Smile is contagious, and so does its appreciation.
Collection: Subtlety
Penned By: Nilabh
Concept & Design By: Salina
Category: Thoughts
Intolerance
I was watching a video podcast by Kunal Kamra about intolerance and the topics discussed were really eye-opening and made me think about some problems I have witnessed personally. So here it goes:
For a very long time, I have been apolitical. But no more.
We Indians have been proud for generations about being tolerant. But no more.
Its time to end the intolerancy being practiced by certain factions.
Its time to end the passivity about how we consume news.
This is yet another calm minded person losing it because he has seen enough.
The problem
Although there are various things that are wrong and can be made tolerable by slightest actions, I am going to talk about one.
The mob mentality that is taking us back to decades in terms of development and education levels.
It is no less dangerous as a person shouting against our country. A mob could be a cause and effect of it.
A mob has no mind, they work as a zombie that wants to break anything that comes infront of it. You & I are not safe when a mob breaks out. I need to go no farther than the person who got lynched by a mob, hired to raise awareness against the same mob mentality.
Why you should care?
There have been countless cases where mobs have lynched a wrong person that I don’t even need to go there.
Consider for a moment, you are standing in a big crowd in a state fair. You want to cross the road, but it is so overwhelming that you need to cut across of them if you want to reach to the other side. You wait for some time to find an opening to go through, but you find none, since it’s not a disciplined car stack. So, you decide to randomly cut across the crowd as you are out of patience. You put your hands ahead to cut the crowd and make your way forward. Suddenly, a man, who presumes that you are a molestor trying to get a feel of his wife, stops you. He gets hold of you and starts creating a scene and shouting about you being a sexual predator. You are alone and you do not have any defense, since it’s a gray area and balance can shift any way.
There could be a sensible person who may turn the tide in your favour, but there is this other horrendous possibility that there could be a person strong enough to incite a mob against you and get you beaten up. Your heart is racing, since it could go either way and put a huge dent on your personality forever. You say a few things in your defense but that doesn’t budge anything in your favour. The people watching have a choice to make now. They can get all the frustration collected inside of them and pour it on you, or they can let you go. You are totally on their mercy. You could be labelled all sorts of things that can stay with you for your whole life. Do you feel me? Isn’t that a situation that you wouldn’t never want to have a first hand experience.
I was in such a situation years back and it still is most haunting situation I have ever been in. I was lucky and I am really thankful to that crowd who gave me a chance and left me unscathed. But really I had no control over the situation.
If you felt the situation, you should also fear the on-growing count of such cases in the last few months, be it in the name of cow-killing, or child-trafficking, or rape-accusations. The trend is dangerous and deserves the same levels of sympathy as one would give to a rape victim.
Its really frightening to know one maniac person has the capability to incite a mob, using morphing these days and that should make us shudder since any of us can become a victim quite easily.
The other side
And this doesn’t go only for physical mobs, an online mob, a mob of haters can have a devastating effect as well. Take for example the cases of Kanhaiya Kumar and Sunil Kumar, a BJP MLA(just search Google with the term ‘sunil kumar bjp god’). Kanhaiya Kumar was hounded after the news broke out. But what happened with Sunil Kumar. There are two things that I found wrong:
- The obvious one, the contrast between actions taken against their quite seemingly similar impacting words.
- While researching about it, there was no news about what happened after the FIR was lodged against Sunil Kumar. I couldn’t find any news regarding this after it was reported about an FIR against him on Jan 24, 2018. Probably getting justice was too boring in the view of our vibrant media to report.
Now, Kanhaiya and Umar Khalid still are recipients of hate speech(online and offline) and the mob mentality that has already colored them as anti-nationals. They didn’t get a proper platform to discuss and remedy this, and might not lead a normal life now. I would include a link to the video where they do get to voice their opinions and you would realize how quickly there were judged by our online mob. Even if they were wrong, we judged them so quickly that chances of getting rid of that blot is seemingly impossible now.
The impact of online mob is as dangerous as a physical mob. The mob shielded behind social networking layers do penetrate the moral shell and can make or break society as well.
Aftermath
I really respect our Prime Minister for the positive policies that have been introduced in his term, but dear Prime Minister, we don’t need a mandir, when mandirs are nothing but a business place these days.
We don’t need a mandir, when our mann is not in our control and being controlled by whatsapp forwards.
We need a system that can incite fear in people so that they don’t join a mob just for fun.
A system where their actions being part of crowd are not condoned. The gau-rakshak team mostly made up of RSS factions, have no part in society and their fatal actions have resulted in a lot of fear. Government need to curb such self-righteous groups.
From our end, as citizens and netizens, we should be really discrete and mindful of what we are sharing online. Now that we have proof that social networks can be used to influence people’s behaviours, the height of which is individuals/parties winning elections.
Educating the person serving such forwards about what possible impact that news can have if its a fake one. People need to understand the fear of being on the receiving end of a mob. Then only we can expect a change for the better.
References:
Interview with Kanhaiya and Umar Khalid.
Mother’s day – 2018
Dreams Shattered – 3
Click Here to read the previous part.
Akarsh heard people shouting in the news discussion bulletin on TV. They were arguing about something about Kathua. He overheard his father slowly talking to her mother, meanwhile keeping a check that nobody else can listen to him. He understood the case while his father explained everything to his mother in hushed tone.
Akarsh felt disgusted, hoping that is just fiction that he had just heard. He felt disturbed. The voices which he can hear on a daily basis were making more noise than ever today. He felt like the tipping point seemed to be closing. He thought of focusing on the voice that gave him direction. He couldn’t hear the voice today. He focused and tried harder. Finally the voice answered. He felt a disappointment in the voice today.
“You sensed what I wanted to talk about.” he asked the voice.
“Everybody is talking about that only. You are too small to be handling that topic.”, the voice answered.
“Maybe that is the mistake we have been making.”
The voice thought for a moment. It could come up with no answer. It shrugged.
After a long silence, it spoke:
“There is no way back from this. The epidemic that is rape, has affected India these days, goes beyond my comprehension. Is it religion, is it stupidity, or is it such hard placed belief that a cry for help doesn’t shake a person anymore? It was just to prove a point, I heard.
Nothing remains of her. The only daughter of the family rested in the ground for good. It seems we are obsessed with burying women to the ground one at a time. How do you even determine what she did to deserve such fate. Probably temple was not the safest place for her. Probably, God doesn’t exists everywhere.
We promised after Nirbhaya that we wouldn’t let anything of that sort happen. But look at us now. Making the same mistake, hiking the same path, placing blame on other’s, while failing to realize the fault in us. Our education system, our political inclination, our blind faith in our religion, while making sure that we keep on increasing the population frantically. This ends nowhere, but more pain and more outrage, increasing every single time such an incident happens.
From 1947 to now, we are still a slave to our age-old beliefs that doesn’t let us see that we can be more than aimless followers and backers of our stupid religions, caste, gender, sect or country.”
Akarsh clearly overwhelmed tried to sleep, losing all hope, hoping this was all a dream and wishing he could wake up to a better and hopeful Earth.
The voice called him, he felt a sudden optimism in the voice. He called out to it, “Go away! There is no coming back from this. There is no hope.”
“Hope is you!”, the voice said and transpired through the air.
Akarsh, after scratching his head for some time, realized what the voice meant. The hope are the people who call things out as they see them. The people who fight for injustice, who respect women, the people who get equally disgusted with such news. We need more of them. We need them in this fight, against the ones with no moral values.
Lets Fight!
Microtale # 38 : Reverie
Collection: Reverie
MicroTale #30 : Reverie
Collection : Reverie
As the mirror reflected a beautiful bride, tears ran down the cheeks.
“She got settled, finally.”, the mother thought.
“Alas! The dream got killed. They won.” the daughter thought.
.
What she didn’t know, was an iconoclastic knight, waiting at the mandap, would be the best supporter as she would spearhead her battle again.
Making Memories!
How many times have we come across the usage of the following, which should be enough to make it to qualify as an idiom in itself: “I hate my job...”, “I hate my life…“.
My mind was pondering over our habit of hating monotonicity. How easily one proclaims that he/she is bored of life/job/workplace. The irony in the sentence really surprises me. The fact that we are here and breathing is itself such a culmination of rare events(that could have easily broken down), that has kept us surviving here.
We worry too much about the future which renders our present a spoiler for our upcoming dreams. It’s one thing to claim that we want one kind of lifestyle and whole other thing to try to get that.
I am really thankful to the internet, which has been providing us resources for so many years now. Although, on one hand, it is providing us with great stories, which should be inspiring us to do something of our own. But the other side of the coin is, it has made us really dependent on the entertainment factor. The fact that we expect so much entertainment or facts sugar-coated with entertainment, has made us a slave of it. It has a part to play in such a behaviour of ours.
Now, coming to the main point, why do we think that our current situation is monotonous. It could be because we see no/uncertain future ahead. It leads me to believe that we are not satisfied with our present. Something haunts us that throws our present off the track.
My theory is that, your satisfaction in life(apart from the big events happening around you), is mostly dependent on how you are spending time after your office hours. If you are getting your personal time, you can find happiness too. Now, let me try to define ‘personal time’. In general sense, ‘personal time’ for introverts could be reading a book, writing something, recharging themselves by staying away from human interactions(:P); while for extroverts, it could mean having their favorite people around, doing something social, etc.
The reason why people are very vocal these days, is because there have been an over-enthusiastic show of dreamy jobs. With the ongoing wave of standup performers, entrepreneurs etc, and the media actively covering their stories of how they broke the shackles of boring jobs to become what they are. Although the stories are very inspiring, but the stories getting mainstream has created a problem with the masses. Suddenly, everyone has started hating their current jobs, citing them boring and monotonous.
The problem is more accentuated in Indians because we are dreamy people, expecting drama in our lives, because of the way we are conditioned. So, these stories make a deep mark in our minds, and thus overhauling our current situations. Now, the current situation is, you are considered cool only when you are doing a job that you absolutely love. This mentality has created frustration in the minds of people. My point is, suppose you like painting, it shouldn’t necessarily be a source of income for you. But the starry-eyed media will condition you to make it your profession. All hobbies shouldn’t be converted into profession. Our hobbies are fun because we enjoy it and there is no pressure on us. There isn’t anyone breathing on our necks to make us complete another painting or start another project.
So, it’s okay to be in a job, which is not your forte. We will learn it, because we are humans and that’s what we do best.
I will reiterate: In my opinion, life starts after you come back to home after job. I am not saying one shouldn’t enjoy their jobs, one should definitely do that if one can, but keeping in mind that there will be continuous ups and downs there.
Forgetting office work in office, once we return, that is upto us. Learning to enjoy the moments at home, its comfort and the soothness it offers, could be the thing to start with. Travelling really opens up the world to us. Having satisfying conversations does the trick for some. And if nothing works, partying is always there to help.
On a serious note , there are plethora of activities that we can engage ourselves in, and make sure we are using our time productively and to also ensure that we are satisfied as well. Instead of fearing for the impacts of monotonicity, we can make the present memorable. After all, it’s the memories that will matter in the end.
Welcoming Hope
Wish you all a very joyous new year. 🙂
The thunderous blast from the past, engulfing me,
Pulling me towards their shore a little more.
Hands that were held tight, going a bit loose,
And the hopes dimming, tying a noose.
The moment that shone was the sign that I craved for,
Waking up to an experience, was what my way were paved for.
Now the lights are turned on, where the bliss is
And culminating it, is my key.
I reach out to the light with all my might,
Diving to the unbeknownst realms,
Into the abyss.
Deciding Passions!
HOW TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO IN LIFE?
Someone recently asked me this question and it got me in a tizzy. Isn’t life supposed to be easy? Why decide on life’s rhetoric questions?
But as it turns out, the world is not too kind to accept a person who doesn’t know where he will be after 5 years. The world seeks visionaries who can command and take us forward.
I believed I accepted this too. But after a lot of thinking, I now have a different take on this.
In my opinion, asking this question isn’t the way to go. Finding what you want for real, is not an obligation, rather it’s a baggage. I would rather concentrate on seeking what I like. There are hobbies and there is passion. The difference between them and the importance they hold should be known by all.
Ideally, the thing that you are most passionate about should be the way to go (and an answer to this question too). But life is more complicated than that. So, a major prerequisite is to decide priorities.
If your priority is money and fame in future, then you may need a plan to move ahead. Strategy would be required as it’s hard to satiate since there is no end to the accumulated wealth.
However, if one’s aim is happiness, then there is no need for all the hoopla. Just rely on your passion, it will get you home.
Difference between aim and hobby in this context is that aim is one or set of hobbies for which one is passionate upto that extent as Johny Bravo was passionate about his looks.
Aims in our life keep us focused sharply while our hobbies keep us stable. A synergy of both is a necessary prerequisite to a happy life. Well, not exactly life, but they keep us satisfied while still wanting for more in a sweet way.
Seek what you like rather than answering a much vaguer question, finding answer to which is typically hard to find even for the mature ones, let alone a confused teenager.
Life is really full of possibilities, if you have the strength to believe so.
Allah(ke)abad!
Allahabad, a city that every country deserves, but not the one it may need right now. While Allahabad is an excellent city per se, but has been clouded by some very unfortunate mishappenings. The wrath of bhaiyas of Allahabad still enounces on my mind even when I am 356 kms away from it. How a city welcomes a guest greatly defines a city. Allahabad welcomed me with dahi-jalebi and introduced me to the ever-tasty bun-omelette, which even after four years of continuous eating remains a favourite day-starting breakfast.
WHAT I WOULD MISS!
The discussions over bun-omelette and tea in the morning as well as evening. The serenity of Saraswati ghat was one I would crave a lot. Some destinations leave an everlasting footprints in your minds; Saraswati ghat is one such place. The people of Allahabad are also very versatile in giving opinions(reminds me of Gorakhpur, but Allahabad is a tad violent :p). If you are even a little interested in politics, this is a place to be. You never know, you may get acquainted by a future minister of state. Giving opinion boldly, come what may, is in the blood of an east UP person and Allahabad kinds of leads in that trait.
Being in the center of independence fight, gave this city a gift of great historic significance. The Azad Park commemorates Chandrashekhar Azad’s martyrdom. While the Sangam area and Naini bridge adds to the aesthetics of the place.
WHAT I WOULDN’T MISS!
Ofcourse the young successors of Indian politics, the student leaders…the most feared species in whole of Allahabad. Want people to concede to your demands, call the species; want to take revenge from someone who wasn’t giving you a pass on the road, call the species; don’t want to study today, call the species in havoc mode; want to get even with the professor for his tyrant ways, call them. From the innocuous thelawalas to the helpless VCs, they assert their authority everywhere.
Being crammed in the auto-rickshaws comes next in the list. You are living in the city, your girlfriend has called you to meet at this great restaurant, you did your hair, applied gel, worked on it for God knows how long, put on your best set of clothes and go to makeshift auto-stand feeling great about your life when suddenly an auto comes at the station, with the conductor yelling ‘tation-tation’ (in case you missed, its station with a silent ‘s’), you enter the auto and two sweat drenched aunties block the exit to the auto. You are thinking it’s just 10 minutes away, but the auto-wala will stop at the place where the scorching sun shines the most and make you pay for all the past life sins. He will wait for more unlucky souls, until his auto looks like a scene where we are attempting the Guinness Book of World Record for cramming the most persons in an auto.
Another interesting thing is that Allahabadis have adopted this system, they don’t mind sharing that seat with three more broad-assed individuals. Even if he gets one of his buttocks in place, he won’t complain.
But overall, Allahabad invites you and takes care of you if you adapt the city well, that’s an assurity I can give, being a former resident of this city. But still, do take care :p