A Desperate Plea for Awakening!!!

She has been known by many names recently… Nirbhaya, Damini, Amanat, India’s Braveheart, India’s Daughter… The girl who lived through an ordeal of 13 days to awaken the nation!!! She brought the country together… People from all walks of life stepped out of their homes to discuss questions which were earlier plainly discussed while watching news or over a cup of tea… where is our country heading???

Questions have been raised on the safety of women… not only in Delhi but across the nation! But I guess it does not end here. Her death marks the beginning of a new revolution! It’s just not the safety of women which is the concern, it is much larger!

As we have learnt since our school days, the government, such as in a country like ours, is supposed to be by the people, of the people, for the people… But is the government really for the people? The high level drama that we have seen on talk shows, the statements made by several representatives of the government, the reactions from the police are all examples of how disoriented our government structure is and how their lack of responsibility has affected our daily lives!!!

How obnoxious can people sound when they say that girls should be properly dressed to avoid instances of rape or rape attempts!! Or that women should not step out of their homes late night because it instigates rape!! Instead why not take action against those men who have get into such acts.. Chemical castration maybe a step towards improving the situation, but can it really end it?? Why not formalise sex education in India, why not legalise prostitution?

Today as we bid farewell to “Amanat”, it is time to raise the questions – What steps are the government taking to handle the situation? What actions are going to be taken to bring about a drastic difference in the overall law and order situation in the country through a series of amendments in our age old laws? What are we doing as a society to change our mindset? I completely agree with Sunita when she rightly mentioned on a talk show recently that it’s not the “rape victim” who should be hiding their identity, but it’s the rapists who should be hiding themselves. Also when she bravely states that she should not be called a “rape victim” but a “rape survivor”.

I guess it is this mindset which will help equip all of us individually to bring about the change in society which we all hope for. Maybe then the fight that Amanat had put up with, during and after the heinous act, would be rightly justified.

Education!!! Are We Truly 21st Century Oriented???

Education, as we all say, is the base for our career. We spend years and another few lakhs to gain that masters to help establish us in our respective careers. But when we look back at what we have studied at our school level, college level or in our post graduation days, we can’t help but wonder, what did we learn that we can apply to our careers?

When the entire world has progressed in terms of the education system, we, Indians still proudly follow the same education system which the Britishers had established decades ago. Yes, the system that they had implemented long long ago definitely helped us strengthen our base, but where is the upgradation which we talk about in all other fields?

I have always observed learned professionals from the education industry sharing their knowledge and experiences with students across levels. No offence to them, but somehow, I seriously noticed not too many of them have the practical angle to their teachings. Which is why it is time that we bring about not just a revolution but a paradigm shift in the overall methodologies!!! which we talk about in all other fields?

Innumerable Indians aspire to go abroad for higher studies... But why not change our own system to such an extent that India becomes a global destination for education for many. I am sure we have the potential to prove ourselves in this arena... the way we already have in several spheres. The major thing required to do so is to change the mindset. Bring in corporate partnership in education, instil the confidence that education system is not very different from the corporate world. As someone I know very closely rightly mentions, "what is the major challenge in grooming toppers and placing them in the topnotch names of the corporate world; the way it is done in the established names of the education industry. The challenge is to groom the average and the below average students and place them at respectable positions in reputed companies"

After almost 6 years in the corporate world, I now consider myself as a part of the education industry. But I always face comments like "you need to look at things differently; there is a lot of difference between education and corporate. Else people won't take you seriously". But my question is why??? I have two different reasons to pose question. One is that when we are training students for the corporate world, then why treat them in a manner different from that of the corporate world. Secondly, if a particular way of functioning is considered effective in the corporate world, then why isn't it considered effective for the industry which trains students for the corporate world. Because of such reasons, it becomes important for us to pose these questions!!!

These thoughts keep coming up in my mind on a regular basis... but does it bother you too??? If yes, what do we do about it??/ But in case the answer is no, isn't that supposed to be a concern????

Painting the Town Red......

How many times have you travelled on an Indian road... and seen people spitting out??? It could be from anywhere, a speeding bus, a train, a two wheeler, or it could very well be a pedestrian.....

Well, as a regular on the roads, I find it as the most disgusting things a person can come across. look at any corner (a staircase, a building, a building lift, etc), and you'll see the red sprayed all over it.... thats nothing but our very own substitute of a chewing gum.... THE GUTKHA & THE TAMBAAKU (tobacco).....

In certain states the no. of people addicted to them is so high that when you walk on the roads, you literally need to dodge the freshly spat ones.... it's impossible to lean against any wall, because you can see the freshly made marks.... Even in some upmarket malls, you'll see the marks next to the bins or the elevators. How disgusting can it get????

Inspite of the gutkha ban and the numerous awareness programmes stating the ill-effects of the product, people just cannot get over this habit.... Suprisingly, I have seen people in a doctor's clinic chewing on the gutkha / tobacco and staring at pictures describing how these products can affect a person's gum to the extent that it creates a hole on the cheeks.... It's almost like indulging in self-torture

It's really saddening to even see small kids addicted to gutkha / tambaaku..... I listen people talking about not smoking or drinking, but this seems worse... I guess we as citizens need to start spreading awareness ourselves.... from a basic level, like talking about it to our maid servants (sadly but true that even some of these ladies chew on them), watchman, or mechanics ....

Why be Divided????

This is my very first blog.... not a pro at writing... just a first attempt

We all have known India as our motherland.... a true example of cultural heritage.... I have also seen quite a bit of the country (if not everything)... trips have taken me to different parts of the country. Whether it is the temple city of Puri, the city of joy - Kolkata, the city of dreams - Mumbai, the city of Nawabs - Hyderabad, or my current hometown - Pune....

One thing which really fascinates me is that how people from different backgrounds, different religions, beliefs, traditions co-exist with great harmony. I have often heard people talking about the Hindu-Muslim divide, but somehow I have never noticed it on the streets. I, a Hindu, is surrounded by scores of Muslim friends amongst other friends, from other religions. But we have never even thought of these points as issues worth a mention. If the common man remains unaffected by this, then why do we allow these points to be a major concern at large?

One major thing which fascinates me is the number of people with different beliefs and opinions still being a part of the same circle of friends. On one hand I have some of the most broad minded people as my friends who are completely open to the so-called "modern concepts" of widow remarriage, child adoption, live-in relationships, etc. And on the other I have friends who are so narrow minded that if we even utter a word like boyfriends / girlfriends, they would shudder to be around you the next moment... And surprisingly we have people from both the categories being together day in and day out either as friends or colleagues or even relatives.......

At a time when we are faced by issues like terrorist attacks, the terror created by our politicians, it's time that we stand up as one nation and utilise our strength as our weapon to fight them... Recently, we have seen the result of the unity of the nation post 26/11, when some of our so called leaders of the state or country had to give up their posts only because we realised that there could be leaders, better than them... Let's stand together and work towards a better nation, a nation where we can live a life without a fear of what's going to happen the next moment.......