That yellow dress

Like many other girls of her age, Rani, a 5 year old girl was now conscious of her appearance. She would select what to wear on her own. One day, Rani's father went out on an office tour and bought her a surprise gift. Rani's eyes were filled with joy when she unwrapped the gift, it was a yellow skirt-top. Without wasting a second, she tried on the dress and showed it to everyone. Her father and every other family member praised her calling her the most beautiful princess in the world. Rani was very happy about it.

The other day, it was her friend's birthday and she decided to wear the yellow dress for the party. Again, her friends praised her for the dress, making her very happy. Few days later, Rani went to a wedding with her parents in the same yellow dress. Once again, her relatives appreciated her along with the dress making her more happier. This continued in many other functions. The next month, it was Rani's birthday and once again she decided to wear the yellow dress. This time Rani's mother was not in the favor of her wearing that dress. But Rani did not listen to her and wore it. 

Many days later, it was again an invitation for a party. Rani was looking for her dress but could not find it in the wardrobe. She went running to her mother to enquire about it. Her mother asked to go to the laundry shop nearby their house to find her dress. She went there and was completely shocked to see the laundryman's daughter in her beautiful yellow dress. Rani was shattered. She came to her house and very angrily asked her mother why she did that. Her mother replied that people will make fun of her if she were to wear the same dress everywhere. She then showed her a new dress to wear for the party. She could not understand the meaning but she soon forgot about that yellow dress and grew up asking for a new dress on every occasion.

This short narrative of Rani's life is one among many such events where  innocent feelings are crushed under the prejudice of the society without one being aware of it. One must question the behavior as to what is the driving force behind the act and not blindly follow what is served.

Yoga caught in the 'wave'

Rolling through the pictures of the yoga day to complete the assignment given by her strict teacher who wanted nothing but an interesting original story, Prachi's  eyes glued to two pictures which pushed her into a deep pool of thoughts. The first picture was that of fat cops and bureaucrats performing yoga as a part of the record breaking event. For her, that picture was representing the fat obese Indian population which can do anything from pin making to rocket science except for adopting healthy practices. Every 'concerned' Indian always plans to follow a healthy diet and exercise  regularly. He even starts it but could not carry it for more than two days. Considering our unhealthy lifestyle, one gets amazed by such a show off. Lets not talk about the whole country for now. Will those 35000 people who helped our country to make a world record practice yoga all their life? Or even a year?Then what purpose has that day served?

The second picture was that of our honorable Prime Minister who looked extremely happy, satisfied and proud during the event. Prachi could easily make out what must be going in his mind. He must be wondering that today the whole world is watching India, the country which gave yoga to the world is so enthusiastically celebrating the first International yoga day which was the idea of its PM who is so considerate about the country's tradition. Such a large number of countrymen have gathered to take part in the event  which symbolizes India's rich cultural heritage. India has set an example for the world to follow which is our 'soft power'. Apart from what all is credited to India's profile, my profile is also incremented with this record. The world , all Indians and my lovely media will always remember me by this celebration. Its good that I used to practice yoga because of which I was able to perform today. Every single picture on the Internet, newspaper and other modes of communication will surpass through me. That's a real achievement and what I call Modi's magic. 

The two angles of the event are clearly visible. It is not something new or the first time that we are deceived. We have seen it so many times that doesn't bother us anymore . It will be humorous to reveal about how many people of those 35000 people went by their own will and not without any compulsion. Apart from capturing world's attention to India, what has our PM done to enforce yoga in our society or has he left it on us by just performing yoga for a day with thousands of people to motivate us. What will the newly appointed yoga minister and his ministry do? Do we need a separate ministry for yoga? What will be its power? When will these questions be answered? Or the event has got over now and yoga fever is out of our minds? There was a world yoga day already in place but on Modi's insistence now we have 'International Yoga Day'. God! What an idea. 

Today about two billion people of the world are doing some form of yoga, and it should grow more especially in India where lies its origin. But the sad part is that nothing can be done peacefully here. May be that is the charm of the Indian democracy but the problem is that the opposition is meant only to degrade the work conducted by the government. They fail to work for the countrymen which just happened in the case of yoga day also. They spoke against yoga in terms of Hinduism and Islam but did not counter argued for the need of compulsory yoga training to all people instead of such drama.

In the end, yoga day was another such publicity stunt which our PM has carried out since he came to power. But what is to be scrutinized is the public memory which will analyse these stunts in the next general elections.

Truck is not a synonym of accident

Photo credit: Getty images

If I were asked a day back what was the first thing that comes to my mind when someone said 'truck', I would have replied reckless driving, accidents and drug addicts. But now I have reached to a mature conclusion.

Typical life of a truck driver involves a minimum of two-day journey in which he has to drive for at least 18 hours a day that too all alone because MNREGA has taken away the conductor who used to assist him. It is so risky for him to travel alone with the items worth lakhs and crores on the highways which are susceptible to attack by mafias and robbers. In some cases, when he stops for food and rest at dhabas, he is robbed of diesel and even murdered for the items loaded in the truck. He therefore, cannot rest properly and sometimes while driving fall asleep leading to accidents which ends his own life.  Most of the drivers drive old models of truck which lacks hydraulic mechanism and requires extra effort. This makes him tired and leads to extensive body pain which makes it difficult for him to sleep so he takes alcohol to induce sleep. A truck at high speed cannot change direction or apply brakes suddenly which leads to accidents and the blame comes on the truck driver.

Truck transportation faces other challenges too. Dating back to history, transportation in India was mainly carried out through railways maintained by the Britishers. They never let road transportation to prosper fearing competition and made rigid laws which are still in effect. Constitutionally, transportation comes under state list which means each state has the authority to make rules governing transportation as per their wish. All states in India levy different amount of value added tax on petroleum products which increases transportation cost and creates uneven market which is bad for consumers. Highways provide easy access to liquor and drugs to the drivers which aggravates road safety issue. Supreme Court passed a rule that such shops should be kept away from highways but it is not yet enforced. Police deployed on the state borders illicitly demand money from drivers to pass through the border and operates a mafia involving even the top officials. Transportation sector is unorganised which enhances the problems for drivers. In cases of serious injuries, he cannot claim money from the owners. There is no limit on the duration of his work and the right to form association is also denied. 

Conditions of this sector are changing with better roads and  new modernised models of trucks. But a lot more needs to be done like electronic mechanism for toll tax, GPS facility for tracking trucks, national register for drivers and inclusion of petroleum in the GST.

Ending with a hope that this piece has made you realise the challenges before the truck drivers and brought about a change in your perception.

First Friend

While I was watching two siblings playing in my neighbourhood, I recalled my first friend and the journey of our friendship. It was not perfect but it refined and today it is a lovely reality. Yes, I am talking about my sibling- my elder brother. 

Like every other sibling, we both had a competition of being loved more by the family and for this we never used to miss any chance of complaining about one another and winning favours. Once  we both were going on a bicycle ride, my brother was riding it and I was sitting at the back. He was driving very recklessly as a result of which I fell on the road. My knees were bruised. He was terrified foreseeing scolding. I was adamant to get him good beating for this. He tried to bribe me saying that he will give me toffee if I didn't complain, I agreed. He took me to our terrace secretly and gave me first aid and toffee. I ate it and when we came down, I started crying and complained about him for the injury. He had a good scolding for it. Shrewd me, but till then our relationship was not so friendly.

Slowly and gradually, we started playing together. Though like every other brother, he forced me to play cricket and I was always given bowling or fielding which I used to hate. We both went to the same school. School was a place where I actually felt that he was my brother. Among the crowd of strangers, he was my family. I was always relieved while going to school because I knew he was there every time. Though, we fought in every game we used to play at home but outside whenever I used to get "out" in a game,  he would give excuses on my behalf saying that I am a "kachchi ghodhi". He also used to make me sit in his lap in the auto rickshaw while going to school every day.

One incident that I clearly remember and which changed my mindset completely was- I was given a home work to draw a diagram of food chain. It was too hard for me to draw those snake, frog and eagle so I asked my mother to do the same for me. She drew it but I didn't like her drawing and without thinking even once I erased it. I asked her to draw it again but she was too angry to do it again. I asked my father to intervene but it was of no use. I cried a lot and then slept. When I got up, I saw a beautiful food chain in my copy. I knew that she will make it but then my father told that my brother had drawn it in the night. I felt so thankful and decided never to fight with him. This was the  beginning of our strong bond.

Then we started a business. We had a lot of comics so we decided to rent them and earn money from it. We took a rickety table from the store, placed all our comics on it beautifully and made it our shop. My brother managed accounts and I showed comics to the customers. Surprisingly, we had customers. After its success, we decided to write our own comic. We named it " Amanisha ka raaz", actually amanisha is a waterspout near our house where we used to play. We made it a mysterious story and added amazing graphics to it. 

As we grew up together, our friendship blossomed. A sibling is our first friend, we discover every thing together. We know each other more than anybody else. This relationship is the most beautiful among all the relationships. 

Don't judge before knowing

In my life, I have come across two sets of people. The first set of people are the ones who uses parameters to classify an individual and the other set, quite obviously, who don't.

May be, I analyse people's behaviour more than anyone else does, but my habit has an incident behind.

When I was in class 5, I used to sit with a girl. We both used to enjoy each other's company. One day, she asked me whether I was middle class or upper class. I was completely blank on her question , possibly because it was the first time that I came across these words. Without me replying something, she elaborated that upper class people own a two storey house and a luxury car whereas middle class don't have these. I began thinking whether I satisfy the criteria. Our house was single storeyed but we had two rooms built on the terrace and a car was given to my father for official purpose which puzzled me. I don't remember what answer I gave to her but after some days she told I was middle-class and was not made a part of their "upper class group". It is not something I regret but as a result of it, I hate people who try to show off their money power in front of me. 

All this flash backed when I was talking to a little boy of class 3 who after a brief hello, jumped to a question on how many and which car do I have? After my reply, he began specifying his numerous luxurious cars proudly. I don't know whether I was shocked or annoyed but it made me sure about some people who are extremely proud of what they have. Their ideology is only based on being supreme and quashing sentiments of others. The intent of the little child cannot be questioned but the real worry is that the kid is being articulated the supremacy of having luxuries in life and such a perception will proliferate as he will grow up. 

But it is quite obvious that a person who has got everything he wants from birth cannot understand their importance. Had that child belonged to a family where he had to travel in local buses, he would have never asked such a question.

Talking about the second set of people, my favourite example is my friend's maternal aunt. One day while me and my friend were returning from college, my friend had to deliver her sister's wedding card to her aunt whose house was nearby our college. So I went with her. I was feeling a little uneasy but her aunt welcomed me so nicely that my uneasiness disappeared in one go. Apart from discussing about the wedding and their family issues, she asked about me, my family and our friendship. Then, her kids came who also spoke to me with a will to make friends with me. My heart was filled with delight upon knowing that some people exist who don't use parameters to judge you and remains willing to enjoy your company.

Pets are special

Right from my childhood, I have been introduced to animals as sweet creatures because my parents love animals and had pets in their childhood. I had a Pomeranian pet dog named Leo. Leo was brought after my several requests to my father for a pet. Father's point was that I will not be able to spare much time for pet's care because of my increasing burden of studies. But I managed to convince him. Leo was hardly two months old when he came into our lives. In the starting, my family was not ready to accept him but slowly and gradually Leo's cuteness and goodness made him the most lovely part of our family.

Leo was close to all of us but a little more to me because of the time we spent together. This was to such an extent that whenever I went out of the house without him, he used to get so angry that on my return, he would pull out the slippers from my leg and bite them hard enough to destroy them. It was my duty to feed Leo because of which he developed a habit of eating from my hands only. He wouldn't drink milk from his bowl if I was not sitting beside him. He became more of a son to me than a pet. He was sensitive enough to detect if somebody is not well in the family. My Grandpa used to take Leo out for the morning walk and if he got late by few minutes, he would start jumping. Once while Grandpa was not well and was resting on his bed, Leo came up on his bed (something he never does), sat near him calmly and started licking him. Leo was a darling for all. Once while some strangers came to our house, Leo started barking so loudly that it was nearly impossible to listen anything. My father scolded him very loudly for this and even showed him a stick. It made him very angry and he didn't come out of his place until my father went and dragged him out of his place with a sorry. We never felt that he couldn't understand emotions.

Leo's nobility became imminent when once my father brought a rabbit of his friend to our house as their family was going out of station for a marriage for two weeks. In the beginning, we were afraid of its safety and kept Leo away from it. But then, my father kept Leo in front of the rabbit so that both can smell each other with me holding Leo. After that, they both started playing together. The rabbit was a bit mischievous as he used to jump on Leo's back but our poor baby used to allow him happily.

On a very unfortunate day, Leo died prematurely after he was bitten by some street dogs. He may not be with us anymore but his memories are a reason for us to smile.

I have seen many parents not allowing their kids to keep pet animals. To them, I would say that having a pet makes your life happier. Animals have the power to absorb our stress. With them, you feel positive and relax. You can learn from them what goodness and real love is. It will make you and your kids a better human. Have a thought!

We are fortunate

It's really different how you think when you are a child than when you are an adult! When I was a kid,  I used to travel in public transport buses with my granny whenever we had to go out. I literally hated it because the bus used to be overfull with no space to breathe! So, while waiting for the bus at the bus-stop with my granny, I used to watch every passing vehicle thinking how cruel they were for not even noticing us, leave alone offering a lift to our destination! And now when I travel in a car, how many people have I ever given a lift to?

It was just one thought, and may be there are millions of them persisting in this world. A person who has not taken food for the whole day might be somewhere there, thinking about people like us who have enough food to waste, than to offer him a bite. A person who has run out of drinking water might be carving for a little help from the one who has bathed twice a day. A person who has lost everything in a natural calamity might wish if somebody could adopt him as a family member and make  him feel safe. An aged man in an overfull bus might wish if a young person could offer him his seat. These are just a hand full of thoughts, may be in reality there are thoughts which are even beyond our imagination. 

One incident that is very close to my heart- My father had gone to buy vegetables and I was waiting in the car. Meanwhile, I saw a man who was purchasing something from the diary and a street dog was following him with his tail wagging as if the dog wanted the man to feed him. I thought the man will throw a stone on the dog for disturbing him, as most others do in such a case. But something really opposite happened. The man fed the dog with milk in the vessel he had brought along. The dog relished the milk. I thought I loved dogs so much but never ever thought of feeding street dogs with milk. Sometimes mercy alone cannot do, we need to come out of the think zone to materialise our thoughts. 

We often spent all our lives in trying to make them more luxurious, more prosperous. We never give a little thought over life of others who might be awaiting our help. Helping is always confused with monetary help but it is not the case! A little food that we don't wish to eat can eliminate somebody's hunger. Our little saving of water can give somebody water to drink. It is not something we have never known, but we have never cared because we have just heard even if not seen. If ever once you will come across these people, you will understand how fortunate we are and being so, it is our duty to help them.