Stop Rape - An Oath to Change (For all Men)

What would stop this? Who can stop this? Would 600 patrol vans change anything? Would a few more changes in law change anything? I don't think so. I don't think it will change things for the victim. I don't think it will change things for any girl who is scared to move around even in a guys company.
Yes, what India wants is capital punishment for the rapist. What India wants is a thousand candles to melt down, protests across the country to show solidarity to the fallen victim. Roses and numerous petitions on facebook and all of it. Blood boiling, angry mob, raised voices and concern everywhere.
But is that it? A few hanged, a thousand candles burnt but still thousands of such free, looking for another victim and the media glare to fizz out ?
This blog post is no good either. But then this is not a post. This is an oath I take to change.
An oath I take as a man, as a son, as a brother, as a future husband, as a future father and as a human beign.

We have blamed everyone and everything but us. From dresses to marriageable age. From alcohol to chowmein ( Really? We don't even mind sounding ridiculous to save our ego) ? All this to hide the real culprits, MEN!
It is time to take all(not some) responsibility. It is time to be ashamed of ourselves.
It is upon men to change, and act like humans. We, the male population can save the women from the horrors of living under the fear for their lives. It is not about pity but about disgust and being ashamed. We should do this for our sisters, daughters, mothers, wives and friends and more than anyone else, for ourselves. To save our gender some respect which is lost in the inhuman acts of some brainless animals. And to tell you, this is not just about rape, which is the most extreme brutal form of assault. No! This is about everyday eve teasing, lewd remarks, girls being treated as objects of sex. It is about all those men who have sat around a shop with friends and stared at girls passing lewd remarks at them. It is about all those who think it is okay to touch and grope a girl and to be proud of it. It is for all of those men who take pride in talking of women as sex objects.
And it is about all those men who did not stop their friends, or classmates, or co passenger from doing any of what is mentioned above.It is about all those fathers who did not teach his son to respect the other sex.  All those men who have not voiced themselves against objectification of women.

What do you expect out of uneducated men to do when the educated ones don't let any opportunity to sexually harass(pass comments) a women pass? What do you expect a school guy to grow into who was praised by his friends to have groped a girl in school bus ? What do you expect a college student to grow into when the number of girls you bed is a matter of pride in a group ( Roadies auditions see quite a handful of such men)? They wouldn't grow up into a gentle man for all I know.

Stand up and object. Stand up and change. Things will change only if we will change.  Stop your friends, colleagues, classmates and anyone you know from treating girls as objects of sex. Stop them from eve teasing. Stop them from making you look like an animal. Stop them from making females in your family feel insecure. Stop them to save the word "men" before it is too late. Stop them before another such rapist is born out of them.

Take the oath! Be the change! From a three letter word of shame to a real MAN!

Blind and Deaf

The violet in the sky,
and the red in the grass.
Things that we don't see
and which really are.
The music in the dark woods,
and shrieks in a song.
Things that we don't hear
and which really are.
What we don't see
and what we don't hear,
things that mean a lot
and which really are.
We miss all of that,
but then they are.
The way we know all
is not the way it is.
For what we see and hear
is all but all.
A friend is not always a friend
a foe not always a foe.
You call them what you want
blind to the fact that,
the irony of life as it is,
the largest desert is actually called an Ocean.

Guns N' Roses - India tour (Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurgaon) - This month

Sweet Child O' mine!! GNR will be live in Bangalore, Mumbai and Gurgaon this month. A little late for November Rain, but then who minds as we go Knocking on the Heavens door with one of the greatest rock bands of present era! Yes, Slash is not anymore in the band but then GNR is GNR!
Mumbai gets lucky with this one as they get the Sunday slot while Bangalore gets Friday and Gurgaon gets Wednesday.
They will take the stage at 4 pm at all the three places which means many of the working fans might be taking a day off in Gurgaon and Bangalore.
Well then, Welcome to the Jungle!

Tickets are priced at : Silver Ticket - INR 1500, Gold Ticket - INR 3000, Platinum Ticket - INR 10000.
I am not sure of the availability as of today but you can sure check online or at the outlets.

The list of outlets for all the three cities can be found here . (Source : www.kyazoonga.com)

BENGALURU
Dec 7, 2012   (Friday)
Time: 16:00
Venue: Bhartiya City, Bengaluru

MUMBAI
Dec 9, 2012  (Sunday)
Time: 16:00
Venue: MMRDA Grounds, Mumbai.

GURGAON
Dec 12, 2012    (Wednesday)
Time: 16:00
Venue: Leisure Valley Grounds, Sector 29, Gurgaon

For more information and booking the tickets visit www.kyazoonga.com

Two to Tango Three to Jive - Play, Dinner and Me at Hyatt Regency, Pune

Another one of those Friday evenings that goes all well.  A play by Saurabh Shukla (of Satya fame), followed by a wonderful dinner at Hyatt Regency, Pune. That is just as much as you would ask for on a weekend.

 The venue was overflowing with people of all age groups a good half an hour before the play began , only to be treated with wine, snacks and  jazz music. I had to refrain myself from drinking, being the responsible citizen who does not drink and drive.  These are the times I hate having to drive!
Anyway, the play was brilliant although it did hit monotonous notes in between. It was about  Parminder Singh Sethi (Saurabh Shukla), a middle aged married man and how he tries to get along with three women at different times to spice up his mundane life. It showcased the emotions of an average married man who wants things to happen rather than just pass. His fears, his frustration, his feelings have been brought out in a very strong yet comic way.The play almost depicts an average man and how his desires change with time, and what he needs from the relationship with his wife.  Saurabh Shukla was brilliant on the stage with his precise comic timings that sent the audience on a laughing roll.

Nigaar Khan, Mona Wasu and Preiti Mamgain played the three women Parminder tries to get into an affair with. While at the end Parminder did not get into any relationship, he does realise that his wife is the best companion to have and that it is just time that they lack to spend together.

The confusion and innocence of Parminder Singh Sethi was both adorable and comic. The play got a terrific response from the audience as everyone stood up to applaud the performance.I however found the script a little less on something I could not figure out, as it never really got hold of me.

One treat was followed with another as we approached the dinner section. Oh, did you forget the dinner party I mentioned earlier?  From starters, to main course, to beverages, to desserts, the place was all crowded. Either the food was too good or people too hungry. I dont usually mind waiting and that is exactly what I did. The wait was all worth as the food was awesome. Dum biryani and pepper chicken were both too good for the taste buds. I did not get into the vegetarian section as I continue on my protein diet ;) .
Again I being the responsible citizen who does not drink and drive stayed away from where wine and more was being served. ( And for the second time, I hate driving! )

As was expected, the desserts section was full of variety. I always enjoy looking at them more than eating for good reasons. Although I did make an exception that day and had more than I could stack in my stomach!
And so we Jived!

Why I hate Flight Journeys

There is not much to a flight journey for me. Unlike the long, interesting train journeys, which I enjoy, I want to get over with these flight journeys as soon as possible. The fact that you have to sit at a place and that everyone around is busy pretending to be 'Oh so busy and occupied' only adds to the reason why I dont like travelling on airplanes. If all of this was not enough, there are these things that annoy me more than anything else.

1.  First, I dont understand why do the Airports have to be far far away ! To add to it they want you to reach 45 minutes before departure! For a flight at 6 in the morning, you will need to get up at 3 (or rather not sleep till then) and reach the airport at 5. People residing in Bangalore would understand this better.(I might not live in Bangalore but I do travel to Bangalore once in 6 months)

2.  People have to have to unstrap their seat belts as soon as the flight lands. As if they are expecting others to applaud their courage for being the first to do so. Or maybe they just fail to understand simple instructions that the crew repeats at least 5 times in all languages possible! Either way I think they need some help.

3.  As soon as the plane comes to a halt,  people jump off their seats ,take off their bags and stand in a line all set to get down. As if they are going to jump off the plane! I mean even Kinder-garden kids do better than that when the last bell rings. ( One reason why I always prefer window seat, so that no one bothers me so that he/she can stand in what I call the Kinder-garden queue )

4. Then, there are some who would doze off right after they take their seat and snore right into your ears! I have nothing against people who snore, or for those who sleep and I fully understand that people can be plain tired. But after all that rational thinking and reasoning that goes on in my head, my ears still cry of pain!

5. The worst part is that even though by some wild luck ( and that would be really wild luck) you happen to get a seat beside a pretty girl, the journey is too short to exchange a "hi" , leave alone having a proper conversation !

After all this, and more I still have to take flights to save time .