Dear Terrorist,

Hope this finds you in good health and high spirits especially since your recent attacks in Delhi have been so successfully terrorizing. I’m writing this letter to ‘praise’ you about your achievements. You have indeed managed to live up to your name and created terror in our hearts.

Thanks to you thousands of innocent people have lost their lives…hundreds have been maimed for life. Your well planned and sudden attacks have torn families apart and spread misery far and wide. People have lost their near and dear ones so unexpectedly that coming back to normal lives seems virtually impossible for them.
You have bombed churches, temples and mosques and thus brought about religious conflicts in a country that boasts of secularism. You have managed to make religious, political and regional unity seem even more far fetched. You have shattered dreams… killed desires… and numbed feelings.

You have achieved exactly what you wanted - a terrorized world. A world where we live in fear every moment… where we are cautious every second… we glance with mistrust at every passing stranger… look with alarm at suspicious packages… We open the newspapers everyday to be greeted with horrifying news about your crimes. You have become our main topic of discussion.

But there is one thing that you achieved which ,I’m sorry to say, you will not be pleased to hear. In your constant strive to create disunity and hatred you have unknowingly made us better humans. At a time and age when critics say that the new generation have lost all sentiments you have instilled a whole bunch of emotions into our hearts. A sympathy towards your victims who are complete strangers to us… an awareness about how easily you can loose your loved ones which has made us treasure relationships more tenderly… a realisation of how short our life is and how fast you can deprive us of it which has taught us to live each moment to the fullest… and finally a common hatred towards you which unites us inspite of whatever differences you have created. In your endeavour to split us apart you have unfortunately united India.

You will continue to terrorize and horrify us with your acts but it will only unite us further… make us more sensitive… sympathetic… and considerate…. You have shown us that life is not just all party and fun but it also has loses and pains. Thank you for making us more mature.

Yours faithfully
One of your
possible future victims.

MERE PAAS MA HAI !!!!

My mother's birthday is coming.... What should I buy for her? What do you buy for a person who has given their life for you? My usual gifts ... a salwar... a saree...a watch...seems so small a present to give to a person who plays such an important role in my life.
Well.... at least I can give you a different kind of birthday gift this year. So mom I dedicate this blog for you. A blog which reveals to the whole world how much you mean to me. I know that mere words cannot describe your beauty. But I'll try my best....

Anyone who sees my mother says that she's beautiful. She's tall, slim, fair, has green eyes and looks perpetually young ("age cannot wither her"). So she stands out in a crowd. Many of my friends have even taken her for my sister. Yes... She is beautiful. But the reason why "I" find her beautiful is different... even if she was short, fat ,old and dark I would have still loved her because beneath her gorgeous self which you see is an even more beautiful person.... a person who cares... who loves.... and most importantly a person who accepts me as I am....

I am a person with strange mood swings. I'm happy and jolly one minute and just a second later I become all moody and thoughtful. There are times when I just don't feel like talking even amidst a crowd. There are times when I feel so irritated that I shout at everyone in the vicinity. Because of this crazy character most people find it difficult to understand me. Some say I'm proud... some say I'm shy... some feel hurt because I don't look or talk to them one day or because I shout at them. Later I will have to apologize to them for my strange behaviour and only then will my friends accept me again.... But the only person who will still love me whatever I do or show is my mother... the number of times I have been rude to her is innumerable. Still she cares for me... loves me... and is always willing to listen to me (Gosh!! if I had a crazy daughter like myself I would have slapped her long ago) That's what makes my mother wonderful... she understands me... Whether I kiss her or shout at her she knows that I still love her..... Whether I talk nonsense or don't talk at all she will still love me... I don't have to apologise for my behaviour because she has already forgiven me....

After a day at school (and tuition) when I come back home we (mom and me) have a special time together... a time when I relate my entire day’s experience. It is one of the most boring things to listen to because I have an irritating habit of explaining each and every second in minute detail and a 17 year old's life story is not something exciting especially since my mother has already gone through that stage herself. But yet she listens with such patience and attention. She remembers all my friend's names... and all the silly incidents that I tell her. I share my fears... my aspirations... my dreams with her.... because she is someone who will not laugh at my wild ideas...

But there are times when I feel that I take my mom's presence too much for granted. I am so absorbed in my studies... my friends... my life...that I forget this awesome person who gave me life.... I am so busy telling mom about my day at school that I forget to ask her about her work... I am so busy asking her for help that I forget to see if she needs my help.... I am so busy relating my sorrows to her that that I forget to observe if she is feeling sad.....
Yet she loves me...why? How can someone love so unconditionally? People say that all mothers are like that. But no other mother has such a selfish and irritating daughter like me. Would anyone else ever love me as much as my mom???

I know that a simple sorry is not enough apology for the way I act towards you and I cannot promise that I will change the way I am... but all I can say is whatever I do... whatever I say... whatever I show... I will always love you.... you are my life... and without you I don't know how I would have lived so long (well... I wouldn't have been born without you). Sorry for all the times I have hurt you...and thank you for always being there for me....

I often talk about my mother to my friends...so often that many call me "mommy's pet". But I'm not ashamed of it. I love my mother and I want the whole world to know that she is wonderful. Be as great as you are always mom...

Happy Birthday Mom
Love you forever....

PS: All mothers are special... but obviously “I” find “mine” the best...

I, Me, Myself

I hear ‘voices’ in my head. You may call it the voice of God, a psychological problem, ghostly presence or simply my conscience…

I saw a little boy on the train on my way back from an excursion. He cleaned our entire compartment floor. He then held out his hands for money. His attire was as dirty as the rag he used to wipe the floor. He was so thin and lifeless yet he wiped the floor with such vigour. Only his eyes shone brightly. I gave him five rupees and feeling very happy with myself I leant back in my seat…… then I heard it- the ‘voice’ I was talking about. It reminded me about the 10 rupees I had spent on an ice cream earlier in the day… about the 50 rupees I had spent on 2 pairs of earrings… about the 300 rupees I had spent on a jeans top from Westside…The 5 rupees that I had given the boy seemed silly. I tried to convince the ‘voice’ about how hot I was feeling when I bought that ice cream… about how I simply loved those earrings and how beautiful the top would look on my sister… Then the ‘voice’ told me I was selfish… I told the voice the very famous fact “if you pay one beggar well, all the beggars will pester you”. Then the ‘voice’ told me about how I could afford to pay all of them and reminded me of the amount of pocket money that still remained with me……


I got a mail about a child suffering from leukaemia. He had to undergo treatment but could not afford it. Donations were being requested. I forwarded it to 20 friends. Then the ‘voice’ spoke…… it asked me why I did not do anything for the child… I pointed out that I had forwarded the request to 20 people. The voice asked me how that would help the child. I explained how those 20 people would send it to another 20 people and so on. Finally the entire online community would know and eventually someone will help the child. Then the ‘voice’ replied “Why cant that ‘someone’ be you????”



I saw a movie “Taare Zameen Par”. It was about a boy with dyslexia. I cried…I felt sorry that there were such children in this world… I discussed the pathetic conditions of mentally challenged children with my friends… and I told everyone of how much I wished I could help such children…… then the ‘voice’ spoke again… “Why don’t you fulfill your wish??”. I asked the ‘voice’ how I could help them since I was only a child myself. Then it asked me in turn “Would you do it after you grow up??? Would you sacrifice your own aims and ambitions and work for such children?? Would you be willing to spent the money you saved for these children instead of buying the things you always wanted when you start earning??? Would you spent your free time with these children instead of going to movies and parties with your friends?? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for them???”



I have learnt from this constantly pestering voice that I am not helpless but just can’t be bothered to be selfless. I give money to the poor, donate my old clothes and toys to charity institutions and discuss the pathetic conditions of the poor through debates and speeches… I do not go any further because going any further would mean giving up a lot of things. I talk of Mother Teresa who worked with the poor and I’m very much inspired by her work. But do I strive to be like her??? Do I imitate her gestures??? Her words??? I never get inspired by actors because I know they are just acting. Yet I know almost all Hindi dialogues and lyrics by heart. I even try mimicking their gestures. Why?? Because its fun memorising such things while being like Mother Teresa would mean sacrificing my life.
My ‘voice’ always tells me “You want to do it but you just won‘t”. I have plenty of excuses to throw at this irritating ‘voice’ - there are millions of people on this planet who need help and care. What difference can a single person like me make?? If I spent my time caring for the poor how can I get along with my life?? How can I achieve my dreams?? How can I reach where I want to be??
Yes… it always comes down to me.. I’m not willing to throw away the “I” from my sentences.. from my actions.. from my life…. I give priority to myself…. My dream is more important than those of the deprived…..
I know that the excuses I make to the ‘voice’ are pointless.. yet I cling onto to it in order to convince myself that I’m not selfish… At the end of the day as I count the good deeds that I did which include lending my notes, comforting my friend or helping the teacher the voice points out the number of people I ignored on my way who really needed my help… like the little girl wearing a torn dress who looked longingly at my gorgeous skirt… the beggar boy who stared awestruck at me while I chatted in English to my friends and the man who sits on the pavement to whom I just threw a 5 rupee coin from a purse jangling with money…..
I can hear the ‘voice’ now… it asks me why I don’t do anything inspite of realising all this. I once again excuse myself by pointing out that I’m writing a blog about it. The ‘voice’ asks me “How is that going to help the poor???

And the conflict continues……

Being a woman is divine

You groan out “not another feminist article please…” as soon as you read the title and scroll down searching for something else worth reading. So for those few who are still reading this let me tell you that this is not an article on how much women suffer and how they are being oppressed by men and how women are better than men and blah…blah… blah…. It is just a summary of my short years as a woman and how much I love being one. What actually lead me to publish this blog is this scrap I received from a guy :
“gals r not free lyk guys r ...........!!!!!!!dey've da bloody restrictions
n den u'll start cryin n............oh shit.................. bloody hell........... "
So this blog is specially dedicated to this guy.
When I was born my dad distributed sweets among his pals and he was asked why he was doing such a thing since his child was “only” a girl. He was offered comforting words and wished better luck next time. As I grew up my parents were advised to start saving up soon because according to the society having a girl child is “expensive”. I grew up blissfully ignorant of such things in fact I didn’t even know the difference between boys and girls though I used to wonder why dad had a moustache while mom lacked one.
I was brought up in an “ultra modern” family where there was never any “this is how a girl should behave” talks . I was never reminded of how much a burden girls are to a family. I didn’t know why my relatives used to give “I feel sorry for you” looks to my mom when she told them that both her children were girls. My parents never told me what the society expects from a girl. In short I had a very carefree and “it’s great being a gal” attitude during my childhood. Since I was in a “girls only” school I could never compare my life with guys. And I had no brothers too.
When I entered my teens for the first time in my life I experienced eve teasing. Also a great friend of mine (a guy) suddenly gave me a love letter which made me think that I could never trust guys. This changed my attitude towards guys. So while my pals spent their high school falling over guys and discussing love stories I found it silly. During this time my teachers started giving talks on the proper way to be a girl and about how much girls had to suffer. Also all my friends were telling me how much they wished that they were born as guys. Girls who had brothers told me about how much more freedom guys had. But my parents had so far never curtailed my freedom so I used to wonder why these girls talked like this….
Later I joined a co-ed school. I found out after a long time that guys too can be great pals….and now I could compare our lives. Here again girls were wishing they were guys. I asked them why??? And here’s their reply……
Guys can dress how they like without getting comments. If a girl wears something cool she cannot walk half a mile without getting at least a minimum of five vulgar comments and sneering looks. But u never see gals standing in groups on the roadside commenting on the way guys dress. Guys can go out for all night parties. They can go to the most crowded place safely while we have to drag our dads everywhere or else carry a defence tool with us always.
Guys secure the top ranks in all entrance tests. Guys are given more opportunity to go abroad.
In short according to my friends being a guy is like having an ideal life….

But friends you told me about how much gals miss by not being guys… but have u ever thought about how much guys miss by not being girls….

A woman’s life is unique… we have the ability to feel…. To truly understand…. To create a life…. Can a guy cry openly and vent out his feelings? We are considered emotionally weak.. But a girl can suppress sexual feelings much better than any man…. We are considered physically weak. But no man suffers as much physical pain as a woman….
What we make of our life is decided by our choices. We can either accept the fact that we are women as a burden and live all our life in depression or we can discover how beautiful it is to be a woman and understand the true beauty of life. Girls do have a more challenging life than guys but that makes it more fun. Treat life as an adventure. Don’t be put down by what the society imposes on you. You are the creators of your own destiny.

I would never say a woman is superior to a man or vice versa. They are like two sides of the same coin. In our differences we unite. Creation of life is an emotional and physical union of a man and woman. A family is the result of a strong bond between a man and woman. Nothing can exist if we don’t unite. Girls should accept a boy’s life as different but not feel envious about it similarly a guy should also accept a woman's way of living. Only if we accept the fact that inspite of our differences we are our both equally important can we lead a proper life.

An article like this is usually concluded by a paragraph on how men should respect and accept women and treat them as their equals. But my advice is not to men but to women. It's women who curtail their own freedom. Women themselves believe that they cannot come up in life. They do not understand their own abilities and think that men are always better than them.
Never have such false notions. Consider yourselves as an individual with potentials first and then as a woman. Whatever we achieve or whatever we don’t is dependent on our talents and hard work and not on the fact that we are women. Boys secure more ranks in entrance not because they are boys but because they work hard. It’s an insult to give credit of their achievement to their gender. So break free from such discouraging thoughts. Don’t let scraps like the one I received let you down. Start living the way you wish to. And realise that no one can ever stand in your way to success…. (Coz its always “ladies first“.. hehe…)