Vipanchi

I am a free bird, I fly high! I try, I fail miserably  I have bruises all over I suffer and cry for the mistakes I make. But, I am a free bird, I fly high! I have dreams, I want happiness I know a bit, I want a lot. I try weird things fatal, they can be I fear, I lose but I get up and try, for, I am a free bird, I fly high! I make friends, some cute little birds like me. Monsters come along, who am I to judge? A little bird with innocent eyes! I laugh, I play, I love and I care. I run away, just in case! But, I am a free bird, I fly high! I make noise, the noise of my mind. Some like it, they call it music. My tunes change, I dance to the tunes, they call it confusion. I call it transformation, I call it life. I own my thoughts, I embrace them. For, I am a free bird, I fly high!

Sitting by the river , all alone, I sing the song of pain. Back in the woods, a stranger with charming eyes showed me the path of love, heaven in itself! In a conscious vulnerability, I drowned letting every drop of it to touch me. Now sitting by the river, I sing the song of pain. A touch so tender and strong, made my soul roar. My mind danced to its tunes, happy and free Aha! This is life, I felt. Now, sitting by the river, I sing the song of pain. Clouds move with cold silence, river never cares, flows swiftly. While I listen to the music of nature, tears of pleasure and pain, drip down my cheeks. I stare at the forest, lost in thoughts. My heart shouts like a child's whisper " Dear stranger, please come back"

These so-called 'protectors of culture' never bother, nor even notice that wearing a pant and shirt was never "our tradition". When confronted, they say, its about convenience, no question of convenience/choice to the 'other gender' though! It is time again to debate on the 'safety of women' in our society. With  # METOO campaign kicking off in India, an opportunity to revamp our workspaces and the social sphere has come. An overhaul of how we perceive gender is the need of the hour. Not so long ago, it was okay to tease someone as being a 'Gay', it was okay to gossip about the perceived gay/lesbian couple in our classrooms/ workspaces. It was okay to taunt a boy to 'wear bangles' if he is not very bold or active. A girl is called 'boyish' if she is bold. We have mastered the art of assigning gender roles. Our social spaces continuously assign, manipulate gender roles in our minds so much so that we stopped noticing someth...

"Gandhi was a tough man. He would let every thought flow through him but never let them wreck his own convictions" I grew up learning Mahatma Gandhi as 'The Father of The Nation'. I remember giving alms to old people and kids dressed up in the dhoti with a glaring silver paint on them almost looking like the ubiquitous statues of Gandhi in India. Yeah, I have seen him on currency notes and heard at least a road named after him in many towns. As I explored a bit deeper, I was awestruck by the stature of Mahatma world over. The British who must be his prime contenders have constructed his statue in the parliament square. They see him as the symbol of peace and non-violence. Then I asked myself,   How much do I know about Mahatma? Is he relevant to modern India? Modern India can be comprehended into an English speaking , Market-driven, society laying fast track trains, living in bustling cities sending humans to the outer space on one side,...

Every morning as I open the newspaper there is at least an article on a girl, molested in one or the other part of India. sometimes in a city, some other in a village. Sometimes an infant, sometimes a septuagenarian. No state is an exception, some states lead anyway. Temples and schools, houses and workplaces all are same for the 2nd gender! This is a very pathetic state for us as a society. Agreement of this is unequivocal. Then, why are we as a society unable to solve the problem? This is the question I try to answer here. I will address this by dissecting the issue, part by part. Stringent punishment - a deterrent: Many people have this view,  " punish the rapist cruelly so that boys will fear to rape a girl".   Most of them rally on the streets to get this done. They are those who really empathize with the victim. But as research shows, punishment is not a deterrent to crime. However, the lack of punishment is more adverse. So the criminal justice sy...

India is the world's largest democracy. We are among those few newly independent nations where democracy survived all odds. People cherish this. But there are people who say, democracy is leading us to nowhere. So, what are the reasons for this? Lets see, why democracy failed India. Immature electorate: People are poor and illiterate. They vote for leaders who give them money, liquor, and in some cases TV sets! So there is a fundamental flaw in electing the leader itself. We can't expect such leaders to be genuinely concerned about the well being of people. Corrupted politicians:  Most of the politicians have a powerful background. They use wealth and muzzle power to come to power. Further, promote their interest by holding power. Common man is helpless in this situation. Then democracy is nothing better than an oligarchy/dictatorship. Poor state of development: India is a poor state in many aspects. Poverty: India's poverty rate is 21.9% according to 2011 census....

Indian independence movement is one of the earliest peaceful movements against the British rule. It opened doors for Non-violent protests against oppressors across the world. Gandhiji is credited for this idea. Indian freedom struggle is mainly classified into three phases: Moderate phase - prayer, petition, protest. Extremist phase - violent revolt. Gandhian phase - Peaceful non-co-operation. What made Gandhian phase unique? The moderate leaders of freedom struggle, though mostly viewed as unsuccessful, were responsible for forming the counter arguments to " white man's burden" theory  of  the British. They prepared ground, propounded theories for intellectual understanding of the British exploitation of India. The extremists, mostly young leaders, believed in complete freedom, resorted to violent means to overthrow the British . However, there was no significant harm done to the British. It is at this juncture that Gandhian philosophy came handy.  Ga...