his party or such people but he must not just hold the jhanda of aam aadmi and play in hands of others and disrespect Indian people. Is aam aadmi of India not eligible of even a decent house and a car ?
          I am not doubting your intensions but showcasing such artificial things is an unwelcome behaviour. For a Chief Minister of a state this decision matters nothing in the list of his duty, though he succumbed to such small pressure. Give me name of one politician who have not faced criticism in her job. Is this the way you are going to run a democratic country ?
          He and AAP has to come above such pity issues if they want some change since during change friction is inevitable.

Equations of LIFE

Hello.. Inspired by Nature itself I came to realize the relationship between Humans and Nature to a larger extent. Its a very part of life but we neglect it for well-known reasons. Its absolutely not a philosophical piece of writing. But seeing around, how easily people lose their temper or the increasing cases of sexual harassment upon women I tried to look at it in more detail. We all must have learnt Force in school. If not don't worry, if you have used some kind of force at all.
     Lets suppose you have to built a dam to check flow of 'x' mass of water. Its very natural that water will exert some force depending on its mass to flow out. Therefore in order to prevent this, the dam that you have build must have greater force (or strength), or else water will flow out bursting the dam. Same is the case with Anger. It forces you too act in a certain detrimental manner. And naturally it follows to 'control' anger requires more force (or strength) than to simply act upon it. So next time when you are faced with such situation try to control your anger since it actually shows how strong you are.
     Aristotle said that to overcome your desires is more difficult than to overcome your enemies.
      This makes second case of sexual desires, which if not controlled leads one to commit sexual crimes. I strongly feels practice of Bramhascharya (celibacy) from teen age is the remedy. Not being very idealistic, but our society needs to be transformed in such manner to encourage such things in children. Swami Vivekananda said to control your sexual desirer and to practice Bramhascharya requires more strength than to just fall into it. Though a feminist I'll not hesitate to accept that Manhood is synonymous to strength, if it goes in favour of women. We need to understand manhood lies in celibacy (for a time period) and not in just submitting yourself to your desires. Those who commit rape are actually weak and don't deserve to be called as Man. Rape is a manifestation of lack of strength and absence of manhood.
(If you find some appeal please share as you never know this may arouse 'real' manhood in someone and help them to conquer upon themselves..)

Who am I ?

This Thursday I wake up early in the morning. It was 15th of august. Our Independence Day. Since I woke up so early, it was such a lazy morning. The morning came with a hangover of  yesteryears.
     I came out of my bed and encountered with an image of something. The dawn today was behind me so there was darkness in my room. I couldn't saw that image clearly. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and had a closer look on it. In a few seconds it became clear that that was a human being. But still I couldn't recognise who he or she was. Short hairs over head and a sense of pride over being what he or she is in attitude, reflected that he must be a man. Yes he was a man, just because he was not a woman. God bestowed him with an upper hand  over women, Why ?
    But still I was not sure who he was and what he was doing in my room. Few more seconds passed by and I tried hard to identify that man. It was dark and he was looking so alien that I stressed my mind with all my understanding and knowledge. Since he was short in stature and some wheatish in skin, I came to conclude that he belongs to my own land of mass or say continent that is Asia. I felt relieved that he was from somewhere around my country. But from where ? What was his nationality ? I scared if he was a citizen of Pakistan or China ? This thought literally caused goose pampering. I could not gather courage to ask him who he was since he was still unknown to me. I was not acknowledged about his intentions.
   It frightened me. Alot many thoughts came in my mind. I shuffle them quickly to identify that man. It was very difficult to predict from which Asian country he was. And I guessed by the way he was dressed that he must be a south Asian or more precisely an Indian. My guess was confirmed by his weak body and his utterly innocent, indifferent attitude. A sigh of relief came in. He was my fellow Indian.
   But suddenly scenes of some recent communal violence struck to my mind. I thought if he was there to take revenge on behalf of his community. Sweat came in my palms and forehead. I afraid that he gonna kill me. Then I looked at him and find a locket he was wearing with 'Om'. I was happy that he was a Hindu. But still I couldn't recognise him and was unaware of his intentions. A few minutes had gone and I was trying hard to solve this puzzle of identity. He was wearing pants and was not as dark as South Indians. He was a north Indian. I wonder if he belongs to my state or not. I could see hunger in his eyes. He was a poor guy and eyes over the floor. He may be a resident of my state. I could not think about his caste, since it is impossible by his appearance. Traditionally if he was weak, dark, had bones appear more than muscles and illiterate, one can say that the man or woman belongs to a lower caste. Bt the scenario is changing gradually. However this typical identity still stuck to such people.
    Well till now I knew so much of that man which appear suddenly in my room that morning. I recognised him so familiar with my self as if he was my neighbour. The sun rises and first light came to my room. I was surprised to find that I was standing in front of a mirror and I was just trying to identify myself for last few minutes.
   So many identities we carry in our lives that sometimes it becomes difficult to overcome them. This only makes things complicated as happened with me. We are known with different names but also with our gender, race, nationality, state, caste, community and so on. It makes our society so fragile that a little invocation can cause fear and trouble. It becomes difficult to discriminate between identities. They are necessary but one must not stick to them. Ofcourse that man was me only but above this I am a human and I must see a human being in others also. Lets break this identities. Happy Freedom !

Who am I ?

This Thursday I wake up early in the morning. It was 15th of august. Our Independence Day. Since I wake up so early, it was such a lazy morning. The morning came with a hangover of  yesteryears.
     I came out of my bed and encountered with an image of something. The dawn today was behind me so there was darkness in my room. I couldn't saw that image clearly. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and had a closer look on it. In a few seconds it became clear that that was a human being. But still I couldn't recognise who he or she was. Short hairs over head and a sense of pride over being what he is in attitude, reflected that he must be a man. Yes he was a man, just because he was not a woman. God bestowed him with an upper hand  over women, Why ?
    But still I was not sure who he was and what he was doing in my room. Few more seconds passed by and I tried hard to identify that man. It was dark and he was looking so alien that I stressed my mind with all my understanding and knowledge. Since he was short in stature and some wheatish in skin, I came to conclude that he belongs to my own land of mass or say continent that is Asia. I felt relieved that he was from somewhere around my country. But from where ? What was his nationality ? I scared if he was a citizen of Pakistan or China ? This thought literally caused goose pampering. I could not gather courage to ask him who he was since he was still unknown to me. I was not acknowledged about his intentions.
   It frightened me. Alot many thoughts came in my mind. I shuffle them quickly to identify that man. It was very difficult to predict from which Asian country he was. And I guessed by the way he was dressed that he must be a south Asian or more precisely an Indian. My guess was confirmed by his weak body and his utterly innocent, indifferent attitude. A sigh of relief came in. He was my fellow Indian.
   But suddenly scenes of some recent communal violence struck to my mind. I thought if he was there to take revenge on behalf of his community. Sweat came in my palms and forehead. I afraid that he gonna kill me. Then I looked at him and find a locket he was wearing with 'Om'. I was happy that he was a Hindu. But still I couldn't recognise him and was unaware of his intentions. A few minutes had gone and I was trying hard to solve this puzzle of identity. He was wearing pants and was not as dark as South Indians. He was a north Indian. I wonder if he belongs to my state or not. I could see hunger in his eyes. He was a poor guy and eyes over the floor. He may be a resident of my state. I could not think about his caste, since it is impossible by his appearance. Traditionally if he was weak, dark, had bones appear more than muscles and illiterate, one can say that the man or woman belongs to a lower caste. Bt the scenario is changing gradually. However this typical identity still stuck to such people.
    Well till now I knew so much of that man which appear suddenly in my room that morning. I recognised him so familiar with my self as if he is my neighbour. The sun rises and first light came to my room. I was surprised to find that I was standing in front of mirror and I was just trying to identify myself for last few minutes.
   So many identities we carry in our lives that sometimes called it becomes difficult to overcome them. This only makes things complicated as happened with me. We are know with different names but also our gender, race, nationality, state, caste, community and so on. It makes our society so fragile that a little invocation can cause fear and trouble. It becomes difficult to discriminate between identities. They are necessary but one must not stick to them. Ofcourse that man was me only but above this I am a human and I must see a human being in others also. Lets break this identities..

FW: Mere paas "MAA" hai !

Sent from my Windows Phone

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From: Vishal Khedkar
Sent: 31-07-2013 05:49 PM
To: vishalkhedkar.civil@blogger.com
Subject: Mere paas "MAA" hai !

I am sure everyone of us is familiar with this dialague since it is one of the most famous scenes of any Indian movie. It was shown in this scene that inspite of not having all the luxries that his brother have, he consider himself much more richer since he has his mother with him. Therefore it can be correctly inferred that Mother figure is considered most precious in Indian society, since what is shown in movies is nothing but the reflection of its society. And why just in Indian society only, being Mother is the most pious thing on earth.
    There is a proverb that you must heard of. It says, when a woman gives birth to a child, at the same time that child gives birth to a Mother. It simply means with the birth of a child, a woman becomes a Mother. So it is one of the thing which makes a woman a mother. But why is it so ? Why women needs to be a Mother ? Why is it that a woman is considered incomplete till she gave birth to a child ? Yes I want you to think upon this questions and try to answer them.
      Surrogacy, a process in which a woman conceives a child on behalf of other women who is not medically fit to give birth to a child. Ofcourse it is a boon for those couples who cant have child. And also provide some financial asistance to poor women who took to concieve child for other. Therefore it is not surprising that India is emerging as a huge market for NRIs and RNIs because of easy availability of women who can complete pregnancy term.
       I am a layman and I'l look into things at that level only. Its a major concern that we dont have any firm law to regulate this process and therefore give rise to many lacaunae regarding women's health and child's security. But my concern is different. Ofcourse when one refers surrogacy during Mahabharat times, it itself gives a validity to the process and there is no doubt about it. Once I come to know that a women bears more than four times the pain that a human body can during pregnancy. Is not is shocking. But what is more important here is a woman have that capability to go through such pain. We men cant even think of it. But today for just not to go through such pain many women opting for surrogacy. Other reason is they dont want to gain wait or disfigure themselves. This women are those who belongs to rich families. Is being a mother is just another luxury which can be afforded by some rich people only ? Ofcourse not. How can one neglect such a pious gift of nature just on the name of modernisation.
      When I was reding one NCERT book of high school, it was written there that there is a major miscalculation in National Income since the work of women in household is not considered. It implies that since a man earns money he must be the only one to spare that money. But does it happens in our families ? No. During reading this I was thinking that the time is not far when Women will start demanding rent from their child for nuturing them for nine months in their womb. What would be the cost of mother's milk ? Even animals use to nurture their young ones. Are we Humans not becoming worse than animals ? Are we not losing our humanity ?
      When a woman concieves a child inside her womb for nine months, a bonding develops between the two. Is'nt it wonderful that a child who just came in the world knows the touch of her mother. This feeling makes a woman a Mother. And it comes with some pain obviously.
     I am afraid that the future is not so far when people will buy robots from nearby markets instead of having a child. Or will grow them in laboratories. Then no child will take birth in this world. Humans will not reproduce humans anymore. Would it not be decline of Humanity from the earth ?

Secularism..?

                           

These days the cliche of Secularism became so popular that sometimes it feels like senseless to talk about it. Well it has been so much in news specially in social media that I thought it must need more interpretation. The discussion over Secularism is not a highbrow to afraid of. Secularism (dharm-nirpekshta in hindi) is not new phenomenon to Indian society and therefore much more sacrosanct today also. Secularism is always seen in religious terms only and in that sense also it is often interpreted wrong. Actually Secularism is not about being religious nutreal but about embracing all religions. It teaches about respect and tolerance for every religion of the world. It is not an inheritance of Congress party but it is a heritage of Indian society and her people. One shows an extream ignorance if he or she talks os Secularism only between Modi and UPA. Let me inform those, it is not a one party agenda. The concept of Secularism has been involved in the long history of our civilization specially during our freedom struggle against British. Its is very difficult in India to distinguish between a Hindu and a Muslim except by their names. I often visited many mosques not only in my town but across country and saw Muslims celebrating Holi and Diwali (Secularism and Communalism is seen here in Hindu-Muslim angle only). Yes there are difference on religious basis but there are much more differences between a Hindu Tamil and Hindu North Indian than a Bengali Hindu-Muslim. But this is what constitute the diversity of our country and which makes India unique. Lets not distract by these dirty politics and take a more informed and unbiased view of Secularism..

Brahmacharya : The Indian way of Living

Hello.. Today I will talk about the four Ashram in Indian philosophy. You might think it is irrelevant today but it is not and I will come to that point later. These are four spans in man's life which tells about the way of living in a right way. The four Ashrams are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanprastha and Sannyasa which to be followed in the same sequence. Yes, it seems much difficult to follow in today's world with such an hectic lifestyle and merely impossible, so and as per my understanding (in present society) it is more of a symbolic system. So you dont need to be adhared to this inflexible system of living but, by and large, could adopt this four ashrams in flexible terms. Lets talk about Brahmacharya. Literally Brahmacharya means charya (conduct) to attain Brahma. It is the first ashram in man's life and extends approximately upto 25. Though it is about Education aquired in Ashrams away from home, the concept of Celebacy is more prominent here. Celebacy means self-restraint from any sexual activity. Since it is the first Span in man's life it is to regulate discipline and his sexual acts. This makes it explicit that sexual feeling arose in very early age. So today with MTV, Playboy literature, and easy access to internet, childrens are more prone to develop such degenerative fellings. Other thing which is also more explicit is since Brahmacharya put Education and Celebacy together, the two have a wider connection. Coming to my first point since there are no restrictions over a man who attained puberty, to maintain Celebacy and society with atmosphere favourable to excite sexual fellings, sexual crimes are natural (the prepators of Delhi rape case of dec 16 were wathing blue film which excite them to commit the crime and thats why I said it is relevent today as well). Therefore the Indian Saints put Brahmacharya as the first Ashram. If we could develop such system in our society which incorporates some basic ideals of Brahmacharya Ashram (not hardcore) sexual crimes can be prevented. There are others benifits too. Gandhji said 'Nothing in this world is unattainable for a true Brahmachari'. One thing which this system lacks is that it is exclusively for men only. May be exponents of this ashram system were complacent about women being pure. But today this must be follwed equally by both (atleast patrly..).

FW:

Brahmacharya : The Indian way of Living

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From: <vishalkhedkar001@gmail.com>
Date: 09 Jul. 2013 11:16 PM
Subject: 

Hello.. Today I will talk about the four Ashram in Indian philosophy. You might think it is irrelevant today but it is not and I will come to that point later. These are four spans in man's life which tells about the way of living in a right way. The four Ashrams are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanprastha and Sannyasa which to be followed in the same sequence. Yes, it seems much difficult to follow in today's world with such an hectic lifestyle and merely impossible, so and as per my understanding (in present society) it is more of a symbolic system. So you dont need to be adhared to this inflexible system of living but, by and large, could adopt this four ashrams in flexible terms. Lets talk about Brahmacharya. Literally Brahmacharya means charya (conduct) to attain Brahma. It is the first ashram in man's life and extends approximately upto 25. Though it is about Education aquired in Ashrams away from home, the concept of Celebacy is more prominent here. Celebacy means self-restraint from any sexual activity. Since it is the first Span in man's life it is to regulate discipline and his sexual acts. This makes it explicit that sexual feeling arose in very early age. So today with MTV, Playboy literature, and easy access to internet, childrens are more prone to develop such degenerative fellings. Other thing which is also more explicit is since Brahmacharya put Education and Celebacy together, the two have a wider connection. Coming to my first point since there are no restrictions over a man who attained puberty, to maintain Celebacy and society with atmosphere favourable to excite sexual fellings, sexual crimes are natural (the prepators of Delhi rape case of dec 16 were wathing blue film which excite them to commit the crime and thats why I said it is relevent today as well). Therefore the Indian Saints put Brahmacharya as the first Ashram. If we could develop such system in our society which incorporates some basic ideals of Brahmacharya Ashram (not hardcore) sexual crimes can be prevented. There are others benifits too. Gandhji said 'Nothing in this world is unattainable for a true Brahmachari'. One thing which this system lacks is that it is exclusively for men only. May be exponents of this ashram system were complacent about women being pure. But today this must be follwed equally by both (atleast patrly..).

Untitled

Hello.. Today I will talk about the four Ashram in Indian philosophy. You might think it is irrelevant today but it is not and I will come to that point later. These are four spans in man's life which tells about the way of living in a right way. The four Ashrams are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanprastha and Sannyasa which to be followed in the same sequence. Yes, it seems much difficult to follow in today's world with such an hectic lifestyle and merely impossible, so and as per my understanding (in present society) it is more of a symbolic system. So you dont need to be adhared to this inflexible system of living but, by and large, could adopt this four ashrams in flexible terms. Lets talk about Brahmacharya. Literally Brahmacharya means charya (conduct) to attain Brahma. It is the first ashram in man's life and extends approximately upto 25. Though it is about Education aquired in Ashrams away from home, the concept of Celebacy is more prominent here. Celebacy means self-restraint from any sexual activity. Since it is the first Span in man's life it is to regulate discipline and his sexual acts. This makes it explicit that sexual feeling arose in very early age. So today with MTV, Playboy literature, and easy access to internet, childrens are more prone to develop such degenerative fellings. Other thing which is also more explicit is since Brahmacharya put Education and Celebacy together, the two have a wider connection. Coming to my first point since there are no restrictions over a man who attained puberty, to maintain Celebacy and society with atmosphere favourable to excite sexual fellings, sexual crimes are natural (the prepators of Delhi rape case of dec 16 were wathing blue film which excite them to commit the crime and thats why I said it is relevent today as well). Therefore the Indian Saints put Brahmacharya as the first Ashram. If we could develop such system in our society which incorporates some basic ideals of Brahmacharya Ashram (not hardcore) sexual crimes can be prevented. There are others benifits too. Gandhji said 'Nothing in this world is unattainable for a true Brahmachari'. One thing which this system lacks is that it is exclusively for men only. May be exponents of this ashram system were complacent about women being pure. But today this must be follwed equally by both (atleast patrly..).

The Tale Of Three Monkeys

Few days ago in an Indian movie I heard a Hero saying to an apparantly helpless crowd with their heads down that "ye nahi bolenge..Gandhiji ke bander hai saare". I was wondering what is the image of Gandhiji and his three symbolic Monkeys in their mind. What people of India think of them and what is the perception in young minds. No doubt Gandhiji was a staunch follower of Non-violence or Ahimsa and preach the same throughout his life. Everyone of us know personally his three monkeys and their teachings. Explicitly they follow 'bura mt dekho' 'bura mt suno' and 'bura mt bolo'. But what implicitly it implies is neglected by many. All we used to hear is about passive resistance which became passive inaction in course of time. But the real meaning in his symbolic monkeys is more than that. They actually called for active action which follows 'bura hone se roko' 'bura kehne se roko' and 'sach kehne ki himmat rakho'. He also said that he will opt for violence instead of cowardness for the sake of justice. For more than 60 years we are living with only three monkeys given by Gandhiji. Today I endeavor to add one more which says 'apne haq ke liye lado' ofcourse following Ahimsa. Let us increase the no. of this monkeys since there is lot more to do..There is lot more to change..

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Why I am so Selfish ?

Its is a very rare question, someone might want to ask oneself. "Why I am so Selfish ?" But it is not that tough to answer as it seems to be. Today I will endeavor to find out its plausible answers. I don't want to go into that blame game of putting bowl into others court. I think we are responsible for every thing that happens to us whether good or bad. So the onus of being so selfish lies with ourselves only.

    I am 22 and now I got little time to deliberate over the issue which is so much connected to me and my life. Sometimes when you looks outside into the nature everything will seem to be so simple and answerable that you don't need to search for such questions anywhere else. Take any animal around you, but not for granted. They take birth, learn to catch their prey, reproduce creatures that resembles themselves and die. You might be thinking whats new in that. The hidden perception in this observation is new. Now took little pain and think how is your life different from this animals. Obviously one thing that deffer us is that we have our facebook accounts, but is it enough ? Why we Humans call ourselves Social Animals ?

    And if we are actually social animals then what is that we give to this society and for its well being ? Only criminals, rapists and a large number of people who blame this society and curse it for their misery. Everybody concerns only about their own life and death, which is also an area of concern for an animal also. Beyond it we are nothing but so called Social Animals and that too not completely. 

    My parents grown me up, provided me with education to settle my life and my family. But this is what other millions of people are doing. And very few became successful in this too. I will die as any other creature on this earth. And what will I leave behind me is nothing. Our next generation will also join the same chorus that 'who has the time to think of this man, let alone the question of the whole society'. Well if this going to happen it will be very shameful for me being a Human. But you know what, you and me can change this boring future since we are Humans and nature has provided us with the power to change our future. Let us became a little selfish for our society, of which we are an inseparable part. Lets change the phase of our future in our favor for coming hundreds of years and not just for a single life time. I refuse to get eliminated from this world as any other creature. I am a Human being and will live my life by actually Being Human. Do you...?

Where Is God..?

Hello.. Recently read Bhagat Singh' essay "Why I am an Atheist".. He is one of the most respected, outstanding and admirable figure of Indian Freedom Struggle. Some also says that he was even much more socialistic in thoughts than Gandhiji. Well its a different debate. Coming to his essay, he talked about his views in God or say his disbelief in God. According to my understanding he just wanted to make people clear that his views are not because of any vanity or arrogance. Still I admit that he had made strong arguments against belief in God at that time.

     It will be highly exaggerated for me to evaluated his views or even his word but I only learnt from his essay only to express your views fearlessly and he might also wanted for us to be the same as per our ability. He was hanged at the age of just 23. I think if he would believed in God, he could do all that he wanted. Perhaps our country also needed him. His belief in God could make him more stronger and filled him with wisdom to fight britishers. Still I cant understand the logic in throwing harmless bombs in  courts. There were also other ways to reach out to people and to save one of the strongest soul. Let me make it clear I have no authority to evaluate or criticize his acts..

      Scientifically modern man traces its history in IVC. You must be known about Indus Valley Civilization. Its people worshiped Nature. They believe everything that exist in Nature is God in itself. Later as man acquired some knowledge he began to question this view. Then might came the idea of stone worship. When it also questioned by many, people stared worshiping God in Idols and pictures. They created many Gods and Goddess to satisfy human Wisdom. And now in present scientific world depressed with searching God in Idols, some Babas started claiming themselves as God. It will be going on unless we understand the basic philosophy of Indus people that God exist nowhere but in Nature. And let me remind you we Humans are also Nature.. It is up to us where to go and to whom believe, on others or on ourselves as the great Legend Bhagat Singh did..

    

Empowering Women : Is Education necessary..?

                                             

 There are many people and organizations in our country which work for women empowerment. But again I left with a question which says, what is women empowerment is all about. Some would say Education, for some Health and for some it would be their presence in Politics. Well if we go with this arguments then any highly educated women or an Athlete or say a Politician would be more empowered than any other women who is illiterate and is a housewife..

     But there are some twists here. Lets first recall what Gandhiji said decades ago that... "if you educate a woman, then you are educating a whole civilization.." I think this would make more clear that its not only education which is essential but there is some inner strength which a woman possess and makes her capable of educating a whole civilization. I mentioned Gandhi just to make it clear that I am not against women's education.

      Now I would like to mention about that twist. Recently, after Dec 16, hope you all remember this very famous date (when Nirbhaya was gang raped), one of our female Lok Sabha member ( one among those 550 that represents whole country ) was quoted in a news paper saying she rush to her house in fear, if in case she got struck in some work. What else left to say. If a Parliamentarian has so much of fear from this society than what about all those common women in our country. Obviously they live their life in constant fear. What sense does education, post or power makes here. Nothing.

       If any women is handed over with a pistol, would she feel empowered ? Or say any highly educated women and CEO of a MNC. Could she to go fearless ? Empowerment is not something which is external. It must be understood by the people, our policy makers and women the most. That a sense of fearlessness and confidence in her mind and soul which actually empower her at best. It is the respect and a felling of honour towards women in the rest of the society which empowers a women. It is a matter of surprise for many of us that "Fundamental Duties" in our Constitution also says that "it is duty of every citizen to respect the dignity and honour of every woman". Therefore it is not which would come externally or can be imparted from outside. This must be inculcated in our basic education system. It must be a part of our value education given in the families. This only could bring some change. A change needed forever..

Mera Rang De Basanti Chola..

About two years ago on Independence Day, I saw a very famous and patriotic movie of Manoj Kumar, Shaheed. There was a song Mera Rang De Basanti Chola. And one of my favorite movie titled Rang De Basanti also let me think of these three words called Rang De Basanti. We have been singing and listening to this song from very early childhood, yet I never inquired about its meaning. On that evening I asked the same question that suddenly pop up in my mind, to my Sir. He first smiled since very few people took pain to think about this things.

        Well He gave me the answer. Well all must be very well aware of our National Flag, our Tricolor which consists of three colors viz Indian White, Indian Saffron and Indian Green. This Indian Saffron is called Basanti in our mother tongue i.e, Hindi. It represents the very pious patriotic feeling of Devotion towards our Nation. Thus our Freedom fighters pledged to the mother nation to color them in their body and spirit with the feeling of devotion and patriotism. This feeling encouraged Bhagat Singh to become martyr at the age of 23. I literally cant stop thinking about the enthusiasm they bear and their courage to spare whole life over the Nation. 
         And I am so entangled in my day to day problems that I cant even think of any other single person, leave the thought of our country. And I am sure it is the case with many youths of today. Isn't it a major setback for our mother country ? When this youth will find time to ponder upon his\her nation. When the hunger and plight of millions will shatter their souls ? When will they realize that they are sons and daughters of the great Mother India ? When will they color themselves with the Basanti color..? There is much more to do in life than just living. This country not wants your lives but a minute to understand and respect her..

Jolly's Boobly Woobly Woosh..

Breast Cancer.. It really haunts any person whether a man or woman since it is common to both though with less frequency in men. Well I don't have any authority to go into its technicalities but the recent debate about Double Mastectomy by Angelina Jolly ( whether it is right or wrong ) invoked some questions in  my mind. After long discussions everyone might be acknowledged that Jolly has removed her breasts not because she had any cancer but just as a preventive step.

            I am a believer of the perfection in Nature. And Breasts are so natural to woman as well as man that it is hard to believe that if someone (woman) has breasts she will be suffering from its cancer. Its like if you have, say, hand or nose, then there is a probability that you might suffer from their cancer. This disease needs more understanding and research, since there may be some implications of modern lifestyles. Let us leave this for medical practitioners.

             My point is the debate around Jolly's breasts, was it necessary. She is not the first women to have such kind of surgery, it has been in practice for so long. But since she is one of the most beautiful woman in the world it caught attention of the whole world. I have seen her only in photos and movies and made a perception that she 'looks' beautiful, because of her attractive body (which includes her breasts too), although I don't know how beautiful she "IS" in reality. And her so called outer beauty ignites this whole debate. Well let me make it clear that only breasts can not be a parameter to define beauty or to declare a  person a woman.

              By loosing her breasts, she definitely has not lost her beauty. This follows for every women. Womanhood is determined by one's inner beauty. And it is decided well before by her DNA itself. There is lot more to say about womanhood but today its about breasts cancer. If I am diagnosed with cancer in my hand or leg or any other body part, I'll definitely remove that part. There is nothing more than a life. Its a pious gift of nature. There is no issue to debate over it. Jolly has put a great example to women and the world. Lets not cross check the nature. She has taken a admirable step..

            

Sports spirit of Indians and the IPL controversy..

This days Indians have shown a great sports spirit. They just forgot everything in the name of sports or more specifically Cricket. IPL fever is on the peak. I suspect that this high temperature is because of cricket fever or something else. You might know what I mean. Well there is no doubt that it is a huge tournament in India and Cricket is in the heart of many Indians. I too used to play cricket for the whole day. I may be wrong but, is sport all about entertainment ?

            Well as far as I understand Sports is also about integrity and Nationalism but I dont find any of this in IPL. And in the recent past we all got lost in the hangover of IPL. Maharashtra state's some part suffered from severe drought and million cusecs of water was wasted over the grounds for IPL. Does this people's hunger and their food security concerns anyone.And now the match fixing controversy arise abruptly. Recently two men,  by loosing 10 lakhs over IPL betting, abducted and killed a child for ransom money. Are we Indians enjoying this sport or crimes taking place behind the scenes. 

        Besides, every one knows what happens over the ground. I cant understand what is the need of half naked Cheer leaders over the ground. And now our players are also served by this cheer leaders inside their room. Inspite of high income of this players going in millions, why do they need to destroy their game and their fan's aspirations. Obviously the Organizers must have their role in this fixing. And now they are showing women ( with no knowledge of cricket ) over the screen as showcase to attract female viewers. This IPL is all about money and this money goes in the pockets of its Organizers and Players. This needs to be completely boycotted if we respect our culture and tradition at all. It is an international tournament and it create a wrong image of India in front of the world. It is a wake up call for those who are showing false sports spirit in the name of Cricket..

Santosh Param Sukham

Santosh Param Sukham.... Which means Satisfaction, the greatest form of happiness. One of my very close, bestesto friend, once tell me that she wants to live a very simple life. A girl grown in metro, pursuing law from one of the best Universities, if talk about such things, this led me to think about my today's topic that is Santosh Param Sukham.

              This is one of the most fundamental thoughts of our Indian Philosophy. We inherit this legacy from very early times, the time when our country was one of richest in the world. We were blessed with so much of wealth then why Indian Philosophy incorporate the concept of Satisfaction as greatest happiness, when we were able to quench all our thirst of luxury.

                In a transition society like India, where many people are heading towards westernize form of Materialism, this philosophy of Santosh Param Sukham will be alien for many. Then strike me my friend's words and I came to realize how deep she was in her very simple words. An Indian seek happiness in very small things since the worldly attractions are very menial to her. The secret of Happiness lies in not having too much but having that much which can satisfy one's bare needs. And it is also about not limiting yourself in the physical world but to understand and explore nature and its creation. This philosophy is about spirituality which is the only way to satisfy our Soul and not just body. 

        The real pleasure lies in not extending our needs but in controlling our senses. This concept teaches us that happiness lies within us. She helped me to appreciate our own culture and made me realize the concept of Spirituality in our own Indian way. Such kind of people are the hope for the so called Soft Power of India. This needs to be inculcated in our education and modern tradition so as to make coming generations aware and respect our Indian Tradition and Culture.

(Dedicated to my bestesto Friend)...

Do we know our National Anthem ?

If someone ask about our National Anthem we will instantly utter out Jana-gana-mana. Obviously it is imbibed in our mind from early childhood. And every literate person might remember this Anthem. We all used to sing in our school days and occasionally after that. It was there in some of my school textbooks but only Hindi version which I never understood. I never took pain to get its meaning also. When I  was in college I never gone through it when I actually have the ability to understand it. And in school days it was so useless to sing in chorus if you don't know the actual meaning of our National Anthem. I don't remember if I have ever been taught about it in my school days , yes we learnt to complete it in 52 seconds and our band helped us in our job. Let us understand more clearly about our Indian and our one of the most prestigious literature ever....

The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanz of playing time approx 20 seconds, is also played on certain occasions. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem :

                                 Jana-gana-mana-adhinayak, jaya he

                                          Bharat-bhagya-vidhata.

                                 Punjab-Sindh-Gujrat-Maratha

                                          Dravida-Utkala-Banga

                                 Vindhya-Himachal-Yamuna-Ganga

                                       Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.

                                        Tava shubha name jage,

                                       Tava shubha asisa mange,

                                          Gahe tava jaya gatha,

                                 Jana-gana-mangal-dayaka jaya he

                                         Bharat-bhagya-vidhata.

                                         Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,

                                         Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he !    

The following is Tagore's English rendering of the Anthem, dedicated to the ALMIGHTY  :

             Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,

             Dispenser of India's destiny.

             Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, 

             Gujarat and Maratha,

             Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;

             It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and the Himalayas,

             mingles inthe music of Jamuna and Ganges an is

             chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.

             They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.

             The saving of all people waits in thy hand,

             Thou dispenser of India's destiny.

             Victory, victory, victory to thee.