Lets stop spreading rumors

We all know how Japan has been affected by Tsunami and now the nuclear blasts. It is indeed disappointing to see how a hard working country like Japan, (which after the Hiroshima, Nagasaki attacks resolved to become a strong economy) has been reduced to a wasteland. My father says that Japanese are sincere people with a determination to succeed. He says they wont be crying for sympathy from so-called rich countries, they have lot of self respect and they will surely make a huge comeback. I hope for the same.

Meanwhile, I am sure many of you might have received this mail from some of your contacts in your mailing list:

There was a nuclear blast 4:30pm Sunday in Fukushima Japan. If it rains today or in the next few days, DO NOT GO UNDER THE RAIN. If you get caught out, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it's only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.

BBC flash news: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If it rains, remain indoors first 24hours, close doors n windows, swab neck skin with beta-dine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions, radiation may hit Philippines starting 4pm (Pinas time) today!

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE.


I don't blame the people who mailed this to us, they shared with genuine concern. However, though it is good to share information, it is definitely not good to spread rumors. We need to understand the difference between the two. Imagine, what would the condition of a person be who is already affected by a particular incident. I remember, a day after 26/11 occurred, there were fresh rumors floating about another attack at CST. People were simply scared and my mom was not even ready to allow me to go to a nearby market. Why scare people and create panic amongst them? We cannot avoid such mails or messages (you will be bombarded with such mails and messages by someone or the other) but definitely we can judge if these mails or messages are to be believed or not. According to me such mails are rumors until the Government does not issue an official statement regarding it and deserves to be deleted forever. We as educated citizens of the country should be careful about the information we share. We need to remember that even a harmless mail such as these can lead to confusion and chaos in the society.


P.S: A special thanks to my friend Monali who brought to my notice that these mails were rumors. 

No one killed Aarushi???

You definitely know a lot about her. The mysterious murder of Aarushi and Hemraj is back in focus. Two years gone and the guilty has not yet been caught let alone being punished. Few evidences point towards her father, however, there are still many loopholes. We obviously cannot do anything about it (except for lighting candles in front of her smiling photo at India Gate and Gateway of India).

But we can certainly pray for Aarushi and Hemraj. Pray that their soul RIP and that the guilty is punished soon.

AND YES ALSO PRAY THAT KAMAL R KHAN DOES NOT MAKE A FILM ON THIS SENSITIVE TOPIC x-(

I happened to come across Aarushi's profile on Orkut and though I find it weird about how could people write scraps and ask her questions such as kaisi ho? when she has already passed away; I feel that this mass prayer (through scraps) for her justice would surely do some miracle and help in punishing the guilty.

This is just one of those high profile murders (Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Matto and Nitish Katara being the others) that has garnered media attention. While this case may get solved sooner or later, there are several cases that are pending since time immemorial and have not attracted media's attention maybe because it does not involve rich families. Hope justice is meted out to these families too and hope that it is not yet another example of Tareekh pe tareekh for them.

Respect Her!!!

• Mr. Maharaja Kaushik- the coach of Women's Hockey Team has been accused of sexually harassing the players.
• 3 minor girls get raped and killed in Nehru Nagar- Kurla, Mumbai
• A recent survey stated that Delhi is considered to be the most unsafe place in India for Women. Around 85% women said that they do not feel safe in Delhi. Goa is also considered unsafe by foreign tourists.

Welcome friends, welcome to a Nation where women are considered nothing less than a Sex object.

Welcome to a nation, where on one hand a women is called the Lakshmi of the house (obviously, it is she who brings Gold and money to your home in the form of dowry) and on the other she is treated as a burden to the family (Because in India it is the responsibility of a girl's father to conduct a marriage at their expense).

Pardon me for this nonsensical rant, but could not stop myself from ranting.

Today as I flipped through the pages of a newspaper, I found more than half of the newspaper carrying stories about Rapes, Sexual Harassments and Molestation. Tired, I switched on the TV and was greeted by the same Rape, Sexual Harassment stories. I switched off the TV and sat on the veranda only to find an uncle residing in the opposite building slapping his wife black and blue. It was a sick sight to watch. We complained to the Cops for the nth time, who took him to the station for the nth time and sent him back for the nth time because his loyal wife is scared to complain against him.

India is a nation of diversity, and not just languages and culture; even the treatment meted out towards women in different parts of the country proves this.

So while a girl child is welcomed as Lakshmi or Durga in West Bengal or Southern States, a girl born in Punjab or Haryana is considered to be a huge burden to the family and is often killed after birth. Often, the mother who has given birth to a girl child is sent back home as though she has committed a crime. The father of the child seldom realizes that it is his chromosomes that determine the sex of the child. So shouldn't he be punished for committing this heinous crime.

Obviously, I have no answers to my questions but yes I do have some wishes that I hope gets fulfilled some day:

I hope that the honorable Judiciary System takes a note of the crimes meted out towards women and make the laws more stringent.

• I hope that girls stop bowing down to the atrocities meted out to them. Set an Example by saying a FIRM NO to something which is against your wish. It could be forced sex, forced marriage anything.

• I hope that the government does something about protecting the women. Sheila Dixit are you listening?

• I hope that every family treats women as equal and treat them with respect.

• I hope that the media does not make such stories a fodder to fill their space and time. It's good to inform people but definitely not good to harp over it.

• But most importantly, I hope that Women do not keep quiet and learn to fight for themselves.

Shirdi wale sai baba Aaya hain tere dar pe sawali

Every individual worships god (some do not admit it but secretly they do worship some form of god or atleast have fear). I believe in God and for some reason I have immense faith on Shirdi Baba and I make it a point to visit his divine mandir every year. This is the first time I am writing about the wonderful trip.

1. A sudden trip to Shirdi: As I said before, I have been visiting Shirdi almost every year for Baba's darshan. I somehow find solace in shirdi. There is something about the place that draws me there evrytime. With a lamba weekend (3 holidays back to back) and with some important decisions to be taken, mom and I decided to make a quick 9 hour trip to Shirdi to seek baba's blessings.

2. The nice and not so nice bus journey (Mumbai to Shirdi): We left on Thursday night. Like always we boarded the 8PM bus from Goregaon. The nice part of the journey was that there was a cute looking guy with deep dimples adding sobha to his chehra sitting behind me. He was chit chatting with me endlessly and we were laughing over silly of the silliest jokes. I had started dreaming of a dance sequence too, wherein, we both were doing salsa (the song was tera hone laga hoon from ajab prem kii gajab kahani). I was brought down to earth by my mom who realized that unki beti ki niyat kharab ho rahi hain. The not so nice part of the journey came when he called up his girlfriend and said loudly "jaanu tumhe aana chahiye tha, main tumhe miss kar raha hoon". Bas this was enough to make me feel disheartened and I fell asleep.

3. The enchanting baba's darshan and the indisciplined public: Shirdi has become a popular pilgrimage destination in India. After Tirupati and Vaishano Devi, Shirdi is the place twhere lakhs of people come to seek baba's darshan. After taking a room in a decent hotel, mom and I freshened up and went to seek baba's darshan at 7 AM. We wanted to go for the 4AM aarti, but I was way too lazy to get up and go. I got good darshan of baba and was mesmerized by the enthu public who kept repeating "Om sai namoh namah, shri sai namoh namah". But what irked me was the indisciplined crowd that tried to break the lines and wriggle like a worm between two people standing for darshan. It was pretty bad of them to do so. In order to avoid people barging in between, we had to stand in close proximities, and literally got suffocated. I even told a lady that "baba sabko darshan denge aap zara line mein khade rahiye", but all my pleas fell on deaf ears. I sincerely hope that the Saibaba Trust takes a note of this and works towards bringing orderliness amongst the devotees.

Bolo Shri Satchitananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj kii Jai!!!

4. A maha boring return journey (Shirdi to Mumbai): We took a return bus from Shirdi to Mumbai at 1PM on Friday. As I had returned after taking baba's darshan, I had decided to be a good girl and stop fooling around with good looking guys. The moment I settled down in my seat, I plugged my ears, closed my eyes and listened to Rafi singing Shirdiwale Sai baba. Luckily there were no good looking guys in the bus to divert my attention. The buswala had put Akshay Kumar's Chandni Chowk to China. It was a 3 hour ordeal for me to watch a weird looking Deepika and equally boring Akshay Kumar making fool of themselves, but somehow I did manage to put up with it. But aal izz well. The journey was smooth and we reached home safely.

5. Conclusion: I have come home refreshed with full of energy and with zeal to take right decsisions. I must admit, no matter how commercialized the place may have become, the simplicity of the local people and the magic of Shirdi is still visible. I suggest that whenever you make a trip to Maharashtra, don't forget to make a trip to Shirdi and if you are coming to Mumbai, don't forget to take my darshan :)

Will leave you with an awesome song from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony. I love this song (please ignore nirupama roy and her melodrama, just listen to the song).