girl power or overpower?

STATUTORY WARNING: IF YOUR VIEWS DIFFER FROM WHAT I SHALL NOW SAY, PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW. I DON'T MEAN TO HURT ANY SENTIMENTS OR INCITE ANY STRONG REBELLIONS. ITS PURELY WHAT I THINK.

having said that, i shall now begin an observation of what i have been seeing for a past few years.

women liberation, women empowerment and in kiddie terms, girl power, are subjects that have dominated the scene for quite a while now. reason being the sharp rise in molestation cases or women harassment cases across the globe. every career now boasts of a woman on top of it. everywhere one sees praises of women and how they are so strong and how they multitask and how this and how that.

men are scum. they are so low down. dont they have shame enough to respect a woman. they are so domineering. they had better realise that the woman makes their home home enough to live in. they have an overly large ego. why are they so suppressive? why dont they understand her needs? why is it all about them? why? why? why?

two different genders. and they have had their day in two separate eras. but i think that this whole women are better and men ought to know their place thing is going a bit to far now. i mean, now the man is the more downtrodden creature and no one is saying a thing. instead, now there are new complaints sprouting up! and then if they guy tries to say something, they jsut start off with the rut " its all about you"....

i belong to the female sex too you know and i too enjoy the advantages i get out of such demands and complaints and the final submission. but the fact is, i'm now kinda feeling sorry for the man. not like i am going to give up the whole overriding position we have earned but we have to tone it down a bit. we cant always be the supreme power!

there is also one more hitch i have with this whole thing is that women are actually trying to associate themselves with EVERYthing that men do. what they forget in this pursuit is that there are somethings we have already aced that men can only dream to do. and some things are best left to them. if we constantly run this race for supremacy, it'll just be like a world war with every country racing to have top-notch armaments.

give it a rest. it need not go back to square one but we can all come to a mutual consensus and know that everything is perfect in its place. if you try to paint the sky red and paint the grass purple, you're bound to have a world far worse than it was before you began to revolutionize it.

=D

teens accused - guilty as charged???

whoaa! its been a good long time since i've been down this road! first off, happy new year! well this year is certainly turning out to be new in terms of feelings, emotions, situations and expectations......but all rolled into one, we get the end product as teenage or, to use a bigger word to show my brainy self off, adolescence.

hmph! where does one begin with this? terribly done to death with boring, long articles and speeches droning on and on about problems with understanding, maturity and its cure. but all done by adults. here comes the reality check: adults really cant get at the real deal just because they've crossed the stage and not-so surprisingly enough, the times have drastically changed, even from one generation to the next. point being, its better to know about the disease from the one that endures it.

lets get started shall we?

accusation: teens do NOT value relationships.

the truth: that's the worse thing you can tell anyone, specially a teen. its now that they begin to explore various relationships and their true significance in their lives. it is now that girls go our with their mothers to spend a girls day out and guys actually break the ice with their fathers. it is now that they have infatuations and boyfriends and girlfriends. it is now that they treasure their friends. it is now that they finally know the family as a family and not as the sweet uncles and aunties who get toys and chocolates for the little five-year old. don't accuse them with this, because it will truly break their highly vulnerable hearts and in all probability, make them averse to emoting and caring for relationships that matter the most.

accusation: teens have understanding issues where parents don't get them and vice-versa.

the truth: that comes with the fact that they really cant have a very active role in this phase of our lives because we're so busy understanding ourselves, how can we possibly understand much else? and if adults in relationships and marriages claim at times that they are unable to understand one another, why are we the prime accused under this crime?

accusation: teens are not mature enough....for practically anything!

the truth: do you actually expect a teenager to know stuff very much out of their league and area of expertise and still expect them to enjoy the age they belong to? i mean if teens at 15 and 16 get into stuff like relationship counselling as a career now, when are they supposed to live the years of extreme crazes and fun times???????

accusation: teens are confused. period.

the truth: ummm, confused??? well if that's the case, perhaps the accusers would like to go deeper to the root cause - too much pressure! i mean, if you are actually going to ask the child to widen their horizon into various fields and be the best at it, at a time when they're supposed to make their career choices and plan out the rest of their lives, they're bound to be confused. you cant be a jack of all traits when its time for you to master at least one to suffice your existence.

accusation:teens have erratic mood swings and are not even tempered.

the truth: really? and it does not apply to any other section of society? with the exceptions of sages and perfect people, everyone has this problem. blame it on hormones but we're just growing up people, give us a break!

accusation: teen=mean.

the truth: not all teens are the bad boy and bad girl types yaar! come off it! don't generalise. that's a major problem with all our "society" and it shall be dwelt upon soon....

the biggest myth of all about all of the above: there is a cure.....

myth-buster: WRONGO!!!! absolutely not! though there are members of the teen group who can be found guilty under any of the above or any others but hey, there is no medicine, therapy or counselling that can undo what has built up over the years. its all a phase, we all go through it, it gets over, we're no longer part of it. that's it. the only way to actually get over stuff like this, is let time take its decided action on all of it. we have to just leave it be sometimes and not nag, okay! there are things that cant be talked out, cant be understood, cant be shared and sometimes, the perfect thing to do is leave it be.

to finally let you go from this teen-talk, one cannot predict or chalk out the lives of teenagers, because they are all so different and unique and special. each of us is on the quest for their identity and the time allotted to us is now. so the best thing for anyone other than this person to do is to be patient, calm and supportive but not imposingly so, so as to burden. just for the teen to know that you're there is enough, because believe it or not, we might look like we hate elders, who generously give advice and generally people who fall under such a category, we need you all the same.

a note before i take your leave: this is not an attempt for a teen to shame anyone or anything that counters these statements. this is also not a means of venting out anger of any sort. this was purely a means to get our side of the story across. a humble apology with all my heart to anyone that i have offended.

=D

THE WORLD

They said to me –
The world is vile
The world is mean
The world is only made of
Hunger and greed

No one is nice
Inside out
No one is really like
What they brag about

No one is innocent
For the innocent are dead
Crimes are on a high and
No one must be trusted

There’s cheaters and liars
And beaters and whiners
There’s no one to hear your plea
Share your sorrow and grief
So they said to me

Through these evils
In the dark and cold
Where the young are slaughtered
And respect is lost for the old
Where being quiet is good
And being right is bold
The world was always this
And may be worse still
But the world is still has its beauty
And there is nowhere else I imagine I would be.

THE DAY BEFORE FREEDOM

after tomorrow,
there will be no silence heard
no thought unsaid
and no expression unseen

after today,
there will be no tears cried
no fights fought
no bloodshed

after this hour,
there will be no love lost
no wrath not endured
and no sorrow inconsolable

after this minute,
there will be no loss not felt
no gain not rejoiced
and no privilege denied

after now,
we will be young, united,
smart, strong, leading, happy,
helping, loving, caring, sharing,
and finally, free.

(this poem was composed somewhere in september but i had no idea that it would bear so much meaning to me as a person, an Indian and a Mumbaikar today).

-Aakriti Anand

this needs no explaining....

first there was calm,
there was the joy of a match well won
and then all we knew was the news
of grave damage that was done...

the news is on
but none is good
the situation was out of hand
and that was as good as understood..

it started with some noise
and spells of silence
but the air is filled
to the brim with violence.

innocent lives - lost
brave men ruthlessly killed
all for that island we call our own
everywhere blood is being spilled

i salute the brave soldiers
the hostages and personnel
who are braving this terror attack
and being put through hell...

LETS ALL JOIN HANDS AND PRAY FOR OUR CITY........MUMBAI NEEDS ITS SOUL.....

WOO HOO =D

the moment demanded this kind of a title.... as part of an initiative by Prithvi Theatre, a lot of 16 of us young individuals from the ages 12 to 18 got published in the ever so cool Prithvi Youth Magazine!!!!!!!

this "work of art" was released on the auspicious CHILDREN'S DAY in the famous prithvi theatre cafe` by the ever so charming Shri Shashi Kapoor and the person who was at the head of it all, Sanjna Kapoor, along with our mentor Ms. Basu!

after 6 whole months of sweat, drafts and toil, we finally have the finished product in our youhtful hands.....the hands that did the writing and the hands that did the tonnes fo re-writing as well!!!

the team was a bunch of really cool people who are great friends and know how to have 'fun' in all the true sense of the word. frankly speaking, we were a damn good lot to begin with!

each piece was so well thought and well-crafted and well everything else! it was the most enriching experience i have ever had in the last 15 and a half years (as of nov 11th)......

i'm going to miss the meeting from 2-4 every saturday and sunday and the whole lot of friends i worked with:
dwijal mehta
rheaa rao
vikrant dhote
mira brunner
sanyukta iyer
damini kane
disha bhanushali
bhakti rathod
sanjana suresh
sooraj bishnoi
sohaila jalali
rithika kumar
varun golani
kabir mantha
kanchana niruttan

thanks to all of you for making this such a lovely 6 month journey.....it'll always be a memorable time to cherish..

and in true Dwijal style, "woo hoo we got published!!!! =D"

woh kaagaz ki kashti, woh baarish ka paani......

when making the plans for the coming week, one will come across the date 14th November, look at it, jot down the activities for that day and move on. it will be a wonder if one looks at that day and smiles or becomes nostalgic. that day is children's day, for those who refuse to remind themselves of it.

me still being in the category of "children" (reminder:individuals below the age of 18), i remember that Jawaharlal Nehru was born that day and because he loved children, this day celebrates the existence and innocence of children. but many other children think of this day as a mere holiday and let it pass like any other weekend. but need we celebrate the joys of still being a child while it lasts???

the elders may say," why should we bother about children's day?? we're not kids anymore to get excited about such things. besides, we have a billion 'important things' to worry about." but the whole point is just that. we have a billion things rushing through our heads and have forgotten the art of being a kid at heart for just ONE day in our entire year, if not any other time.

we are slowly losing out on what we used to consider as the "good things in life", and when i say 'we' i imply both children and adults. children have forgotten to thank the man who created this day for us and say a little prayer for all the kids out there, and of course have fun! adults have simply moved on from these petty things to the bigger goodies of life, the ones that they think are the essentials today. WRONG.

i truly understand the feelings one goes through when facing such a sermonizing piece of text. but if you don't want to listen to the whole truth from someone else, do yourself a favour and ask yourself this - why do we feel good when we look at kids playing in a park or on the street? why do we go into deep thought when we listen to songs about childhood?? when was the last time we were kids?

the answers are very simple but you have to know them for yourself. we're all letting go of that innocence that made our childhoods so special and memorable. we're giving up what we used to give true importance to at some point in our lives. and for what? the good life? the good life means nothing without that child in you saying, "yes! i finally got what i wanted."

i hope that we all realise (as early as possible) that our childhood is not going to come back. the best-est way to preserve those precious times is to celebrate this one day as much as we want and revisit what we have left behind.

=D