Subhajit

Today when I open the newspaper or switch on to a news channel, I do not get surprised by the reporting of the crime that is happening every single day. But what saddens to the core is the quantum and the way of committing them. We are not only degrading as a society, but at the same time we are putting ourselves in the dock where we will be questioned about our morality and our ethics. And we are same country which boasts of culture, ethics and values of 5000 years old. I used to be uncomfortable in my growing years reading about rapes and then I became ashamed of such cases. Today, I am simply tired with repeated anguish. Such incidents started questioning the law and order that we have in place, it questioned the judiciary system we have but more than anything else, it questioned my belief in my fellow countrymen.  The next thing that we discuss is the self-protection tools for women. They should carry chilly powder, a knife, a gun, get trained in Karate and what not. And these s

10 Days: I remember myself teasing my younger brother in the years of growing up. He never liked it, infact hated it. But I used to feel so great when he was irritated. As we grew up and stopped fighting over the cake Mom makes at home, I realize that I shared the closest bond during the 'teasing phase'. Today, when I sit with him to watch Bigg Boss to de-stress over watching nonsense by the in-mates in the show, I realize my fights with him were far more better :P I don't pull his cheek anymore, instead his leg. Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he does not. But with 10 more days to go, I believe I might miss all those days, fights and moments even more. And yes, who is going to bat first post school hours was a life-altering decision at one point. 9 Days: When I used to visit my maternal grandparents during my school holidays, I used to be quite ecstatic about it. Not just because I loved the city they used to stay, the locales or the big buildings there, but prim

Maa Maa kehti thi ki jab bhi dar lage toh ghar aajana, Baba kehte the ladna apne dar se, kabhi haar na maan na. Mujhe raahat  mili toh sirf Maa ke us aanchal mein, Baar baar chhupta raha, hazaar baar roya bhi wahan. Aur har ek baar sukoon mila mujhe, woh Maa nahi ek alag hi duniya thi. Abhi  bhi sochta hoon, dhoondta bhi hoon, kabhi rona aaye toh sirf yeh soch kar aansoon behte hain, Ki kya Maa itni door hai ya mein khudse. Tum Mujhe faasla pasand nahi tha kabhi, mazboori thi jo usko paal rahi thi, Tum gaye toh aise gaye, mein abhi bhi lad raha hoon un raaston se. Wapas toh nahi la sakta, woh beete hue lamhein, Mod nahi sakta, woh gujre hue pal, Lekin yaad karke hans toh sakta hoon, un haseen lamhon par, tumhare un waadon par, Woh har ek baat par jo hamne saath mein kahi thi. Aur apne aap par. Kab se dhoondh raha khud ko, milta hi nahin hoon, Aisa lagta hai main chhipa nahin, laapata hoon. Ek Packet Ummeed Kabhi kabhi yeh sochke hairan hot

They say marriages are made in heaven! But nobody ever thought where divorces came from! I have seen and been with many girls in my life, each having their individual place in my heart. They all have their unique identities. And I have been transparent enough with each of them about the feelings I share. The best part is they know each other; it has been only possible when you are true to yourself and with the person in front. Life has moved on a lot since my first love. Loved many, few loved me back…. But today I still stand officially single. With no instant plans to get into the marriage-thing. I love being a single; it has got its own benefits and drawbacks as well. Finding love, being in love and marrying are three different things, realized it later, but a good realization. I met different people at different stages of my life. Each came with their priorities, preferences and expectations. They are still there, quite in touch. They have been a part of my life and wil

I  always thought that we all have got name attached to us for an unique identity. Well, I do understand that it also has got the love & affection (and what not!) of the parents. The exercise that has gone into it. The amount of time spent on finding & thinking about it. Then the process of shortlisting, final rounds of filtering and then zeroing in on ‘the’ one. We are so very meticulous in handling this particular exercise. B ut then starts the real humour, the moment we start calling a new born by the given (read ‘assigned’) name, people start moulding it their convenience. For example, a certain Rajeev becomes ‘Raj’ or ‘Raju’ or may be just ‘Ra’. By the time the same person becomes a complete grown up, he does not even care about the relevance of his name, forget about the effort (however nonsensical it is). And then it all boils down to the same old thing:  What’s there in a name! B ut all over the world, especially in our parts of it, we do not find the name comp

I've found majority of things ever written about love to be so untrue. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinarily wrong thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, because I always believed it’s a start of a journey. I suppose, I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for a day or night! And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. It’s called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, who fall in love alone? I am the vict

This is a guest post by a person who has seen many sides of life too often, Iftikhar Ashraf.  Date was 21st September 2012 and day was Friday; the air was full with anger, Muslims in every part of the world were protesting against the anti-Islam film and the blasphemous caricatures drawn by the controversial French magazine, Charlie Hebdo. In the protesting world, Kashmir was no exception, Syed Ali Shah Geelani had asked the people to show their displeasure through peaceful protests after Friday Prayers. But the government also wanted to show its displeasure and it didn’t want its displeasure to go unnoticed, which they made sure by enforcing an undeclared curfew and blocking all the mobile services, even not sparing the mobile internet services (gprs, wireless internet etc). I had a flight to catch for New Delhi in the evening, seeing the mood of the government and the restrictions they had enforced, I was not sure whether I would be able to catch my flight. In order

Last one and half months have brought in quite a change in our country. Not because it has rained less than the normal, but we, as a country obsessed with just one sport, are thinking, talking and fighting over new sports. Sports, which were pretty alien to us few months back. They existed since long, but we never thought of giving them the due they deserved. So they never got the attention, exposure and funding. In any sports, in any country you look upto people who has gone for glory in the past, you need to emulate people who has created history. In wrestling and shooting, we are now creating a tradition, and that helps in the 'know-how' for the generations to follow. It's amazing to see when a game of Badminton is termed as 'Saina v/s China' over the built up to main event. We also cheered for the humble and unassuming Gopichand who shared the medal as a part the dream he once saw for himself. Now all of a sudden, every state government, parliament, activists,

Friends, family, forever. Eternal words. We keep everyone in our heart. Though we admit or not, accept or not. People whom we hate also have their share of space in the heart too. That's why we remember them. Sustaining 'friendship' is a full time job. Everyone is neither equipped with the skill to maintain a friendship devoid of anger, deceit, jealousy, hatred & so on. You keep on piling up friends right from the days you know who you are and the people around. You start categorizing them, in your words & in your own world. They all fit into a category in your list. There are those who you know will come and ask you for things which will put you off, and yet you bear them. There are also those who will tell you things on your face and remain unmoved. There are those ones, who meet you less often, speak even lesser, but bring out a smile inside you with just a thought. There are those who will never wear a mask in front you. The moment you start realizing tha

A handful of people, in the name of ‘mob-fury’, has beaten a professional with an iron rod, broke his legs. Then they put him on fire and waited till he died. All these happened because he was representing the management and was up against the union workers of a plant. He was doing his duty and was not letting the negative venom get into every worker. In the name of mob-fury, only a specific section of people instigated by political backing brutally killed him. And all that the Chief Minister of the state saying is: “ no one can take law in his hands ”. Is that what we deserve to hear after such a killing, is it any less dangerous to our democracy as compared to any communal violence! Or do we actually, need to wait for a mass killing of hundreds of thousands people before we wake up. The man leaves behind a 12 year old son, who will keep asking ‘questions’ for the rest of his lifetime why his father got a treatment like this. Now, the case here is, the management knew there was an

I do this. I do that. I do so many things. I have moved on. So far. So long. Still every morning makes me believe I am behind. I am chasing. Actually, the families people like me come from, are meant to chase. Studies, career, money, growth, happiness and then die. We have an in-built fear to think beyond. Fear of failure. The pressure of society. The unfinished quest of success. The trouble of identity crisis. The madness of claiming victory. The heroics of grabbing a bigger pie of accomplishment. Pain of the distance of near ones, bitterness of the lost opportunities and hope of a better tomorrow.  Then these unpredictable rains. Those late night hours. And some unforgettable moments goes off in a whisker. The melancholic evenings - on things which could have been done better, for people who could have stayed back, for those days spent on having roadside delicacies, thinking how Mom has always made me believe that every stranger has some motive to come near you. Oh God!  I hav

Being Single (5th February, 2011) Situation 1: You get down from train where u should, go home, eat, drink & sleep. Situation 2: You get down 2 stations before, go to a mall & realize there's nothing to do there, take a rick, reach home, listen to some no-sense talks, eat while being watched, go for a walk, then listen some more, tolerate the mood swings and then get the feeling that your best friend should not be important, come walking back with a terrible mood, tired body & don't feel like drinking. Which one is better! Situation 1! Being Single is awesome & I am quite liking it. Do hell with all complications in life! Work hard, party harder. Being Single: 2 (22nd April, 2012) I don’t' know, but when I thought of jotting down one more 'Note', it is the same idea which played as the catalyst again. There is this guy on the verge of getting married who has been boasting around since ages of how large-scale his bachelorhood is, suddenly says

Sab ka khushi se faasla ek kadam hai, har ghar mein bas ek hi kamra kam hai... Early teen age is not a good time to take important calls in life. Added to that, a bunch of crazy morons surrounding you with all sorts of inputs. To this mix, you add doting parents. And then a critical phase of studies. In between all these, the ever increasing love for the newly arrived MP3s n video games. With the freedom of getting into college and getting rid of the regular uniforms, the heart was pumping than the required speed. This early teen age you know! Now leave all these. Enters a damsel! Year 1 and 2... Kya kehke gaya tha shayar woh sayana, aag ka dariya doobke jaana... Now what... Nothing, the game's over! They say enter a girl and your life will never be the same again. The guy never believed it, still don't too. But his results for next couple of years supported the argument. Studies were at an all time low, parents were big time upset, neighbors were at their s