26-11-2008

It was post-dinner. I was in my room,listening to the songs of Rab ne banaa di jodi, a cd I bought earlier in the day, when I heard a couple of crackers being burst outside. I found it amusing that people would burst crackers even a month after Diwali. I received a message from my cousin, which read something like- '3 unidentified blasts at trident hotel n Taj hotel......' Surprised and shocked, I went and switched on the tv and yes, blasts at Taj and Trident, hotels that are a couple of minutes away from my house. Still finding it difficult to believe, I ran to my room, from where I could see Trident. I saw fire and smoke coming out Trident, a sight that is terrifying and totally shocking.Then I called up my relatives to find out their exact locations.
As the night progressed, news of more and more blasts and firings came in. As I sat there, I wondered why would they, the terrorists, do such a thing. Don't they have any feelings? Don't they feel bad killing so many people, women and children included?? Did those people do anything wrong that they had to suffer death at the hands of the terrorists? The answer to these questions is no.They have no feelings for those who died, for those women and children and for those who were taken in as hostages.
What shocked me even more was the fact that these terrorists were in their early 20's. They were my age (!!). Their lives have not even started yet.My life has not started yet! People my age are exploring options to learn more and be able to stand on their feet. But not like this! Not by shooting off others! How could they think of doing such a thing? And since the reports have stated that they are very well-trained,it stuns me to think that they must have been receiving such a training since, God knows, how many years!!!!!! When we were learning alphabets, were they learning the different kinds of missiles??!!!
I shudder when I think of this but is this really what we want the future to look like? train the youth to cause destruction? to harm innocent lives?? I don't think so. We need to take a step.
We, the future of our country, have to make a stand and fight against this!
Today, we have terrorists of supposedly Pak origin, tomorrow the sons and daughters of those killed will try and avenge the death of their parents. A vicious circle would start then. Do we really want that? I know this might be an exaggeration but one never knows what path will the country go on if these attacks continue.The sooner they stop, the better.
In the end, I just want to pray for the near and dear ones of all those who lost their lives. May God give them the strength and courage required to pass through this difficult time. Amen.

She's now a graduate!!!

'Did you hear? You know Mrs. Sheth? Her daughter just graduated. Pretty looking girl, well to-do family....'
'They are looking for a nice proposal for her.You know how tough it is to find good boys na!'
'Mrs. Shah is looking for a good, well to-do family for her daughter. She is working somewhere now.'
'Do you think her in-laws, whoever they are, will let her work after marriage?'
'Who knows? I wouldn't mind. Part time is ok na. I mean why would the girl want to work full time when my son is earning so much for the family??

Wondering who these people are? Well, I don't know them personally. Don't worry, I am sure you'll bump into them any where, any time, any day. If they are not looking for goo prospects for their daughters then they are definitely doing so for their friends' daughters. Oh! You definitely find them in numbers in the Gujarati, or better known as Gujju, community. I know that for sure. I meet them so very often (sigh!!)

I fail to understand this, you know. What is it with women and finding husbands for every girl that finishes studies??!!!! Why is it that guys can work wherever they want and get married whenever they want?!!! If guys want to get married at the age of 30, it's okay but if a girl wants to get married at 24-25.........'what?? how can you think of such a thing?? do you know you'll lose out on all the good proposals because you want to get married that(!!!!!!) late...you won't find a good guy.'

In a country which is known for its democracy, independence and culture, why is it so difficult for women to decide about their lives even after 61 years of independence?? Agreed, it's the world outside. It's not safe for women to travel out late in the night, few jobs are not safe for women due to their erratic timings etc. but don't you think life would be easier and less stressful if the family supports their daughter? Maybe we can't trust the world outside but we can trust our families. We won't work crazy shifts but at least give us the chance to work!! Gain experience in the world outside our homes!! Is it really that difficult??

Is it really worth it??

I completed my graduation this year. Unlike a lot of my friends, whose goals and aims for themselves were set, I had no idea what to do next. Well actually, I did know. I wanted to become someone successful, famous and someone who people would look upto. The only thing I didn't know was 'How?!!' Anyways, while I was thinking of my future, my brother called me and sat me down and asked me a simple question- Now what? For him, it was a simple. 'What do you want to do now? Have you thought of any course? Have you thought about working? etc. etc...The number of questions asked put quite a lot of pressure on me and in the end, not only was I confused about what to do but also feeling low about 'the way I wasted the last few years.' I decided to take time off (went for an AOL course, always helps) and on returnin, spent another couple of days to find out about different courses, the requirements needed for each course and the colleges where they are held. Now, I have decided to do 2 courses. They are related to things that I enjoy, help me earn enough moolah and give me time to continue volunteering in the Art of Living.
I was lucky to have had that much time. I could still afford to enjoy my college days (I did have an idea of what I wanted) and think about what I wanted to do. Today, kids are not that lucky. They have to know right from eighth grade about they want to do later on. Their lives are set. They study hard to get the results required for them to get in the necessary stream. For them, every minute is so important that they are ready to not go out anywhere.It's good that the kids are so focussed but don't you think it's also sad that academics has become of such importance that kids are losing sleep over it? Is it really worth it??
The month of june means over time work for the counsellors who answer to calls of stressed and nervous kids who feel that their parents will be upset if they don't get more marks than XYZ. For kids, bad results=end of their world. Should it be like that? Should academics really be such a big deal that a child's life means nothing in front of it?? If not,then why do we still put all this pressure on the kids to get good results? Why don't we encourage them to get results for their own sake and not because their parents want so?
Let's give the kids the opportunity to feel proud about how much ever they have got. Be it more than XYZ or less.

So here goes.....

Amitabh Bachchan has started blogging. Aamir Khan and Salman Khan followed suit. Suddenly, the whole world was into blogging. I wondered what is the big deal?!! Why is everyone talking about it so much?? The stars are only using it to create controversies, to promote their movies/tv shows or simply because they are paid to do so. Why should I get into it?
Then I came across the blogs that were written by a few of my friends and realised that blogging is a way to express yourself, a way to voice your opinions without having to say it upfront. So then I thought, 'Wow!! Now is my chance to talk without having anyone stopping me from making my point. And so, I decided to join the crazy gang of bloggers...
There are alot of things that interest me and I will talk about it in few other blogs.
For now, I am Urvi and I thank you for reading my first attempt at blogging!