Category Archives: Society

Casteing!

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Was having a discussion with a good friend just two days back,

In his village,

There is a temple,

On the day of the puja,

The seating arrangement is pretty well defined,

The Brahmins sit right next to the deity,

Upper castes on the right,

Lower castes on the left

and

Untouchables right at the entrance of the temple,

Not that we, as Indians, aren’t aware of the social hierarchy,

Yet,

What’s surprising is to see it being practiced in such elaborate details,

Even in a so called modern India,

Few might argue,

That it has always been a part and parcel of our lives,

Don’t you think,

It’s time we break these barriers,

To move, so to say, forward in this game of life.

Source for the Image: https://www.holidify.com/collections/temples-in-bangalore

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Aren’t you one?

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An incident occurred in a friend’s office lately,

It was a Friday,

People were asked to come dressed in traditional attire,

Happily, he took out a pathani suit,

Thinking how handsome he would appear to the world,

And there he was,

All decked up,

Feeling confident about the kind of persona he exuded,

Then came a reality check,

“Aren’t you joining us for the Friday prayers (namaaz)?”-asked a group of colleagues who were passing by on their way to a mosque for the Friday prayers.

“I think there is some confusion. I am a Hindu and I don’t know how to read namaaz“-he smiled back with utmost humility.

He understood that his attire was being mistaken as a form of religious identity.

How many times, it might have happened,

That we have preconceived notions about the people,

Be it on the basis of attire,

or

Be it the manner in which one speaks,

Our mind somehow tends to refuse to grow beyond these very biases and prejudices,

Which can have major consequences,

Of course, on this occasion, though,

It was taken in good regard by both the parties involved,

Yet,

I wonder, would it have been the same if the situation was not cordial,

What if, one were in the midst of riots,

Would it have got the same kind of response?

Humanity, being the core of what we all are,

I guess, it’s high time one tries to think over and above the notions,

Which seem to have found a place deep inside the very manner in which we think.

Source for the Image: https://twitter.com/samiriqbal_/status/1446445433547526152

Promise Philosophy

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You might have heard,

I don’t know who it was,

that promises are meant to be broken,

what an idiotic statement it might seem to be,

why I say so is because,

this very statement has brought our society to this point in time where,

words are thrown very carelessly,

with a chalta hai attitude,

where people are always distrusting what the other is saying,

for, in their experience, a big gap exists between the words uttered and the intention behind the same,

Once bitten twice shy, they stick on to,

So,

Rather than philosophizing about every thing and anything,

Guess, high time,

we start behaving in a sensible and responsible manner,

where we only utter what we really mean and intend to do!

Source for the image: https://www.carriermanagement.com/news/2018/04/05/177449.htm

Legacy

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There are many legacies that we keep hearing about,

Be it the kingdoms and the associated kings,

Be it the political dynasties,

or

Be it the sportspersons and their sons or daughters,

But one legacy that was given to us Indians,

which, as a generation, we would love to forget about,

is this constant state of lethargy,

where,

Until and unless something goes wrong big time,

we don’t react or respond,

hoping that this hibernation will solve it all,

But time and again,

We have been looted inside out,

Be it the invaders who attacked our kingdoms in the past,

or

Be it the nature of corruption or bureaucracy that we tend to hold on to, courtesy British raj,

We tend to suffer hoping that some God will take care, no matter what,

It’s high time,

We start putting in efforts before we leave it all to our destinies!

Source for the Image: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249968

EV

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Oh, what a polite and obedient girl, she is!

Oh, what a responsible man he has become!

Oh, what personality!

And it goes on and on,

These very adjectives are what we crave for day in day out,

An external validation (EV) of sorts from the who’s who of our society,

No matter what,

We want to look good in front of these very eyes that matter to us,

All our thoughts and actions get influenced,

And we end up becoming a conditioned being,

Anything wrong with that, you may ask?

Well,

Nothing wrong I would say,

Just that every thought and every act based on this thought has a consequence,

Considering, more often than not, we are under tremendous pressure seeking this EV,

We tend to get caught up in this web of social seeking, so much so,

That

We tend to drift far away from the very essence of what life might be,

Of course the choice is yours to let it happen to you or not!

Source for the Image: https://sterilebarrier.org/manufactures/validation-process/

Stand up!

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There are few who tend to inspire the entire world around them,

These few bring with them a certain kind of positive energy,

which completely changes the complexion of the ambience around them,

and

They can be found in every nook and corner of our country,

One whom I found is a gentleman in his late 50s,

Hails from God’s own country in India,

Is super enthusiastic,

in every stride that he takes,

in every conversation that he makes,

in every shot in badminton that he plays,

and

to top it all,

has a sensational comic timing,

which can give a run to pretty much all the young comics,

But there is a hitch in him,

to stand up,

to go out there and be expressive,

to let himself free,

from the judgments and perceptions of the world around him,

Will he able to get out of his comfort zone?

He should for it’s worth a shot,

What do you think?

Source for the Image: https://amtshows.com/classic-comedians/

Doggies!

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For those who happen to live in apartments,

Many a times,

Whom you find as company in an elevator,

Is the owner along with their dogs,

Today, I happened to be in company with not one but two of these,

One Nimbus and the other named Coco,

Now Nimbus was excited to be in the same elevator as Coco,

Much to the discomfort of fellow travellers who happened not to be dog lovers,

Of course, not for owners and the other dog lovers,

For Nimbus’ love for Coco at first sight,

Made him jump around in the not so big an elevator,

Owners, a girl and the other a boy,

Smiling at the sight of their dogs’ budding love,

Seemed to be falling for each other as well,

Can bet they would have shared their numbers before getting out,

If not for themselves,

Surely for Nimbus and Coco,

Can understand that our world is full of different creatures,

Who believe in the act of peaceful coexistence,

And surely the love for few of them is much appreciated,

Yet,

Untrained dogs and over excited owners may cause discomfort for the creatures whom we refer to as Homo Sapiens,

So,

Why be partial to just spreading the concept of peaceful coexistence to dogs,

Why not become more inclusive to our own species, the other Sapiens!

Source for the Image: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/doggies

Real Freedom!

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Every year it comes and goes,

Flag is hoisted,

National anthem is played,

We all get goose-bumps,

And life moves on,

Without realizing what freedom could mean in the truest sense,

After all,

Society is nothing but a conglomeration of its residents,

And

If the residents themselves are not free,

What could freedom intend mean!

Free from one’s biases,

Free from one’s judgments,

and

Free from forming quick opinions,

Question being,

Are we ready to take that first step towards freedom?

Source for the Image: https://zinginstruments.com/songs-about-freedom/

ताका झांकी (Taaka Jhaaki)!

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No matter the diversity,

Caste

Class

Religion

Race

Country

One thing that unites us all,

We are interested in what’s happening next door,

Be it Sharma ji’s daughter whom he is trying to get married at any cost,

Be it Tandon aunty’s maid woes,

Be it the modern Sweety ji, whom the uncles seem to drool over,

or

Be it Mr. Paul’s long due promotion party,

We want to know it all,

And

Participate in every possible ritual,

After all, what it is to live in a community, if it were not this,

Yes, it comes with it’s own pros and cons,

Yet

Fun part,

A true community,

Lives

Loves

Hates

Fights

and

Celebrates TOGETHER.

Though this very establishment seems to have gone for a toss in this modern era,

Neighbors not having a clue who’s living next door,

Meeting with a frown rather than a smile if they happen to be in the same lift,

That’s what individualism has come down to,

Wonder whether the long gone ताका झांकी has lost its relevance!

Guess, it’s time to move on?

Source for the image: https://www.pngall.com/community-png/download/24460

Group Sensitivity!

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Not that they have not existed since ages,

and

Not that we all are not social beings,

The way we communicate has certainly changed in this digital and especially Covid era,

Be it the video calls on apps like Zoom, Skype etc.

or

Be it the chat apps such as Whatsapp, Snapchat etc.

But the very reason am writing this post is because of an unfortunate occurrence on one of the whatsapp groups that I happen to be a part of,

Don’t know what the need was,

Cannot decipher why it was mentioned,

yet

What came out from a certain representation was sheer hatred for a particular community,

Which made me wonder,

Have we truly lost the essence of being human?

Have we given up on sensitivities of not hurting people around us?

Have we become ruthless letting our opinionated and judgmental mind to rule our persona?

If not,

Then why think and act in such a questionable manner?

Guess, we have all forgotten,

Some kind of restraint always helps and personal attacks never,

for

An eye for an eye will only make the entire world go blind!

Source for the Image: https://theconversation.com/how-whatsapp-group-admin-became-one-of-the-most-powerful-jobs-in-politics-126041