The small wish list..

I picked up the folded paper from Tarun’s table and saw names of movies scribbled on it. I was about to trash it when he snatched the paper from my hand and thrust it in his pocket.

“What will you do with this stupid list”? I asked him, cleaning the mess on his table.

“It’s a list of those movies I wanna watch before I turn 25” replied Tarun seriously.

“Are you retiring post you turn 25?” I snapped back.

“There are so many things in life I wanna do. Its just a small wish list before 1/4^th of my life, so that I don’t crib for things I missed”.

I wanted to tell him how I had also made a wish list couple of years back. The only difference was that my wish list consisted of books to read and places to visit. However I didn’t say anything and smiled back at him.

His simple words had depth and lot of meaning in them.

Preeti has always been cribbing about being overweight. God save me whenever she goes for a diet plan. Thanks to internet that she came to know about GMD, an easy way to lose weight without working out. More than her, it was tough for me… (to chop kilos of fruits and vegetables and cook a quantity meant for 5 people. Trust me, it’s horrible!).

“I want to lose weight through GMD because I don’t have time to hit the gym .I want a new job which would leave me with some time for myself”.

Few months later…………

New, better job..more time for self.. joined gym…but……….

“This is not a good gym. I want a better one”. I silently prayed she dosen’t resort to GMD again.

And her wish list continues till date.

Akash wished, God wouldn't have snatched his wife to leave their 5 year old son alone in his company.

Rohit wished, he could earn more and improve his family’s financial condition. He wished for a decent job.

I wanted to write more, but running short of time…may be I see this in a form of a book some day. (Ah, another wish !!)

Lord make everybody’s wish list come to an end, may be, some day.

Blindfolded

India..the land of peace? The land of tolerance? Is it because of its tolerance, that it took more than one year to prove KASAB, guilty? Somebody who was seen on national TV massacring people, needed no introduction. However Indian Law, as bound by its nature of its outdated Justice process, struggled to collect evidence against him! To add to the shame, we were stranded speechless and helpless when Pakistan refused to accept Kasab’s Pak origin! Besides this, Kasab had the guts to deny himself guilty.

Post the tedious job of proving him guilty, Kasab fell ill end number of times. To keep him alive was a costly affair. Shifting him from one location to another in full security, guarding on him 24X7, expenditure on his medicines and daily provisions etc costed the administration a fortune. Not even a part of this amount was compensated to the victims. Had the same amount been spent for the repairs to the damages, I would have called the Indian jurisdiction a well managed intelligent body. News channels are bustling with headlines that the President will ensure the speedy execution of his Capital punishment. That’s so kind of her lest another hijacked aircraft should be ransomed for his release. Ah!! My heart bleeds to that.

Not only the cost, but there are chances of his appealing to numerous apex courts for reduction in his punishment or pleading for sympathy.

Needless to mention, India definitely needs revision in its policies and laws. It took more than a year for the law to prove Kasab guilty! It is ridiculous. Not only Kasab, there are numerous infamous cases in India which testify the fact that it’s high time for India to gear up with its Law book. Jesicca Lal, Madhumita, Nithari, Nitish Kataria, are few cases to quote which proves the inefficiency of Indian Law to provide timely justice. Delayed justice is often equivalent to denied justice. The Victim’s family keeps waiting for years before they get the final verdict. And for those years, the guilty becomes a liability for the administration. Is it worth?

Indian administration should set up a strong mechanism which would provide timely justice without the prolonged delay in scrutinizing the facts/evidences. When situation was so obvious and explicit, with a heinous crime like this, I guess much time was wasted in proving his Pak origin. Kasab too knew that it wasn't easy to prove him guilty so easily, in spite of the witness present. So much is the confidence of others on our loose law system! Manjeet Singh aka Sarabjeet Singh who was of Indian soil, was detained by the Pak authorities accusing him of crossing the borders illegally and levelled charges against him of bomb blast in Karachi. Without a concrete proof or evidence how easily did Pakistan pass a death sentence for him, while Indian authorities went head over heels asking Pakistan to agree to his Pak origin. Can somebody imagine the amount of precious time and resources ,we were at loss? In that span of time, Kasab could have been exchanged for another hijacked plane! Pheewwwww!!!! God save us and the snail speed Indian Law system.

The citizens of India are ready to spur venom against the national symbol of hatred-Kasab, yet it is taking a good amount of time to execute his death sentence. Can somebody answer why, when it didn’t take seconds for Kasab to recklessly shoot people during his killing rampage?

Sunny Deol starrer “Damini’s” dialogue “taareekh pe taareekh” stands so relevant here!!

Untamed

There was heavy blood shed. Brutal murder. My heart went out to those who lost their lives. My eyes were flooded with tears and I was a bundle of wreck. My heart was bleeding to see them die one by one. The bodies of the helpless men lied in pieces all over. Fire, dust, blood, weapons lay as an aftermath of the war. I couldn’t do anything but shed tears silently. The soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. India must have been so proud of the brave hearts who didn’t think for a second to take the bullet in their chest and fight the enemies just for the country! Hats off to the brave soldiers. But loss of lives was definitely an irreparable loss. I felt helpless and so incapable of saving the heroes. It was sad, scary and a heart rendering view. The lights were switched on and the crowd started moving toward the exit. My cheeks were still wet after the super hit movie “BORDER” ended.

She was shattered. She was in tears. I hugged her and she cried like a baby in my arms. People around us stared at us. The man who was responsible for this, kept apologizing, but it was useless to say sorry post the great loss. The damage was already done.  She kept looking at what she had lost with swollen tearful eyes.  It was painful to part with the most loveable and precious possession. After all it had taken 6 tedious years to grow her beautiful hair waist long! The hair dresser felt like a criminal, ready to be blown apart by Preeti, to have her hair cut shorter than waist length. Tears kept rolling down her eyes the whole day.

It was Astami, the 8^th day of Durga Puja in 2000. Mom, sis, my bro and I were heading towards the Pooja baari for the grand celebration, when suddenly my bro’s shoe broke and we returned home to get it changed. My Mom was struggling with Abhijit’s new pair of shoes while the door bell rang loud. I rushed to collect the telegram from the postman. Mom covered her face with her palms. Abhijit was too young to understand the reason behind the ladies of the family crying. I had been courageous and fought my tears back till I went to Dad’s shop to inform him of Naani’s demise. Mom was inconsolable. The telegram was clutched in her hand, and tears kept rolling down her eyes the whole day.

Divya returned to the hotel room while talking on the phone. She saw my red eyes and tear stained face. Instantly she came to know what was wrong. Disconnecting her phone immediately, she placed her hand on my shoulder and politely said “Don’t worry, I am there with you”. These consoling words of her made me feel weaker and lonelier. That day brings tears to my eyes even today. She tried to cheer me up and stayed with me the whole night. I felt alone probably for the first time. The thought, to live alone for the first time, had scared me. I touched dad’s feet to seek his blessings. The moment dad kept his hand on my head, my heart almost skipped a beat. I had to live away from my family, manage everything on my own and “grow up”. Dad left me in Divya’s company, my closest friend now and my favorite roommie. I returned to the hotel room and cried for hours missing my family and feeling lost. It was my first job in Delhi and the first moment when I had to be away from my family. Tears kept rolling down my cheeks till Divya came.

Tears….Untamed tears…!!!