Slutwalk? Really?

I'm not sure why Indian women took to the streets and organised a 'Besharmi morcha' on the lines of the famous 'Slutwalk'. I'm not anti feminist or something, but lets face it, Indian women are not wired that way. And if we were, we would have thought about the 'slut walk' first and not aped our western counterparts. After all, we have so many women related issues in our country. There's dowry death, female infanticide, rape, domestic violence, molestation, eve teasing and while I'm typing this list out, I'm sure there's a lot more happening out there that we still don't know of. So, the question remains, why didn't Indian women think about the 'Besharmi morcha' first? Because it's not who we are. Organising a slutwalk and participating in it does not display a woman's strength. Her strength lies in the fact that in spite of injustice and violation of her rights, she continues to rise through it all. Her strength lies in her tolerance, her patience and her perseverance and most of all, her tenacity. We ought to have organised a 'We don't need a slutwalk' morcha. Because we really don't. Our women are not so fickle and shallow so as to declare such things through a silly protest. And I'd really like to know how things have improved since the 'Besharmi Morcha'. Has there been any development in the current scenario? The answer to this important question would lead us to the second aspect of this silly social experiment. Indian men do not understand these subtle hints. We have seen plenty of wonderful films that deal with women and their rights and how women hate it when men treat them like shit. There's Mother India, Khoon Bhari Maang, Dor, Mirch Masala, Aakhir Kyon, Provoked, Lajja, Damini, 15 Park Avenue and the recent Saat Khoon Maaf. Men watch these films and walk away unaffected. Do you think a small protest is going to bring about a radical change in their temperament? You've got to be insanely positive or completely stupid to believe that it will work. Men will be men and that brings us to the third aspect of this topic. Are all men like this? Do they all believe in torturing  and harassing women in some way or the other? The answer is 'NO'. Not all men are like this. So why don't these men get together and start a 'Mard ko Badnaam Mat Karo' walk and compel the bad ones to start treating women the right way? That should work. So next time, lets hope the men do their bit. Afterall, its the man's duty to protect  his woman, right? 

Zombies...

So its a regular boring Saturday at work and I'm playing a game called 'Plants Vs Zombies' on Chrome. I don't play games all the time, mind you. Only when I'm super bored and have ten minutes to spare, which is a rare occurrence at my office. I get bored very often but I NEVER have time to spare. Anyway, the object of the game is to cultivate enough vegetation in your garden to thwart the zombies that are milling around on the street before your house. But  I am really bad at games and soon enough the zombies had eaten up my sparse foliage and had reached the front door of my house. Instead of the usual 'Game Over', the screen read, 'The Zombies ate your brains'. Huh. Wokay! Now that's reason enough to not work right? I really should tell my HR Manager about this new development...

Who's Dulhan?

'Mere Brother ki Dulhan'. Why not call her 'Bhabhi' and be done with it? Its like calling my Mother-in-law, 'Mere Husband ki Maa'. Or calling my Chacha, 'Mere Father ka Bhai.'. What's the point? No wonder the movie isn't doing very well. Next time think of a comprehensive and intelligent title that makes sense. There is another movie called, 'Mujhse Fraandship Karoge?' Pray, tell me, who spells it that way? Which school did you go to? I really need to have a word with your English teacher. Or your producer who didn't learn his spellings either. For those who don't know, this movie is based on (hold your breath) Facebook! A bunch of good for nothing rich snotty kids try to fool their friends online by mixing up virtual identities. How very creative. Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh, do you mind making some more movies please? 'Memories in March' and 'Raincoat' were brilliant. '15 Park Avenue' and 'Mr & Mrs. Iyer' were masterpieces. Maybe I'll approach a theatre only when 'Iti Mrinalini' releases...

While Anna Hazare fasted...

Anna Hazare took the nation by storm. For a while, nothing else mattered. Arnab Goswami aka The Great Bong debated about it every night on News Hour and His Majesty and I argued along with the panel. Soon, 'The Great Indian Corrupt but Scared Government' had to give in to Anna's demands (and why wouldn't they? Main, Tu and the entire Desh had turned into Anna) and his fast ended. The nation rejoiced and everyone went back to discussing and debating other stuff. But those 10 odd days were so much fun! Don't get me wrong, people. I know a few citizens who actually fasted for as long as Anna did and they weren't at the 'official fasting venue' at Delhi either. It must have been quite painful for them. But the rest of the Junta really enjoyed the whole thing and that includes Yours Truly and her better half. His Majesty and I went to join a rally on Day One and actually marched at the forefront, shouting slogans all along. That evening, His Majesty borrowed two Indian flags from his workplace (No. He does not work for a political party. Those flags were part of the Independence day celebrations) and we rode down to the place where all the protestors were partying protesting. They had something called a 'rotation fast' going on and you could enroll to fast with a batch of 50 people for 12 hours. Two slots were open: 8 am to 8 pm and 8pm to 8am. Some management genius was overlooking all this, no doubt. Well, we were mighty impressed and since we had already eaten an early dinner, we decided to 'fast' during the 8pm to 8am slot.

So I stayed up with His Majesty, swapped jokes, sang patriotic songs and lectured strangers about the concept of Ombudsman. Its amazing how so few of them knew about the Jan Lokpal bill, its history, its effects and other related concepts. Everyone just knew this was against corruption and well, nobody likes corruption. So they were all there, staying up all night, watching news, waving flags and generally having a good time. It was like a 'Mela' with a cause. Some sweet little street kids had actually mistaken it for one and were trying to peddle balloons and other little toys. They seemed intrigued by all the slogans and they joined in rather enthusiastically after a while. I had fun. I got to spend some much needed time with His Majesty and we chatted a lot. (His Majesty is not the chatterbox kind so it was nice to have him  talking so much) The next day I was exhausted at work due to lack of sleep but it was totally worth it. I got to support a cause I believe in AND I had fun while at it. Anna Hazare broke his fast a week later and all was well. Now I'm waiting for another 'Andolan' to start. All these crazy price hikes are bound to spark off something...

Jaded

Yes. Jaded is a synonym for 'bored'. I used MS Word to find synonyms for 'Bored'. That's how bored I really am. Its 6 pm and I'm supposed to be in office for another hour. I am thinking about the dinner I'm supposed to cook after going back home and I'm mentally doing an inventory of the contents of my fridge. I am also reading a blog by some guy called 'Gawker' who is an NRI who was a Puneite once. Maybe he's a Maharashtrian. He mentioned in a post that he has an ancestral home in Pune. So much for my incessant nitpicking that Puneites don't blog. Atleast ex-Puneites are blogging, so I'm happy. I'm also simultaneously singing along to a song from 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'. Its called 'Khwabon ke Parinde' and its playing at work. It has a very tranquil feel about it. Nice song. Anyway, I'm still bored after attempting all the above. Maybe a walk around the office should help...

I should stop placing bets....

Following is a conversation between His Majesty and I. We had both climbed into bed after a rather long and tiring day. The lights had been switched off and everything was quiet. 

His Majesty: I think the balcony light is on...

I: No it's not.

His Majesty: Yes it is. Look (Pointing his finger at the balcony)

I: (sigh) Those are the neighbouring colony's street lamps baby....

His Majesty: So bright? No no. Its the balcony bulb. I'm telling you.

I: It's not.

His Majesty: Yes. It is.

I: Fine. Go and switch it off.

His majesty: You go na, please?

I: But I don't think it's on in the first place. Why should I go?

His Majesty: At least go and check?

I: (sigh) Fine. But you owe me 100 bucks if the light is on...

His Majesty: Ya ya...

I get up, lumber over to the balcony and find out that the light is switched off.

I: (climbing back in bed) See? I told you. It's switched off.

His Majesty: Oh....so you owe me 100 bucks now.

I: ????

Now I know why I lose bets so often....