Why does the State charge us?

Remember the Dhaula Kuan Rape case where a student was abducted and raped for 2 hours in a moving car in Delhi? Guess the latest on that case.. an ARREST WARRANT has been issued against the.... VICTIM..for not appearing in court. She has moved to Aizawl and is therefore not available for hearings of the court case.
I would like the honorable seat of justice to get raped and then come back to face the trauma. This is a case of prosecution where the state is the prosecutioner, not the victim. Doesn't anyone in the court try to think like human beings? A person who has gone through a not so pleasant experience, is now at home.. hopefully, trying to recover among her own people, not the stuck up, arrogant, chauvinistic crowd of Delhi. What is the point of dragginer her back to a city that gave her the biggest trauma of her life, and doing that on an Arrest Warrant? The state has her statement, and needs to act on that.

The State failed to provide protection to people in a public place, after charging us one third of our salaries to do just that. Why should the State not be prosecuted for failing to fulfil its commitment? Can the State be taken to a Consumer Court?

Read these..

http://www.freshlimesoda.com/reviews/altaf_mohammed_sainath_drought.htm

http://vsequeira.blogspot.com/2006/01/p-sainath-on-crisis-in-rural-india.html

http://nosimplematter.blogspot.com/2006/02/indian-villages-for-sale.html

http://volunteerthoughts.blogspot.com/2005/09/status-of-women-in-india-overall.html

This one was written by Anita Vasudevan.

How easily we clear the clutter
from our lives today
Touch buttons to eject
people, words, memories, messages.
I'm still desperately searching
for the Erase command on my heart
in this new model of Me
that has limited card space

Here are 2 gems i bumped into.. they are written by other ppl on their pages. I loved them!

Is it you..
Or is it just that
I’ve made you wearthe love robes
I’ve been saving since the days when my sand castles
were big enough to walk around in..and strong enough
To stand guard against the tides
I cant remember who first said
That----“what you don’t know cant hurt you”
But what’s-his-name was wrong
Supposing I climb all the way to the top
Then find out……its not really you..
How do I climb back down again
All by myself?

I’ve always been afraid of heights…..

PS: I don't know who wrote this..the name is not on the page.. but she is fundoo!

Hindi books,anyone?

Incidentally, did anyone here go to a bookstore and ask for a book in an Indian language? When do we start?

Amrita Pritam poetry..

Hum ne aaj ye duniya bechi,
Aur ek deen kharid ke laaye,
Baat kufr ki ki hai hum ne..

Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
badal ka ik jaam utha kar
Ghoont chandni pi hai hum ne
baat kufr ki ki hai humne..
**************
Meri aag mujhe mubarak,
Ki aaj suraj mere paas aaya,
Aur ek koyla maang kar us ne,
Apni aag sulgayi hai...
**************
Tinkon ki meri jhondpri(hut),
Koi aasan kahaan bichhaoon,
ki teri yaad ki chingaari,
Mehmaan ban kar aayi hai..
******************

Jaane khuda ki raaton ko kya hua,
Vo andhere mein daud-ti aur bhaagti
neend ka jugnu pakadne lagi...

Sunaar ne dil ki angoothi tarash di
Aur meri takdeer us mein
Dard ka moti jadne lagi..

Aur jab duniya ne sooli gaad di,
to har mansoor ki ankhein
Apna mukkaddar padne lagi..
***************

Sooraj to dwar par aa gaya,
lekin kisi kiran ne uth kar
us ka swagat nahi kiya..
********************

- Ek Mutthi Akshar..

Amrita Pritam.. Concluding part

The next posts will start with some of my other favorite stuff.. personally, I prefer Amrita Pritam's prose. And here are the gems i kept in the personal diary!

Us ke hothon par ek hasrat thi, jo jami papdi ki tarah tootna chahti thi..
************
Kai logon ko to ishwar kahin rakh kar bhool jaata hai, par main khud hi apne aap ko kahin rakh kar bhool gayi hoon.. jee karta hai, koi ho jo mera apna-aap khoj kar mujhe de jaaye..
***************
Ishwar jab apna bhandara baant-ne laga tha, to na jaane mere hisse ki thaali vo mere aage rakhna bhool gaya, ya mere aage rakhi thaali ko jaldi se kisi aur ne utha liya, par main bhookhi reh gayi!
***************
Vo jab chhoti thi to us sapne bunti hui ke haathon se zindagi ne silaayi-an chheen li thi, aur us ke sapne udhar agey the.
**************
Phoolon ka tha ik kaafila, marusthal se nikla tha....
*************
Vo aur us ki umra ek saath nahi chal rahi thi.. kabhi use lagta ki vo kahin aage nikal aayi hai, aur umra bahut dheere dheere kadam badati aa rahi hai. Kabhi use lagta, ki vo vahin ki vahin khadi hai, aur us ki umra na jaane kab use chhod kar aage chali gayi...
*************
Aur badnaseeb arthon ka kya....?
(And what of the unfortunate meanings?)
*********

Mera sooraj, badlon ke mehal mein soya hua hai.
Vahaan koi khidki nahi, darwaaza bhi nai, seedi bhi nahi.
Aur sadiyon se haathon ne jo pagdandi banayi hai
Vo mere pairon ke liye bahut sankari hai..
***********

Amrita Pritam Contd..

This is pretty much my best loved Amrita Pritam.. from her short stories..

"Tum mujhe bhale kitni hi baar chhod kar chale jao, par jitni baar jao, us se ek baar zyaada lautna.. agar bichhadna pachaas baar to milna ikyavan baar. Yeh viyog apni baari se aata raha aur saath mein milan bhi. Ant mein milan jeetega.. ek number ke fark se... "
"Tumhara vishwaas nahi toot-ta?"
"Toot-ta hai, par phir bandh jaata hai. Vishwaaas bhale hi pachaas baar toote, par use ikyavan baar bandhna chahiye. Ek baar zyaada, bas ek baar..."

**********
Pavitrata shayad ek chhhoot ki bimaari hoti hai..
************
Mujhe lagta tha vo abhi ro padegi, par vo royi nahi. Ya phir, shayad aisa rona royi jo kisi ko dikhaayi nahi diya. Dekha! Hum auratein kaisa rona ro sakti hain! kabhi kabhi mera dil karta hai, ki main bhi zor zor se ro sakoon, aur vo bhi zor zor se ro sake.....
**************
Jo yaadein zabardasti us ke kamre mein ghus aayi thi, vo jaane ka naam hi nahi leti thi.. us ne krodhit ho kar, aur phir haath jod kar in yaadon ko chale jaane ke liye kaha, magar vo yaadein man mein na jaane kya thaan kar aayi thi... vo bade thande dil se idhar udhar tehelti hui kamre ki cheezon ko ulat palat kar aapas mein baatein karti rahi..
***************
Kabhi dukh bhi kisi ka imaan dekh kar aate hain?
***********
Tum kehti thi na, tumhara beta heere ki kani hai? Maine vahi heere ki kani kha li hai!
***************

Amrita Pritam special..

Ek Dard hai
Jo maine cigarette ki tarah piya hai
Kuchh nazmein hain
Jo maine raakh ki tarah jhaadi hain...
************************
Amrita Pritam has done a lot of work.. some of it is for sane people.. but sane people should not make the mistake of reading Nagmani, Bu(short story), Mukta(short story), Band Darwaaze, Kele Ka chhilka, Amakadi, or her work... she is dangerous, and read her only if you are willing to face the ghosts of your own passions...

There will be more Amrita Pritam on this blog though, bcs i never laid any claim to sanity, or the desire thereof!

Tumhaara naam
Chhala ban gaya hai jeebh par
Dukhta hai
Jab bhi kuchh kehti hoon..

Another one..

Kamre mein baith kar aao,
Nadi Jungle ki baat karein...
Khidki ke paar kabhi dikhta tha..
Aao, us peepal ki baat karein...
- Author unknown. This is part of my showcase of Hindi poetry 

Nadi Phir Nahi Boli

nadi pehli baar tab boli thi
Jab tumhari teekhi naav
uska vaksh cheer kar
sudoor badti gayi thi
lehron ne uth uth,
Virodh darshaya - par,
tumhaare mazboot haathon mein thame,
chappu-on ne virodh nahi maana.

Tab tumhe lauh(iron) ka, vishaal
daitya sa dhardharata jahaaz
us ki chhati par utaar diya.
Tum ne khoob raunda is ki deh ko.
Lehron ke haath duhaayi mein uthe,
Tum ne nahi suna!

Phir tum ne kitne hi yudhhpot, jangi bede,
kitne hi, jaane kitne hi
is ke and ang mein basaa,
iski deh ko akhada bana diya..
Aur kroor ho kar pooochha,
"Bolo, kya bolti ho?"

Nadi nahi boli.
Nadi phir nahi boli.
nadi phir kabhi nahi boli..
-Mayamruga..

Hindi Poetry..

OK people, I am going to do this..
I am going to use this page to showcase some Hindi poetry..
because its rather sad to see the death of the Hindi poet..

And if you like these pieces, please remember that they were picked up from assorted Hindi poetry books picked up painstakingly at roadside stalls, bcs none of the upmarket shops keep modern Hindi poetry.. so please, go out there and buy some Hindi poetry.. and in the snobbish upmarket shops where they keep fewer Indian language books than French books, ASK for books in Indian languages, and ask the managers why they don't stock Indian language books.. then buy them..

The death of a language is a sad reality, but what makes it worse is the knowledge that we are colluding architects in that death..

Please feel free to suggest other good vernacular poetry, and I'll add it here..

"Bhookh ka jhaad
Uga ho jis ke pet mein,
Bhar jaata hai kaanton se us ka kanth,
Tab cheekh bhi nahi sakta aadmi.. "
- Banaas nadi: Teen Chitra
by Radhe Shyam Atal

Why I come to blogspot

I come here for the lost worlds
That float on assorted pages,
in the sea that everyone knows of
And no one knows completely..

I come here for the lost worlds
Tears that dried in cyberspace
And joys that floated in free air,
Like Tibetan chants.

I come here for the lost worlds
For hearts that broke,
And no one heard...
Or heard, and said nothing..

So, what is my point?

My Point is this:
1. If we can ask for Deliverance from the public Sector Banks, and bad mouth the babus,why can't we ask for DELIVERANCE from the private banks who completely, unabashedly suck us dry, invade our privacy, and confiscate our property without adhering to the legal procedure? No refunds are made from the sale of property thus confiscated. WHERE THE HELL IS THE LAW?

2. I am schizophrenic, I do NOT want my personal information plastered on the screen of the next dummy who gets a walk in BPO job.. there is a reason why information is called PERSONAL. I want my bank to stick to asking ONLY the essential stuff(my annual income and the number of children i have is not essential. Its personal. )

3. Why should a bank that adopts consumer malpractices, allowed to operate? After all, we were fed privatisation with the sweet goli of "better consumer experience" weren;t we? Since that essential condition does not hold true, the bank should not be allowed to operate.

I REALLY THINK IT IS TIME SOMEONE INITIATED AN ACTION FORUM AGAINST MALPRACTICES BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCIAL ORGANISATIONS. Care to Joine me, anyone?

In Defence of Public Sector Banks

This post had to be written!

When the privatisation of banks happened.. the majority were celebrating.. what deliverance! From bank Tellers that do me a favor while giving me my own money..
From clerks who do not believe in talking to mere mortals,
From Bank Managers who thought they were GODS incarnated..
From banks that close that 1, or 2, or whatever..
From banks that make loans a nightmare... .
Remember?
What Sweet Deliverance We Were Promised By Our Private Sectore Saviours.. Like the US promised freedom to the Iraqis before rolling in..

Lets take a stock of what the private sector banks have brought in:
Scene 1: You are preparing for that all important meeting. The phone rings(YOUR mobile phone)
Sir, would you like to try out our new credit transfer scheme?
The scenario repeats itself.. Citibank, ICICI, ABN Amro... you name it!

Scene 2: You are outside the office, or in a mall, and you are accosted by a nice looking guy, "Sir, would you like to get a free ICICI credit card? Its absolutely free, no charges at all (oops! He forgot to tell you "1 year only!" )
Nicely tempted, you apply. Over to scene 3.

Scene 3: You are anywhere... any time.. and you get this call, "Sir, I am calling from ICICI bank.. this is re. verification of your credit card application.. what is your address sir? What is your annual income? What is your qualification? Do you own any car? " (IS ALL THAT EVEN THERE ON MY APPLICATION?) If you get bold, you ask, " Why are you doing this verification? I am not bound to provide my personal information to anyone. Please stick to the specific details required for verification and before I tell you anything, you tell me the entire verification process and the time involved. " The sound on the other side goes " OK, Thank you sir." And the phone goes dead.

Scene 4: OK, so your wife over-spent by 1000 bucks and that loan cheque bounced. You curse yourself for the cheque bounce charges and prepare the next cheque. One day, you get a call from someone from the bank, informing you that you have "Defaulted" (Gulp!!)
You tell them to send someone to pick up the cheque.
OK sir, I will send someone.
3 days, no one comes. the Cheque is dutifully lying in your pocket.
Day 4, another call " Sir, you have defaulted again. You were not available in your office when our rep called."
(WHAT? ME? NOT IN OFFICE? WASNT HE SUPPOSED TO CALL BEFORE COMING?)Sir, you will now have the make the payment in cash at our nearest office. (BUT I CAN'T MAKE IT THERE IN MY OFFICE HOURS!!) Too bad sir!

Scene 4: You discover a 250 rupees charge in your bank statement. (250 RUPEES?!!) Frantically, you search for the bank's Helpline number. After a maze of menu options andyour TPINs and verifications(TPINS!! THE FINE ART OF DISCOVERING THAT YOU HAVE BECOME A NUMBER FROM A HUMAN BEING. ALSO, THE FASTEST CONVERSION METHOD.) , you our wiare told that this charge exists bcs both you and your wife have registered for the mobile banking. (WAIT A MINUTE, THAT WAS FREE, AND YOU JUST ACTIVATED IT!) Yes, Sir, it was free till March. From this month, it has a fee of Rs. 125 per quarter.
"How can I deactivate it?" Sir, ,you have to submit an application in writing at the branch before the third working day of the quarter to get deactivated for that quarter. No sir, we do not take advance applications. No sir, you cannot do it over the phone, and no sir, you can get it activated online, but not deactivated.

Still wants privatisation, anyone?

I am perhaps
not the most suitable recipient
Of your affection.

I have decided
that my picture
will do the job much better.

Am therefore
leaving the picture behind
For you to declare your love to
Once a day, or maybe, once in two days,
without giving a damn
about what she really feels.. thinks... does....
No time to talk
or ask her
if she is upset about something..

I have a feeling
that your lasting, beautful love,
Is not valued enough
by a thinking, feeling, complaining person..
A statue
will do the job much better...
And make you
A very happy man!

I have also fed her
the hmmms and the A-has
which are
the only pieces of conversation
that you have wanted out of me
in a long time.

She will do perfectly well.
And you will never know the difference!