Poem: Hello from the independent girl !

This is a piece I wrote to perform at a Slam Poetry Meet up called Backyard Poetry in Abu Dhabi. 
Hope you guys like it.As always let me know your thoughts through comments.


In her early twenties
She can vote, she can marry
Of society, she has to be wary

Freedom, Liberty & Equality
She has them all
With limits, set by Hypocrisy & Patriarchy

Love marriages, a challenging task
Boyfriend looked down upon
Boy whose stars align
Perfect, irrespective of his sins

Raised to be an achiever
Excel in art, science, math
Career with growth prospects
Given up for marriage prospects

Son travels around the world
Trip with friends, banned for the girl
Travel with your husband -is the word
Freedom of choice is barred.

Girl who voices her opinion
Rebuked for her choices
She will never find a companion
Her mind ignores these drones

Taught to dream high
Only to let them fly
At the marriage altar
With a sigh

Religions teach humanity
Society imparts virtues
Yet the differences rule.
Love thy brother, a joke.

The Virginity between her legs
Priority for the promiscuous man
Double standards are the norm
Her defiance raises a storm

She pleads for time
Before riding the marriage train
All Reasons in vain
As she is bound by invisible chains

Tentacles of Bigotry & Misogyny,
Reach to strangle her
Yet with defiance in her eyes
And Strength in her soul

The New Age Independent woman
Rises above her nemesis

Airplane Memoirs

Let me not start with my usual rant of not writing enough (I guess that’s how my guilt gets its share of happiness) , so the below article I wrote it for an in-flight magazine, but unfortunately things didn’t work out and so here I am posting it in my loyal blog which motivates me to write even when laziness swamps me.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog post, since I have thanked you don’t just leave- Go on read away!

 So, since you have decided to read I would like to start with a note that I am not going to gift you movie tickets for an upcoming Thalaivar movie (if you are not familiar with the term Thalaivar*God forbid* it is how we Tamilian’s lovingly call Superstar Rajnikanth!) or vouchers to shop at your favourite mall. But a few minutes of reading pleasure (or That’s what I like to think of it as !).

Just for my readers who don't know Rajnikanth (Thalaivar), here's an image of the promotion done for his movie Kabali on an Air Asia plane. Courtesy: Indian Express

                               

The airplane slowly started moving in the tarmac, the stewards hustle for final checks and take their seats

“ Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready for take-off. Wish you all a safe journey.”

The giant man-made machine soars through the sky between the clouds flying effortlessly carrying tons of weight along with it. It’s been 112 years since the Wright brothers had their first flight and thankfully we have comfortable seats now unlike one of the brothers, Orville, who had to lie on his stomach on the lower wing of the aircraft.

 Welcome to the world of baggage queues, scary noisy toilets and midair dining experiences. The best part of it all , stunning bird eye views of the landscape below.

This was clicked on one of my flight travels from India to UAE,isn't the sunset beautiful?

As the flight takes off, you can see co-passengers chanting prayers to the Almighty for a safe trip which will be occasionally disturbed by a kid who needs attention! With hundreds of flights taking off every few minutes, God must really have a big server to process all these requests.I wouldn’t be surprised if his Inbox is constantly full!

During your travels, you will also come across co-passengers who think your shoulder is a free extension of their seat and doze off on your shoulder.You can handle these passengers easily, but there are some over concerned travelers who will dissect your entire life in a matter of minutes. Married? Studying ? Traveling alone? Aren’t you scared? Job details?  The lineage of your ancestors? What not! Don’t worry, you will get to know a share of their personal tragedies, happiness, and trivial information. Something to look forward to isn’t it?

With smartphones and tablets more popular, you also have annoying passengers who watch movies or listen to songs without headphones, these inconsiderate people do not even reduce the volume.So the best way to avoid them other than staring at them impolitely (which I am sure they won't understand) is to bring your own headphones.

But don’t let any of this dull the peace of mind you get when you are mid air, with no network coverage, just humans in a plane flying high among the clouds viewing the earth like a bird. The mountains, valleys and the sea look like paintings on a canvas.When you see the lights illuminating human civilization below you, you realize how you were a light down there yesterday for someone in an aircraft and the vastness of the world below you humbles and inspires you, all at the same time.

This picture here is an aerial shot of Dubai, and just watching this was such an introspective moment for me.

After this inspiring moment, when the plane lands with a thud back to earth, the mad rush to file out of the airplane begins.Then a seemingly calm airplane turns into a chaotic push and pull to get overhead luggage and move out to get out of the airport.   

So, till my next post , this is the annoying co-passenger who keeps the reading light on when you are trying to sleep- signing off. 

Hope you guys enjoyed it and as always do share your stories of travel J

Live life Carpe Diem!

And I shamelessly promise to write more often as always! (Hopefully I keep this one)
Another click which was taken, when I was trying to write in a flight.

The New Year Night Of Shame

The night was rather young and brimming with festive spirit, there were celebrations everywhere to welcome 2017. A new year with more opportunities, hope, peace, and love.But the crowded streets in Bangalore brought down humiliation, pain and unwanted sexual advances on the women folk who were there to welcome the New Year.

Two genders, at the same place, one left with a harrowing memory and the other the reason for it.

We read reports about the politician who said, how women “aping” Western culture were the reason for these shameful incidents. The lewd comments and piercing looks don’t stop even when you wear a saree or salwar kameez. You can feel the dirty stares scanning over your body, the unwanted groping in a busy bazaar, the whistles and comments objectifying your body, the wandering vile eyes looking for some skin all of this when you are in Indian clothes. So who is to blame?

Western clothes or not having a male accompany are not reasons to justify sexual harassment, there is no reasoning for this. It is a crime and this should not happen to any woman (or man). Every country should be safe for everyone to move about without the fear for their life and safety.

The women were touched, manhandled and molested by many unrighteous hands; reaching out for any female body they could reach to. Are we a toy of pleasure for your uncontrollable raging hormones?

Worships Goddesses but ironically the country is not safe for women.
Picture credits : Pawan Natekar

This does not end in the streets, it followed to the pubs and bars that night. A woman out in a pub to have a good time with friends does not spell out loose morals. She is there just like you to have some fun, you down a few drinks and can’t behave appropriately then leave (yes, go home!) but that does not call for you to grapple and feel her against her wishes to satisfy your twisted sexual needs.

A lady walking through a deserted street is an easy target for malicious men; the incident of the lady who was molested in Bangalore and caught on CCTV camera is one such incident, we all got to know the incident because of the video. How many such untold experiences? How many more women were left on the streets after an attack lying helpless and bruised like Nirbhaya (2012 Delhi gang rape victim)?

Even the police were left helpless by the intoxicated unruly mob, then how do you expect a single lady to be able to rescue herself from the hands of a bunch of molesters? Yes, there were brave women who fought back to these men and taught them a lesson so that they will never dare to repeat it ever again in their life. Kudos to you, Chaitali Wasnik !. Even in such instances, the bystanders and the crowd were only watching her response and not taking any action. Where are your morals common people of India?

Incidents like these are a reminder that India is not safe for women, so ladies for your own safety arm yourself with pepper sprays or any other self-defense tools that you are comfortable with , because we still have men in our society who have no self-control and are sexual predators.

It would be completely unfair if I do not mention the people (men & women) who helped the troubled women to safety. So yes, thank you for being human and doing the right thing.

May this unfortunate incident open the eyes of our society as well as our political and judicial system to make amends, take action and bring about change to the existing mindset, complacency and victim shaming. And fellow humans remember – there is no hard-and-fast rule that you should only help and support your family and loved ones; every man, woman and child in distress is looking out for your

kindness.

Note : This article was also published in Youth Ki Awaaz, the online meda platform on January 10,2017.