Monday, March 30, 2009

Our Civic Duties

We all talk about the Mumbai spirit…..the spirit of survival, the spirit of existence in a frenzied world, the spirit to stand by each other in the hour of need. It is commendable to stand up and fight the world when things suddenly turn upside down.

But there is a side of us which none of us acknowledge, forget do anything about. Every time I hear the wail of an ambulance, my heart skips a beat. And every time I see the vehicle, my anger overflows the acceptable limit. For in our mad world, even the moan of the sick does not merit importance. In our rush to reach our destinations, we will not stop and give way to the sick even if that means the end of a life for those precious few seconds of intolerance and indifference.

People, who block, overtake or just don’t give way to the wail of sick, are they any better than animals who can’t respond to the environment around. And I may be completely mistaken here, animals also reciprocate, react to surroundings—such humans are worse than anything around.

Our civic body needs to rise and respond to the situation—if most of us are thick skinned and without emotions, we need rules to make us aware of our civic duties….and it b****** well is our responsibility to stop and give way to the ambulance that is carrying the sick and the dying to the hospital.

Citizens, have conscience and lets all be human in the true sense of the word.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Sehwag or Sachin Tendulkar???

Today morning while driving down to office, the husband (as usual) was engrossed with the stories of the world, completely ignoring the poor 'me', trying to fight the restlessness and boredom in the heavy traffic of Mumbai. If only there were more fancy dressed people on the streets, it would be such better usage of my time (but I guess all the better dressed people leave really late for work after the late night outs...the owls of the world are actually so much more better dressed than the so called early risers...(is there a metaphor for them????) Anyways, coming back to the topic, that I really wanted to write about today. At a casual glance of the newspaper, the image of Sehwag stared at me and since I had nothing better to do, I started playing a game on my own. I asked myself, 'If i was given a chance to be either Tendulkar of Sehwag in life, who would I want to be?' (now, don't question my audacity...it was fanciful thinking to while away time) And the answer that I got was-- I really wanted to be a Sehwag as opposed to the God of Indian cricket, Tendulkar. I guess the tenacity, the persistence, the track record, the performance, the overpowering skill set, everything combined together could not match the flamboyance, the unexpectedness, the sheer charm of the personality in my fancy. Being a boring person myself, I am drawn to unpredictability, volatility and flamboyance and would trade places any day to be a personality that matches those traits. Superficial??? Well, it is better to be honest than fool myself :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

After a hiatus

Visiting blogpost after a hiatus. The interim was an everyday affair. Visited Kolkata for a few days. The sights and sound of the city lifted the spirits. Siliguri was just an hours flight away-- but the busy schedule didn't permit the luxury :(. Every time I am with the husband's family, I marvel at the cultural difference that exists between us. From a nuclear, forward looking parental setting to a culture steeped background at the in-laws, it has been quite a journey for yours truly. The novelty hasn't worn off even after 3+ years of marriage and I am as easily perplexed now as I was as a new bride. The custom of ladies staying at home, managing the hearth, gossiping over hot 'chai' about sarees and jewelleries, and each other's eccentricities, the undercurrents and oneupmanship, is something that I watch with glee. For an outsider, it is good fodder for some humour, but for my life I couldn't be limited to that daily existence. There is also the bright sunny side of things. Added to the very ancient Bhowanipore residence, is the pride that the Chaudhury's feel in retracing the family tree, of boasting about the endearing childhood tales, of the aunt who sings lovely rabindra sangeet, or the brother who is a renowned painter, the sister-in-law who cooks the perfect 'bhapa ilish' or the family home which celebrates the 150 year old Durga puja. With the old world charm that exists at the family home in Kolkata, there are facets that the jeans-clad, bob haired your truly would find difficult to identify with. While there are some traditions that I abhor, some that I am uncomfortable with, there is no denying that there are facets which are fun, exciting and a whole new world to me. The only regret during this trip-- I missed visiting my parent's place in Siliguri, my childhood den, the filial love and warmth, the comforts that only Siliguri can provide. Already planned the next trip in April...Siliguri, here I come :)