Thursday 16 January 2014

They are kids too....Why not pray for them?

Facebook has become an integral part of our life today. No matter what, people are addicted to Facebook and although we do not have any notifications, messages and friend requests to check, we simply scroll down the home page and check the posts from our friends, groups and pages. As I happened to be seated idle for some time today (after a long time, I got that much time to be seated free), I opened by laptop and logged on to Facebook. After checking the notifications, I was simply scrolling down the home page when I noticed two different posts. This is when I observed something touchy and I felt I should write on it.

The first post that I saw was that of actor Emraan Hashmi's son Ayan who has been diagnosed with Cancer in the first stage. The image was posted for giving best wishes to the innocent kid and also urged people to pray for him. Since I love kids, it was obviously disturbing to see the picture. Ayan is a cute and cheerful kid and encountering a deadly disease like Cancer at such a tender age is the saddest thing that could happen to anyone. My hearty wishes for the child. I hope he gets well soon.

As I scrolled down further, I came across this picture! I don't know who posted it, or whether it is real. But, there are many such underprivileged children in the world who are physically handicapped, do no have parents or are the prey of child labour. As I saw both the posts, I noticed the difference! Both are kids, both are unwell and have severe health issues! But what makes Ayan luckier is that he has his loving star father, who can get him the best possible treatment even from abroad. But this child is left at his own mercy, just because he does not have star parents or parents at all!

 Although both the posts depict the pitiful condition of the two children, the entire country is praying for Ayan and this innocent child has no one to pray for or offer help. Today, we have updates on everything that happens to celebrities, but we don't know what happens to the children who are left to beg at the roadside. We Indians are more interested in fame and money; when a celebrity gets stomachache, it becomes a breaking news but so many people die out of hunger in Mumbai alone, forget India. Is that even a matter of concern for people? Children are stolen from hospitals and traded, tortured and forced to beg but no one cares. Neither the government, nor the media!

I do not mean to say Ayan should not be prayed for, my only question is if the entire world is praying for him, why the poor kids, who almost die of hunger, are neglected? Just because their parents aren't stars? Why not pray for them who really need prayers? It is a humble request guys, do whatever you can for these unlucky kids! We had parents to get us new clothes, games and food when we were their age. But they do not have anyone who can share this love and happiness with them. Since winters are on and many people, including children, sleep on footpaths every night, kindly donate a blanket that might not be much useful for you. It doesn't mean anything for us but it means a lot for them!

Friday 10 January 2014

A journey back home...when I was alone...!!!!

All of us travel from home to college and office everyday and get to see and meet many types of people! I have experienced this several times and I am sure there are a hundred girls who experience this daily while commuting from trains and buses. When I used to travel by train for my previous job, I had noticed, whenever the train took a halt at any station (this particularly happened on the Kurla-Vashi harbour line), the guys and men in next train used to stare continuosly, sometimes pass comments and laugh, and sometimes even sing! Of course, it was irritating, but most of us are helpless! After all the life of Mumbaikars revolves around the clock and we are bound to reach our office on time, so no one has the time to question these disgusting acts. And then the train just used to move on, and, with it, we moved on too!

 Today, however, I encountered an experience that left me wondering whether girls and women are really safe in Mumbai? I was as usual on my way back home, waiting at the bus stop. Today, I was alone! I walked to the stop and then waited there for a few minutes. Then I saw my bus approaching and for whatever reason (I don't know what was wrong with the buses), it was hell packed so I decided to leave it. And I have done this many times for I know the next bus comes within about 10-15 minutes. Today, the buses were late and the next bus did not turn up until 7.55 pm (the first bus that I left went around 7.25 pm). So the next bus finally arrived at 7.55 pm and there was no scope to board it since people were already hanging out from it. With no option left, I waited for the next bus to come. And this almost 1 hour at the bus stop was truly boring, I had already got headache and was really bored to wait anymore. So I thought I would board the next bus no matter how packed it was! And luckily, the third bus arrived about 5 minutes later, was fully crowded as expected, but I simply boarded it (I did not have another option).

And then began the worst part! The bus was too packed unlike always..and the crowd wasn't sophisticated as it always was! Yes, there were office going people but they were very less in number; the major crowd was substandard, it looked as if some men were drunk (I am not sure whether they really were drunk, but their look seemed so)! And when I boarded the bus, I went a little away from the door and caught hold of the rod so as to not lose my balance. The second thing I did was find money for the ticket and after I was done with all this stuff, I finally looked up at people, only to find that all the men and guys surrounding me were staring at me! For a minute I was confused, I thought whether I have been looking awful, I checked whether my clothes were alright and found everything was fine! The next time I looked up, the same faces, staring intently, without moving their eyes! And a girl certainly understands a man's look well, all the girls reading this would agree! No this time, I got a bit worried and more than worried, I began feeling extremely awkward! I just took the ticket and put on my headphones to avoid the crowd and forget them! Even then, my attention went to them and still, the same faces, the same look and the same intensity! This is when I began feeling very cheap!

One thing I hate is that continuous, cheap glare of men and the way with which they look! And unless a man does not misbehave or say anything to you, you cannot complain of mere staring, right? So bad I felt about myself, in every sense I regretted coming by bus alone! Yes, I know it was a government bus, so nothing could have happened, people do not dare to misbehave at public places. But the intent looks and those seemingly drunken eyes were killing me! Somehow I felt I could get down but I was meant to get down at the last stop. Luckily later, I got a seat and I got a bit relieved. Within a few minutes, the bus had entered Dombivli and I was relieved! What a disgusting journey it was! Imagine girls, if people can give you that look so intently, they might probably have misbehaved had the bus been private! Immediately I decided I would never travel by bus again alone. And it is a humble request from my side to all girls, avoid taking buses when alone, especially in a not-so-safe area
!

Monday 6 January 2014

Look at the world closely and its beautiful !!!!!

This is what I have been experiencing since a few days! We Mumbaikars are busy with our lives; running for the train, rushing to work, waiting for the lift and then staring at the PC the whole day. And in this busy routine, who gets the time to look around and observe people, observe things and nature? I might sound stupid to many if I say that we should find time to look at the nature and enjoy its beauty and so on. And it sounded the same to me too! However, Mumbai teaches you a lot! It certainly does! A casual walk down the road, a casual visit to the railway station is something that can make you feel happy and cheerful the whole day, trust me!

I am referring to some of the great people I have seen and met during my every day commuting and the boring routine life! Few days back, when I was travelling home from office, I was waiting at Kurla station for the fast train. Since there was a long time for the train to arrive, I have been casually looking around here and there just to find some timepass or something interesting (knowing that there is nothing interesting on a railway station though :P)! (This is a habit I developed after opting for Journalism studies since our professors always told us "Look around, you would definitely find something to explore and this might turn out to be a big news story".) And just as I was glancing here and there, I happened to see a boot polish guy who was sitting just behind me, winding up for the day and packing his things. He had nothing as such, just a small box in which he kept the polish boxes and the brush, his handkerchief and other stuff. He then counted the money, which seemed to be a meagre amount, and then worshipped the box by keeping his head over it. Now this was something that caught my attention. Although he can't make much from the boot polish business, (and he knows it), he worshipped the box of contents so dedicatedly. And we guys, despite sitting in an air-conditioned office every day, are bored with our lives, feel depressed and frustrated. Forget about worship, many of us would also want to break the PC so that we escape work, or just because we are too bored to do anything!

There's so much difference in people. Although we have everything, we are dissatisfied, and although the guy had little, he considered his work as worship and respected it! That really made me realize- it all depends on the way we look at things and value them! It is human tendency- we never value what we have, unless we do not have it! Why not be happy with what we have instead! Today, we are financially much sound than what that boot polish guy was and that is actually a reason for us to be happy. And I was moved when I saw him walk away with tiffin in hand later; I did not know whether to feel sad for him or feel happy for myself!

Still so happy...!
Guys, most of us are too busy creating an issue out of our problems and posing them as severe ones that disrupt life and peace of mind. However, one look around the world can make you realize that you have a million reasons to celebrate, a hundred reasons to be happy today, for there are many in this world who dream of living a life that you do! God has been partial; everyone does not have the same love, the same financial stability and the same secure life! In this vast world, don't you think your problems are too small to be mentioned?