Dil toh bachcha hai ji... :)

We have a lot of dreams in our life, we people want to achieve them desperately. We want to be successful and independent in our lives, but we have become so much busy and blind in fulfilling our desires and ambition that we have forgotten those people who gave us life to dream, who brought us into this world, people who holded our hands and taught us how to walk and balance ourselves. It is so strange that we dream of standing on our own legs and be self reliant, but forget those two important people who helped us to stand straight and were always there to hold our fingers and supported us to take little steps.

Few days back I saw a pigeon sitting under the shade of an air conditioner at the opposite building. I saw her sitting from day to night protecting her nest. After some days I realized that there was one more pigeon too, the male, who was also guarding and protecting their nest from the other birds.
One day I was just standing in my veranda and was observing them. One of the pigeons was going in search of some little wooden sticks and leaves, so that they could make their nest more comfortable and so that the egg doesn't fall. But in spite of searching and collecting these things, he was also chasing away other birds who tried to come near their nest. I was really fascinated to see their constant efforts, despite of a hot sunny day. I saw them struggling for their baby who is yet to come in this world. I realized their love and care for the baby. Soon I was filled with excitement and my eyes were eagerly waiting to see their child. But suddenly a thought, a question, came into my mind. I thought, whether all their efforts will go in vain? Will that child leave his/her parents when he/she will grow up and become independent enough?
This very thought was really painful however I was still thrilled and excited. For the next two days it remained the same, but then the very next day all my enthusiasm and happiness were gone. The nest was empty, the egg was not there. Probably it had fallen or some other bird might have destroyed it. But the reality is their (pigeons’) baby who was about to see this world was no more. I could feel the pain and anxiety of the pigeons. The feeling of losing their baby might have been just equivalent to of losing their own breath.

No matter how much we grow up or how much big we become, we will always be little sweethearts for our parents. Never forget that we are in this world because of them, we have learnt to see dreams just because of them. Without them we are no one. They are our identity. You might have achieved a lot of prizes and so many other things in your life, but it is not just because of your performance, it is also because of your parents. This ability or enthusiasm in you is build by your parents, whether directly or indirectly. They are the building blocks of your life.

I have never understood the concept of old age home or probably I just don’t want to understand it. Our parents have really cared for us. They had sleepless nights when we were not well. No matter how much busy they were they have always tried to give us time.  We have always been their priority. So why can’t we take care of them when they need us the most? Why can’t we take out some time from our busy schedules and make them happy?

Although their body has grown older, but inside they are like little kids who are craving for some love and time. Just look into their eyes, just hold their hands and you will see a smile on their faces. They will love you always even if you hate them.

Never leave them, they need you. Never hurt them and bring tears into their eyes. Parents are really precious take care of them with all your heart and soul.

At last I just want to ask, how will you feel if one day your child will leave you???  Give it a thought...    

Love yourself, get tested

A woman in a lifetime plays many roles, a loving mother, a loving daughter and a loving wife. A woman is the backbone of the family. She loves and takes care of everybody; she becomes an epitome of love, but forgets to fall in love with herself. She forgets to take care of herself and gives invitation to certain diseases and one of them is breast cancer.

One day I was just going through a health magazine and suddenly something just blew my mind and I was really shocked when I came to know how this deadly disease, breast cancer was having a good hold on the society especially among women.
I came to know that, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, however, men, too are susceptible to it. In India, about one in twenty two women are subjected to have breast cancer, and one in four breast cancer patients is HER2 positive, which means they have an aggressive tumor. It usually starts in the duct cells of the breast and is one of the highest reported cancers among females in urban India and was the second highest among rural females. An estimated 2.2 lakh women have been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012.
Shocking... isn't? 

I never knew that this cancer was growing at such a rapid pace, in fact how many of us are actually aware about it? How many us even know that October is breast cancer awareness month? And being a girl it is important that I should have been aware about all this.

This deadly disease is increasing rapidly because of the ignorance and lack of awareness among the women. Females should be made aware about this cancer, its prevention, cure and treatment. They should be motivated to go for regular clinical checkups, especially; those who are above 40 and have a family history of breast cancer should do a mammography. In rural areas, where, women do not have access to such treatments, should do breast self-examination once in a month and consult a doctor if there are any changes.
Efforts should be made towards educating the girl child about this disease as this can help them greatly in the future. Moreover, prior knowledge about this cancer can help them to fight breast cancer more effectively, if they become a victim of this cancer.

Breast cancer takes more lives in India than in the western world. The sole reason for this is late detection. Cure of breast cancer is best possible only when detected early. And early detection lies completely in our hands.

It is really important that we should start loving and caring ourselves. We should take some time for ourselves from a busy schedule. 
Remember, early detection is the best protection.

Early days tied with knot of responsibilities

Delhi is said to be ‘Dil walo ki Dilli’, a city where people are fun loving and warm hearted. But is it really true? Are we people really concerned and caring?

We all must have visited to India gate and if not, then surely we have read about such a monument in our history books. We often go there to enjoy with our family and friends, after all many of us consider it to be a good picnic spot. But how many of us actually know the relevance of this memorial which was built in the memory of 90,000 soldiers?

I was also like you people, not bothered and busy in the hustle and bustle of life. I never looked around and was always engaged in having fun with my family and friends, each time I visited India Gate. When I was a kid, I always insisted my parents to buy me balloons or ice-creams, but never gave a thought of what made that little children do that work at such an early stage of life. I never gave a thought the reason to why these children were carrying things for the purpose selling instead of books in their hands.

Few years later, when I again visited India Gate, this time I had a talk with some of the kids over there and unfortunately I came to know about a hard core reality. I realized, India gate, despite of being a prominent landmark of the capital there were certain things and stories surrounding there which we people were still unaware of. Those little kids were not only denied from their basic right to education but they were also married. It is so strange that these tiny kids with little knowledge were burdened with great responsibilities. Not only girls (merely 10, 12 and 15 years of age) but also boys of nearly same age were married. I was living in a misconception that these children were only victims of child labour, but these little innocent children were also victims of traditional norms of early marriages.

Although child marriages are illegal in India, but still it is widely practiced across the nation. Each year 10 million children are forced into marriages and in India, nearly 47-50% of the girls are married before the age of 18. Moreover India has the largest number of children employed than any other country in the world. Around 90 million out of 179 million children in the 6 to 14 age group do not go to school and are engaged in some occupation or other. This means that nearly 50% of children are deprived of their right to free and happy childhood.

Moreover it was really shocking to see that India Gate, the heart of the city, where few months ago protests were carried out vigorously and voices were being raised against injustice with Nirbhaya, has now itself become a breeding ground, where such evils of the society are growing silently but rapidly.

Giggling while grieving

16 December 2012, everybody remembers this date in fact how can someone ever forget this horrible day. This was the day when the entire world, especially India was shaken by a very shameful and terrible act. This day was turned into a nightmare for a 23-year-old girl, Nirbhaya. I’m sure this is not the first gang rape case in India, almost every month or I should rather say that almost every week such cases come up. But this is one of those cases which got highlighted in the media and became a massive issue. People came on the streets, they protested before Delhi Chief Minister’s house and even at various monuments of the capital. A huge crowd witnessed at India Gate was fighting for justice for that innocent girl. The anguish was not only seen in the Delhiites but also, people from other parts of the country protested strongly and raised their voice against injustice.

A part from cricket, this is one incident which I think, made all the people come together and be united. People were full of anguish and energy. But does everyone’s feeling and enthusiasm same?
It is true that there were people who skipped their offices, schools and college for the protest, but it is also true that there were some others who just came to enjoy or to hang out with their friends. They just came to be a part of the crowd or probably to try their luck on the girls/boys present there. It sounds really pathetic, but it is a reality.

If there were some people who genuinely made efforts, than there were also some evil elements who were laughing and having a good time pass while everyone was mourning and praying for her. It is really sad to see that we people who are the future policy makers of this country have become so inhuman.

Here are some of the lines which everyone must go through and understand the essence of these words...  

Don’t go without clothes- that encourages some men.

Don’t go out with clothes- any clothes encourage some men.

Don’t go out alone- that encourages men.

Don’t go out with a female friend- some men are encouraged by numbers.

Don’t go out with a male friend- some male friends are capable of rape.

Don’t stay at home- intruders and relatives can both rape.

Avoid childhood- some men are ‘turned on’ by little girls.

Avoid old age- some rapists ‘prefer’ aged women.

Don’t have a father, grandfather, uncle or brother- these are the relatives who most often rape young women.

Don’t marry- rape is legal within marriage.

To be quite sure- don’t exist.

(‘How to Avoid Rape’ from the book War On Rape, by Paul Moulds and Women Against Rape Collective, 1977)

It’s a hard core fact that people will always be there to advice us, but when we are in need and want help, hardly anyone turns up. People will pass some negative comments and laugh at you if you have been a victim of sexual assault. They will blame YOU for the misfortune.
I have myself been teased twice, I am neither ashamed nor proud to say this but the most important of all I am not scared and weak. Despite of the cold bloodedness of the society, we, women are still bold and much stronger than the men without a backbone.

From ‘knowing’ to ‘realizing’

We, human beings know everything. When it comes to intelligence and general knowledge, we are above all the species in the entire world. We are very well aware about various social problems, environmental problems, economic problems, political problems and various other issues prevailing in the society but, apart from knowing, how many of us have actually realized the depth of these problems?

It’s a fact that till the time we people don’t experience anything, we don’t realize it and until then we just know it. An incident made me understand and realize this truth.

It was a normal day when I was returning from my college. Suddenly I saw a dog, with hungry eyes staring at the little eggs, in the middle of the crowd. There were tears in his eyes. That was the moment when I realized the intense feeling of hunger. That was the time when I realized the importance of being patient and not losing hope. I rushed to a shop to buy biscuits for that dog and when I returned back, unfortunately the dog was gone. But after two days, at that same place I fed that dog with biscuits which I had bought for him that day. The feeling of feeding someone and filing someone’s stomach, especially a creature that can’t speak and has no one to care of, is unexplainable. The happiness which I got was just truly out of the world.

This incident made me realize that we are so lucky to have money in our pockets and can buy anything whenever we feel hungry. We are so blessed that we have our moms to whom we can shout and order “Jaldi khana do bahut bhookh lagi hai, yarr kya banaya hai apne aaj mujhe nahi chahiee”. We have become so habitual to all the luxuries and comfort in our lives, that we often don’t realize the value of a single byte of food.

There is a lot of difference between knowing and realizing and still there is lot more in this world which is yet to be felt and experienced by us.  One, who experiences and understands the harsh realities of life, is the one who understands the real worth of living. It’s time for all of us to come out of our dreamy, busy, lavish world and start looking the world around us from a third eye which is much more meaningful.