delhi-diary

The wait is finally over for Jessica

2006-12-18T22:57:00.000-08:00

The long wait for justice for Jessica's family is finally over. Everyone must have taken a sigh of relief. After all “justice though delayed has been delivered”. After the lower court acquitted the prime accused Manu Sharma and other co-accused, saying ‘no one killed Jessica’, I thought O God! What’s happening to this country! Is this a nation of dead souls?

No! I think it’s not. During a conversation with some of my friends, many of us were not very sure that we might see this day. One of us was even dead sure that nothing will happen, “there is no witness,” he said. They will all walk scot-free. Thankfully, it didn’t happen that way. Today, I asked him, “do you remember what you had said,” he simply smiled and said, “all my predictions are proving wrong.”

Delhi—whose city is this?

2006-11-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Do we have a sense of belongingness towards our city? Do we really want Delhi to be a world class city? Most of us without baiting an eye-lid will say YES. Then, who has stopped us from making Delhi, the city of our dreams. I think it is we only, who, when it comes to our homes, we want it clean no matter what, but when it comes to the city or the open spaces, we hardly think twice before littering it.

I often come across people peeing on walls. I just wonder why we don’t cultivate a habit of relieving ourselves when we leave our houses or offices. There are people traveling by cars and bikes, most of them well educated and well mannered, but nothing can stop them from parking their vehicle on the road side and start getting into the act…

A nice way of lighting a lamp on Diwali.

2006-10-23T01:48:00.000-07:00

On 21 October, when Delhi was busy preparing for the Diwali Night and many of us hurried down to wish our friends and relatives ‘Happy Diwali’ with boxes of sweets and dry fruits; huddled in a basement of an NGO were the 25 odd children enjoying their Diwali with their favorite hero 'Krish'. Thanks to the volunteers of an NGO, who personally organized the screening of 'Krish' and lunch for the poor and downtroden children. A nice and meaning full way of lighting a lamp on Diwali.

These children were in the age group of six to fourteen, and have landed here from different corners of the country. Some ran away from their homes because of a bad parent while some others were forced by other circumstances.They have no home to call their own and no one to buy crackers to them. They were shabily dressed and a few of them even looked sick. Most of them were picked from railway stations, by the NGO and put into the night shelter where they are provided in-formal basic education. But they had a smile on their faces, for them like many of us Diwali spells happiness and joy.

Diwali, we say is the festival of lights. But I believe it is the festival of lights for the lucky and welloff. For the poor and marginalized, it is yet another grim reminder of their misery and pain. These children were lucky enough to have somebody to celebrate the festival of lights but there were many others, who had no body to light the lamp, no body to say 'Happy Diwali'.

Did a thought about the poor and orphans ever crossed our mind during Diwali? Or were we so busy exchanging sweets, brusting crackers, SMSing 'Happy Diwali', and worrying about the jammed network?

Welcome to my blog

2006-10-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's been long due. Finally I squeezed in some time to let some words set free that were in captivity of my thoughts. I've always thought of unleashing the pain and joy that assaulted my senses. Issues that don't let me sleep. Voices that plead to be heard. Faces that force me to think 'what am i doing here?'

Perhaps trying to make a decent living. That's what everyone is doing. What 'different' am I doing. Nothing. Period.

But today I am happy. One thing that assaulted my senses for long was the Priyadarshini Mattoo Case. Thank God! Justice has been done after 10 long years. At least there is something to feel happy about. But the question is what would be duration of this happiness. How sure are we that tomorrow our society will have no other Priyadarshini or Jessica or Nitish or countless others, who were victims of power and injustice but no one took their case.

I believe we have still a long way to go, a long and shaky rope to balance on. Let's see how long will be the wait for the Jessicas and Nitishes of this country?