First Times

That precise point in time
When things went astray
Something wrong she sensed
That feeling that you get
She couldn't put a pin on it
It was not a familiar scene
She knew it for sure
She couldn't be more unsure
Fleeting glances,secret smiles
A faint hearbeat
And a chilling cry
That precise point in time
She held her just born child.

Trivia : "First Times" is a few lines to describe the emotions that a new mother feels when she holds her baby for the first time
Image credit : Google images

I am someone and I am a facebook addict

She kept checking her phone

Growing frantic by the second

She could not understand what had become of the world

She kept refreshing her feed

To find likes of her recent pic

Stuck at number six

Stranger in the Mirror

I woke up to the morning dream

Couldn’t recollect where I had been

Nor did anyone familiar seem

I tried and tried

But my thoughts screamed

I looked at my hands

Belonged to someone strange

Looked at the mirror

Found a stranger wherein

Then I remembered

The physical hurt

The emotional pain

The shrill sound of ambulance

And the burn of acid

On my face

Last time I had checked

I was still a child 

"Stranger In the Mirror" is an attempt to portray the emotional turmoil and the physical pain hundreds victims have to go through due to the acid attacks prevalent in various parts of the country.

The Agitated Indian: Empathetic on social media, doesn’t bother in real life!

A girl on a Delhi – Imphal flight on being faced with the actions of five lewd men who ogled at women, took videos of air hostesses and stared at her and her sister who was nursing her baby decided to take pictures of these men and tweeted on twitter. Her co-passengers however decided to ignore the situation and no even one of them tried to address the situation.However, the tweet in the meantime instantly became viral and received great support from the people. So much so that the Indi-Go top management deputed a senior executive to look into the matter, and the local police had arrived at the airport. The five boors were then detained.

Another girl on an Indigo flight to Bhubaneswar finds herself being touched inappropriately by an old man seated behind her. She decides to take a video, post the same of Facebook and online public shaming of the man starts. None of the people around at that moment however do anything to alleviate the situation.

The 2012 Nirbhaya case is a glaring example. People who found her in Munrika, a neighborhood in South Delhi decided to go about their daily business. The incident however caused nationwide condemnation and candle light marches supporting the victim. Years later in 2015 the documentary film “India’s daughter” facing a court stay order by the Indian government, went viral online and received mass support.

Finding instances of huge public support for victims of harassment or even supporting a cause virtually over social media is not uncommon. Social media is a very powerful medium. Online public shaming is easier, faster and penetrates deeper. The online mob is more powerful than ever.

The digitally agitated Indian however finds himself paralyzed whenever faced with a similar situation in real life. Drawing a parallel between adopting a different digital persona from real life personality would not be farfetched. Why is it that we tend to be empathetic online and not in real life? One of the major reasons might be our cultural influences which shape our attitudes. The thought of getting stuck in the complex web of government administration, judicial system and paperwork might be a dampner.A collective social responsibility and sense of ownership to right a situation can go a long way towards being a truly in vigil Indian.

Conversations of Life Part - I

Janata Bar,Pali Hill,Bandra,Mumbai 2010.

A quaint little bar in the busy street of Pali Hill in Mumbai.At first the place doesn’t strike you as different until you see the queues of hip urban youth lining up for a table.We all want to go to popular places and yeah its cheap on the pockets too.

I was meeting her after 5 years.She had recently been married and was visiting the city.

“Hey,Its so good to see you” she said hugging me tight.A warmth of friendly vibe rushed through me and I was beaming till my ears.”Havent you been missed!!” I retorted.

 “Lets go inside,the manager has been impatiently looking for me to order something.Got a table for us sometime back”

We went inside and got seated at a corner table.Ordered a quarter of old monk and masala peanuts and resumed our conversation.

“Hows marriage treating you and hows Vishal?”

“Great its been great and he is amazing….you know how it is in the intial days of marriage.You cant keep your hands off each other” she said shyly

“Yeah its evident” I said nudging her and teasing her

“So when are you tying the knot” she asked

“You know what, I never might.Love is too complicated and Marriage is even more so”

She looked aghast but then making an effort to understand she said “Tell me more,I want to understand”

“You see,all these stories of eternal love and commitment are great.But I see no real example of the same.I either see couples fighting or not talking.With both career minded individuals and having no time for each other how much are we ready to compromise? “

“It doesn’t have to be like that.See me and Vishal for example…We both try to understand each other and try to work out our differences and…….” She fell short of words unable to continue the conversation.

“What is it?” I asked holding her hand.She squealed in pain.

Her hand was swollen and had blue marks on her wrists.She withdrew trying to hide her hands in the sleeves of her sweat shirt.

“You have to tell me whats going on? Do you need help?”

“I cant,its nothing” she got engulfed in her silence.

I didn’t know what it was.Had she done that to herself or was she getting abused at home.How could she allow this.She is an independent woman.My mind tried to find a logical reason and framed stories on its own.

She finally looked up, did a bottom’s up of her drink and said something which I will always remember.

“I am a modern woman in India.I have choices within social boundaries.But my bedroom has some other story to tell.Lets leave it at that.”

Then she was back to her normal self “Lets meet more often.I have sorely missed you” she said.

I smiled.Confused and Angry.