An eye for an eye? Why not??!

The outrage that's followed the gang-rape in Delhi evokes mixed feelings in me. There's pure horror for I can't even bear to imagine what the girl (and so many others) must have gone through!! There's a part of me that is pleased that people are coming together, voicing their opinions, protesting against injustice. Then at the same time, I'm scared...there's a nagging voice full of pessimism (or is that realism?) that says, don't get too excited...how many times before this have you witnessed an uproar about something only to see it die down a few months (if not less) later?

Is that our 'thing'? To show outrage only to forget about it? Are we protesting just for the sake of making a noise? Is there a realistic goal in our collective minds? If yes, then what it is? All the men and women braving the weather and authorities at India Gate...what are they fighting for? What do they want?

One of the hotly contested points of contention is capital punishment. At present, our law provisions its use only in "the rarest of rare cases". The very term makes me go "huh??!" So you are telling me that unless committed in an extraordinary manner, a crime isn't "rare" enough to be served the death sentence for??? And how does one set criteria for this rareness? Is cruelty a criterion? Is how much the victim has undergone trauma a criterion? Is the outrage displayed by public a criterion??? There are soooo many incidents of rape that fail to earn as much media coverage as the current one. Does that make it any less of a crime? Opponents of capital punishment usually cite "reformative" approach to dispensing justice. They say an eye for an eye would leave half the world blind. I say why not? Even if it does, a world that allows such crimes to happen at such an alarming frequency, deserves to go blind anyway!

My thoughts are a mess right now. I can't decide whether I want to talk about general apathy about safety and law enforcement in our society; whether to talk about my outrage; or to write about what we can do...what I can do. So I'm going to leave it at that...and go away with a muddled mind...

back from the dead

I'd pretty much given up on the blog (and writing)...it's been 6 months since my last post! But just when I had given up I felt like writing again :D So, here I am...back without a bang ;) Probably it's the year-end thing...there's always something to write about as one year gives way to another. But more than that, I think it's about holidayyyyysss! There's more time to do things I enjoy doing. And no, that'snot just an excuse...my life isn't particularly "busy"...but my working days leave me with little energy (or motivation) for writing!

Glorious summer

The day temperature has consistently been above 20degrees this week. It hasn't dipped much during the nights either. No overcast skies, no rain!!! For TEN days IN A ROW!!! So, though a little late, the 'glorious English summer' is finally here!! It's time for bright flowers, colourful clothes and loooooong days! Britain (or at least the parts of it that I've lived in) is never more colourful than these brief spells of summer! The only pity is that this awesome spectacle lasts for a very very short time*. Or perhaps, that is the beauty of it! B'coz honestly, I don't think I can stand orange, purple, red, green and yellow - together on one outfit - for much longer! ;)

My personal favourite bit about the summer here is seeing huge trees in full bloom. In contrast to the delicate flowers of spring and winter, there's something boisterous about summer flowers. They seem to be shouting out I'm-happy-and-I'm-gonna-show it! :D Or maybe it's just me ;) It's a riot of colours. And people seem to want to imitate nature. Another thing is the daylight! This is something that annoyed me in the beginning. WHY does it not get dark after 7?! But after darkness of the winter, the the never-ending summer days are a welcome change.

This is, in all probability, my last summer in this country. I will miss it for sure. I will miss seeing people celebrating a season like it's a mela :)


*How typical! The time between when I started composing this post and when I finally posted it, the summer has come and gone ;) It's been raining for the last few days :( But here's what the 'summer' was like. Hoping there's more to come!! 

Answers

I was watching a BBC program about Madeleine McCann last night. It was about how the little girl went missing mysteriously without trace, and how at present, after 5 years, a conclusive answer to what happened to her eludes her devastated parents. Even today, her parents are desperately looking for answers. Answers to questions that haunt them, that have haunted them for five years now. It got me thinking about people and their quest for answers. We all want to know why something happened. Or do we? When the answers are easily available, they fascinate or intrigue us much less than when the answers are hidden or ambiguous. If everyone knows, if it is the ‘plain truth’, then it is easily forgotten, even considered uninteresting. So, is it the answers that we seek? Or is it the thrill of speculation that drives us? Would people still be talking about Madeleine had the answers been in plain sight from the start? On a related tangent, another thing that’s been nagging at my mind is what if not knowing is the answer? What if, by presenting us with unanswered questions, nature or the universe (or God) is trying to protect us? Are Madeleine’s parents better off not knowing what really happened to their daughter? Will they achieve closure, or will there always be questions, no matter what? Should the fear of what we may find out stop us from looking for answers then? When you weigh the courage it would take to let go of unanswered questions about loved ones, against the strength it would take to face painful answers…it’s a no win situation! As I write this, I am reminded of a book I read a few years ago – Lessons in Forgetting (by Anita Nair). An intriguing story. And absolutely heart-breaking! Probably that’s one reason why I’ve never recommended the book to anyone; the answers the protagonist unearths are just too painful. Is knowing essential then? Is not knowing bliss? The answer, I believe, lies within the subjective perception of each individual. For parents searching for the ‘truth’ for half a decade, ‘not knowing’ is a curse. I guess the only way to answer this question will be when the ‘hypothetical’ becomes the ‘personal’. God forbid.

how about a change of scene?

After months of inactivity and almost a year of sporadic half-interesting posts, I decided that the culprit was the blog itself! And that if I wanted to get going again, I had to have a new blog. Something with a deep-meaningful name. Something that didn't have a purple and black background! So I decided to create a new blog. Thought of a nice name for it too. Only to realize that that, and the next hundred names I could think of, were 'unavailable domain names'! But the moment it was created, it just didn't seem good enough! What IS it with me??? So now I have deleted it. And decided to give this one a make-over. *fingers crossed*

How long has it been??!

I know I've not been a regular lately...but logging in after almost 3 months, everything seems so...different! Blogger is different. Alien almost. This will take some getting used to! I've been reading more than I've been writing. Ok, I've been reading slightly more than I have been writing ;) My year abroad has almost stretched to two. I'm close to qualifying as a counselling psychologist. And very soon it'll be time to go back home. I'm in a very in-with-the-new kinda mood. So no more nonsensical rants. Ok, fewer nonsensical rants :D and more stuff that makes sense. Excludes this one of course! See you on the other side of the 'change' ;)

All I need is a hot cuppa tea and an inspiring view...

I want to be one of those people who write. Like, you know…get up in the morning and have things to write about! Like columns…articles…witty stuff. Sorta like putting the constant commentary going on in my head on paper. But it doesn’t happen. The fantasy of sitting in front of my comp with a big mug of tea or hot chocolate, staring out of my window as readable ideas pop into my head…remains a fantasy! Probably because I don’t like tea much or can’t have lot of hot chocolate in one go! Or maybe coz my window looks out on the street and a few blank walls? Nah…even if my window looked out on the sarson ke khet from DDLJ, I would still be at a loss for words.
And I know why. Coz I censor.
I say fun things in my head. They sound great, believe me! But I can’t have them out in the open! Not that they are ‘secrets’… but … I have an elaborate image-management thing going on since forever. And a part of this complicated program involves a lifelong commitment to the motto leave-unsaid-what-could-make-you-sound-silly! Which translates into leaving unsaid MOST stuff! That doesn't stop me from ranting on this blog. But hey, to be fair, I know how many eyeballs it attracts ;)