Dilemmas of today

   The anticipation of the million eyes ceases today as the Ganesh Utsav completes its glorious 125 years amidst controversy about its inception. The 'Ganpati Bappa Morya ' chants, the aartis are heard all around. The markets are overcrowded and galore with Ganesh idols, the fragrance of the flowers, modaks and decorative items.   This festival finds its roots way back in history when Shivaji Maharaj established the Maratha Empire in the 16th century. Later the Peshwas kept up with the tradition and observed Ganesha as their family deity but the celebrations were only confined to their individual homes. It was in the year 1893 that the idea of public gala was initiated by Lokmanya Tilak. He installed his first Ganpati idol in Vinchurkar Wada at Sadashiv Peth in Pune. In the view to bring people of various stratas of society- educated, non educated, young and old together, to participate in the National Movement against the British. Tilak encouraged the Melas and also...

   "At the stroke of midnight, when the whole world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." These words of the first Prime Minister of India - Jawaharlal Nehru have been engraved in our history. It's been 70 long years when the then PM hoisted the Indian tricolour at the Red Fort and declared India to be free, liberal, independent. But a question arises to me that are we really living in a free and independent India?   India is the biggest democracy in the world. According to our constitution several rights have been bestowed upon us. One such right is Right to Speech. We have the right to freely express our opinions whether good or bad and it can be in any form - films, books, paintings etc. The recent examples that come to light are the controversies caused by the movie 'Indu Sarkar' and the documentry 'The Argumentative Indian' based on the life of the Nobel laurette Amartya Sen. The CBFC ordered words like 'cow', 'Gujarat', ...

  Almost the entire, cricket crazy nation must have glue eyed their television sets not to watch Virat Kohli and his men play but to watch Mithali Raj and her women kick some butts in this so called gentleman's game. The question arises to me is how often have we actually backed, supported or cheered the women and  that too in a game like cricket? Have any of us even watched their complete game before? The answer is a big No! I might have seen the highlights of Harmanpreet Kaur's 171 in the semi finals against Australia but not a full fledged match. We watch men's games even if India isn't playing in it but not a women's game even if India is winning. I was stunned to understand that women's world cup started in 1973 whereas the men's world cup 2 years later in 1975. Then why such hipocrysy???     If you have watched today's game keenly there were very few advertisements in between the overs whereas there are dozens of sponsors in the men's games. A...

   My last blog 'Brotherhood and Rival ry' got great appreciation but there were also a few who didn't agree with my thoughts - which is always welcomed. Also I want to thank those who gave their valid inputs, suggestions regarding the same. I wish to continue and add on the last topic with a bit more research. Those who haven't read the last blog please read that and then continue with this one.    Ever since Earth was formed it has naturally been divided into continents, selfishly into countries and foolishly (if I may say so) into religions. The major religions in the world includes Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. All these religions or religious groups  reside in India. We Indians have always been proudly boasting of our 'Unity in Diversity'. But do we actually practice it or is it just a phrase to be kept in a closet and used when the need arises. Each one of us must ask ourself this question.     People living in Maharashtra c...

   Last Sunday we all witnessed India's excruciating loss to arch rivals Pakistan in the Champions trophy held in England - the very country that ruled the two warring nations for almost 150 years. Post Pakistan's victory some people in India celebrated and were soon arrested. An immediate and reflex question occurred to me was what was their crime? Is celebrating a victory of another country their crime? I beg to differ. Then people should also get arrested for supporting and cheering and celebrating victories of European countries in football where India haven't even qualified. A popular commentator made a comment that India is the father and Pakistan is it's son then immediately one person commented to check their birthdays. I rofl'd because it's true Pakistan got it's independence on the 14th of August​ 1947 while India's Independence is a day later.         I don't get this bitterness towards them. I can only compare this bitterness t...

     In my neighbourhood there is a couple. There are always loud quarrels between them. One day out of frustration I decided to ask the husband. "Whats wrong with you and your wife?" Poor husband quickly began telling me as if I was his best friend. He told that they were a newly wed couple and that his wife is a bad cook. Early on in their marriage when she started to cook even though the food was bland or outright bad, he would eat it with delight and praise her. As days passed she became annoyed as his lunch box would never be empty and one day in a pique of anger he insulted her. I wasn't able to give him any advice but I thought rather than taking a jibe at her he could have handled the matter days ago but with 'diplomacy'. He could have suggested her to add some spice or salt or even refer some cookery shows and books.    Diplomacy is an art these days. Its the ability to assert your ideas or opinions, knowing what to say or how to say without damaging ...

    When my 10 year old cousin asks me for my phone to log into his Instagram account, I am amazed! When I was 10 I didn't have Instagram infact I used to request my dad for a new bat, not a new and personal mobile phone. If I recollect correctly, I was in IX STD when I joined Facebook. It's been eight years. Back in school it had become a fad. Friends used to make fake accounts and send friend requests. That was hilarious. It was fun back then but today it seems quite a bore. But it's become a routine to check the notifications and browse through the news feed no matter how busy you are. Right from my siblings, my parents, uncles and aunts, even my grandfather is on FB. It has actually trapped everyone in its maze.      Today there are 'n' number of social networking sites which offer nothing but the same and most of the times it's copied from each other. There is WhatsApp, Hike, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn to name a few.    We ...