touche pussycat!

so they've now decided that reservation is required even in the Lokpal institution.. brilliant move i must say.. its the perfect way to ensure that the discussion on corruption and black money will get sidetracked into the the opportunity vs merit drama of a reservation policy debate..

as it is, pranab babu's lecture in parliament today sounded more like a 'f*** you' to the protesting public rather than an introduction to or comment about the lokpal bill.. "the parliament is supreme and all authority to legislate rests with parliament!"
sure it does.. and we would appreciate it if you lot got off your asses and actually did some work for a change.

i've been dreaming of a true love's kiss

true love conquers all.. so they say

what does anyone know about these things anyway

we're all ultimately drowning in the ocean of our own pain and insecurities, wishing for something to hang on to..

i guess ;love conquers all' makes a good hypothetical lifeline...

blurry images

I'm usually the hiding behind a book rather than speaking out.. i sometimes leave my phone aside and not call/text friends for several days just because i feel like disappearing into a book or the TV or just bask in the sun by myself..


but sometimes i feel this strange emptiness... like something vital is missing.. like there's a part of me that has gotten lost...
 

outrage v privacy... that's the question

to which i must find a satisfactory answer... 

to say something in public that affects privacy 

to not say something for the sake of privacy even though you're bursting to register your opinion...

choices choices choices..........

...............................................................................................................

on an unrelated note... owl is now MARRIED!!!!!!!!! meri bhabhi ghar aa gayi :)

do you know what day it is today???

They’ve started to come more often.. encircling me, flying around my little hideout and threatening to tear away my very existence.. I fight against them every single time.. cowering farther into the caves, fighting desperately to get out…


it’s the dark that is slowly creeping up from both sides.. it hems me in as I fight it, it creeps from inside the caves I shelter in… and light seems far away.. I see glimpses of stars in the night before they swoop in again, blacking out the stars.. sucking away warmth and happiness from my world… I’d read about creatures like those in a different lifetime.. Dementors.. who take away everything leaving only an empty shell behind… everything, including one’s soul.. I just hope I have a soul left to fight for…

Happy Diwali to everyone!!!!!!

diwali meant:

crackers bought  a week beforehand and hidden in a cupboard to be given to me a day or two before diwali
kaju ki burfi, and a small box of plain burfi just for me
family gatherings
warnings to not get too close to the crackers
laughter and a resigned 'humne bhi aise hi kiya hai" when i proudly said i wanted bombs and not childish phuljharis and anars...


diwali isn't the same without you babaji...

Jaa Chudail

i've always hated people who indulge in personal politics.. people who would just for the heck of it make up stories to trouble others, to get out of doing work or to simply make themselves look or feel better.. i'm not gonna take some holier than thou road and say that i hate them coz they lie.. but because they actively hurt other people by making up things when things would have been just fine without them havong to have said anything whatsoever

another kind of people i really have trouble handling is people who never ever listen to anything anyone has to say.. who are such hypocrites that they go back on the sentence they speak the moment it leaves their mouth coz their ego can't take it..

unfortunately i've had to deal with both such people just today.

this is for both of you.. may you live long and realise what kind of people you are....

to march or not to march

Delhi university has a large number of people heavily into student politics and whenever there is a hot potato issue in National politics, one can be sure there will be some tamasha or the other happening in the university as well..  

There is a Save Irom Sharmila Karavan' from Srinagar to Imphal currently travelling through Delhi and some people involved in that protest came to Delhi University. 

Here they met a few people who objected to their slogan of 'End the AFSPA' and a louly shouting match ensued... with the Delhi police playing referee and keeping the two 'peaceful' groups from beating each other up

"desh hamare Raam ka, nahin kisi ke kaam ka!" vs "desh ke gaddaron ko, joote maaro saalo ko!"

soon there were more policemen than protesters around..

i stopped for a few mins to ask what was going on, and fell into a discussion with one of the organisers about the protest and its aims. While the pamphlets they were distributing focused solely ob Irom Sharmila and the atrocities that have occurred because of the misuse of the AFSPA, the posters, slogans etc were all about repealing the Act. 

This again is a burning issue that i don't know how to take a stand on.

while people may label me a fascist, i understand why such wide powers of use of force and arrest are needed in an area where any harmless looking child may be carrying a bomb. but it is also a fact that such laws are used more to harass innocent civilians than what they are actually intended for. 

As a student of law i can't ignore the fact that such wide discretionary powers are an affront to our constitution. but i also know that such laws are necessary to protect the country and actually to protect teh very people they end up harming. 

Yes there are horrific stories of misuse.. but is anyone capable of imagining what the situation would've been like had our soldiers, who give up everything to stand up and protect us, had to deal with administrative red tape every time there was an emergency? what would happen if the soldier on the ground had to wait for instructions from a civilian who was safely ensconced in an office and making decisions about how to 'handle a situation'? 

its a brutal world that they live in. the soldiers AND the civilians who have to survive under teh shadow of guns. 

my painting

It’s the most magical place you would ever see.. full of books and flowers and mirrors and light.. of stories of beautiful princesses and their handsome princes and happily ever afters.. its got pictures of puppies and babies and all the pretty things you can imagine… its even got a beautiful wall made of glass.. a wall size mirror before which I preen and pretend to be the queen of my world..

It is my kingdom…

and its besieged by monsters…

it is the mirror behind which they  sit.. watching me, watching everything I do, I can never see the but I know they’re there.. talking among themselves but never talking to me..

 oh they think they're being nice to me..

they send me food and clothes and new clothes and other pretty things,

they don’t think I know where I am…

but I do

I remember all of it.. from before

I remember the knife that I twisted and watched the colour spread slowly across his body.. and then the floor

I remember the little fountain that burst out when I took it out from his chest

I remember being fascinated by the glistening red

and the way it felt on my fingers when I started to paint

I painted the walls with flowers and clouds and a heart

it was the most perfect heart ever.. perfect and red and gleaming

it was my most beautiful painting

but then I had to come live in this room

it has everything I could ever ask for

but the only people I ever see are the ones that aren’t really there

they never speak to me

they don’t touch me

and that’s when I want to run away from the mirrored room and hide

I hate them..

they don’t let me paint…. 

two roads diverged in a yellow wood.......

journalism. law. journalism. law. journalism. law....
i have less than six months to decide..

i have pros and cons lists
i have opinions of friends
i have inputs from parents...

and i cannot make up my freakin mind!!!!!
maybe.. as someone told me recently.. careermaking is as much by chance as by choice.

lost. found. lost

I see you
that mirage
the passing shadow whose source I cannot find

I know you
know not from where
 but every beat of my heart recognizes your footsteps

I can feel you
the whisper in the wind,
the tentative touch that I can’t ignore

I can hear you
in songs, stories, dreams, all my life, but have I ever even met you?

I wait
for the day I catch up to the rushing mirage
for the day the breath of a whisper turns to words
for the day I find you
and myself 

again

and it is just fitting that my 260th post in the sixth year of my blog is about you guys.. :)

I've wanted to see the festivities at Durga Puja in a 'real' Bengali setting for a while now... i have seen the 'car'zy crowded gala that is the 'visarjan' at the Yamuna's ghat once.. preceded by the last couple of minutes of dancing and 'gulaal' throwing and stuff at the Kalibari in central Delhi, arguably one of the biggest in Delhi... I have even seen the huuuuge pandals and crowds of the CR park Pujos... but that was all assignment for work.. THIS year, (and i'm still keeping my fingers crossed that i actually get it) i'm gonna be attending the pre- visarjan festivities WITH FRIENDS!!!

so tinni, sap, sasthi, shippy... here's hoping the morning's plan works out :)
and i want some niiiice food!!

Shubho Vijayadashami!!! (hope i spelt it right)
n Happy Dusssehra!!!!!!!!!!

hope you all have great fun

consent, sexual abuse and "love"... how does one judge?

so a senior of mine sent me a mail about a discussion regarding this Article in the Times of India..
I invite all to comment.

the text of the article is this:

‘Love not crime’, teen’s lover freed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

New Delhi: “The act of falling in love cannot be punished in the way other criminals are punished”. With this observation, a trial court acquitted a 22-year-old on charges of raping his 15-year-old girlfriend, although it held him guilty of kidnapping as he had not taken the consent of her parents. The girl went missing on April 1, 2010, on which her father lodged a complaint that she had been kidnapped. She, however, returned home after a week. The teenager told the court that she had gone on an “outing” to Haridwar with her lover of her own will. The court also noted that the relationship between the two was later approved by both families. Convicting Sanjay, a resident of Jahangirpuri, on charges of kidnapping, additional sessions judge Anju Bajaj Chandna sentenced him to three months in jail, but the term was set aside against the imprisonment he had already undergone during trial. “It is clear that emotion of love and affection compelled the convict to take this step wherein he failed to acknowledge the presence and sanctity of consent of the parents of the girl,” the court said.

“Sanjay is a young man and is in the process of making his career and future. In my opinion, no purpose would be served by sending him behind bars where he would be living in the company of hardened criminals.”

The judge added that the three months which Sanjay spent in jail was sufficient to teach him a 

“Sanjay is a young man and is in the process of making his career and future. In my opinion, no purpose would be served by sending him behind bars where he would be living in the company of hardened criminals.”

The judge added that the three months which Sanjay spent in jail was sufficient to teach him a “Sanjay is a young man and is in the process of making his career and future. In my opinion, no purpose would be served by sending him behind bars where he would be living in the company of hardened criminals.” The judge added that the three months which Sanjay spent in jail was sufficient to teach him a lesson.

The prosecution alleged that said that the girl returned home on April 8, 2010, when a case was registered against Sanjay that he had kidnapped her and raped her.

The girl, however, told the court that she had gone to Haridwar with Sanjay for an outing on her own free will. The court refused to accept Sanjay's submission that he had not forced the girl to accompany him, saying the minor's consent was not valid. “I am of the opinion that even if no force has been used, the offence of kidnapping would be made out,” the judge said.

The prosecution alleged that said that the girl returned home on April 8, 2010, when a case was registered against Sanjay that he had kidnapped her and raped her.

The girl, however, told the court that she had gone to Haridwar with Sanjay for an outing on her own free will. The court refused to accept Sanjay's submission that he had not forced the girl to accompany him, saying the minor's consent was not valid. “I am of the opinion that even if no force has been used, the offence of kidnapping would be made out,” the judge said. The prosecution alleged that said that the girl returned home on April 8, 2010, when a case was registered against Sanjay that he had kidnapped her and raped her. The girl, however, told the court that she had gone to Haridwar with Sanjay for an outing on her own free will. The court refused to accept Sanjay's submission that he had not forced the girl to accompany him, saying the minor's consent was not valid. “I am of the opinion that even if no force has been used, the offence of kidnapping would be made out,” the judge said.

and the text of the mail was this:



This article appeared in Times of India, Pune edition on 26th Sep, 2011? Under IPC section 375, this should be a case of child sexual abuse because the girl is 15 years old and the abuser is 22 years old. Do you think this is a justified exception since age of consent is an artificial delineation and ignores the reality that younger adolescents may also be indulging in sexual activities? Do you think the judge is being humane in not criminalizing a consensual romantic relationship since the girl has declared her consent to the sexual relationship?
Is this a dangerous precedent? Does it leave too much to the discretion of the judge? Will it lead to failure of the law to protect young children from sexual abuse? We think the article raises a lot of tricky questions related to child protection and law. 

My reply to this email was the following



If i may put forward my views..
yes, decriminalising consensual sex is the need of the hour. adolescents today are much more aware of their minds and bodies and are exposed to a lot of inputs from all over the word. However, we will be missing a very essential point if we only take into account the fact that the girl says that she gave consent out of 'love'. further, what this question here is doing is assuming that "love" essentially involves sexual relations.

while i agree with sir (a previous email from another lawyer that said that consent is important because children are often punished under such laws) that "love is a delicate and soft emotion", it is, at the end an Emotion which is very transient and can easily be confused with infatuation or plain pressure. 

I personally know of situations where school and college students feel the need to consummate their "love" because of peer pressure... "you will say yes if you love me" is a much used line and not just in movies.. friends, movies etc a encourage exploration of sexuality. I can't take a national perspective but in elite schools of Delhi, losing one's virginity before leaving school is rapidly becoming a way of adding to one's "coolness". it gets even worse in colleges where being "single' is an invitation for taunts.

moreover, for someone as young as 15, there is ample scope for confusion between "love" and hormones... at that age, 'love' usually is a overdose of hormones.

the problem is of how one defines consent... and how one judges whether the person concerned is capable of giving consent..
as for the case that was mentioned in the email, i find it impossible to believe that the 22 year old in question did not know the age of the girl he was supposedly in "love" with. Nor do i believe that this 22 year old could not have waited for the girl to be a little more mature if he really "loved" her.
the sole reason why society governs sexual relationships is because society as a whole has to bear the burden if this "love" results in the production of a child/transmission of STDs/ mental or physical abuse of the girl or boy. we are running nationwide campaigns asking parents to not get their daughters married before age 18. one major point in the campaign is that she is NOT physically ready for sexual relations or childbearing. why then are we assuming that a teenager will be aware of safe sex practices or will in a situation where they think they're "in love" even stop to think of the consequences of their actions???

a 15 year old is a class 10 student. when the education system has been made easier and external examinations done away with on the premise that these children are "unable to handle the pressure", HOW does one imagine they can handle the pressure of a relationship??

Sure, two 15 year old having consensual sex should not be punished because neither of them really know better.. but a 22 year old, asking a 15 year old for sex in a "romantic relationship"???? i fail to agree that "consent" was there in such a relationship. If one of the partners was old enough to know better, they deserve to be punished for breaking the law..
I agree that consensual sex should not be punished... But i fail to read "consent" in a relationship that is as unequal as the one described in this case.

a child is but clay.. life molds him any which way

I have been volunteering with the Juvenile Justice board's legal aid cell this past week and for the next couple of weeks.. and each day as i read more files, interact with more children, hear more of their stories and see the despair/defiance in their eyes, i come home wondering about the future of these children.. because they ARE children... 10-12 year old boys working with pickpocket gangs, 15 year olds convicted of rape, attempted murder, robbery...
and all because no one taught them better... these are children of parents who barely have time or energy to look after the child's mental and emotional welfare after working all day to ensure that there is food on the table.. most of them drop out of schools which are little more than overcrowded rooms with minimal teaching facilities.. they get introduced to substances like correction fluid, smack, ganja etc by adults/ other children who then gradually lead them to a life of crime.. t starts with petty thefts to feed the drug habit, and then graduates into grievous crimes including robbery and murder...

The law says that these children have to be treated not as criminals but as children who have lost their way.. "Juveniles in conflict with Law". there is an entire statute, the Juvenile Justice (care &protection) Act 2000 to ensure their safety and rehabilitation.. there is an elaborate system that has been envisaged on paper, that people are trying o bring into existence slowly.. legal aid, education, skill training etc are given to these children free of cost..
and yet the atmosphere in the Juvenile Justice Board room is that these children must have done something wrong coz they just belong to that kind of background.. i met a mother in the last few days who refused to take her child back from the observation home because she couldn't deal with his addiction or his constant clashes with the law.. i've seen a father ask the board to keep his son in the children's home in the hope taht his child will learn something good from the experience.. I've seen a little boy who barely look s10 years old be charged with theft, keeping stolen goods, and causing hurt with dangerous weapon... all this while the child in question stands around sullen or bewildered about what is happening

these children don't get security of a caring family, or education, or even protective friends..
thats why they take drugs and alcohol and indulge in antisocial and illegal activities.. i recently met a 15 year old drug and alcohol addict who had cut gashes on his entire arm with a blade to help him get a better high while drinking.. his father is an alcoholic and his mother passed away years ago.. he is now completely addicted coz there is no one to see him at home and there is no negative reinforcement of his criminal behaviour outside of  the court..

i wonder how different this boy's life would have been had both parents been there to help him and had actually given him a straight path....

Insomnia

I dreamed of you last night
of promises made, and broken
of tears and lashing guilt
of a past that would never go away

i dreamed
of second chances given hundred times
of pain suffocated laughter
of unbridgeable chasms

of nightmares running in circles
of monsters chased
of cuts that throbbed
and pain that stayed

i dreamed
of a mirror i couldn't meet
of things unsayable

i dreamed of you last night
and in my dream
we came awake......

take a walk at dusk and this is the worst that can happen...

i have to leave this place
the walls, the stones, the trees, all so achingly familiar and just as painfully a trap.. this is where i'm left every single night after the day is done.. after the work is over, its time for everyone to go home and for me to return to this beautiful cage where memories live

some say i'm crazy to want to leave... its the most beautiful place.. full of magic, softness, stillness, memories... a place where i belong...
and yet it is the place i feel the most alone.. where things are always as they "were".. there's no 'are' or 'will be'

go back to your roots, find what makes you happy

it hit me yesterday while walking down that familiar, seldom used road.. how much i've left behind, how much of ME i've lost... strains of melodies on the wind tug me back to a happier person and a calmer life which went away with childhood games..

you were right... once you know what it is that you're missing you miss it all the more.. when you don't know quite what it is, atleast that aching emptiness is still formless and vague.. it can easily be put away for more important things.. knowing what is wrong makes you restless till you can actually have what you're missing.

we have got to have those songs back in our lives...

jo bhi chaahe tu woh ban jaave

so i finally heard this song today... and these lyrics have made me fall in love with it!!






Tu hawa paani, aag hai
tu daga daani daag hai
jo bhi chaahe tu woh ban jaave re..


hai bana mera dil khuda 
hai khuda kab mujhse juda
khud ko dhoonde to usko paave re

the video is a bit weird coz katrina kaif does not look comfortable on the stage or with a guitar but i love her makeup and the overall look..
guess i will go watch this move after all.. if only for the music and sheer silliness of it... i need a funny movie to watch

Break up season?

“we’re just not compatible”, “we fight so much, how can we work things out”, “this is not going to work out ya.. we have got to break up”

I’m hearing these sentences with alarming regularity these days… is it Break up season???

Somehow I’m playing agony aunt to people I never thought I would be having heartfelt conversations with… a friend’s girlfriend called me to tell me why they broke up and why it’s the best plan. A very close friend is trying to get rid of a guy who is rapidly turning into a stereotypical “crazy ex”... my favorite couple seem to be under major strains, and other assorted couples I know are not exactly as happy happy joy joy as I’m used to seeing them..  Couples all around seem to be having a hard time…

And for a change these days the AB and I have actually been having rational, grownup conversations… sure the rationality also told us that being a couple was the worst idea ever but atleast we did it after a hug and a sane conversation instead of a shouting match like all the other times we’ve gone down this road…

Seriously… is it breakup season??

I thought the monsoons were supposed to be this awesomely romantic time n all that jazz.. the long walks in the rain, the tea and conversation while the water pours against the windows, the long drives, cuddling up against the thunder and lightning… I know movie romances don’t really translate to reality but this is getting ridiculous…

Maybe its so messed up coz we're all trying to find happily ever afters outside of disney movies.. :(

Divide and conquer- how the LOKPAL BILL will soon be lost

So politics has now begun with full force to ensure obfuscation of issues regarding the lokpal bill. Powerful, influential people have come up to poke holes in the Anna hazare led movement for a lokpal bill by resurrecting old bogies and trying to discredit the demand by criticizing the manner in which it is being made.

At the outset, I must confess that I do not agree with a lot of provisions of the ‘Jan lokpal’ bill. It is impractical, and frankly envisages an extra-constitutional body that will eliminate the separation of powers doctrine enshrined in our constitution. If we come to practical reasons, investing such great power on a body will require people who understand the whole ballyhoo about great power and great responsibility and we don’t really have any old folks around here with Spiderman or Superman’s sense of morality. The absolute power that ‘Team Anna’ wants to give will, corrupt the persons vested with it.

However, it’s not that old chestnut I’m trying to discuss. Its the fact that now three groups have put forward three bills and a fourth hat will get thrown into the ring tomorrow.

According to NDTV’s 9 ‘o clock news yesterday, a Dalit leader Mr. Udit Raj has said that since there are no Dalits in the upper echelons of team Anna, and indeed some of the team members are anti- reservationists, it is not possible that Dalit needs will be met by the proposed bill. It is therefore incumbent upon the backward classes to put forward their own version titled the ‘Bahujan Lokpal Bill’, which was to be released today at a rally for the SC/ST/OBC people of the country. I must admit that its nearly 8 pm now and I haven’t heard a word on the news about this particular bill so far.

A couple of days ago a ‘Muslim Leader’ came on TV and claimed that since Anna had been supported by the RSS at some point , Muslims in the country could not possible benefit from anything that he or his team propose.

The ‘Civil Society’ leaders such as Aruna Roy and others have already criticized the bill for its impracticality and unconstitutionality.



It is this political ploy that has me worried about the future of this sudden mass movement. Once these old ghosts come charging into the public psyche, the larger issue of corruption will fade into the background and the parliament and people will happily go back to squabbling about the representation of backward classes and minorities in the lokpal bill. It is the greatest weapon in the armory of the political class. These ghosts are what have denied the passing of the Women’s reservation bill in the parliament all these years because the ‘minority’ and ‘Backward’ concerns apparently get threatened by reservation for women. Now it seems that the lack of a ‘Dalit’ or a ‘Muslim’ leader in the team behind the India against Corruption campaign is going to derail the entire dialogue and make sure that politicians have a convenient excuse to hide behind and delay presentation and discussion of the bill. What I fail to understand is how any community can consider that an anti – corruption bill is potentially harmful to the interests of any community. And why are our people so intensely hardwired to prioritize communal considerations that a universal issue like corruption is getting sidelined by the questions of community representation.



It’s ironic really that today is also the first time that I’ve heard a member of team Anna admit that the parliament “ofcourse” is entitled to discuss, amend and change the proposed bill and finally might just pass a different act altogether. Swami Agnivesh in an interview to NDTV today finally admitted that it is not that they want the bill as proposed to get passed, they want the Jan Lokpal Bill to be tabled, discussed, amended if needed and then an Act passed by the end of August. It’s the first time they haven’t stubbornly said that the Jan lokpal bill must be made into an act as it is.

sang along after a very long time...

In the arms of the angel- Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it ok
There's always some reason to feel not good enough?
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an Angel, fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference, escaping one last time
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of an Angel, far away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here

just because i felt like writing something

it was dark.. the corridor looming endlessly.. the pillars cutting a deeper shadow into the black of the night, the faint traces of moonlight whispering against the shadows

college at night when there's no electricity is a scary place.. i actually avoided walking through main corr during my walk coz i couldn't face it..

i really do need to get over this stupid fear of the dark..

go back to your roots, your childhood.. solution hamesha milega..

you'll find what makes you happy. 

i meant to write about this the day it was said to me.. about how i tend to lose touch with who i am and what makes me happy in the search for that elusive 'happiness'. how i let myself get lost in a blue funk that nothing seems to have the power to release me from.. then i lost track of the fact that i had meant to write this down. if only to remind myself that there are things that do make me happy.. and talking to friends is always one of them..

its weeks late i suppose, this post.. friendship day is supposed to be the first Sunday of august..today is our independence day and i should really be writing something less self absorbed and more patriotic.. this post was meant to be written then.. but these words were said to me recently, and i've been battling a rather weird writer's block.. can't seem to be able to string together three words without tripping over one of them.. more of a communication breakdown really i suppose coz its not limited to the written word...

anyway.. better late than never i suppose...
to my friends who've stood near through it all..
YOU are my roots, the people who make me happy
i love you.. and i thank god everyday (or everyday that i think about this) that you're in my life..
salut

please check this out

SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation focused on enablingBystander Care, the immediate care that Police and public can provide emergency victims, especially those of road accidents, to enhance their chances of survival. This becomes critical when you consider that India does not have a well-established Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system to bring pre-hospital care to victims, lack of which leads to thousands of deaths by the road side every year and gives India the dubious distinction of being world number one in road accident deaths. Even in a scenario where the country may get an EMS system some day, Bystander Care will continue to play a key role in saving lives given the massive traffic congestion across most of our cities, which will hinder quick movement of EMS vehicles.

Over the past 2 years, SaveLIFE has trained over 2500 Police first-responders in Delhi leading to a significant enhancement in survival rate of accident victims due to administration of basic emergency care to victims. Our immediate goal is to establish a community based and community driven emergency response service that will see over 8000 public volunteers in Delhi being trained in Basic Trauma Life Support skills and connected through a dedicated call centre so that they can be mobilized as first-responders in the event of a medical emergency, especially road accidents.

SLF is registered as a public charitable trust under Sections 12AA & 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

http://www.facebook.com/savelifefoundation

http://www.savelifefoundation.org/

girls shouldn't be allowed to have love marriages under age 21?????

apparently thats what a bench of the Karnataka high court thinks.. the 2 judge bench actually recommended that the parliament might consider looking into amending the Hindu marriage act to ensure that girls under 21 can't have love marriages!

“ In our opinion, the girls below the age of 21 years are not capable of forming a rational judgment as to the suitability of the boy, with whom they are in love. It is relevant to mention that those girls, who are suffering from hormonal imbalance easily fall prey to the boys and fall in love, marry and repent at leisure,” the judges said in an order last month.


Justice K Bhakthavatsala and Justice K Govindarajulu stressed that the Parliament had not taken into account love marriages when the Bill was introduced. “ Since the Hindu Marriage Act does not deal with love marriages, in our view, it is high time that the Parliament take note of the sufferings of such girls and their parents and amend the law suitably,” the judges said.

They suggested that run- away marriages of girls under 21 be declared void or voidable.

as a student of law, i'm in shock..
1)a HIGH COURT bench is recommending that the parliament consider restricting the right of an adult to choose their life?? even while allowing parent/guardian/community to force a girl under age 21 to marry someone "arranged" for her? the high court seems to have forgotten that a consenting adult is capable of contract and the law cannot interfere in such contracts except in rare cases.
2). the HIndu marriage act does not at any point define who is allowed to arrange the wedding.. all it says is that "marriage" must be duly solemnised according to ritual. Nowhere in its 29 sections does the act mention anything about "love" or "arranged" marriage. all it requires is that two adult hindus solemnise the marriage according to the rituals and customs of either party. i fail to see on what basis the court has found it self capable of making such a ridiculous recommendation for legislative change..
3) it ominously highlights the fact that even our higer judiciary is still caught in the patriarchial framework where a girl is a "possession" to be carefully tended and handed over..

what i fail to understand is that how the same judiciary who allows rapists and molesters to roam free, suddenly develops such moral principles of control when the girl decides to take matters into her own hands rahter than be made into a victim.. if u really want to recommend changes, how about a change in the definitions of bigamy, maintenence provisions for estranged/abused women, rape laws, punishments for assault...?? out of the thousands of legislatons floating around in this country, what on earth made the court take notice of the humble little HMA??

background scores to life..

Santana- Just feel better..


I know, I know, I know
Part of me says let it go
Everything must have a season
Round and round it goes

And every day's the one before
But this time, this time

I'm gonna try anything that just feels better
Tell me what to do
You know I can't see through the haze around me
And I do anything to just feel better


I can't find my way
God I need a change
And I'd do anything to just feel better
Any little thing that just feel better


I'm tired of holding on
To all the things I ought to leave behind, yeah
It's really getting old, and
I think I need a little help this time
 
.................................
 

bah humbug!

call me grinch if you will.. but friends who are in serious relationships are no fun at all.. they always have their own thing going, or are distracted with their phones the whole time, or ditch you to spend extra time with their partner, and make you feel like a heel for asking them to ditch the partner and hang out for a bit with you instead..
:P

Women, jails and kanimozhi

So the media and politicians have suddenly discovered that the conditions in Indian prisons are appalling and it is not safe or comfortable for women to be in jail.. all because Tamil nadu’s little princess Kanhimozhi is currently residing in Tihar jail. Not counting the fact that she is in one of the high security ‘VIP’ areas of the jail and protected from the slightest bit of abuse or discomfort because of her high political connections, congress president Sonia Gandhi suddenly decided to declare that she is “worried” about kani’s safety in the prison…


I decided to skip the rest of the 9 ‘o clock news after 10 mins of listening to a rather nonsensical debate on NDTv abouy whether denial of bail to a woman for such a crime was a bad move on the court’s part.. politician Renuka Chowdhry, Sadia Dehlvi, activist Madhu Kishwar and senior advocate KTS Tulsi were the talking heads on the panel tonight.. thank god for the latter two because the comments made by the first two put me in serious danger of getting a heart attack due to sheer indignation..

Comments like “it’s not safe for women to be in jail”, “the court is obliged by law to give bail to women” and the gem of the lot “well there are other women in jail but they are there for more serious crimes, kanimozhi has only a charge of corruption against her”

What these people did not seem to get was that they are simply reinforcing the gender stereotypes by insisting that the sex of the accused should be more important than the crime committed.. The enormity of what kanimozhi is involved in was dismissed in the interest of faux- sympathy for jailed women..

even more annoying was the fact that they seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that there is no law that makes it compulsory or even obligatory for a court to release a woman on bail.. What S.437 of the CrPC states is simply that the court “may” direct that the person accused of a crime which is punishable by life imprisonment or death penalty be given bail if such a person is under age 16 or a woman or is sick or infirm.

There’s nothing in any law in the country that says that women cannot or should not be thrown in jail if they’ve done something to deserve it.. and the scam that kani is involved in is much more dangerous for india’s security than any murder or terrorist activity.

In 1973, justice Krishna Iyer had clearly said that the Supreme Court considered economic crimes to be detrimental to the security of the state, and a person accused of an economic crime did not deserve gentle treatment. (sure he said this in respect of probation given to a smuggler, but the essence of the sentiment remains the same)

Apart from the obvious legal issues I may have with the statements made on tv today, they indicate a deeper malaise. That is the depiction of women as frail creatures who need special protection and are too delicate to even be given the correct punishment of they commit crime. It’s this faux-protectionist attitude, smacking of chauvinism that really strikes a blow against the self esteem of every woman who has wanted to be taken seriously.

How is it that supposedly responsible and liberated politicians and social activists can proclaim on national television that women are too vulnerable to be punished? Renuka Chowdhury today brushed aside Madhu Kishwar’s comment about how more than one woman politician has undergone incarceration in the past. She even managed to keep a straight face as she claimed that Sadhvi Pragya, currently in jail for involvement in terrorist activities, was fair game because terrorism was a far more serious crime.

I said a rather loud thank you to Nidhi razdaan , the anchor, for pointing out the fact that sexist arguments to demand protection for a woman ultimately caused incalculable harm to women’s rights movements.

Ironically, she quoted another UPA ally Mamata Bannerjee who had proclaimed during one of her endless protests that she stood for the causes she espoused and demanding special treatment as a woman was an insult to her dignity.

I totally agree.

a walk to remember

i adore this movie.
absolutely, completely.

and yes i know its a teenage version of a mills and boon with a preachy ending. thank you very much. i adore it anyway..
the story, the magic of finding who you really are and what you really want from life..

not least for the amazing soundtrack. its got sooo many from my favorite songs list.. :

 learning to breathe.. switchfoot

its gonna be love

something about you...

dancing in the moonlight..

only hope .

cry- mandy moore

you- switchfoot

and the one song that i can listen to no matter what mood i'm in..

dare you to move..... switchfoot

this is probably the ONLY movie whose entire soundtrack i remember... including all the hindi movies i love to watch... i was asked a while ago if there was any band/soundtrack that i really loved... i can't believe i didnt remember this one right away... i watched this movie again today.. purely for the music, and realised that this right here was a soundtrack i'll still adore when i'm 80...

mi familia

so my family's suddenly given me a huge shock by changing without me noticing it.. or to be fair, anticipating it.. not only are the brats grown up, owl engaged to be married, abby's hit the big three O, parents have become suddenly cool about me choosing career over even a conversation about marriage.. ati, anu and vrin, my younger sisters have grown up to the extent that i now no longer feel all 'elder- sibling-ey'.. and that all just happened all of a sudden...
anu got her 12th board results today.. 91.5 %.. and i've been jumpinng around the house with happiness and pride since chachu called in the morning with the news.. ati's finished with college and is trying to choose between postgrad or job.. vrin, who always did hold her own against me even when much younger, has bagged an awesome internship with an apparel and accessories manufacturer after creating jaw droppingly gorgeous stuff as part of her accessory design course..
i feel so boringly insignificant all of a sudden.. the entire family's at grandmom's rt now celebrating anu's result and i'm at home half heartedly preparing for the criminology exam tomorrow.. and i dont even have cool stuff to brag about anymore.. i've not done anything remotely exciting for a very very very long time now..
:(     sighhh

ah well.. i'm just gonna look at this as MY influence that they're doing so well.. akhir mera aashirwad jo mila hai.. :)

Jenny kissed me

so this was a poem we learnt in class 5 i think.. or maybe 6th... i remember this huge argument in class with Indu Yadav ma'am, our english teacher about whether Jenny was a cat or a woman.. compounded by the fact that our english book did not carry the poet's full name but carried it as Leigh Hunt, which to us sounded like a girl's name, and added to our confusion about what exactly  'jenny' here was..
 and i loved this random sounding verse so much that i set it to a tune.. and proceeded to sing it for days together.. i have no idea why i suddenly thought of it now after so many years.. but suddenly the tune popped into my head and i HAD to look it up and post it..

Jenny Kissed me. - James Henry Leigh Hunt.
(here's what i found about it on the Wondering Minstrels blog)


Jenny kissed me when we met,

Jumping from the chair she sat in;

Time, you thief, who love to get

Sweets into your list, put that in!

Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,

Say that health and wealth have missed me,

Say I'm growing old, but add,

Jenny kissed me.




ah silly childhood memories :)

is it 2 am or 2 pm.. my brain can't quite make up its mind..

i don't know what it was that compelled me to write or what it is now that my fingers hesitate to move.. it sometimes feels like the child-woman- storyteller inside of me has gone silent.. or has simply lost the voice i once had, or maybe just the words..
i found three stories that i had started to write... when i was still trying to write a romance novel.. overdose of mills n boon and far too much romance on my brain.. then i abandoned the stories just like i abandoned the fairytale dream they contained.. and all i'm left with now are a few sheets of paper, snatches of dreams put down in ink and photos of the places i wanted my storybook couple to live their romance in... i can't write..
i've been asked why i haven't finished them yet.. my reply is always the same.. its because whatever i write is a part of me.. i live my dreams in what i write.. and currently my dreams are in suspended animation.. i can't write..

........................................

the brats have taken to sleeping in my room these days.. the cooler is on here and i've split the double bed so that i have one half and they share the other half.. even at 15, with a hint of hair on their faces, and the childish features slowly disssloving into the harsher planes of adulthood.. they look so cute when they're asleep.. like my boys are still my boys.. as if they never grow up when they're asleep... though theire voices have broken and they're getting slimmer and taller and more grown up by the day.. they're in 10th now.. and so intent on proving the're all grown up.. sometimes i wish they  could've stayed children forever..

........................................

"don't be afraid to express who you are and who you want to be"... you said to me at a time when all i wanted to be was a mother... and then i woke up from the dream and realised i was still a child myself..

I dont belong- Intervention

so i heard a new song today.. amazingly by a band that a good friend is in.. not that he recommended it to me or even told me about it.. (the cut out lines coz 2 mins after this blogpost went up i got several irate messages from said friend who swears taht he did tell me all about his band and i'm the one with the lousy memory..  here u go dude.. correction added)
its quite weird how many ppl i was good friends with or sang/competed with/against are now professionals and it does make me wonder what i've done with my life.. but this isn't about teh nostalgia or teh 'what may have been's.. this is about THIS song..

Sap fwded the link to their fb page and i totally fell in love with this song so decided to put it up here... and it does form the perfect background score to my life right now... as do the lyrics..

Intervention- I Dont belong here

I twist and turn as I lay on my bed

I knew this day wouldn’t end this great.
Something random in my mind
Feels like that something in me died.

These four walls closing up on me
Suffocate me; won’t let me breathe.

I don’t belong here
Trapped in my shell.
Wanna run and break free.
I don’t belong here
I see the light fade
There ain’t nothing here..nothing here for me.

I try to blend but I don’t fit in
I lust for love but I’m lost within.
A helping hand is all I need
A little push to make me believe that.

These four walls closing up on me
Suffocate me; won’t let me breathe.

I don’t belong here
Trapped in my shell.
Wanna run and break free.
I don’t belong here
I see the light fade
There ain’t nothing here..nothing here for me.



I took some time to figure out

I din’t go too far to turn around.

The man in the mirror has changed a lot

Just the same but with different thoughts







.

so a skirt is how you lift a game???

the Badminton World federation today announced that it is now mandatory for female players to wear a skirt on the court, shorts may be worn underneath the skirt if the player so wants... she stupid sexism behind this rule, and the way it was discussed on NDTV's 9 'o Clock news prompted me to write and write strongly about this..
so NDTV called Jesse Randhawa, a former player and now a model to comment, and the statement she made is something i have a particular grouse against.. she actually said that women would be better players if they wore short skirts instead of long skirts on court. now SOMEONE please tell me just who IS  it that wears an "ugly long skirt" while playing a competitive sport??? and how is it going to make anyone more somfortable if she's got to deal with flying skirts rather than the game?????

Top Indian players like Saina Nehwal and Jwala Gutta pretty much refused to give a straight comment.. Saina, who is currently ranked 3rd in teh world simply said that "tehy must have some important reason for making this rule and not just for glamourising the game", while Jwala made an even more outrageous statement than Jesse randhawa by saying "most players are pretty good looking so they will look good ina  skirt" like.. is THAT the way to win games??
the anchor asked this question too.. isn't it good performance and medals earned in the games that have brought players into focus? whats the point of unnecessary dress codes?

isnt it a supremely sexist idea that players shouldnt be allowed to choose their own clothing for the sake of "attractive presentation".. why is there no dress code for the male players then?
and how sexist and lascivicious is the audience that they'll watch a game purely for teh sake of teh female players' legs when they wouldn't watch it for the quality of the game...

through the looking glass.. another world

there's so much happenning in the country.. the sudden huge anti corruption movement, the census figures creating a hue and cry.. an anti-child sex abuse month, demolition of so called 'illegal colonies'and protests, tsunamis and radiation leakes, the amazing brouhaha over gandhiji's sexuality and India's scintillating world cup win...

and yet in my house the most important thing is my parents' 25th wedding anniversary next week..

its quite weird how personal events completely block important public concerns...

the voice, specially when speaking, is not my cup of tea.. but i adore the lyrics

Queensryche- silent lucidity

Hush now don't you cry
Wipe away the teardrop from your eye
You're lying safe in bed

It was all a bad dream spinning in your head
Your mind tricked you to feel the pain
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life

So here it is another chance
Wide awake you face the day
Your dream is over or has it just begun

There's a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run through in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn't realize and you were scared

It's a place where you will learn
To face your fears retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind
Commanding in another world

Suddenly you hear and see
This magic new dimension

I-will be watching over you

I-I'm gonna help you see it though

I-will protect you in the night

I-I'm smiling next to you in silent lucidity


If you open your mind for me
You won't rely on open eyes to see
The walls you build within come tumbling down
And a new world will begin
Living twice at once you learn
You're safe from pain in the dream domain

A soul set free to fly
A round trip journey in your head
Master of Illusion can you realize
Your dream's alive you can be the guide but

(I) will be watching over you

(I) I'm gonna help you see it though

(I) will protect you in the night

(I) I'm smiling next to you


there are so many interpretations to what the song is trying to really say.. about dreams, about someone being there, about taking control of your own life and your own mind.. about the I  that this song is from.. but i adore it just for one verse..

If you open your mind for me

You won't rely on open eyes to see

The walls you build within come tumbling down

And a new world will begin

Thanks sap for introducing me to this song :)

Aruna and the right to die with Dignity

The Supreme Court of India today gave a judgment today that is being hailed as a 'landmark'.. The judgment allows for passive Euthanasia i.e withholding medical treatment or food in extreme cases where a patient is in a 'Permanent Vegetative State'. Aruna Shanbaug, the victim in the case, was brutally sodomized and then strangled 37 years ago and has been in a 'vegetative state' since then. She cannot move or express herself or so much as swallow properly, she's been taken care of by the medical staff at a hospital in Bombay for all these years.

This is what the medical experts and the court have said about Aruna : (full text of judgment )

The court has given certain criteria to decide whether passive euthanasia may be allowed. that includes the opinion of the team of doctors tending to the patient as well as the opinion of a panel of doctors created by the high court of the state, the judgment also says that the relatives or next friends of the patient must file a plea for the approval of withdrawal of treatment with the High court before such an act can be undertaken.

the judgment has stirred a hornet's nest of debate, both legal and moral. the crux lies in the question whether anyone has the right to decide whether a person may live, and whether current medical standards can trump hope of future miracles.. also involved is the question whether this decision making power may be misused by unscrouplous relatives and easily bought doctors to deny treatment to people who wouldn't legitimately come within the ambit of 'permanent vegetative state' or a 'coma'.
most importantly, the judgment makes a clear distinction between brain death, coma and Permanent vegetative state.

while i'm in no position to make any kind of informed comment on the judgment itself, there are quite a lot of unnerving things about the entire euthanasia debate, least of all being, what would I do if faced with such a situation.. was talking to a friend who raised this question, and my head has been spinning ever since..
also a question is nagging me, through this whole moralistic posturing thats currently on tv, Pinky Virani, the author who wrote Aruna's biography and filed the plea for euthanasia made this comment "i would like everyone in this country to think about what they would want for themselves if they were in Aruna's situation."

at the end is one last nagging question... i was reading the wikipedia page about the case and what i read was that the man who brutally sodomised and strangled her was actually tried for assault and robbery and not for rape or unnatural sexual offence because the doctors of the hospital, and mind you this is the same hospital where she has been staying for the last 37 years, did not report the sexual assault to 'spare her shame'. i'm wondering if that is the reason the hospital authorities have continued to care for her all these years.. after all, she WAS assaulted while on duty in the hospital and was denied justice coz of the misplaced sense of 'honour' of the doctors..

i can't seem to actually WRITE anything about this case though i've been trying for hours.. there are so many dimensions to it.. i cannot decide whether i'm writing as a law student, or a medical layman, or as a woman or as a person who has watched loved ones waste away with disease and dealt with the aftermath...

i was asked this once.. how would you want to die? waste away in old age/disease or die with dignity /in a blaze of glory while still having all your faculties and strength..
i still don't know the answer i'd choose...

the hypocrisy of the written word

so one would wonder why our petty personal problems seem so huge when the entire world is undergoing such an upheaval.. when ppl in egypt and iran and tunisia and libya are fighting for their right to live as citizens with basic political rights, and politicians in pakistan are getting shot for speaking against enforcement of misinterpreted fundamentalism, and the Indian state is reeling from scandal after scandal... we're stuck in our own petty dramas..
its strange really.. today i gave a chaiwalla a talking to for employing kids to wash glasses and stuff, and told the kids to go to the nearest available govt. school, and yet the discussion initiated among friends wasn't about the child labour, it was about the 'cute' guy i was standing around sipping chai with...

there are hundreds of things happening in the world that we seem to utterly ignore.. like a fly buzzing in teh background, a sound heard but ignored, brushed aside to accomodate the loud fanfare of the 'personal'.

was watching a report by Barkha Dutt on NDTV yesterday.. she's currently in Libya travelling through the country and sending reports about the conditions there.. and the report featured several young people who have taken over the functions of the border police and are guarding their towns and their people from the loyalist forces supporting gaddafi. Egypt was also driven largely by the young educated people protesting against the stagnant economy and oppressive political class. Tunisia saw the same demographic challenging a long entrenched government. its like a wave of rebellions.. and yes i use the word knowing full well that the rest of teh world is using teh term 'Revolution' for what is happening in these countries.. only time will tell if these uprisings will lead to concrete steps towards freedom and democracy or whether they woud lead to the creation of an even more opressive regime... however.. i digress.. my point essentially was that almost everyone i see around me here in Delhi lacks the kind of gut and drive and passion that is visible on the streets in these countries. we seem to be so busy in our own humdrum lives that the rampant corruption and shocking scandals involving every possible entity with power elicits at most a cynical 'This is India". makes me wonder where this country really is going.
ah well.. hopefully... teh world ends in 2012 and we wont need to worry about the 'future'.

falling like wickets at a bad cricket match...

i meant to write a nice long post about current events and the news and life n stuff.. (specially since taht anonymous commentor wrote that one was expected from me) i swear i did.. but things are just so weird right now that i need to be all self absorbed and let this nonsense out instead.. I'm FREAKING out!!!
there is this sudden SPATE of weddings around me and seeing every single wicket fall my parents' muttering about my own impending doom are growing louder by the day... Owl's engagement was on friday night, and today my mama called with teh news that HIS son Vin too has declared his intention to marry his longtime girlfriend.. and seeing all and sundry relatives preparing has given my parents a panic attack, both about the 'age' bit (i'm only ^$$%#^&%%# 23 DAMNIT!!) and the fact that weddings these days are very very very expensive.. and whenever i laugh off their worries with a 'dont worry i'll elope and marry so u dont neeed to think about expenses", it does nothing but scare them even more coz hey.. they don't trust my choice.. not counting the fact that since i'm not seeing anyone, there isn't a possibility of me coming up with a 'suitable boy' anytime soon... and they're getting all jittery about the fact that i will be 24 when my law course finally finishes and have expressly forbidden them from mentioning the 'M' word with any seriousness to me till i turn 25.. and today dad came up with this.. "weddings are getting so expensive.. did u see what owl's parents and in-laws did for the engagement alone?"
deflated all my happiness and excitement about my bhai -ki -sagai i tell u... i'd been so happy before they sprung this conversation on me..

back back back back back

so i went for a competition to kerala with rave n Sj.. and just got back this morning.. or last night.. whatever.. have tonnes and tonnes to write about.. frm my trip to the so called egyptian revolution and more.. but shall do so tomorrow i guess..
in other news.. i might begoing to watch Bryan Adams perform in Delhi tonight.. IF teh police lets teh concert happen!!!!!
though parents aren't happy that i'm making plans to go gallivanting off into teh night again right after coming back..but really.. BRYAN ADAMS!!

my daddy strongest!

it makes for quite an interesting conversation when two people deliberately take sides that are opposite to their actual views.. poor dad has had to play devil's advocate coz i needed help in forming arguments for a moot court competition.. i'm seriously in awe of the man right now.. there was a point in the last few days when i felt like an absolute child again.. just listening to dad talking and thinking that papa knows absolutely everything in the world..
hopefully when i grow older and have kids of my own.. they will have such moments too.. :)

watering eyes....

so i wrote a post two years ago when my cousin sister was to get married.. about the kind of clothes available in the markets these days.. today i return with the same rant.. its has gotten WORSE! my big brother is getting engaged in two weeks and my eyes are watering after two hours spent searching in vain for a sari to be given to bhabi as gift..
they've added GLITTER to the stones and even to the cloth! they showed us some concoction called the 'gajji silk' that is silk blended with some random shiny shit..  ruined the look of the cloth.. and NET.. can there please be a sari that does not have a ghastly net border? i want pure chiffon for heaven's sake..!

i might go blind with all that glitter.. WHO buys that shit anyway???????

to friendship

i have been rather lucky as far as making friends is concerned so far.. i have managed to find people who see me as i am and accept me completely, warts and all.. i can be annoying, rude, hyper, condescending, egotistical and just plain crazy... but they stick by me, seeing something good in me throughout..
i'm in awe of you all.. of your loyalty and your patience..
thank you for continuing to be there through my crazy phases..

i hope i can do something worthy of the undying faith you have shown in me..

this is to ati, tinni, ansh, sap, N, rave and sj.. you guys have borne the brunt of my madness and yet never ever given up on me, never gotten angry or grown distant..  god alone knows how you put up with me..
Thank you..i love you very very much..

i just watched Dhobi Ghat. and i'm still recovering from the sheer beauty of it..

There’s an incredibly familiar feel to the movie. This sense of being lost in time, in the middle of a room full to overflowing with people you know and people who know you.. and in the midst of that bustle there’s a sudden hush in your ears and you feel like you’re living someone else’s life, in someone else’s body, and you’re really all alone.. and then someone bumps into you and makes you feel real again...

Thats what i saw in the movie..

Its like a painting, the artist’s hand paints what his mind sees, your eyes see something different... i don’t know if that poignancy and that sense of belonging to nothing and everything was what they were trying to portray but that is what i saw.. the dialogues were amazing.. the opening sequence...  the handheld videocamera captures the hidden girl’s voice and shows us the rain as she sees it.. the movement of the windshield wipers, the drops sliding down the windowpane.. its like the rain and the city itself IS a character in the movie, the cars on the road are a part of the story, not just props in the background.. the camera itself is not a mere tool, its the narrator, of yasmin’s story, capturing every nuance of expression... her makeup, her clothing, her entire demeanour changes subtly through the narrative, just like munna and arun change.. the only unchanged character is shai.. who is the one trying to unravel the story around her.. capturing places and people she would never meet in her own life, who welcomes everyone into  her life with open arms.. she’s as comfortable inviting the dhobi in to talk to her as she is in a fashionable art event with the rich and famous.. her mannerism doesn’t change with anyone, she’s equally loving, naive, accepting and careless with everyone.. she is the one anomalous character in the entire movie full of real people.. but she is real in her very quirkiness.. she’s the NRI who doesn’t care about social classes and is equally happy eating pao bhaji in a fly-infested restaurant as she is at a posh nightclub..

The most incredible was the ending.. which is really not an ‘ending’ at all.. its a stage where people grow up, change, let go of things they held inside and take a step forward.. munna lets go of the crazy love he has, as does shai, arun finds his muse in the memoirs of a dead yasmin..

The pictures and the paintings involved in the movie are equally beautiful.. the series shai is shown to have done on the people.. portraits of everyday life so mundane taht you never see  the beauty of the scene.. the crowd, the market, the wrinkles on the face of the rickshaw puller.. the yards and yards of clothes hung out to dry... ist a deeply visual film.. its everyday life seen with a hidden camera.. showing things that you would never otherwise notice.. the neighbour aunty packing food for her husband and kids, the surf on the sea.. the tired smile on the face of a dejected young wife, the shy bravado on the face of the boy-man taking time out from a crushing life to dream ..

Its the everyday things that one never notices that create the whole picture... its people who touch your life in places that don’t even register unless you look closely and find how their life meshes with yours... a conversation on the phone while cooking a meal, a downpour that you run through, a walk on a road that you take every day and never notice the road or the people who surround you.. its life...

Its a must watch movie..

..................................................................

On a completely unrelated note.. I got Amir khan’s autograph!!!!!!! YAY!