ক্ষতি নেই মিথ্যে বলায়/ ভালো আছি

Remember those one liners, you do not know how strong you are unless/until being strong is the only option you have. Or something like that. I do not know if surviving= strength. I would like to think it is. I would also like to think the Gods would be fair someday. Someday? Okay so the tales.

Character intro needed? Okay!
Piya was always the heart of the group, “Bachcha” as they called her, actually had the heart of a child. No, she was not stupid but she sincerely lacked the grey mindset. She thought and reacted in binary, either a yes or a no, either full or zero. I have always believed that there is a LOT to learn from this girl.

It was her first anniversary of living away from home, the City of Joy. All of us who had lived and experienced this city, know, how much it can spoil you with its ever so generous self. After a lot of turmoil and ups and downs, she was wondering how much life had changed or has it not? The long weekend that would start all alone, because everyone else was too busy with themselves, appeared all the more gloomy because the love of the life of course was at his indifferent best. Only therapy: watching Queen for the umpteenth time. Because? ‘Ami eka ekai khushi thakbo’. Told you, there’s a lot to learn from this kid.

So,
10:30pm and the lanes and sub lanes of Magarpatta are not exactly the best combo for a young girl, especially when you HAVE to step out of your flat alone to buy a tampon on your second day of menstrual cycle. So why 10:30 and why alone? Because Piya works hard at Pune, travels far, so obviously reaches Magarpatta late, and did not have the luxury of the boyfriend travelling to her from a different city three times a month for company or whatever it is, or the luxury of having roommates (because everyone went home) for company before the long Easter weekend. So, she was all by herself, in her pyjamas and a dupatta of course because, you know, too much testosterone all around at night. Now if you live at Kormangla with friends or at Ballygunge with “friends” and compare the 10:30pm with Magarpatta, well dear reader, IQ how much?

Therefore on the one year completion of being independent literally, at 11pm, she returned to an empty ‘home’ at Magarpatta, with tampon and to the half watched ‘Queen’, after getting it from the shop wali aunty and facing a group of men who probably were wondering what she is carrying or they knew. Not a Nobel winning performance this most certainly but then, now her grandchildren will have one more story to be heard. Well actually, two more.

Character intro needed? You won’t get.

So,
8:30pm on a Friday night at Marathalli. The entire Bangalore either rushes towards Kormangla-IndiraNagar or towards KalyanNagar-Hebbal for the weekend booze dose and Marathalli being the connecting road to both these places, gets ALL the cars that there can be. Now about this part of Bangalore, you must never NEVER wait for cars to stop to cross the road, they won’t. You cross the road when you want and the cars would stop. Clear? Except for Fridays when cars would never stop and road crossing needs you to be flash quick.

So she crossed the left service road, the left main road and was catching her breadth on the central divider before crossing the right main road and right service road on one such Friday night. And? She tripped on the divider right at the right footstep and that very moment God decided to let her live a few days more. Result? The chappal (non-branded from Commercial footpath) got torn and she fell on the divider itself and not on the road.

Now what? Yes, Thank You to the Gods for letting her live but now? Chappal torn and the possibility of limping with the torn chappal on the main road Friday crossing, is like giving away the life that has just been saved, in gift wrap to the Gods. So, the pampered girl who had never known what it is to wear a chappal which does not match the top, threw both the chappals on divider and walked bare foot. Crossed right main road, crossed right service road, got glances, walked alone for 5 minutes right to the Bangalore shelter.

Now if you are extremely used to being picked and dropped in daddy’s car or taxi, or have never worn anything other than branded sandals, you won’t understand my ‘princess’. This again was not a Nobel winning performance but then, to do this and a lot more, ALL by yourself is not as easy as it seems, especially when your confidence has become the size of a half peanut, all thanks to all the buggers you love so dear.

Cheers to? Happy pretensions and Independence :)

And sometimes, rarely, very very rarely, there would be no light at the end of the tunnel. 

Women, now, then and forever.

The sun rises in the east isn’t it? Do we ever debate and question about this? I take it for granted that the reader is a normal person and not high while he/she is reading and hence, the answer to the above two questions are, Yes and No, respectively. So the point being, since it is FACT that the sun rises in the east, it is never debated over, unless the ever so debatable topic, ‘are men and women equal’. The fact that it is discussed and debated over, stands as the testimony to the fact, that they aren’t. Okay, so all the feminists might look at the remark over with raised eye brows, well my dearies, I firmly believe that men and women are not equal, but that does not necessarily mean the one is superior or inferior to the other. Point made? The fact that they are not equal makes them different, but well of course, they deserve equal rights because we are all humans. True :)

One more thing that I want to highlight here is, women do not need special privileges, special rights. Just because we are different and mostly weaker than the men physical strength wise on an average, does not make it a compulsion for us to be treated like wax dolls. We truly do appreciate all the chivalry and love that we get, thank you world, but we certainly we do not need the sympathy that we get at times, for being women. ‘Sympathy is painful’, my senior says and I cannot agree more. I remember how few relatives and family friends of mine gave sympathy to my Mom when my sister was born because of the birth of another daughter, how some of them said they can share few of the troubles that daughter birth will bring, THAT kind of sympathy, we need not. Neither do we need the reservations, to be very honest. We are independent ‘now’ as the initial agenda of the write-up was and since we have all the opportunities, cut the reservation off, reservation is the biggest form of discrimination I believe.  

Talking about women “then, now forever”, the ‘then’ when the Grandmother made sure the fields are ploughed and the children (three daughters mind you) get proper education or the ‘then’ when the mother dared to leave the children in the crèche (two daughters mind you) without listening to the nasty remarks of the world, for work? The ‘now’ when you still carry sanitary napkins in a black plastic because they would stare at you like you’re carrying bomb or the ‘now’ when you would arrange for your own ‘dowry’ because although you are independent, you are girl after all. Reverse progress is it? Or is it the way we want to see, we want to be, irrespective of which age or stage you are in.

Of course we will have fairness cream ads where the groom will reject the girl because of the color, irrespective of how repulsive he looks. Of course the wife will wash the clothes in the washing powder ad even if she is the top model. Of course the fellow passenger will look around when you’re travelling alone and then ‘accidently’ brush his hand over your breasts. Of course your co-workers will give you dirty looks when the boss would praise you over your male colleague. Of course roadside Romeos will ogle at your legs no matter where you are. Of course the only man you have ever loved will leave you one day without any explanation and hold the hand of prettier options. Of course the relatives will judge you if you are 27 or 47 and not married. Of course the society will not understand that your daughter is your daughter even if you have not given birth to her. Of course the in laws will object when you help your parents financially even after wedding. Of course the husband will not understand why you need help with the household chores.

Then, now, forever!

Being a woman is not easy you see?

I remember this Mumbai group posting photos and write ups with hashtag why loiter for obvious reasons and I tried doing the same. It was the same night when I was hooted at by a gang of 20 boys and well, when you have 20:1 ratio, all the heroism behind the write-ups vanish, and there is no shame in acceptance. The long forgotten topic, women, then, now, forever.

The women then were strong, were beautiful, were important. The women now are as strong, beautiful and important. The only difference being, now they have a bigger platform to voice, to express. Take it up ladies, you are forever and always, what you want to be, what you have always been, the creator, the prettiness, and the zeal that keeps everything else together. As the lovely mother who loves, as the chirpy sister to cares, as the silent girlfriend who waits, as the beautiful mistress who takes, as the optimistic friend who encourages, as the seductive muse who inspires, as the 'you' who is just so perfect.

Happy existing, ladies, minus one :) 

Because.

Also, first shower of the year deserved a proper nice post but then, how does anything matter
Also, Titoo, if you're reading, count 1
Also, FUCKta in Marathi means 'only'. Whattay vulgar language!
Also, I wish I could send the picture above the way I wanted to and to
Also, r kotooooo
Because.

Mellow Drama

Tamanna’s wedding night, she looked beautiful and the happiness was radiating through her smile of content at finding a man who loves her way more than she can imagine. Shashank took the guitar on the bashor night  and started playing all the romantic numbers for the couple. Tamanna and Abir, the recently married two, were continuously stealing glances. Abir kept on admiring Tamanna and how perfect she looked on the wedding night, Tamanna was blushing before she looked at me and said, ‘ki bajachhe dekh’.  Getting back to Shashank’s romatic songs, I realized he was playing ‘Bin Tere’.

The same old song that Nihar used to play for Tamanna all though college years. From freshers to fest to singing competition to random song requests, Nihar always sang ‘Bin Tere’ and smiled at Tamanna and Tamanna always knew he sang it for her and meant every word. Then of course seasons changed for whoever’s fault, they parted at whoever’s decision, they moved on for whoever’s benefit, but the song remained.

Many many miles away at Bangalore, the same night, Nihar sang ‘Bin Tere’ again and Priya sat in front. Nihar smiled at Priya while he sang, Priya looked at Nihar and blushed because she knew Nihar sang it for her and meant every word.

And I, just watched. 

Pushpa IS In Tears, Babumoshai!

What a life it is going to be, without getting to hear "chal, badi wali zindagi jite hai"

Jeete hai. Chal?