Is today the only doomsday?

The doomsday has arrived at last. It is said to be today! 21.12.2012. The very hype started a few years back and it has been progressing exponentially from then till today. The very same day after which Mayan's calendar ceases to exist. The very same day, on which disasters are expected to end the world. The very same day on which numerous number of articles are being written! The very same day, on which the posts, tweets, statuses, messages, chats, conversations have been going on at an alarmingly increased rate over the past few months. But I have a few questions!

Will this be the first time the earth is going to get destroyed? 
Is this the first doomsday for our beloved earth?
Will a meteorite hit us? Or a powerful earthquake?
Or a whirling Tsunami? Or a nuclear disaster? 

No, not any of the above! And to much surprise, this is not gonna be our first doomsday! We have had several dooms days! A couple of days back, our country witnessed one of the worst dooms days in its history! I am ashamed to tell you all what had happened to a girl in our Capital! I am abashed to be a useless citizen who could do nothing but only to pour my hatred on such people. I am distressed to be a common one not capable of doing anything except writing an article condemning it.

A girl was molested and groped at and beaten up in full view of the public in Guwahati a few months back. That wound is yet to heal in our hearts and within a few months another incident happens. India witnessed its doomsday a few months back in July when a teenager was pushed out of a moving train as she resisted their attempts to rape her. This is what we should call doomsday and not some natural calamity. It witnessed its another doomsday ten months back in West Bengal when a lady was pushed out of a train and was raped before being robbed.

There are several articles flying around against the accused and some against India! They state "India is a country full of rich tradition. It is so horrible for incidents of such type to happen here". I wish to tell those people that this incident is not a matter concerned with Indian tradition. This would have happened anywhere. Anywhere around the world. And if you wish to condemn, please do it against those men and not against India. They rape not because there are no strict rules, not because they are powerful, not because the people are timid, not because the women they rape don't struggle, not because they can escape easily and legally too, not because they are sex thirsty monkeys, not because they are urged by the costumes women wear, but because they are rapists.

Don't tell your women to be safe around but tell your men to respect the women around. Don't tell your women to dress carefully not exposing their parts but your men not to look at them. Don't tell your women to be traditional but your men to be traditional. Don't tell your women to not to flirt around but your men not to take advantage. Don't tell your women to resist the rape but your men not to attempt it. Don't tell your women not to get raped, but your men not to rape. Don't tell your women to remain strong after such incidents but your men to feel ashamed. 

Education, awareness or advice won't change things happening this way across the world. But only the judgement! The serious penalty will teach all those squalid men to respect the women. Giving those accused a penalty, a life imprisonment or even death sentence would never stop from the next incident happening. Something more only will prevent these tragedies.

I am talking to those affected women. Hey, I am really ashamed at the tragedy happened to you! But I am furious and I know that you too are. None except you has the right to punish those who hurt you. We are ready to give the power to you. Hurt them more than they hurt you. Hurt them so that none would ever think of an incident like this. Hurt them so that no other female of this world has to undergo the tragedy you had undergone. Hurt them so that all the men respect women. Hurt them so that you avenge your hurt! Hurt them my lady, hurt them!

To all the parents around the globe! Please teach your children what respect is, before you teach them what sex is! Please teach your children that there is a duty called "Duty to respect women", before you tell them who women are! Please teach your children that there is NO right called "Right to rape", before you tell them what rape is!

There can never be a doomsday worse than this day. There was never and there will be never.

Death, Debris and Decay!

A 19 year old second-year engineering student died after he fell from a four-storey hostel! This could not have been an accident told his friends. He had committed suicide. 

Everyone in the city is very much shocked to hear the news of his suicide. After all, this isn't the first one in this year. There are four or five such suicides in the prestigious institutions of CEG, MIT and IIT in this year alone. This guy who died recently was supposed to be a bright student scoring 1160 marks in his plus two board examinations with a cut off of 198 out of 200. The situation is the same in all the four other cases. The students who committed suicide had been the pride of their schools. These were the sources of inspiration to their juniors in school whose ultimate ambition was to get into the esteemed institutions across the state. Their parents had pinned their hope on them that their son/daughter would make prosperity in their lives. Now the hopes of every single one of them is been shattered into pieces. 

What can be the potential reasons of the suicides of these younger minds? They are supposed to be the most brilliant students. They belonged to the creamy layer of the state. They should have certainly worked hard in their school to get into these places. The minds of these students should have been that of a genius. But why did they turn into cowards and weak-minded? 

1) Adaptation: The students who come from rural areas or the districts down south find it very difficult to adapt to the new environment. The metropolitan life is certainly very much difficult to live when compared to the places they are from. The vast place, the huge population, the complex transport system, the fashion, the standard of living, the type of food, the competition and what not! The very first thought that encounters a guy's mind, who visits the metropolitan city, is how difficult it is to lead one's life in here?! Only a few overcome all these difficulties and survive. 

2) Longing for affection and care: It is evident that almost all who had committed suicide were the hostelites. There must have been people in their place who had taken very good care of them. They must have shown them, all their love and affection. They would not have let them do their works and instead they would have done every thing for them right from polishing their shoes to combing their hair. I don't accuse parents but that they should have let them do their work so that they could get adapted to the situation where there could be no care or affection. 

3) Lack of responsibility: Responsible students never get these cowardly thoughts. If you had been brought up responsible, you would certainly be responsible now. The parents should make their children aware of their responsibilities in the family and the society. On the contrary they always hide their difficulties from their progeny thinking that they need not know difficulties at that age. This never helps them. If they had known your difficulties, they would not have been irresponsible and certainly would not have taken this decision. Be responsible, friends. Think about your parents every time you feel depressed. The so-called difficulties you face are next to nothing when compared to your parents' sufferings. 

4) Fear about the future: If you are not living properly in the present, you don't have the rights to fear about your future. It is rightly said "Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. And that is why we call it the present." Live in your present. Put the maximum effort in what you do and don't worry about the result. 

5) Ignorance and Insult: This is not the fault of those students. This is our fault, my friends. A guy can bear insults but not ignorance. Think about this. They come from different sections of the society to a new surrounding. They are already facing many a problems. We must talk to them, help and make them feel at home. How many of us do that? We see them as a Martian. We should not ignore them just because they are not from our sect. We form our own groups but we don't consider to include them. They are separated and left alone. That is terrible.  

6) Pressure: You are pressurized. Aren't you? There are always the desperate parents who tell their children this. “You have got school first in your plus two yet you have an arrears now. How could we walk with our heads high? You are a disgrace to the family!” Dear parents, remember that this same child made you proud a few years back. The school and the college aren't the same. They are entirely different. It isn't a must that those who have topped their school should maintain that in college. The education in school is reading and in contrast the education in college is learning and not reading. First try to understand the situation in which your child lives. Don’t  induce a peer pressure. 

7) Lack of support: Now-a-days it has become the style of a professor to quote this especially when a student couldn't answer his/her question. “You should have mugged up the contents of the book and cleared the paper without understanding. You may have got 200 cut off in your board exams but it’s difficult to survive here. Remember those times when the students were so smart and so knowledgeable.” If you learned people do this, how will the parents understand? A good teacher is one who understands the student well and helps him in his life and leads him through his difficulties. Not a guy like you! You are only a disgrace and he is not! 

8) Lack of belief: Have confidence in you. When you don’t believe your own potential, how can you expect others to believe yours and help you? What matters if you have arrears when you excel in another field? Life isn't only about studies. There are several things other than that. There is a whole new thing waiting for you outside the premises of your college. If you don’t fight against these difficulties and come up, how will you see those splendid things waiting for you? Believe in your potential and that will change these things! 

9) Adolescence: This is the age of adolescence. You are prone to love, lust and indulge in smoking and drinking. There is no love on this earth equal to your mother’s. There is no care equal to the God’s on this earth. There is no affection on this earth as your father’s. Yet you choose to die just because a girl/boy rejected you? This is the sense of insanity. Think high of you. If you are responsible, you will think there are much more important now than this. If you scold me that I don’t know the feeling, well, yeah. I don’t know! I may not know. But I am sure that your love can wait till you get a job and get stable in your life. What about your parents and others who believe that you will improve the condition of your family? What about the people who have hope in you that you will take care of them in their final days? Don’t lose that! If your dad had this practice of smoking or drinking, what would have happened to you? Will you be in this place at this time? That's a doubt! Even if you are here, you must have undergone a great stress to get into this institution. They have sacrificed a lot for you. And it is a MUST that you must take care of them. 

Life isn't something given by God for you just to end it because you are in distress. It is something more that that. Here is a famous dialogue from the film called “Rocky Balboa” released in 2006. 

I'd hold you up to say to your mother, "this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid's going to be somebody better than anybody I ever knew." And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilege. Then the time comes for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it isn't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you aren't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that isn't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life. 

அரிது அரிது மானிடராய் பிறத்தல் அரிது 

அதனினும் அரிது கூன், குருடு செவிடு இன்றி பிறத்தல் அரிது! 

(Its rare to be born as humans and it's even rare to be born without any impairment!) 

This is a famous verse of Avvaiyar. Life is a gift for us. Please don’t waste it for mean reasons!

P.S: A few days back, a guy from a big institution threw himself before the train because he couldn't get to the second round of an interview. 

Kya itna bura, Meri maa

I met this girl on a hot summer day. I had been watching her for the past few minutes. What was she doing? I saw two more people near her. One had to be her mom and the other one! She must be her sister, two or three years older than the first girl. Her posture was bad. It looked like that she had been practising some stuff. Her hair looked weird and messy. I walked in her direction with a notion of starting a conversation with her.

"What are you doing kid?"

"I am practising, anna!"
("Anna!" It touched my heart deeply!)

"Could you please explain?"

"In fact I have been practising hard for the past few days. And today is going to be my first stage performance. I am not exactly excited. Till today it was only the other girl who has been performing. From now on I also have to do it. It is going to be a duo performance. I am all ready except for this skillful move. I have to climb over her shoulders and bend myself over her back to touch her feet and then she will jump. I fell down twice trying that move, hurting my lower jaw. Check the wound!"

(It was a bad bruise! She continued pointing at the other girl.)

"She says that it will be difficult to perform this in motion. So, I must practise hard. No one listens to me. Thanks for listening anna." 

"Wait, Who is the other lady? Your mother?"

"She? Oh no! I don't know who she is. All I remember is I was alone wandering the city and ran into this group one day. They told me that this would help me. She tortures me. If I refuse to perform, she won't give me the day's food. Do you know something? Now-a-days I eat twice a day. Its a great and a wonderful thing and so I have to do this to get it."

"Hmmm..."

"That girl has been performing for the past few years. I will collect (she thinks!) beg for money from people. But I don't know why people don't give us money after our performance in train. They could go to big concerts and shows paying thousands but not ready to spare us a coin! Do I earn or have plenty and beg? This will only help me feed myself. She (the lady) told me that if I earned more than ten rupees in a compartment, she might give me one more idly this night!"

(I cried! She continued.)

"Anna! The train is coming! I have to start! Can you tell me an "All the best"? "

"Eh.. All the best ma! All the best!"

I boarded the train and put on my headphones. I was picking a song in random. She and her companions also boarded the same compartment thus started her performance. I prayed God that she should not fall down doing that move. I was praying hardly! She did that in a superb way. A train of thoughts followed. By then, she came near me asking for money. 

The crowd near me advised that I should not encourage these people who are begging. They complain that they must go to work. They have a opinion that they are frauds and must be handed over to the police. I don't know about the rest. But I know that this girl is getting an extra idly if she gets 10+ in a compartment. I know. I opened my purse and took a 10 rupee note and gave it to her. She grinned. She finished her job (!) and came near the door to get down. I patted her back telling that she will be saved one day! She didn't seem to understand.

There are people in this world who are confused to choose one from a list of desserts after their supper. There are people in this world who just neglect the food thinking that that has something to do in reducing their body fat. There are people in this world who think that their life standard is not high comparing with the people above their standards. Remember friends, there are people in this world who don't even get a proper meal per day! 

I don't know if I encouraged her by giving money. I don't care about the people who tell that these are frauds. But I am contended by the smile on her face. I am so happy by the way she looked me when I handed her a ten rupee note. I am satisfied that she might get an extra idly today!

Kya itna bura, Meri maa!

Tin-sheet huts

I was on my way to college in a bus. A very crowded one at the peak hour in which I could not even stand on one leg. I bent down to see the place the bus was crossing. The view I saw was a remorseful one. The bus was pacing on the Grand Southern Trunk road. To my left was the breath-taking view of our great airport and on contrary a row of tin-sheet huts to my right.

Who are all these people?

Why do they live in these tin-sheet huts?

What would be their job?

How much money would they get as income?

Have you ever seen small kids and women cleaning the highways in the morning as early as 4.30? Have you ever seen people laying roads in hot sun? Have you ever seen a builder fall from a high building and survive with fatal injuries? Have you ever lived without electricity for an entire day? Have you ever bathed in a open space with people seeing? Have you ever stood in a long line for using the restroom?

Images: The Hindu

Pity. My thoughts are about those who have suffered all the above mentioned. Poverty must have struck them hard and made them adapt to any situations they are living in. Those people are the migrant workers who live in a bad condition. Those are the people who lay our roads, build the malls we walk in for shopping, construct the educational institutions we study in, sell items we buy cheaply, lay metro rail roads, clean the roads every morning. They are the one who eat only once a day, wear the same dress for long days, strive for us. They work hard for the welfare of us, the people yet no one seems to take care about them. For about 500 people employed at various sites, there are only a few toilets and an open bathing area! What an irony! They labor for building a metro station with the most comfortable facilities but they don't even have the fundamental needs.

Images: The Hindu

Not only the lack of fundamental amenities but they are also under scrutiny from the locals and the police. Robbery, ridicule, racism, rape, refrain and what not! There are under aged, under educated, underpaid, underemployed, undernourished! There are injuries and casualties everyday but nothing seems to come out! They toil this hard in dreams of sending some money to their families living away from them but even that seems like a far-fetched dream.

"The Chennai Metro is expected to be completed by 2015!"

This is a happy news for us. This is an achievement for the Chennai Corporation. This is a prestigious accomplishment for the State Government. But remember that this is the blood of these laborers! Please think about them!