This needs our Attention

She stepped out of the auto and walked away quietly, unbothered to pay; proud of what she wore. The driver shouted behind her to ask for the money, while she dodged the eyes on her and walked. Make her famous.

I clicked her and congratulated for the possibility of her being on Facebook soon and she brushed the thing off, laughing.

"We don't pay," she chuckled. "Police staff... it's not the first time, get it?"

We do not want this to cost her the Job, just in case it gets a glimpse of an authority, though a little discomposure to her principles would do.

What I personally dont understand is the hunger for power and money, and even if there is, why with someone who is not even as fleged as us? We are well aware of the truth that auto drivers and the fruitsellers (and relatable) are IN A NEED of what we have in abundance (dont lie to yourself, you wouldnt die spending a little like 10 fucking bucks more). This is not just about the police not paying for transportation. It is even about us, how we bargain and reduce our costs with someone who needs it more than us. I believe this is cheap of our own selves. And yes, believe me or not. That "poor" guy who agreed on a lesser cost, is in turn richer than you.

And as far as the police is concerned, we need to revolt on this. We need to get this to a stop as soon as possible. And as you think about the police, please, for once, think about yourself too.



~Manreet Singh 

A Sellout Well Paid

 A SELLOUT WELL PAID

(Lakshay Raja)

Hold the strings, tied to the mouths of the sick top media house owners and watch the nation dance as you wish to. An uneasy statement to accept, seeing such handwork and their stories of raising these giant media groups, projected repeatedly to hide the filthy game. We don’t question their rise, for the youth has always been more about the change and the right, even for anybody with the blood of a ‘sellout.’

Check the link:

Subhash-Chandra-Bets-On-BJP-Support-For-Rajya-Sabha-Entry

And so it had always been under any little principles we write these articles with and for us to not directly name these misleaders, but then, how does one hold enough, and watch them get the price of the constant biased reporting; blindly followed by the interns and the once ambitious journalists, let alone the impact on a common man.

Yet how do you not challenge your conscience, watching the entire Zee group constantly justifying them being among the few non biased media houses and with absolutely no solid proof anywhere of any paid reporting. It seemed foolish at a point to even imagine the sum, a party would be willing to pay to a media house with an operating profit of four hundred million dollars already. What else could make an entire group bark for a party and lose its audience, if not the money? A promised recommendation for the Rajya Sabha seat by the ruling party? Now we are talking. As if there has ever been any other successor to money but power.

So a little thought after reading the headline, “Subhash-Chandra-Files-Nomination-For-Rajya-Sabha” (With the back of BJP) seemed rather an obvious move for there has never been a finer seat to surrender yourself after the retirement and shut anyone mocking your flop motivational speeches. Are those still on? Unarguably, no channel would dig the meaning out of it, for the bond they owe to each other; and the news would pass, as it would have, had the channel been caught in any paid reporting. Guess who comes to play here?

Before you step in...

I remember passing through the same dates 2 years back with the same amount of consent for things I were about to indulge myself in. Sure, we have been told since the beginning of our existence that we were born to choose either of the two “professions” and everything else you did was a hobby.

I’m going to progress this one a little slow, so you understand exactly and every inch of what I intend to explain to you, please have a little patience.

We start off with absolutely nothing in our hands or minds, absolutely nothing, no doubt on that. And as we begin to know things, what they are, how many of them are there, and what exactly is it that absolutely astounds us with the blink of an eye. We keep advancing. If there is something we cannot change, is “change” itself and the sooner we realize it, the better for ourselves.

As we grow, apart from our skills and everything around the world, existent or not, we develop. We sense ourselves into what and who we are, and with time, who we want to be. Apparently, there are things, in which we discover a part of ourselves who is not as developed as it ought to be and it somehow attracts us, so deep within, that we are literally able to find a whole new “me” in it.
Let’s say, you’re 14 so far. And in about 3 years from now, or maybe 2, you will be in the same scenario I was two years ago, or say, where most of the students are right now. As much as we are told, this is the “time that is going to build or destroy” or say, “decide for the rest of your lives”. This is given the importance of a lifetime, can you believe it? It’s been just 17 years you had been in this world, and YOU are about to judge and choose for the rest of your life! ---Lie number one.

Most of us, irrespective of what we found ourselves within, are either forced or just get-into-it-coz-why-not? Some try to get it clean, try to save themselves from being judged and be decided for. Apparently, the best of the choices of what we call “life” is either being an Engineer, or a doctor. So, a 16/17 years old is being told that THIS is the only thing you can do to “survive” in this world. Or let me frame a more common statement: “I always wished to see my child as a doctor/an engineer”. Well, this is being told to a 16 years old. Who barely knows what exactly even the purpose of life is. Behold the purpose, even the meaning is still unknown. ---Lie number two.

I have been told that I am lucky, for at least I know what I want to do with my life, unlike majority of the lives. What we fail to understand is that we need to be with the time. If there is something that they have always been positive about is “saving time”. Time is the best gift of the universe, reader. And it is more important than anything, absolutely anything else in the world. But then, poor you. Your caretakers think they know what the best is for you. They are not wrong, trust me. They have had an experience of almost a lifetime.

But then, I wish for your parents to read this as well. Sir/ma’am, when you were 16 years old, did you know EXACTLY what you wanted to do with your life? Were you asked for what you had to do with your life? Right now, you have a child to take care of, do you think he knows what makes him happy?

The truth about this life is, it is not harsh at all. It is beautiful. It is as beautiful as YOU make it to be. Who does not have issues? My cover is that IF there is something that makes you see the beauty of this world. If there is something that you believe, can get you to make the people see the beauty of this life, you do not have to wait for it.

We are not even allowed to go out in the nights, called back before the sun sets down and the next thing you know, you are up for being a machine. Because all they ever knew was one way to “survive”. Entrance exams literally defining your life! Read this statement again and you will realize how much of a joke you are about to make of your life.

Dear student of 12th standard, you did not come to this world to survive. YOU CAME TO THIS WORLD TO LIVE. And just to make myself clear, your people want you to be happy, and the reason they think you will be happy with a degree, is because they see it as the only way out. But if you know an alternate reality, let them know before you step into something as real as of a lie it is.
Go around the internet, and you will find people who are engineers or doctors and all frustrated with the life they have. Or let me give you the best example, your own teachers. You know what I’m talking about, and you know how true it is. Facebook pages that tell us about how much of a shit these “degrees” are. The joke it actually on them. Idiots don’t even know what to do with their lives and in turn, they think they are not at fault.

I am an artist at heart, just like an engineer or a doctor. I wish to save lives, and make things for people too, just in a way that is a little different than how a doctor or an engineer would. Does that make me a bitter truth? Or a bad child? Or say, like I was told in the classroom, “the lowest someone could be”. Only because I find my reality in art, does it make me not worth living? Or in any case, wrong?

Dear parent, I don’t know how you don’t realize “life” the way you should (I must say nothing, I am yet too small to be in your place). Stop telling your child to do something after a degree of something he does not find himself within. Four years of manifestation and carving of an engineer, if put into 4 years of dedication and work of what we really want to be is going to give us, as well as yourselves the happiness of a lifetime.

People are going to say what they want to say, trust me. They were born with no aim, they killed the real child they had when he was in the same position as you are. They are always going to try to kill you too because they are already dead. And never have I ever heard of a dead body that understands “life”.

Two years back, I wanted to be an audio engineer, but I was not so sure about it (my fault), so like anyone else, I admitted myself into an engineering program. And believe me reader that was one of the best things that happened to me. After a semester of studies, I was all ready and set with what I wanted to do, and no, one semester is not late, not even a bit. Everyone around me knew about it, so did I. I knew exactly what one year of an audio focus would make me rather than 4 years of something I never want to see myself with. My peeps know about what I want to do with my life. I am told every day that music is a ‘hobby’ and I must take it as a hobby and just complete these 4 years of nothing then do whatever the hell it is that I want to do. And that I had no idea about life, and I was more wrong than anyone else could ever be. ----Lie number three and the worst of all.


To everyone, music, sir/ma’am is not a hobby. I don’t care if you fail to realize, it is not my fault. It is a way of life. It is who we are. If you are an artist, if you have a whole new kind of a world inside yourself, if you have a million other eyes to look at the world with, you are not stupid. And no, you don’t need to wait for 4 fucking years to be who you are. Fuck the society, fuck the world. Did you think about the society when you were in the bedroom? Or better off. I think the society produces your babies. Or pays their fees and bills. Right?

Its 3rd year of the same degree I enrolled myself with, the artist is not dead yet, will never die. I made a mistake of not being able to look at what was happening to me. I kicked myself out of my life for a whole four years. And I must admit, I am literally wasting time. But more important than that. Even if I don’t like it as much, I am into something beautiful. Craft, my friend is another word for engineering and so is art, another word for everything we do.

The only con is that instead of tomorrow, I will be recognized as an artist after a few years. I made a mistake for not knowing what I wanted to do, soon enough. So, if you’re about to apply for a college, just like anyone else, please, if not for yourself, for your people, ask yourself what you really want to be. Make sure of who you are. Work in that direction, focus yourself and don’t look back. It is not a hobby my friend, you will lose yourself in the making. And you can save yourself from going crazy, by being crazy. Life is as beautiful as you make it to be, and no. you don’t need to be an engineer to do that.

~Caveman

MarkSheet

Marksheet

(Arsh Bhatt)

Scored less marks? Don’t worry. You have your whole life ahead

Well, as a parent, how often did you use these astonishing words for your child? The season of exams has finally come to an end and even the results have been declared. This time period is marked as the time of highest tension in a student’s life. The question is...WHY? What makes these sheets of paper frighten your child? What powers do these papers possess that they force children to end their lives? Well, it’s not these sheets but us.

US...the society/parents.

SOCIETY. “What would people think if you score less marks? Dad working on such a high post and his child is a failure?” “Look at Mr. Sharma’s son. He scored 90%. If he can, then why not you?” “What are you going to do in your life if you can’t score well in your exams?”

These are the remarks that we often use for our children when they fail to level up our overwhelming expectations. Expectations set on the grounds of social status. Mr Sharma’s son has scored 90% but their surely are many abilities in your child which are missing in Mr Sharma’s son. Every fruit has its own flavor. Your child not being able to score good in exams doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of becoming a successful person in life because in the practical world, it’s not these marks but other essential attributes that are going to lead him on the path of success.

Yes, it’s the student’s fault for not scoring up to the mark but what we, as parents fail to realize is that a mark sheet can not depict our child’s abilities. We are so much concerned about the society questioning our child’s abilities based on some stupid marks that we fail to support our children when they need us the most. We, being the supporting pillars of their life fail to understand our role in such conditions. 

Do you want your children to be defined by their marks? Are these marks going to have any effect on the hard work they are capable of doing in their future life? Why do we fail to teach them the most important lesson of life that it’s okay to make mistakes? If you are not making any mistakes, you aren’t learning anything. It is okay to fail because the best teacher a student can have is; his last failure.

So, what’s better? A slap on your child’s cheek or a pat on the back assuring your support?

Just give this a thought whenever you’re holding up your child’s mark sheet in your hands.

Don’t let these mathematical figures limit your child’s horizons because your child is much more than a mark sheet. Just make the right choice and see your ward doing wonders for himself and the world and making you proud.

Possibilities Across

POSSIBILITIES ACROSS

(Dinker Gulati)

We, as human beings have several ways to interpret what life is. One might look at it as a series of junctions. These junctions represent our choices in life which lead us to our “destiny”. These junctions are the choices and decisions we have to make in our lives from time to time and on some scale we face these junctions quite often in our days; whether big or small. The turns we make at these very junctions decide our future lives, they take us one step closer to our aims and these choices are the jury and director of what we are going to become ultimately-both personally and professionally. We are ultimately manifestation of our choices. So life is easy right? Just make all the right turns. The only problem is that we can’t foresee the consequences of our actions most of the time. The junctions are full of fog and mist. It turns out to be a betting game. You have to take a judgment call and at these moments we begin to think, "What if I made a wrong turn? What if I took a wrong decision? I might not end up where I want to be?" The thought scares us, after all one can potentially “ruin” their chance at glory unknowingly with just one naive mistake…But thats the very limitation of our mental scope.

Our ideal goals and dreams are static. The paranoia on the cross-roads forbids us from the realisation of the fact that wherever we turn, whatever we do, wherever we go, our choices are the ones that make of who we are; be it the “right” ones or the “wrong” ones. I’ll go as far and say that there are no “wrong” turns; just our choices and at the end of the day they lead us to what we are meant to be rather than what we think we should be. Our every “mistake” leads us to our true destiny and whatever we do, we will eventually get there.

Worthless Events

WORTHLESS EVENTS

(Anonymous)

The past few months projected the nation back on the tracks of what it has been known since, what, forever? The diversity and politics that masks itself as the primary attraction to the world, a face that bears that tag of world’s biggest and yet a stable democracy. Not much of a surprise to face the international embarrassment with such events rising together, the primary ones being the JNU’s ‘politics-is-love-politics-is-life’ next generation and the super needy Jaat hyper babies.

I see some fine talent in framing something out of a bullshit JNU event and to call it a milestone in the youth politics. Down to the roots of the event, what did the nation get with such a chaos, as to even fill the prime times of some respectable (so called, of course) channels? Except for the rise of a new ‘Patel’ of the north or precisely, a very own future ‘LEFT’ party in the north. Though it does raise some curiosity on how the things centre themselves on finding the activists a place in parties and eventually pop the purpose up as the years pass. 

Been twenty minutes already to mention ‘Jaat hyper babies’ and I see peace around. Surely a bigger milestone than the event itself. 

The Other Tongue (UK's Take On...)

THE OTHER TONGUE (UK's TAKE ON...)

(Lakshay Raja)

This ain’t much of our job to judge the political situation going around the nation for there are quite a million mouths already to predict the insides and the future. The thing we bother to talk of is more or less of an opinion to what we feel is a series of taunts and gossips (outside the borders) of our Prime minister’s foreign visits, hiding behind the overwhelms of our nation and the people.

I was close to what is called, being blown away, by how the evening went in Wembley on the Prime minister’s visit, followed by the way it was telecasted by the Indian media. 

Yet as I see all of it, each moment of the evening and the speeches being telecasted over and again, and anywhere I looked around printed MODI, it looked as if the world talked of it. But then, it looked. 

Oxford won’t congratulate you on your little research paper praised by your college and your society. If the research paper somehow gets into Oxford, won’t it be right to see how they react to it, before celebrating?

As my cursor circled to load UK’s leading e-journals, I expected the home page to be half filled with the relating stories of something our media had been pseudo celebrating. I checked. And scrolled. And browsed. And scrolled. And did find a small section in the category ‘opinion’ in ‘THE GUARDIAN’. Finally.

The headline read, ’The Guardian view on Mr. Modi’s visit.’

The article could be the voice of United Kingdoms, merged up with the words that showed domination. Here’s the link to the article: 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/13/the-guardian-view-on-mr-modis-uk-visit-over-the-top

I always feared of how the world sees our political rallies and the speeches that makes me hide and say, “That ain’t my country”. Or do they ignore what is being said back in our country for the vote back? Here are a few lines from the article that answers-

‘Mr Modi has been whirling around the world in the 18 months since he took office seeking to woo the 35 million-strong Indian diaspora. He wants their support, and to attract more of their investment and skills back to India. But he especially wants to stand tall in the eyes of the public at home who see him dazzling Indian audiences abroad’

It further adds…

‘So Mr Modi includes what is essentially a political rally in most of his trips, packing out Madison Square Garden in New York, the cricket ground in Dubai, and today Wembley stadium. The people who listen to him don’t have Indian votes, but there are votes in them for Mr Modi all the same. These successes on the foreign stage help obscure setbacks and controversies in India, like recent electoral defeat in Bihar and the anger over his lukewarm response to the murder of a Muslim accused of eating beef.’

The article further talks of how the image of the Indian prime minister and the rumoured involvement in the Gujarat riots could moderate his reception. 

For a nation or a party to go around the world with something like ‘make in India’ would mean the same use of words and promises back in their own county as said or done globally. Each word being said in any of the rally by any party member in power counts on how the nation and the leader is received on foreign visits. The closest to the prime minister if says something controversial on rapes counts when the prime minister himself goes around to praise ‘selfie_with_daughter.’

A lonely cat walks outside its territory to greet the dogs and ask for peace. The least the other cats can contribute is behave, back at their own place.

NOW SHOWING - SOMEHOW... A MOVIE

NOW SHOWING - SOMEHOW… A MOVIE.

(Anonymous)

Why is it that the readers mostly end up hating a movie based on the novels they love? While I sit around with people and discuss their favourite novels and their movie adaptations, if there’s something that does come around at any point is, ‘Didn’t they just screw the novel up!’

This surely isn’t about the already known story being watched again, for if a friend tells me of an incident of how a random guy ended up embarrassing  himself, I would love to watch the video. In any case, there are movies we play over and again. When I am introduced to a character and described of how they behave, there aren’t many actors who can act on screen in a way our mind make those characters do. A little of anything over and there we go with our hands up.  

Doesn’t it feel more of like a betrayal to squeeze the five hundred page of gold into a three hour of something? (Why don’t they name it - somehow… a movie?) If Tom comes out screaming, ‘I saw the best murder ever planned,’ there won’t be much of something that would tell him of what went inside the murderer through all this.

Visuals dominate the world, yet the words are more powerful. Even I end up spending more time on watching things than reading them. And coming back to what the point was - why is it that the readers mostly end up hating a movie based on the novels they love? There’s a world that a reader makes of his own while reading, and any disturbance to that reality does disturb him. Nevermind, thats an anonymous reader speaking.