THE DELUSION OF EVOLUTION:

According to Charles Darwin, we all have evolved from the early apes to the current living beings we are today .In fact we have have empirical evidence to prove the fact that we have actually evolved .
Taking from this biological theory of evolution we have many social scientists and theorists who have applied the same perspective to various other social sciences i.e. used this theory of biological evolution to explain the social evolution of human species, they have tried to state that we all have evolved from the primitive to current stage of the civilized human being.
What’s really interesting to note then is that although we consider ourselves this superior species that are more civilized than the others, we certainly do not behave in a civilized manner, do we??
We have gone on to label or brand certain communities as primitive, savages, barbaric, backward (for e.g. the various tribal communities across the globe or even for that matter the third world nations) and we do take certain pride in calling ourselves the more modern civilized group from the rest (its been happening all along, all throughout history and its still continuing).
But what I seriously fail to understand is how do we really rate ourselves to be modern or the so called “civilized” is just because we are more techno savvy, given into the evils of industrialization and the chaotic process of urbanization that follows ? How do we really rate being modern on what barometers,does aping the western model of civilization mean we are more modern? For all you know the so called primitive societies may not follow our ways and means of modernization but does that really make them lesser civilized than us? That I doubt take a look around ,our modern ways of modernization doing us more harm than good look at the damage we doing to our environment (the freak weather changes, global warming …) and we just don’t seem to care instead we are producing nano cars which are to hit the markets soon.
That apart for all our talks on how very civilized we are , we indeed are more barbaric than the most so called primitive, savage societies what with wars ,violence ,riots ,crime all staring at us in our face .
Yet we take pride in calling ourselves civilized simply because we believe we are much more modern and developed from the rest , at a time when development is also the main cause of concern bringing along with it various other core issues like displacement ,poverty, hunger does just having a high GDP rate mean we really developed and is it then proof enough to say we are much more civilized ?
This trend is indeed alarming and its high time we take note before its to late ,yes we might have come a long way biologically (like Darwin says) but when it comes to socially speaking we still have a long way to go before we actually call ourselves evolved .

SO LONG FAREWELL , I HATE TO SAY GOODBYE......

Goodbyes r something that i am geniuely bad at , try as hard as i can to be strong yet a mere goodbye to some for me is the most dreadful thought ever, i just hate the word well now imagine this in normal circumstances when we do bid adieu to our loved ones we do so knowing they will return don't we ?,hoping beyond hope that theres always a next time But what if there is no next time........
its a scary thought indeed i agree that ceased to exist in mind till this very evening well i used to go this old age home "sharan" (thats the name of the place) well yes it started of as part of our social work credit for college but later i just fell in love with the inhabitants here ,i mean till a few weeks ago there were just uncle from 107 or the aunty from room 103 but gradually through the zillion gossip and carrom sessions, to the many walks we had in the garden to the random tv surfing we struck a bond , a bond which was a mixture of friendship,that of being a parent and even a grandparent at times its now when i look back i know what i have lost indeed it was the most incredible and special bond that ever existed , its at this very place i met some really "divine" souls but of all of them i was really close to santha aunty there was something about her that made you fall in love with her she was such a beautiful lady in every true sense of the word .
She intially did come across as very shy and reticent but few weeks into knowing aunty lol she gave me hard competition when it came to yakking (no kidding!) from her kids to grandkids , to remincing her good old days as a kid to her courtship days with her hubby to her love marriage to her first day at work we had yakked it all , then when we were left with no more past stories we zoomed into the present and future from today's tv serials to actors courting younger women to maritians we did that too....
just sitting there in her room watching the pitter patter of the rain seeing it cleanse the dirt laden grounds or just sitting in her room that chilly winter eveing wishing for hot cuppa of chai it was these little things that i will miss the most funny isn't it that day when i went to meet santha aunty she was very ill but she was exicted to see me after such a long time we chatted like long lost friends and then as i got up to leave and said the most dreaded goodbye i gave her big hug "knowing" she will recover soon after all santha aunty fallen ill before and recovered shes a fighter it didnt rouble me much well not until today (a good 2months since she passed away) when i went there again to see her was just dying to meet her , waiting to feel her motherly warmth just rushed into her room only to find someone else there wait, was this a mistake no how can it be this is the room?? these were the first thoughts in my mind it took me while to calm down and when i did the news of her death broken to me i just sat there lost and numb least expecting this i sat on her chair imaging her sit there and watch tv, all along was hoping was just a dream and santha aunty still alive and she would come in through that very door and hug me and ..............................
why does this happen?? when you least expected it , things won't be the same at sharan without her its difficult aunty knowing i will see you no longer but i promise to continue and meet many more incredible people like you my only regret is i didnt get to see for one last time and give you the biggest hug but then again am glad i didnt coz if i knew it was the last time am seeing you it would be even harder to say goodbye ,i will miss you aunty i certainly will.

AND THE MEMORIES LIVE ON

The last few days have simply been amazing, i have always read and even debated on the pro's and con's of rural life but come 1st May and there i was nestled in this serene little village called ambatha (which is around 100kms from nashik) ,and thats when it hit me real hard i mean debating and talking for hours on end about people living in these villages is one thing but actcually living that kind of life and experinicing it for yourself is totally other.I always thought i could manage but i nearly "freaked out" when i realized that there were no taps in the loos and bathrooms and we needed to draw water from this well , and there was water scarcity so we had to save the tiniest drop of water, yup the area we stayed had fans and lights its just that we never were really able to use them there were power cuts for 20-22 hrs a day .The firstday or two i must admit i was wondering what did i get myself into but come the third day it did not matter whether there was electricity or not , nor did it matter that we had to draw water in fact i fell in love with all of it not for once after that did i think it was difficult or uncomfortable.The most of all i fell in love with the kids (the aim of trip was to teach these tribal kids english they were in standard 10 and were studying in marathi medium) this trip has really made me think and think some more its brought some real worrying questions to mind like
firstly when we taught the kids and interacted with them i realized its not like they are dumb or that the don't know stuff they are equally good and smart its just that they have a real problem communicating their thoughts in english speak to them in marathi or hindi and you will be suprized the amount of gyaan they have , the language barrier does exist and thats where the whole problem lies and in a way it made me change my prespective towards certain things like intailly i would strongly feel that reservations at the grassroot levels (like schools,colleges ....)and all would help these kids and having reservations at a higher level won't really help true but then again has anyone thought that even reservations at the grassroot level wont help because even then the medium of education used would be "marathi" which makes it diffficult for the students to compete later and its not that they are incapable of competing they surely can but its coz of english they loose out is it fair??? after all come to think of it english is their third language , how many of us are fluent in our third language all throughout school and college life we have been comfortably conversing in english and then one fine day ask us to start conversing in marathi we feel restricted don't we? its intersting to note how differently we react to this language divide when we ourselves are not part of the picture.
the second thing is that we want development and change to happen throughout and yet on one level we want our villages to remain the same and not loose out their charm ? ironic isn't it , that apart we (urban india) have every right to move away to greener pastures for better opportunites and but when it comes to rural india and our villages we immediately begin to question why people migrate to cities? and even if they do how many them go back and try to change things and improve conditions back home how ridiculous can we get? not once does anyone question the intentions of the "urban elite" then why does it apply to the rural??
another very intresting thing was that this whole glamourized picture we (both of us the urban and the rural ) have of each other its fascinating in a way .
This trip has literally forced me to find answers and the serach continues , above all what i really loved about the trip was it just to an extent changed me as a person its truly made me realize its the smallest things in life that give bring you the ulitmate joy and happiness that money can nver buy like climbing trees,singing around the bonfire , learing to roll rotis and drawing water from the well ...... phew the list is endless indeed .
I have made a promise to myself to go back there someday having said that now am learning to move on and continue with my wonderful "soulful" journey living with the wonderful memories .

revisting childhood

"what will you do if i sang outta tune , will you stand up and walk out on me ??
lend me your ears and try to sing u a new song....." sounds familiar to millions of us out there doesnt it bring meomories ,makes you get all nostalgic all over again . "The wonder years","full house", "doogie howser","dawson's creek","small wonder","i dream of genie","sabrina.........,it just seems like yesterday there i was being this carefree kid , reliving my childhood through the eyes of kevin,paul,winnie,dj,steff,vicki,stacy..(charachters from the above mentioned soaps) revisiting those wonderful innocent days, where summer was all about pure fun and games,where everything was either black or white no room for grey ,everything seemed so plain and simple .
it was all about first crushes, heartbreaks,the never ending search to discovering the real "u" ,
the truimph of good over evil ,it was all about being a kid again or more like the journey of this kid ,it wasn't always simple i mean who ever said growing up was simple having been there (and still going through that phase) belive me it is anything but simple its crazy!!!!
but i must admit am glad that i havent totally lost out on that craziness revisting these serials take me back in time , back into bittersweet memories it keeps the flame of childhood still buring in me theres so much in there ,its like a link to my past or more like going back in this time machine and visiting all those places ,going back in time and reliving all those beautiful moments all over again its simply so beautiful ,so amazing its like i have a retrive a part of me .
years down the line its still something that brings a smile to my face ,i may have grown up (well atleast to the outside world i guess) but deep down inside theres this little kid that just wants to breakfree and just be a kid all over again , to be able to just dream and dream without having to be rational or logical to be able to soar high in the deep blue skies spreading her wings and just letting go .............. think about it theres this little kid in all of us actually wanting to just let go , just listen in and follow your heart come on its all about being a kid again its the most joyful experiences ever give it a shot

RESERVATIONS....

The heat on the whole reservation debate is on again , this time thanks to the SC verdict .Many in fact are applauding the SC verdict saying thats its "finally done justice" and given the OBC the much deserved reconginition by approving of 27% reservations for OBC'S ,whats really ironic is that the goverment of India has no proper defination who is an OBC also the grounds on which a person is decided to be an OBC is really very vague and ambigious. I and am sure even our polticians and the OBC brethen are as confused as i am on the whole concept of "other backward class" who is this "other" they talking about???
also given the fact that since there is no proper defination or guideline each state has different barometers to decide who is OBC , OBC in state may not necessarily be OBC in another .
Coming to the verdict itself frankly i feel its mere eyewash , the verdict does state that creme da la creme of the OBC'S certainly won't benefit (wonder how much of that will actcually happen!!)
and if it doesnt benefit them , then how will the goverment (even the SC for that matter) make sure it will reach those who deserve it (and in this case like i said earlier i am really confused and yet trying to figure out who is it that actaully deserves it then!!) . Funny isn't it the constituton doesnt fail to recognize the so called rights of the SC/ST/OBC'S but its failed to provide a through understanding of who these so called SC/ST/OBC'S are?? whats even more interesting is that no one seems to care least of all are politicans .
secondly, what really needs to be done is focus at the grassroot levels why isnt anyone (most of all the SC) not concerned about the non implementation of SSA (sarv sikhsha abhigyan) why isn't anyone of our so called "concerned minsiters " not concerned about the appalling conditions of the municipal schools . what about the various mid day meals schemes gone haywire? what about the standard and quality of education imparted? why isn't anyone concerned ???as a matter of fact, it is a matter of grave concern, its nice that they sunddenly paying attention to their education needs but inside of starting from top-down shouldn't it be the other way round?
reservations should help give you that intial push not make you totally dependent on them its like providing crutches to someone who is having a little difficulty walking !! Sounds bizarre and hiliarious i agree but thats exactly whats happening take a look around , this whole reservation debacle is nothing more than a political gimmick at the end of the day ( and more so now , as we nearing the polls)

beauty pagents....

hmmmm there goes yet another PFMI (ponds femina miss india ) 08' , theres so much of coverage being given to the three charming ladies(not that i deny they are not charming!) whats even more bizarre is how certain sections belive that this pagent is all about giving them (the fairer sex) equal opportunites and a platform to realize their talent . Seriously am yet to hear something as firvolous as this puh-lease i mean out there you have people saying or more like ranting breathlessly that this pagent is all about celebrating womanhood,talent and "true beauty"... whats ironic is that the so called 21st century woman , a woman who is "supposed" to be on par with men well it is nothing but mere eyewash , these young women are made to belive that they given this great platform to showcase their talent(am yet to figure out what this talent is??) that apart whats even more annoying is that there is this over glamourization of their feminity dude am a woman so what ??
well at least for me i strongly feel that this so called pagent subtly tries to reinforce the gender sterotypes , even the so called women centric questions asked are anything but that ,its more a Subconscious way of telling them that " well, yes i agree and even applaud you for coming this far but dearie your still a woman and thats about it"
whats even more frustating is to the 28 starved souls battling it out for some ridiculous titles like , "Miss sexy legs", "Miss top 10", phew!! personally as a woman i seriously find it very demeaning to have your body be judged in such a way ,and to those who think there is nothing wrong good for you , you could probably join the bandwagon next year .........

TO DREAM OR NOT TO DREAM??

they say a man without dreams is like a bird without wings who can no longer fly, dreams hmmmmmmmmmm what would i have ever done without them??? to me dreams are my own little sheltered world, my private cocoon its wy out of the reach of the real world its "MY WORLD" and retrive to it at the drop of a hat
yeah my very own bizarre yet idealistic world wer there are my little freinds the obnoxious pixies,the adorable elves and the most loving fariy godmothers wat more can i ask for?? all of running around like carefree little souls ,letting the wild wildereness caress our tender skins , lettin the raindrops splash wid dat calm fervour while we continue to play hide n seek wid the goblins, or well its just me sitting high mountain top watching the crimson skies change color ,watching the birds enjoying their hurried journey back home there i sit whispering sweet nothings to the blooming flowers around me who now saying their last goodbyes for the nite .Ther i sit all alone welcoming the exuberant nite sky and her sparkling family there they come to give me company hmmmmmm and sit awestruck by her beauty or maybe there i am sitting near the stagnant stream wipping my heart out , hoping to heal my wounds and heal my scars alas!! the wounds are to way to deep so are the scars refusing to heal........., i try picking myself each time only to see myself falling dwn again keep staring at the blank reflection that just what if what if "he" came along and ......., well wat if could just run upto him and give him the biggest and warmest hug ever and just tell him that hav had this huge crush on him and totally crazy abt him forever i dunno wat it is or why i feel this way bt it werid and amazing hmmmm say its love who knws if it is so be it, well yeah its my own dream world i am happy here call me an escapist if you like i dun care its ony this plc that i can jst be me hmmm maybe its also the only plc i can hup 2 seek love and maybe proably the only plc am nt afraid of literally letting go of all my inhibitions and jst being able to love in my own way ,coz well the real world not for me or guess ppl like me its tough out ,there no denying that hmmmmm we are ppl we jst seek happiness thr these mere dreamz well for one i knw i have been hurt a zillion times befr and this is the only plc am sure wont be hurt ever again , its scary i mean the real world never relly accepts the "REAL U" its werid at least here its jst me n my my cretive imagination am free 2 do wat i like , wen i like and choose 2 fall in love and even live it widout any fear of rejection,hurt,pain hmmmmmmm wat more can i ask for??? aftr arent dreams made of this well guess couldnt really be complaining on dat so there i go again my eyes shut my fav track (u feel up my senses -john dever) playing in background and there i sit just starin blankly into my own world ,my eyes turn mosit once again there goes a tear drop .........and silently keep hoping that maybe just maybe someday he knws i exist!!