A Negative India

India has always been known for its rich culture, varied religions, food, language etc sadly in the last couple of years India is also being potrayed in bad light. Women safety is no doubt a big question that every Indian girl faces. It started with Delhi being called the “Rape Capital of India” on social media sites. And people’s anger did kind of calm down by showing their frustration and cursing the government online. But what disturbed me today and made me write this post is this BBC documentary that I came across on Youtube - India A Dangerous Place to Be a Woman. 

 India was knows for its culture right? Culture also includes respecting women! India was always critised for its old school thinking about women but actually naming it a Dangerous Place to be a Women? Omg! I never thought that there will come a day when ill see something like this. The documentary is also wonderfully made in which the host goes and actually talks to people who have gone through eve teasing.

 

This very documentary makes me shudder, Mumbai is a safe city that way but you never know what it will be like 5years from now. It makes me wonder if I would have the same freedom I have now then. It makes me wonder if my future daughter is going to be born in same safe India that grew up in, and trust me the thought isn’t romantic. It actually makes me shudder.  

 

Sanjay Dutt Surrenders – Media makes it a TRP race

Going to jail isn’t a very happy tast to do for anyone and the past couple of days you could easily see Sanjay Dutt trying to get him out of going to the jail, failing so he gracefully accepted that he HAS to go jail. A difficult task for him, his family and people who are close to him. But our Media doesn’t seem to understand where to draw the line. His building was filled with Media people, they followed his car till the court, trying to overtake Sanjay’s car so that they could get one shot of him. Don’t they understand that that is one of the most private and intimate moment for him with this wife and sister? Isn’t just following the car and giving live updates of where he has reached enough? Is really actually peeping inside the car justifiable? And the drama doesn’t end there, once Sanjay reached the court it took him almost 20minutes to reach from his car to the court entrance. Why you ask? Because our media people had surrounded his car completely. He came out and pleaded them to give him way so that he could go it but it went unheard. Do we really have to give him such a hard time when he is already going through a lot? And if that still wasn’t enough, they even started showing montages with the song “Nayak nahi Khalnayak hoon mein”. A certain regional news channel even made fun of the journalists running to take Sanjay’s byte, fully aware that one of their journalist was a part of the crowd as well but non the less as long as they are able to show the so called “Exclusive” footages its all fair (according to them).

Sometimes I prefer those olden days with only few TV channels and news twice a day, atleast that diminished the chances of making news just a way of getting more TRP and actual journalism was done.

I am a Media student, and I aspire to become a journalist and cover all these events, But I shudder when I see people going head over heals and not understanding that there are some lines that are to be followed. 

A Step at a Time – Ring the Bell

Violence against women has been around for a long time, we read about it in Newspapers, see it on News Channels and also talk about it and at the end it’s always, “Alas! What can we do about it; it’s not in our hand.” The most we do it discuss it on Social Networking Mediums and believe that’s enough and we have done our part. It’s this violence against women, and by that I mean the Domestic Violence that is prominent in our society that has helped give women the lower status as compared to the man. And somehow it has now even gotten into the mental psychology of the man that he can treat his wife and to an extend even his girlfriend the way he wants.

Indian society has always given women the second status, what’s with the girl leaves her house and goes to her husband’s house? (Not that I am against it, but why can't we even consider it the other way around?)

It’s true that Education plays an important role in shaping how a man behaves with his wife and other family members. I have seen many so-called educated men who treat their wife as if they are inferior to them. But being an aware and responsible citizen of India it is our duty to stop something like this if it is happening with anyone.

For starters, it is very important to make it quite clear that a certain type of jokes which portray domestic violence shouldn’t be entertained, same goes for any jokes about Rapes also.

If someone in your building/work place is facing Domestic Violence at home then talk to them, make her feel safe talking to you about it and then if possible even try to talk with her family members. Of course don’t interfere in their personal issues. But a general idea that such a thing is not good.

Talking about Domestic Violence in public gatherings and with your friends/co-workers won’t hurt as well.

And the easiest and the best way to stop a domestic violence is the “Ring the Bell” you can always get more information on this on http://www.bellbajao.org/

My Experiments with Cooking

This vacation I had decided to just relax and do absolutely nothing after all this is the last vacation of my life after this it would be all hunt for jobs and start earning and listen to mom say “Its time you get married!” so this last time I am going to do everything that I love. It started with me making a Harry Potter Wand!!! That was something I wanted to do for a long long longgg time but somehow it just didn’t happen but I am glad cause when I finally did it, it is just the best! Ill do a post on that soon. There are many other Potter related things that I am planning on doing but for now lets start with that I did today.

            I realized that its high time I start cooking, and cooking good! I don’t know I never got this feeling before that I should learn how to cook, but now suddenly I wanna know the receipe of everything that I eat. So what I ended up doing was subscribing to all the Food related channels on Youtube, Following Food Blogs etc etc. I guess this is something related to actually “Growing up”.

So today I decided to make Veg. Hakka Noodles. Quite a basic recipe really,

1.boil the noodles.

2. cut all the vegetables that you want to put in (onion, capsicum and cabbage for me)

3. drain the noodles and keep aside

4. heat up oil in another wok and put all the vegetables in and toss it up.

5. add the noodles and mix them up real nice.

6. add soya sauce, vinegar and salt.

7. add schezwan sauce if available.

8. toss up and serve J

For me, I did make a couple of mistakes like the salt was less and I sorta over cooked the noodles, but I guess I should be allowed these silly mistakes, I am still learning no? But other than that It was perfect. And in the adrenaline rush which went up inside me when my mom said, “its actually pretty good” I even cleaned all the vessels J

TRESemmé Ramp Ready Hair - My New Hair Product!

One aspect of me that I have a Love-Hate relationship with is my HAIR!!! I have dry, freezy curly hair and they are just impossible to manage, and to make things even worse I had straightened them like twice which has damaged them even more. I was always on a search for that perfect shampoo, conditioner, and serum to make my hair atleast remotely presentable. And thats where TRESemmé Ramp Ready Hair comes into picture, I had applied for the free sample on Indiblogger.in and was amazed with the effects it had on my hair.

It made my hair smooth, manageable and made my curls bounce :D. I am a loyal customer and if I like something ill keep using it, my previous shampoo was good but this was one step above it and I guess the time has come now to change my shampoo :D

What society are our Kids Going to Grow Up In ?

The news disgusted me as I am sure it did to millions others who read the news. How can anyone be so horny or rather so disgusting to rape a 5 year old actually raping anyone is not justifiable but this was just a lot of testing our patience. And not only that but he actually inserted candles and an oil bottle inside her, I mean that’s the heights of cruelty. And the man who did this was none other than her own uncle. I thought after the rape case in December and the amount of protest which happened after that the number of rape incidents will be less, but I was wrong it just seems to increase with every passing day.

I am more upset because our so called politicians who pretends to work for the people are never active in these things, to make strict laws or to make sure that the person who rapes is given a VERY STRICT PUNISHMENT AND SOON it is of no use when they are punished years after the incident, it should be quick! They always say that they will work for the country but now that the time has come when they country actually needs  some strict actions and a lesson for these people who look at women as just a sex object.

I have said this is many of my previous posts that, I always look at Mumbai as a very safe and secured city for women… but now I guess ill have to change that. I fear Mumbai will follow the path of Delhi soon ( I hope not )

 Just disgusting really, family members raping young girls, friends, classmates, co workers all seem like the same people who are just waiting for a chance to rape you. So congratulations its not only the strangers on the road that you need to worry about but also the people who are close to you and you have known for like forever are also almost the same as those strangers.

I fear the coming generations what kind of society are we going to bring our kids into?

 I also don’t understand what is the problem of actually hanging the people who rape? The country is asking for some brutal and serious punishment to those who stoop down the such disgusting acts. This will prove as an example for those who even think of doing something like this. This is what lacks in India the rules are very flexible and that’s the reason the trouble makers believe that whatever happens they wont be behind bars. 

Bargain Book Hut, Kala Ghoda

For a long time now I was searching for a book shop that will cater to my reading needs. Being a student and unemployed it was always a big task for me to actually save up money to buy books. With most of the books being atleast above 200/- rupees the task is even bigger. Obviously small book shops and the pirated books came to my rescue as it made both me as well as my pocket happy. But then again the print quality, the cover etc were not up to the mark and sometimes it was a disappointment. My quest for a cheap bookshop was always on, sales etc were again a great help. Recently there was a sale at Sunderbai Hall at Churchgate where they had a huge collection and the bargain was that 1kg books for 100/- rupees. Quite a treat for all the book lovers I must say.

And then I found this one shop snuggled up in a small lane of a busy area. I went there the first time but couldn’t find it. I went there the second time and was successful to find the little door with a small room which was filled with books, and books which were actually affordable. I really don’t know how they do it. But the books are so cheap!!! And that too little used or as good as new books! I spend a good half hour there and I never wanted to leave. The total bill for 6books was 635/- rupees with the discounted price whereas when I added up the original price it was 1465/- rupees, I saved a good 830/- rupees.. quite a treat for my wallet really :D

So go visit this shop, you’ll find wonderful books and exciting offers.

Budget Book Hut, Kalaghoda.

PS -  Do let me know how you liked the show, okay?