Blood on our hands

I did not know her and yet she could be any one of my four sisters, or my wife, or my daughter. While on some corner of my heart I am relieved that she did not have to suffer from her wounds, I realize how wrong it is to think so.

Over 650 cases of rape in Delhi alone and the statistic that 1 in every 4 cases in the nation happens there.

So, if the person had not been brutalized and left for dead, would we even have noticed this? Wouldn't it have been just another tiny news besides some political buffoonery? Haven't we become so apathetic that nothing shocks us anymore?

Look down at our hands. Yes, the blood is on our hands. Of hers and a hundred others.

Growing up with Tendulkar

Hundreds of people have written about Sachin's retirement, and this is the one I liked the most, at least of all that I have read till now. Maybe because it directly resonates with the age group that I belong to.

He probably is the first player I can remember whom we can easily address by his first and last names, almost as if he is a member of the family, or a dear friend. I know that my father is probably a much more avid fan of Sachin than I am, but I can say that I grew up with Sachin.

To remember, very vividly, the period when cricket in India literally was synonymous with Sachin, and that people would switch the TV off in despair when he got out.

To write "MRF" on a bat that the local carpenter made (which in hindsight looked more like an ice cream stick).

To have had utter belief in him (and a few others) when match fixing rocked the scene.

To defend him to those few infidels who bayed for his retirement during those lean patches.

At the Youtube age, to watch his various innings and get goosebumps. 

There are many greats in cricket, but there will always be only one Sachin.*

Adieu Maestro!

(*Yes, I DID stop short of calling him the God; Not because I wouldn't love to, but because it has been cliched)

A heinous crime

The rape of a paramedical student in New Delhi is a shocking slap on the face of the nation's conscience. It may happen, that in our constant quest for up-to-the-minute headlines, this may disappear in a few weeks, or even in a matter of a few days.

There shouldn't be any question that the culprits should be given the maximum possible sentence, but isn't this also a time to reflect on ourselves? Where we stand as a nation? What out collective conscience as a society is?

Much is made out of India as getting to a "developed country" status. Yes, our economy is growing. People have better living conditions. But then, aren't our values as a civilized culture on a conflict course with most of the things that even a generation before us held as sacred?

Isn't it time that we stopped viewing women as a "commodity"? Somehow a weaker, inferior, lesser human being? Isn't how we treat women and children, and their safety and freedom, an important indication of a developed mindset? For, finally, isn't it the mindset of the people that determines how developed we are as a country? 

Heart Breaking

When a shooter goes on a rampage, shooting innocent people at random, it is indeed a very scary thing. But then, when the victims happen to be innocent children, it is heart breaking indeed.

The Connecticut school shooting is an example of how deranged and dangerous some of the people have become. And the people who vehemently support the Second amendment, the right to carry a fire-arm, should realize that their fire-arm could not protect their little ones.

But that, I guess, is besides the point. The children who died had their whole lives in front of them, cut short by a lunatic in a moment.

I have never been more scared for my child than this. I know I will hug her tighter this evening, and whisper a prayer for all those parents and children.

Getting back up..

A lot of time and money was spent on getting a site up. And a bit of love too. All of it washed away in a hacker's whimsy. I erred too. Not protecting the site properly, making some novice mistakes. But it's time to get back up and build something even better. A bit simpler than the last time to start off, but which I hope we can make up in content. Something where we can all play a better part, and contribute much more.

Welcome back and cheers!!