Dussehra: Are you happy Maa ?

Vijayadashami or Dussehra-the day to celebrate the victory of God Ram over the ten-headed Ravana, of Maa Durga over Mahishasura and other demons like Chanda-Munda and Shumbha- Nishumbha; that is victory of good over evil. We, the religious ones do ‘Havans’ and a lot of ‘Daan-Dakshina’, and some of us even invite little girls (Kanya) to our homes and wash their feet and arrange a grand feast for them. The girls are given return gifts and are guided safely to their homes. We go to visit Durga Pooja Pandals with family, bow to the mother goddess and pay reverence. We ask for health, wealth, success and luck for the coming year, eat ‘Prasad’ and go back looking at other beautiful ones on the way home. 

We ritually believe that there is no greater power than that of a Woman, the mother goddess, and at the same time we do not forget to turn our heads to take a glimpse of the women standing aside. We close our eyes to sink in the divinity of the deity, and open with pleasure at inhaling the ladies deo; we mesmerize at the beauty of Maa Durga, and the same ‘we’ finds excuses to see the curves of a woman next to us praying with closed eyes. We praise the Goddess for saving the world from devils like Mahisasura and Ravan, and happily nurture the demons inside. Maa, are you really happy at you sons? Or you are eagerly waiting for the Bisarjan to hide your helplessness? I think that’s why the cyclone Phailin came on the Astami Day to make the dry lands full of water so that you will find a nearby place to be dumped at. 

We don’t get tired while praising the power of mother goddess, and then we spend the rest of the year expecting that a beautiful baby boy will come out of our pregnant wives ‘this-time’. A part of us, the flag bearers of ‘Khaap Mentality’ looks out for ways to justify female feticide, rapes and molestations in the name of tight fit jeans, skirts, movies, chowmin, mobiles and what not except the ‘male-urge’ to dominate. Some of us will even challenge the right to education for a girl child. We burn the spare candles from kitchen supporting cases like ‘Nirbhays’, but keep a mum on the question about acceptance of a rape survivor in the society.

Dussera night, and we will feel proud after burning the effigy of Ravan cursing his evil spirit, and evidently flaunting our presence at the occasion with newly owned cars or bikes, jewellery and neatly pressed perfumed suits. And then the next Navratri and Dussehra will come and, we the same people will flock in Pandals again asking for health, wealth, success and luck for the coming year. Maa, are you really happy at us? 

Maa, it’s your country, India, where ‘women’ are worshiped as ‘deities’, and at the same time the hunger for a boy over a girl leads to countless coldblooded murders. In a country where a woman represents the goddess of wisdom as Saraswati, literacy rate of women is nothing to be proud of. In a country where a ‘woman’ is the goddess of wealth (Lakshmi), of power (Durga), of satisfaction (Annapurna) and of Spirituality (Gayatri), the very women are getting raped in different parts of the country is not infrequent news. Are you happy at us? 

We can blame administration, police, politicians, system and on and on…but ultimately it is all about the mind-set that cooling its heel inside our frontal lobe. Killers of the female infants are from amongst us. Rapists are from amongst us. Those who don’t believe in the education of the girl child are from amongst us. They are not criminals; they are the product of society’s collective apathy in stopping them.

What will we do? Simply wait and watch? Show sympathy? Shout for the right of the women at the dining table gossip? March rallies to bunk the office than to support the cause? It’s true, the women are shy and physically weak, but they are never ever without power. They are like the mother Goddess who has not lost hope even on demons like Mahisasura and had allowed to rule the paradise for sometime anticipating a change. We are at the same position, and are happily exhausting our lifelines either by committing or supporting or by not protesting the crimes against women. I am sure the time is not far for the women to rise, find and punish the demons within us.

It’s never the late for walking on the path of change and hope. This Dussehra let’s get rid of male chauvinism, ego and fake pride. Let’s hope for victory, not over others, but over the ones comfortably playing inside us like Lust (Kama vasana), Anger (Krodha), Attachment (Moha), Greed (Lobha), Over Pride (Mada), Jealousy (Matsara), Selfishness (Swartha), Injustice (Anyaaya), Amanavta (Cruelty) and Ahankara (Ego). I hope, Maa Durga surely hope us to get Vijaya (victory) over the Ravan inside us. Let us make our dear mother Goddess a bit happy.     

Happy Dussehra!!!

Dear Nirbhaya, you were just a toy with blood and flesh

[“In its first verdict in the Nirbhaya case, a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Saturday (31^st August, 

2013) held that the minor accused was 'involved' in the gang rape and murder of the paramedical 23-year-old student and sent him to three years in a 'place of safety' at a reformatory home.” The following lines are just to fill the page.]

2013, the last day of the month of August, the same month when mother India got rid of shackles from mighty British rule, and the same month that led her to rethink about her own safety from the emerging juvenile sex players. Dear August, you have the guts to bear the judgement at your last day. I am sure, you must be rushing…but surely failed to judge the speed of our Judiciary System.

Oh yes, he was just a juvenile while he committed the bad act (no…no…It’s not a crime). How can a juvenile do a crime like rape? You insane idiot women of India, go and find the definition, a juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. He had not reached adulthood, that’s why all other adults gave him the first chance to play; he was sexually immature, that’s why he had opted for unnatural way; and to compensate the size, he simply had used the iron rod. See our justice system is simply going by the definition, word by word. That’s it…. don’t do a drama, you helpless women.

Below the age of 18, rape is not the act of forceful sex; it’s just a way of discovering the latent manhood within. It’s just a play where the plastic doll is simply replaced with the one with flesh and blood. He was just playing….a bit hard on the toy called an adult woman. Have you seen any kid playing with a toy? What does he do when the doll failed to amuse the kid? The kid either throws it away or goes for a better one. In this case, the kid was a little (actually very little) violent, he tore the doll apart, gave it to others to play, inserted an iron rod to make it work. And I am sure, with the experience in hand; he will find a better one in future. The rest of the so called dolls of India, get ready to be played… As I wrote earlier, the juvenile accused was simply discovering the manhood within, with the help of few adults as examiners, while playing the new sex game with the poor girl. What is his fault by the way? That’s it. You sadist citizens, instead of being happy on a child’s play, you are creating ruckus, you all must face the charge of strict Indian Penal Code (IPC).   

My dear JJB (Juvenile Justice Board) and fellow citizens, please provide him a better looking toy in the correction home. And my dear women citizens of Republic of India get mentally prepared for this…as you are simply a toy in the eyes of our legal system. Think twice before planting a kiss on the forehead of a kid, seal your lips before smiling at a minor…..or you may curse yourself as usual for being born here which no one listens but you. Don’t even dare to think of suicide, it’s a crime under IPC.

I am happy that Nirbhaya is long dead before witnessing the verdict. What would we say to her? Dear Nirbhay, we have sentenced the juvenile the maximum punishment of three years for mishandling the doll and playing unfair with you. Be happy and feel proud that it’s you for whom the maximum sentence is penned. I know, she must be crying out there looking at our indifference and laziness; the indifference towards the cruelty and the laziness to shout at the verdict on a Sunday. Don’t worry; we will do the protest on a working day just to get rid of our daily routine. It’s a healthy time pass to shout slogans on law against sexual violence, a hot coffee table gossip, a relieving status update on face book, a perfect dinner time news watch…and a selfish kiss on the women we love by saying, be safe. Sorry Nirbhaya, we are a spineless generation unlike you think of us. Please don’t dream to take rebirth here. If you still think so, we are not responsible for your consequence.

As the anger is typed, let’s think why the laws are made? What should we follow, the intent of the Law or the letter of the law? I hope the judiciary system is established to implement the intent of the law, taking the rule book as a guideline and not simply adhering to the black and white letter of the law.  Whenever a society follows the letter of the law blindly bypassing the principal intent or motive behind, it turns bureaucratic, and goes to the dogs. We, in India follow the letter of the law, what is written, keeping a blind eye on the motive. I think there lies the root of the problem. That’s why after 66 years of independence, we have led the extra food grains to rot in the warehouse while thousands die in hunger. It’s the time to introspect. To think about our fundamentals, to ponder on the question, ‘what’s gone wrong?’ I hope nobody is listening.