It’s not that I’m very emotional and I get lost in reel life and get too much attached to it. In fact, I can be totally indifferent while watching movies and sitcoms. But this was different. Maybe having been in an abruptly ended relationship has something to do with it. At some level, I feel connected to THIS story and issue. And even though I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later, as that's the theme of this soap, I was hoping against hope that this doesn’t happen. Till the last moment today, I was hoping for a cliff-hanger end of episode. You know, something like Ranvijay fires his gun and Amreek falls on ground, looking like he’s dead. And in next episode, they’ll show that the bullet only grazed his temple. Typical Hindi sitcoms. But that’s not what happened today.

The bullet went clean through his head. That’s the first thing they showed about the gun shot. His head jerked from the shot, blood trickled down his cheek and HE SMILED. He smiled knowing that he helped his friend, bought them some time, helped them live. He gave his life for his friend's love. I'm still captivated by that frame. And this was only the beginning. In next episode, Abhay & Surbhi are gonna get caught by Abhay's father at airport. And sooner or later, even they are gonna end up dead.

How can people be so cruel like animals...!! Killing someone in the name of honour...!! Is it more valuable than our loved one's life...? This is not just a story of a sitcom. This thing is happening all over India. Even at this age. The Nitish Katara case is still fresh in mind. And that of Nirupama Pathak. Heck, there are (Khap) panchayats in India who hail Honour killing and flaunt it as their right. And an Indian politician, Member of Parliament no less, supports them. Acts like these are why I feel ashamed to be part of Indian society. I have no words to express. And headache is building up.

• Do you consider that - Sanskrit is communal and Urdu is secular, Mandir is Communal and Masjid is Secular, Sadhu is Communal and Imam is secular, VandeMatharam is communal and Allah-O-Akbar is secular, Shriman is communal and Mian is secular, Hinduism is Communal and Islam is Secular?


• Why Godhra is blown out of proportion, when no-one talks of the ethnic cleansing of 4 lakh Hindus from Kashmir?


• When Christian and Muslim schools can teach Bible and Quran, Why Hindus cannot teach Gita in our schools?


• When Haj pilgrims are given subsidy, why Hindu pilgrims to Amarnath, Sabarimalai & Kailash Mansarovar are taxed?


• There are nearly 52 Muslim countries. Show one Muslim country which provides Haj subsidy.


• If Muslims & Christians are minorities in Maharashtra, UP, Bihar etc., are Hindus not minorities in J&K, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya etc? Why are Hindus denied minority rights in these states?


• In India today Hindus are 85%. If Hindus are intolerant, how come Masjids and madrasas are thriving? How come Muslims are offering Namaz on the road? How come Muslims are proclaiming 5 times a day on loud speakers that there is no God except Allah?


• Show one Muslim country where Hindus are extended the special rights that Muslims are accorded in India?


• Show one country where the 85% majority craves for the indulgence of the 15% minority.


• Show one Muslim country, which has a Non-Muslim as its President or Prime Minister.


• Show one Mullah or Maulvi who has declared a 'fatwa' against terrorists.


• Hindu-majority Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Pondicherry , etc. have in the past elected Muslims as CM’s. Can you ever imagine a Hindu becoming the CM of Muslim - majority J&K?


• In 1947, when India was partitioned, the Hindu population in Pakistan was about 24%. Today it is not even 1%. In 1947, the Hindu population in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was 30%. Today it is about 7%. What happened to the missing Hindus? Do Hindus have human rights?

And why do you feel that we are "showing off" our majority status and pointing at the "minorities" by celebrating our festivals??? Why are you ignoring the fact that we do celebrate the minority festivals too.. we do have Christmas and easter get together, we do have social meetings on the occasions of ramzan, id and moharram where everyone participates.

Let me go one step down from International Cricket; let’s focus on our domestic Cricket. I’m not sure how many of that ‘99%’ cricket fans follow Ranji Cricket and can recall the names who represent their state in Ranji Trophy in a single go. If we can manage the names, it may be too hard to say where our state stands except last four teams. I’m not sure how many of us know that 21 years old Manoj Tiwari and 29 years old Ranadeb Bose of Bengal were the highest run getter and highest wicket taker respectively in the last season’s domestic Cricket. The names like Amol Mazumdar of Mumbai and Kanwaljit Singh of Hyderabad, who are at the edge of retirement from Cricket remained inside the empty stadium as nobody cheered for them except those 30 white dressed gentlemen.

If there is an International Cricket match we can see there is a long queue 24 hrs before opening the ticket counter, people do not mind spending the night in the queue. Nobody minds if you just sign in and sign out saying “Wow!! there is a India-Pakistan match yaar”. If it is a domestic match? Very few of us know who is playing and for what they are playing in an empty stadium. It is as if those 30 white dressed gentlemen have no work in the world they are just doing time pass. We don’t even realize that those 30 white dressed gentlemen are in the way of making another Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Yuvraj or Dhoni for whom we will cry if they fail and we will not hesitate to spoil our voice by cheering if they win.

When we see a new face into Indian team we keep wondering whether he bowls or bats until he figures in last eleven. Just few day back when Rohit Sharma lifted last ball six of Van der Wath and played a superb innings, very next match we could see a girl holding a placard ‘Rohit Sharma, will you marry me’. He became a national hero. A complete TOI page on him. This same Mumbai lad Rohit Sharma once smashed a 45 balls century in domestic T20 Cricket, he is the only T20 centurion in Indian Cricket. I guess not all ‘99%’ knew this before that innings.

even cows had free access in that multi-purpose stadium

The media coverage for International match - I don't need to say anything; but for domestic Cricket - it's just ‘8 cm X 12 cm’ area in the last page to cover at least four matches. Live coverage for domestic Cricket is awful; the broadcaster uses the minimum optimal cameras to cover the game. The energy level of the commentator is as if he was on fast for last two days and just taking care of the equipments. Once I had the privilege of watching Assam-Bengal Ranji Group match. The pitch was slightly better than our clay roads and I guess even cows had free access in that multi-purpose stadium when there is no match.

Yes, BCCI has increased the prize money for domestic Cricket. These domestic Cricket heroes manage to get a job in some good public sectors. Is money the only reason we all are crazy for Cricket?

Dear friends, my intention is not to hurt anybody’s sentiments towards the game or doubt anybody’s Cricketing knowledge. After yesterday’s topic in the intranet I thought - do we really love Cricket or we just love our Cricketers? Are we real Cricket Fan or just fan of International Cricket?

These are the reactions to this post in our Intrnet -

Jayateerth R Katti : Great thought Uttam..
This forced me to think that I am only International cricket fan :(

Sandeep Sharma :Definitely !! It is surprising we do not love our cricket but kinda love media attention.
Wherever media focuses attention, we start following that. It is also in our mind. We are biased against domestic cricket. Organizers are to be blamed for this, who neither publish schedule nor market or advertise it well. Also, they do not provide good pitches and stadium to domestic cricketers.

May be ICL this year could bring about those changes. Like we see new enthusiasm on hockey side where India is beating all opponents by huge margin.....

The national hockey team is genuinly miffed about all this gung-ho. While all the politicians are busy showering cash, rewards and other perks on the cricketers, the hockey team is pushed back into the darkness. Did they receive even an iota of the welcome that the cricket team got that immobilized Mumbai? Leave aside the rewards. After drawing flak from several sections for their step-motherly treatment, the state governments are 'considering' rewarding these hockey players. What a shame....!!! Why do we [specially politicians] always need an external source to jerk us up to our senses? But are they really awake now? Govt.s are gonna reward the hockey team only 'coz they 'asked for it' and to ward off the outcry. Are they really thrilled and proud of their success? And the public making the outcry - are they genuinely interested in Hockey? Are they gonna watch any upcoming hockey match with as much enthusiasm as they show in a cricket match? Ask yourself.

And if you ask me, I'm also not interested in hockey or most of the other sports either. Then why am I being so much touchy and vocal here? Well, that's because I'm an Indian. That's what we do. Begani Shaadi mei abdulla deewana. or - Behti ganga mei haath dhona. If everybody is talking about something and you don't, you feel like left out and idiot. Even if we don't know what's all the fuss is about, we just love to raise our voices and make a 'contribution' to the cause. And that's the end of what we do; make noise and disperse. We don't see to it that the cause is met. "At least I did what I could. Rest is upto the leaders/politicians". Wow. We just look upto the sufferer with eyes of pity and wish that they get a better deal. Same here regarding the Indian hockey team.

We are Indian only on 1 occasion - when we are at war with Pakistan - either on front or on cricket field.

The main reason for their ignorance is, no-one and nothing is Indian in India. There are Bangali, Bihari, Gujrati, Madrasi and so on; but no one's Indian. We realize that we are Indian only on 1 occasion - when we are at war with Pakistan - either on front or on cricket field. Cricket team is the 'Indian' team. Indian hockey team? What's that? Is anyone in it from my state? Such is the state of affairs here 'coz such is our upbringing. And it's not that we look upto cricket as a great sport. We follow cricket 'coz of its glamor quotient. Glamor is the reason why now-a-days some people are taking note of Tennis, thanks to Sania. Suddenly a lot of people are interested in tennis, or better still - pretty faces and delicate curves on tennis court. Apart from some genuine die-hard F1 racing fans, how many follow F1? Karthikeyan was/is having a though time finding sponsors to finance his F1 dreams. Anyone wanna talk about football?

The sudden interest in Hockey was brought about by 'Chak De India'. I'm baffled by how movies drive our outlook in India. It's like we are all blind and movies are leading us cross the road. When Rang De Basanti released, we all took up protesting against 'political and judicial monarchy'. Protest against Reservation and Jasica Lal case are testimony to that. After 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' - it was time for Gandhigiri madrush. It took the whole India one movie to remember the basic foundation of the nation. And now 'Chak De India' to value Hockey or other sport forms in general. But as always, the flame is doused within a couple of months' span. In the latest case, the fade out was accelerated by T20 extravaganza. So, everything is 'back to normal' - as it always has been.

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The 1st season of Indian Idol produced Abhijt Sawant and Amit Sana. Abhijit's debut album was instant hit, 'coz of the initial hype of the 'Indian Idol' concept, and of course his melodious voice. He was brand ambassador for SET and one mouth freshener product, appeared in a soap for Ekta Kapoor, and I hear he playback sang in a movie of which I'm not sure. Recently his 2nd album rolled out but is not finding many takers. Radios are playing his songs once every thousand songs, if not worse.

Yet, he is the most successful Indian Idol ever. Amit Sana got lost in the crowd after his consolation debut album. So is the fate of Indian Idol of season 2. I don't even remember his name. And why only Indian Idol? Several other clone reality TV talent hunt shows were launched alongside. Fame Gurukul, Sa Re Ga Ma, Voice of India et al. How are their winners faring? None of the winners of such shows have made a headway after the initial break. Touqeer Qazi and Ruprekha Banerjee of FG, Debojit Chatterjee of SRGM - all are forgotten names. Only winners who have made it big are Shreya Ghosal, who emerged from SRGM long back and Sunidhi Chauhan, who was winner of 'Meri Aawaz Suno' way back in 1999. But they are, by large, the exceptions.

For all other reality TV talent 'stars', their 15 minutes of fame seems to have evaporated as quickly as it came. These faded stars are a sore reminder that this success and hype can be transitory, unless they have strong lobby or try to make it big banking on their talent and not the media glare - which keeps shifting from one winner to the next.

There's Shilpa Shetty who sacrifices her career to take care of her family post marriage, lives through a breaking marriage, can't accept Shiney as she's a 'PatiBrata Nari'. Towards the climax - she continues to live with KayKay when he returns even though earlier he had deserted her on learning about Shiney. Now com'on - don't say that "That's the real strength of Women. Forgiveness". I see it as weakness. The husband has an extra-marital affair for years, asks for forgiveness when caught, but can't accept her wife straying for a few weeks, deserts her and lives with his muse. But when he returns - dejected - she accepts him. Wow. Why can't she just return him the treatment he bestowed upon her a few days ago, slap him hard across the face and move on? NO. She's an Indian PatiBrata nari. What image does this portray? Men can indulge in adultery anytime they please and get away with it while it's forbidden fruit for women.

If WCD is pleased with my views so far, they are gonna hate me for my next observation. Kangana Ranaut. Sorry to say, but she doesn't generate tiniest sympathy in my heart. Her character was meant to be treated the way she is. 1st of all, she engages an already married man - that too her boss - obviously for professional gains. It's clear as they had agreed at the start that "There won't be any emotional attachments in this relationship". That said, she can't claim that she was in love with him. Their first confrontation scene [after which Kangana attempts suicide] has got some harsh reactions from female viewers, most of them wanting to slap KayKay's character. But I beg to differ. I somehow support KayKay's reaction at that instant, though I loath his actions throughout the movie. He's surely a creep and deserves curses flying his way. But Kangana's character is bigger monster than his. What he said at that moment brings out darker side of Kangana than his. What the hell was she asking him to do? Break his marriage and live with her? KayKay rightfully rejected such possibilities as they didn't set out for that. Then there was this issue of who's using whome? For a moment forget that U have to support your 'sisterhood' and analyze that situation. She wasn't fooled into this. They both were just sharing a physical relationship with no attachments as agreed. If she felt she was being used, why the hell did she consent to it? And, if that's "Use" - then Kangana was using him as much as he was. Moreover, she was enjoying business class flight, perks, out of term promotions et al professional gains. More "Use". So, really - who was using whome?

And plz don't repeat her dialouge "I wouldn't have attempted suicide if money was everything". What...!! What's she trying to say? That she loves him? Baaah. Listen to what one of my site visitors [a gal at that] has got to say about such steps -

gals don't attempt suicide [slice their wrist et al] for the guy..they do it for themselves..
when the guy walks away....the moral of the gal goes down.. the suicide attempt and all has to do with coping with their lost self esteem ..their ego.. they loose their personal worth when they don't manage to get what they want. and then the desperation is not exactly to win back the guy..but to win back the lost self esteem.. u see, it is not abt the guy.. usually girls never like such guys.... its all to do with pleasing their own ego.. girls actually don't care abt such guys.. they just look at it as an opportunity to judge their worth with the opposite sex..

Read more of it here.

Huh. Now that the bitter truth is out, what have u got to say to that? I know most gals won't agree to this but deep down inside, they know this is true. I welcome reader views on this. Lemme know what's your point of view on this. Do drop your comments.

Really how easy it is to carry a bomb inside a corporate house.

• If the security doesn't check you because you have 'ID cards' - that's a big flaw. Anybody knows how easily one can get a fake card in India.
• If they don't check you 'coz they know you in person or by face - even that is not professional behavior. Terrorists don't drop from sky. They could be anyone among us. There's nothing to feel offended at this. I'm not branding your company as nurturing ground of terrorists. What I'm saying is security personals shouldn't turn a blind eye on anyone.
• Even if some known face [to the security] is not directly involved in such activities, they can be compelled/forced to carry out the operation. Taking family hostage or any such pressure is sufficient for someone to succumb. Now, if someone feels that this possibility is 'too filmy' - then lemme tell u that films are not just wild imaginations of film-makers.

Now, if someone feels that "Our office is not that high profile location, and thus won't be targeted by terrorists"; I'll just say 'Why take the chance'? We people just don't believe that something could happen to us, as if we were born just to live a stir-less life. Everything good - is happening to someone else, every bad news - involves someone else. Why don't we realize someday we could be that someone?

Now that the security at all the high-profile areas is expected to be top-notch, terrorists will obviously target some soft target, which priorly won't attract much attention. Their primary motive is to cause huge massacre. And if that involves techies in silicon valley, what more could they want? If your office building is in a residential area or is surrounded by other company buildings, the area is bustling with IT people; then U should know this could be a target. We better be prepared.

Metal detector scans are of no use. No one's gonna try to wreck havoc with a knife. I'm not sure how bombs or RDX is detected. So, not sure about the feasibility of the proper system installation. The least I expect is any big package to be inspected, thoroughly. Or security experts would know better what to do.

Now, this inspection thing might irritate some people. I hope we become a little more tolerant and respect the greater concern. It's for your own safe being. Would you prefer disturbance of checking for few seconds or being the victim of another Hyderabad kind of incident?

Related Post : How safe is Bangalore?

Then there is Satyanarayan Sir. He joined us during our 2nd year in BE. Very strict and high-handed. He was walking terror for the whole college. Pin drop silence reigned in his classes. But strangely enough, he took a liking for me and gradually I was one of his favorite student. Just like my kindergarten headmaster, he had 'seen a great possibility' in me. He always gave me tips, suggested books and kept me under his 'protection'. Other students who were 'traumatized' by him, didn't quite take it well, and I was christened 'Satya ka Daamaad' [son-in-law of Satya]. [Just for the record - he's unmarried and doesn't have a daughter] It was their way of making fun of us and venting their frustration. I quite enjoyed their envy. I felt privileged. It's true that he was lenient as far as my little mistakes like 'dozing off in class' were concerned. ;) But he wouldn't spare me if I ignored my studies. But I didn't give him any chance for that.

Satya sir is highly misunderstood. His primary concern was always the betterment of students. Good at heart. But maybe his approach or attitude was wrong. He used his seniority as weapon and was ruling the department. He never made a request or asked us to do something; but always gave orders. Old school approach - 'strictness will do them good and bring order and chivalry'. His image in student mind was that of a dictator. He was nicknamed 'SatyaNarayan Shankar' on the lines of Amitabh Bachchan in Mohabbatein. Thus, his classes were never interesting for most of them, no matter how enthusiastically he tried to make them understand the lecture. During our final year, he moved to Telecom department, thus all these students hived a huge sigh of relief. I wish he had been a little more friendly and approachable. Then maybe, he would've been considered the best professor in college.

Then there was Vishwas Sir. He was junior to Satya Sir and had spotted me through him. He inherited the same liking from him. Though he was polar opposite of him. His classes were total chaos. He always tried hard to impart some knowledge onto us, a sincere good effort. But we never paid much concentration in his classes. He had no control over us. There's one incident that I regret till date. On one of his class, we 5 people were seated on the last bench of the class and were chatting among ourselves in whispers. Vishwas Sir spotted it several times and asked us to keep quite a couple of times. Seconds of silence and we were back with our gossips. Guess we'd overdone it. Suddenly Vishwas Sir lost his cool and shouted at us -

"I fU guys are not interested, U can leave. At least let them study who are interested"

Complete silence reigned for rest of his class. But before leaving, what he did bewildered us. He said

"I'm sorry about shouting on you guys. I shouldn't have. But please don't make noises in class"

He said sorry in mid of class. We felt so humiliated and so ashamed. He was sorry for no wrong of his. That incident made us realize how composed gentleman he really is. We never ignored him there after and he was always there for us.


OK. That would be the end of my little round up. And now, here's your chance to get famous, get featured. What all you have to do is - Lemme know if you have any such memories to share. If it is interesting enough, I'll publish it as another post with your name. U'll be given the full credit and a Guest Blogger badge, with the option of your photo and any details you want - published along side your post. Grab the chance and write to me. Your mails should reach me before 1st October '07. Have a great day.

Now when I look back at my life so far, I realize how blessed I've been to get those few great teachers. The 1st one who comes to my mind is the headmaster of my kindergarten school. He had spotted something special in me and took special care of me. Mom says the 1st thing I used to do after returning from school was doing my home-work. Guess I was a good student then. I don't really remember much of these. But there's one incident that I still remember as if it had happened just yesterday. It was after I had finished my kindergarten. One day that head master came to meet me at home and told papa "He's a special child. Take special care of him. He'll make it really big someday". Papa was so proud of me that day and so was I. I was bluntly telling everybody that day what he had said.

My next experience with teachers wasn't this pleasant though. I was in class 3 and there was this bully in my class but I didn't pay him much hid. One day he threatened one boy in the class to do as he says or else .... That other boy suddenly stood up in mid class, clutching his stomach and said "Sir, Bikram just punched me hard in stomach". That teacher was a relative of this boy. He just thrashed me for a long time, not listening to a single word I said. By the time he let go off me, I was all bright red - head to toe, as if I'll start bleeding any moment. On my way back home, curious onlookers made me feel sick. Everybody's 1st impression was obviously 'punished for some unforgivable mischief'. Through their eyes, I saw myself as a criminal. I kept running on road, shaking, till I reached home and broke down in tears. Mom went numb on seeing me and papa immediately rushed me to a hospital. A case was filed against that teacher. But he wasn't even questioned by police. He was let go. They said 'he just did his duty. Corporal punishment is a part of school life'. That was when I started hating the word 'teacher'.

Now a days, there's one or the other news of harsh corporal punishment every other day. Most people just skip such news, turning a blind eye. But ask someone who's been through it. Whenever there's one such news, I still feel the tearing sensation of canes raining on my skin. WCD is proposing some strict rules against such barbarism. Some people are opposing it saying 'that will ruin the tender relation between teachers and their pupils'. But what have they got to say about the total mental break down of a child thrashed in the name of punishment?


And now I'm all boiling up again. I actually wanted to write some nice memorable interactions with my teachers; about how Jeevan sir was like a father figure for me, and how sorry I was when I had compelled Vishwas sir to shout at me in mid class and later apologize for no mistake of his. But now that I remembered my class 3 incident, my mood is ruined. Just want to wrap up and grab some coffee. Will tell you the rest some other day.

Those who think that it's impossible to dodge the security with that much explosive - I'll say - dude wake up. Anyways, even if they don't enter the main building - a powerful explosion at the gate itself will cause huge damage. Entry gate is the most crowded at any given moment with ever streaming crowd pushing and shoving to get in or out. One strong blast amidst such packed crowd will throw mangled bodies, which were cheering alive person moments ago, at least 10 meters away. Pieces of flesh will be flying here and there. Even the thought of such possibility gives me shivers. I feel sick - at the same time hatred for all those devils who are executing these sins in the name of jihad.

I'm not against some particular community. That's just not done. Just as I'd like to say All men are not dog, the whole community is not terrorist. I don't get why my countrymen don't understand this game of greedy politicians? We have been through this before - since the age of Mugals - East India Company - partition - more recently - Mumbai Riots - Mumbai Serial Blasts - Gujarat. Still we don't learn a lesson and every time we become the puppets in the hands of politicians. It's high time that we all stand together against all such separatist force. Gather 'round people and let's show them what we've got.

End note: Quoting 'Times View'.

As a nation, we are impotent when it comes to tackling terror. After every attack, our police and politicians make the same old noises, but nothing changes. Mumbai's been hit time and time again by serial blasts. Delhi's been targeted repeatedly, including once on the eve of Diwali. Hyderabad has been struck twice within 4 months this year. The IISc in Bangalore was attacked in 2005 .... the list is endless.

What's almost as terrible as our inability to prevent these attacks is our abysmal record in bringing the perpetrators to book. It's taken 14 years for sentencing in the 1993 Mumbai blasts - and the masterminds are still at large. Clearly, there's no resolve to act. Worse, there are stories of political protection.

there hasn't been an attack on US soil since 2001

The US has come in for criticism for its brute response to 9/11. This is not a defense of Washington's approach to terrorism, but the fact is, there hasn't been an attack on US soil since 2001. Is India going to simply stand by and watch innocent lives being snuffed out with chilling regularity? It's time we took a hard line on terrorism.

Check the promotional video on the left. And on the right, a related promo video of the upcoming documentary movie "The 11th Hour", which is the unofficial sequel to Al Gore’s "Inconvenient Truth".

What I'll ask you to do is - give it a try. Do visit the page and get yourself involved in this. Do your bit towards fighting for the world environment.

OKAY. So, here is the BIG question. Who is right here ...?? The WCD for taking up the cause of Working Women who do face a lot of harassment at workplace or SFF who are fighting for the Men who are exploited under such laws... !! WCD has a valid point - that women at all walks of life, specially at workplaces are subjected to sexual harassment and they do need a safeguard to protect them. But I guess this is just half the truth. Men are not spared. In today's age, gals no longer stay away from flirting with their seniors to gain promotions n all. And those who think that the story told in "Aitraz" is just a filmy story, think again. THIS IS happening. So, should men also sought the implementation of a similar law for themselves?

On one hand, we talk about gender equality n all. And on the other, when it's about opportunities, there is uproar to give women special treatment by portraying them as weaker sex. I guess Swarup Sarkar is right asking "the government should bring a cross-gender law to prevent any kind of harassment at workplaces"


I am a newbee in this corporate world. So maybe I don't know the twists n turns of this world. But what I've seen here in past 6 months, I'm pretty much sure that women are not the only victim.

Do give your opinion and views on this matter. Leave your comments and cast your opinion on this poll. Looking forward to it.

What makes one violate another humans space is yet another mystery but all I can say it leaves quite a distaste for life. Perverts can be found in all aspects of life and we often tend to ignore. Some of us stand up to them but it has not made a tremendous difference so far.

In such a hostile society and bad times, it feels nice to c a forum like 'Blank Noice' taking stance for the cause of women and humanity as a whole. It is addressing various issues involved in countering this menace. And, on top of everything, it's not any other usual "Women's right activists" group who look down upon every man as hounds. They know the good n the bad, the victims n the abusers. They r not just helping victims recover, they r encouraging everyone to fight back and bring an end to it. And who r 'they'? 'THEY' are not just the moderators of the site 'Blank Noise' but every single person who comes forward to support the cause, guy or gal. No gender war is raging here. 'Aam Janta' is fighting the filthy mud-bloods to make the world a better place to live.

Do give this a visit. You can get involved in this cause in your city, be part of the campaign, share ideas & experiences and many many more ways. I've been going through it relentlessly for the past 6 - 7 hrs. I feel so much shocked n shaken by all the stories. Two observations there that are worth a great deal of thought are -

Varsha says - I always ask myself, why do we have to go through this? Its not possible that so many men could be sexually deprived. Subconsciously, men are fighting for the place that they consider theirs. When they see women on streets, they feel that public place is rightfully theirs and they all are trying to intimidate us. it sounds dramatic, but i think its true."
Amit ken says - If you are a guy and reading this, please keep in mind that your behavior towards women which you consider ‘normal’ or ‘fun’, like whistling, winking, singing, touching or trying to be friends is something which harasses them to a great deal. If you need a proof go ask your sister, mother, wife or girl friend, they go through this harassment every single day.

Some other moving n encouraging experiences that I came across are -

Cheekay	Lonely Crusader	Jyothi Iyer
Suvi Dogra	Swar	Keshav
AG	Melanie	Reema Banerjee
Red	Cee Kay	Ashish Gorde

More experience stories can be read at Blank Noise - Action Hero

Warning : Some of the above experience description might seem offending to some people. Reader maturity is expected.

One quick tip (from some writer in 'Action Hero', can't recall her name) for protecting yourself on streets -
On several occasions when walking down lonely roads in the day or at dusk, there have been two and four wheelers with men at the wheel who have stopped their vehicles and waited for me to catch up. At times like this, I make an exaggerated gesture of opening my purse, taking out pen and paper and then very deliberately writing down the registration number of the parked vehicle. The moment the owner realizes what I am up to, he revs up his engine and is off like a shot! I owe this method of "tackling" to my spouse who gave me this brilliant idea. I have shared it with many.

To wrap it all up, all I'd like to say is - Don't keep mum and bear it lying down. It's high time that we fight back. Take a stance.