Kill Kill Kill

Find a girl or child alone, rape and kill her.

Someone refuses your proposal, kill them.

Someone does not give you side on the road even after your stupid honking, curse them and if possible, follow and kill them.

Not getting the property from your parents who btw nurtured you, harass them, beat them and then kill them.

A child does not complete the homework or poor parents did not pay the fees for "education/knowledge" which you impart, brutally beat up the child.

Suspect your spouse of infidelity, poison them.

Find an empty road, push the acceletor and fly and may be kill yourself and others too.

Even if you don't find an empty road but as per you, you have some emergency like going for a party or reaching office (when btw you should have left your home on time), honk honk honk and finally hit someone and injure them or kill them.

I mean, it has become so very easy and obvious to take someone's life. I don't get what I want, I can just kill someone. Not a big deal anymore...

Just spot a girl alone or get her to you in case you already know her, brutally rape her and kill her.

Such carelessness on road. Drunken driving cases, overspeeding, losing control of the vehicle, the way people mindlessly cross the roads...

I am a mother and I know how much we dreamt of and prepared to bring a new life. Nurtured her in my womb, husband took my utmost care and when she came in the world, all of us made a comfortable coocoon around her to keep her safe.

But everyday she goes away from us into this bad world who cares nothing about her or us. Who is she? Who am I? Who is my husband? Nobody will give a second's thought before overspeeding and killing me. Nobody will see how delicate the child is. Nobody will understand that my husband is the world for his family.

Some stupid youngster would get drunk, get behind the wheels of his swanky car and kill people on the road.

Yes. Do meditation. Don't think about these things. The world is beautiful. There is still some humanity left. There are good samaritans.

Everything fair but not thinking about something does not mean that its not happening and all of us are vulnerable. All of us. I can't close my eyes, meditate and say that I and my family are safe. Nothing can happen to us. It can.

When a superstar shared how he and his wife feel unsafe here and pondering to move out of India, everybody tainted them as traitors but I ask, why? They were thinking about their safety. Are you okay to see your daughter or friend being raped and murdered and still say that everything is fine? No. Everything is not fine.

My heart goes out to the young Vet doctor who sensed danger when she saw few strangers around her and her fear turned true. Raped and burnt to ashes.

I cried reading the news that a drunk BMW driver who was booked twice earlier as well for the same offence killed a young techie, whose mother is already is coma since past few monhs coz she was also hit by some vehicle at the time of her morning walk.

My blood boils when a teacher mercilessly hits a small child because his parents failed to pay the fees. You are a teacher for God's sake. You give education.

Kids sleeping next to their parents are picked up for child or sex trafficking. I can't even imagine the pain of the parents of knowing that they would never be able to see their child ever and the poor soul would be tortured, given pain, sold and thrown into a dark world.

Just because someone's daughter married a boy out of their caste, they kill them in the broad daylight?! I mean, HOW? How can a father think to kill the daughter he brought in this world just because she married someone out of their caste? You can be angry. You may not talk to her forever but kill her?

Every time I read any such news, I wonder about the moment when the accused may have thought "oh, a girl alone. Let me rape her. What will happen after that? I will burn her. Who will catch me? Nothing will happen"

or

"That idiot has guts to marry my daughter. Let me kill them both"

This is nationwide mental sickness which is catching up. We don't talk anymore. We don't argue anymore to sort out. We are not afraid anymore before committing such heinous crimes.

It's just that we don't eat human flesh but apart from that we are actually the Cannibals. Can we hang some of these cannibals? And btw, if any of the rapists would be hanged - if at all - then our 24X7 media would make him a hero during his last journey and garner sympathy for him. Will show his old parents, how he was an innocent young boy, get few illiterate ministers for debate - they themselves must have either raped or sexually assaulted many - but they would shout and debate that hanging someone is not the solution.

I say SHUT UP. Hanging them one by one and quickly is the only solution for now.

Yes. It's not okay to rape and kill someone or drink & drive and overspeed on the roads or torture your parents for property... It's not okay to do all these and yet pay some hefty amount and get out on bail, because who can kill once, can kill one more time. Yes, Country needs to be feel fearful before committing any crime. That moment when some idiot decides to commit a crime, that moment should send chills down his or her spine that if caught, I would be hanged and nobody will save me.

The only thing that we are not doing is eating human flesh but otherwise we are all Cannibals. Humans have become human prey. 

Me and the Luxury

So, I got the chance of my lifetime, well, not like complete life but something which I had been looking forward to since a long time. I was going to Pune to attend a professional training. What’s the big deal in it, you may ask. Well, for a person who had not traveled alone since past 5-6 years and have been travelling with overloaded suitcases and 3-4 handbags with an infant-turned-toddler in tow, travelling solo was an irresistible offer, that too an all-expense paid by the company trip.

Now was the time to make the bookings. While searching for a nice, clean and a comfortable hotel on the travel site with which my company have an integration (technically)/collaboration (non-technically), the hotel at the top of the list was a 5-star hotel and it was tagged as the ‘negotiated’ (aka recommended) hotel for our Company employees. For a few seconds, I had a big grin on my already big face – just so you can imagine how ugly I must be looking at that time. But then, I was like, ‘what? A 5-star hotel?! No way. It’s so expensive.’

The next closest hotel was 4K lesser than the 5-star one and I toggled between choosing the Luxury over a Budget hotel, for like almost a day or even more – may be 34 hours. No, not exactly but just writing a ‘day’ was not giving that powerful impact. ‘34’ brings that attention and reaction. Anyway. Whoever I asked in the office to help me take the decision told to ‘obviously’ go for the Luxury, since its an all-expense paid trip. Whoever I asked in my family also told to go for the luxury one since they didn’t want me to land up in a hotel which may turn out to be uncomfortable – remember, I was going solo after almost 6 years? I finally decided to go for the luxury. You may be thinking for why was I so confused, why was I even thinking to choose between a 5-star and a 4-star hotel? Because, I am a MIDDLE-CLASS lady, like literally. I am always looking for a middle path.

5-star is good and closest to office, 4-star may be good and a little far away from office – can I get any hotel in between them?

Also, I just can’t handle so much a luxury. Why? Take food. Eating in a 5-star hotel. You ought to sit formally, eat formally, conduct yourself formally. I mean why? You wanna eat, you wanna eat as you like. Order something in a 5-star hotel and you get a carefully and craft fully decorated plate with a little bite, which will cost you in 4 digits. I mean, beautifully plated food looks great in the food contests or on lifestyle channels on TV but when it is meant to be eaten, quantity matters boss.

Lift – In other ‘middle class’ hotels, you enter the lift which is overcrowded with people of all caste, creed and odour and you just hit the button for the floor you want to get to. In the 5-star hotel where I finally (and reluctantly) landed in, I was supposed to swipe my room key (which was like a credit card) and when it flashes the little green light, press the floor where I wanted to go. Hell, the light kept flashing red light. I was stuck in the lift with another family who looked like they were pro of staying in this hotel. Now, how do I ask for help, show off that I am cool when internally I knew that I was stuck and embarrassed that my key was not working? Off they got from the lift but just then the lady stopped and called out her husband in a typical squeaky voice of a middle-class wife – ‘aye, Mukes. Give me our key. Let me see if it works for her’ and I was like, oh, same pinch. (I have not forgotten the ‘h’ in Mukesh. She called him Mukes). Both of them tried their keys by inserting them in every direction but nothing worked, and an alarm was triggered. I thanked them and told them to off-board, probably the lift will take me back to the ground floor and I will take help of the staff. I came down to 7^th floor I think and entered a celebrity – the motivational speaker – Gaur Gopal Das with few of his aides. Now, I definitely cannot ask for help from a celebrity but thought to give it a try again with my key, you know, it happens with us all the time. Things don’t work the first time, then it works with someone else and then immediately we try, it works for us too. But again, my key did not work. Solid embarrassment in front of the celebrity. But then, he was kind enough to quickly gauge that and ask his aide to help me since his keys work for all the floors. He off-boarded on 5^th floor I think and I was helped by his aide. Phew!! Then I got back into my senses and realized that it was HIM!! Ufff, I had a book where I could have taken his autograph and I had a very important question to ask him. I missed all this because of that super swanky but unhelpful key.

Finally, I landed on the 18^th floor. It’s almost 10:45 PM and the corridor is all quiet and empty. Not a soul to be seen or heard. In front of my room – 1812 and the same key was to be used. I swiped it – no prizes for guessing. It did not work. I was sleepy, I had to get up early in the morning and this key refused to let me in. I tried both my keys, this side, that side but the door does not open. I dare get inside the lift again. What do I do? Why don’t people walk in the corridors of the 5-star hotel? It’s deserted. Finally, good sense prevailed, and I notice a phone in the corridor and that connected me to the front desk and I ask for help. After I put down the phone, I walk back towards my room. Thought to give one more half-hearted try with the key and I swipe it. Voila…. The door opens. Ufff, another embarrassment waiting to happen when someone will come to ‘help me open the door’ when I would already be inside.

Wow, the room is amazing, clean, scented, 2 extremely red apples on the table which confused me if they were real or just some toys, bath tub, too many lights to make the room shine, a big TV and what not. What does a typical middle-class person do in such a room? Immediately connects to the free wi-fi (to save the mobile data) and then take lots of pictures. Every angle, covering every luxurious thing. I did that too. Had a Video call with my husband and daughter with the free wi-fi and then was the time to sleep.

For a mother who has been now used to sleep in the corner of the bed since the toddler is ever growing in height (or length, if that’s correct) and keeps on playing in the bed while sleeping, going to sleep on a King Size clean bed was unbelievable. But guess what? I automatically found myself sleep in the corner of the bed. Habit, you see. In the last 5 years, I have been tuned to slip to the corner of the bed, even if it is empty. The bed is too soft and cosy, but I can’t sleep.

I wake up early and check all the toiletries given by the hotel in the room and does a virtual toss in my head – to use the free things of the hotel or stick to what I have already got with me? Use what I have already got with me, so that I can take them on the last day with me back to Hyderabad – intact. What were you thinking? I see the bath tub and a shower area. Again, does a virtual toss. Use the bath tub or the shower. Use the shower, for 2 reasons – I didn’t want to waste so much of water which will be used for a bath tub and… shhhh, I don’t know how to use the bath tub. Why to call for another embarrassment if I accidentally make the bath tub overflow?

Time to go for the included-in-room-tariff free breakfast, which means that I must use the lift again. I pray to God and get inside, swipe the card. My joy knew no bounds when I saw that little green light which meant that my key has worked this time. Oh, you should have seen my confidence boost at that moment. Those drooping shoulders suddenly were back to where they should be. Back straight, confidence in eyes and attitude, no more wrinkles on my forehead – so much a tiny little green light of a 5-star lift can do.

So much to eat and grab in the breakfast. At home, after a juice or curd or fruit-based item we don’t take tea/anything hot but at a free breakfast in a luxury hotel, everything has to be consumed, all at the same time. At home, if we are having idly, we don’t make sausages – you know, the combination is weird. But at a free breakfast in a luxury hotel, who cares. Noodles, sausages, cakes, idly, fruits, Greek yogurt, fruit juice, tea, croissant, cookies, pie – everything within those dedicated 30-45 mins. But I was so conscience. What will those suited-booted foreign officials think about me? But then I looked around to find other Indians like me who were all charged up to consume everything of that lavish buffet because they were also on the company-paid visits. That eased me out. Decided not to look at those foreigners but at the Indians like me. A casual eye contact with them would convey so much in those 2-seconds – ‘Oh, you too on company paid hotel booking’ – ‘yeah, you too. Enjoy. Who knows if you will ever stay in this luxury with your own money?’

It’s an experience to avail a luxurious stay on someone else’s expense and the experience is same for all the Middle-class Indians and I am no different. The stay was amazingly comfortable and memorable.

'Rafu' - a must listen song

Yes, I get irritated with the senseless BOLLYWOOD songs which we get to listen to everyday. But what irritates me even more is that all these musical media keep on playing such songs in loop. That way, even such songs become the ‘chart busters’, for whatever may be the definition to declare a song as a ‘chart buster’. But then because of this, some of the good songs just do not get an option to be even heard by people. Only if audience go and watch the movie, they would get to listen to them. Even then, there are high chances that people look forward to hearing the ‘chart buster’ songs of the movie and dismiss the other songs.

Anyway, to cut the story short, while driving back home yesterday while my brain was overworking due to something really stupid which happened in the office, somehow I felt that there is a very soothing song being played. By the time, I realised that, it was just about to end but thankfully, the RJ announced the name of the movie - it was ‘Rafu’ song from the movie Tumhari Sulu. Mind you, it was not a newly released movie and I had also watched it on Amazon Prime but I knew only two of its songs - Ban ja tu meri rani and recreated version of my childhood favourite song Hawa Hawai.

But ever since I searched for this song today, I am hooked on to it. Simple and nice lyrics, melodious voice of some Ronkini Gupta (honestly, I have never heard her name) and if I understand a little bit of music, only couple of instruments used. I wonder why this song was never played on FM, may be played but rarely. I am almost sure that it would not even get shortlisted in any category for any of the popular awards (though, I wish it does). Those of you who have not yet listened to this song, please do:

https://youtu.be/6AICqitg368

How's the Josh!!!!

How’s the JOSH!!!

High, too high. May be first time in 5-6 years (after our daughter was born), I and Mr. Husband went to watch a movie in theatre sans our daughter. But don’t get too excited. It was no romantic one, rather a hard core patriotic one. But I have no regrets about it.

We went to watch Uri - The Surgical Strike, based on the surgical strike carried out by our Indian Army with a nod from India’s Prime Minister in September 2016. I think only 2 things can make me cry watching a movie – Child missing his/her parents OR losing an army man. Sadly for me, I have seen my cousin brother who was a Major in the Indian Army, losing his life while fighting with the terrorists in an ambush attack. Shaheed Major Alok Mathur is still amar for all of us but time and again, we can’t help but think for what happened that day, how was his contingent blocked, how did he fight with all those terrorist even after being hit with bullets, what went on in his mind at that time? For his parents, family and friends, even though all of us are proud of him, our hearts still ask just one question - ‘why did he not save himself?’ We all know the answer as well. He was a fighter. An Indian Army personnel for whom his Country takes the highest importance followed by his Countrymen and finally the family and friends.

Watched Uri and felt that the personal problems that we all go through everyday and what we crib about are nothing for our Armed Forces.

About the movie. We loved it. The first half set a good background for why India decided to give a solid response to Pakistan. It was an emotional journey. You see the valour of the Indian Army and you see their emotional sides too. They don’t think twice before jumping in front of the enemy’s bullets yet they yearn for the love of their mothers. They are those fighters who do not enjoy sitting in AC offices.

Vicky Kaushal fits the role and is outstanding. Though, he had done some good work in the past but people sat up and took notice of him since Raazi. And he does not disappoint the audience even now. Vicky Kaushal as Major Vihaan Shergill is impressive. The one who does not fail in his planning, the one who promises to bring back every single man of his team back after finishing off the strike, the one who is sharp to notice the grenades tied to the gate they are about to open.

Yami Gautam does her bit. I won’t say too impressive. May be it was only me, but who wear heels while being on an army mission – boarding an army copter while going for interrogation for a terrorist attack? I may not be too aware. Anyway.

Paresh Rawal as Ajit Doval is amazing. Honestly, for a person like me, who is weak in Country’s political and bureaucratic affairs, I had no knowledge about Mr. Ajit Doval. It was when Mr. Husband told that Paresh Rawal looked every bit similar to ‘Ajit Doval’ that I Googled about him and was amazed to read about him. Then, I could appreciate Paresh Rawal even more. He played the role fantastically, also adding his ‘personal touch’ to the character. The subtle humour, of breaking his mobile phones every time he was upset and pulling the intern for why he made his boss run with the Garud if it could take off from hover.

So good to see Swaroop Sampath after such a long time. Though, not shown in the pink of health, she looks her character. All other actors provided a solid support to the film. Mohit Raina (Major Karan Kashyap), Manasi Parekh (Neha), Kirti Kulhari (Seerat Kaur), Shishir Sharma (Gen Arjun Singh Rajawat). Though, I missed catching the name of another actor, but he played the role of Captain Sartaj. Good work.

The direction and screenplay was crisp and too the point. VFX and sound effect just right. You could hear each of the bullet shells falling off. The second half was meant for the planning and execution and that’s what it showed too. The moment the mission was over, the film ended, with few glimpses to make us feel relieved and happy that the team got its due. Be it, Vihaan’s mother momentarily forgetting him but immediately calling out his name and the entire team having dinner after the strike as promised by Mr. Prime Minister. Songs does not stop the film. They give pace to the story.

Though, it is a one-sided story from India’s perspective, as was the case with the actual strike, the neighbouring Country had nothing to defend about. Yes, people call it a propaganda by the current government and I don’t believe in that but even if that was the case, I see no harm in that. Surgical Strike was one of the boldest actions taken by any government of India and it was a success, bringing down the terrorist activities in the Country and everyone should be proud about it.

Director and Writer Aditya Dhar should take a bow along with the entire team and we get our new slang - ‘How’s the Josh?’ High Sir...