piyush kaviraj

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A Date with Oneself – Revisiting Solitude


A well written article by a friend, Pooja Shah- “A Date with Oneself – Revisiting Solitude”

Solitude, a pristine state of being by ourselves. A state of being alone and feeling the happiness within. A state where we are not bothered by what the world thinks about us, our actions, and our inaction. A state where we reconnect with our inner voice and have detailed discussions and explanations of what’s done, what we are doing and we intend to do and WHY. Though most of the times the questions we put forth are never answered, the feeling of just talking it out in our mind is enough for unburdening ourselves.

A lot of people tend to confuse Solitude with Loneliness, but I feel Loneliness is just a part of the spectrum. Others ranging from happiness to sadness, fear to anxiety, compassion to sympathy, enthusiasm to boredom, anger to pity, strengths to weaknesses and a lot more.

 I have always found a deep connection of Solitude with sleeplessness, just not sure about which really influences the other. Saying that I won’t deny experiencing the same in the middle of the day right in the midst of hundreds of thousands of people in a crowded marketplace or even just at dawn or dusk by the seashore. Just a walk early in the morning, or a few minutes of meditation, or staring at the sun going down, or sitting by the window with a mug of coffee staring out at pouring rain, would render you into the boundless world of solitude. The enthralling bliss is addictive and sensational.

 The experience quite leaves us with a positive attitude to tackle all the issues raised in the conscious of our mind. I feel like an armor clad warrior ready to take on the battles life throws at us after a brief episode of Solitude. It feels like preparing for an exam I need to take up, but the only difference being that despite intense preparation, I always remain in the realm of doubt whether I will pass out or fa(i)ll back in.

 The divinity it afflicts on us is miraculous and heart warming. The serenity and calmness that is inflicted as the aftereffect is surreal. No one is perfect and each day passes with desires to be fulfilled, dreams to be achieved and standards to be established. Solitude is just one way of inching closer to all of these.

 With this I hope a lot of people start dating with that one person you are sure shot to fall in Love with over and over again- YOURSELF, and give Solitude a chance to explore the unexplored part of YOU.

Published by Ms Pooja Shah on July 6, 2014 at 11:15pm

More at: https://www.facebook.com/notes/pooja-shah/a-date-with-oneself-revisiting-solitude/669585629756605 


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Why does PETA sometimes use nudity in its campaigns?


From PETA Website.. Read on…

Our mission is to get the animal rights message to as many people as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always an easy task. Unlike our opposition, which is mostly composed of wealthy industries and corporations, PETA must rely on getting free “advertising” through media coverage. This can be especially difficult with our fur campaign, since newspapers are often reluctant to cover our activities for fear of losing furriers’ advertising dollars. But, not surprisingly, colorful and “controversial” demonstrations and campaigns like activists stripping to “go naked instead of wearing fur” consistently grab headlines.

The “Naked” Campaign began several years ago when demonstrators—both male and female—marched behind a huge banner proclaiming that they would “rather go naked than wear fur.” More “naked” demonstrations were held all over the world, the idea caught on, and we started receiving offers from celebrities, including Christy Turlington, Marcus Schenkenberg, Kim Basinger, designer Todd Oldham, and Pamela Anderson to participate. Interestingly, we began receiving complaints about this campaign only after professional models and actors joined it, which we conclude to mean, among other things, that celebrity participation helps us reach more people.

The campaign has been hugely successful. It has been featured in nearly every major newspaper, including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. And major magazines and television shows such as Us, People, and Entertainment Tonight have been inspired by the campaign to do stories about the anti-fur movement.

History does not look back unkindly on Lady Godiva. It is our hope that people will come to see that our modern-day “Godivas” have motives that are just as honorable.



Read more: http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/why-does-peta-sometimes-use-nudity-in-its-campaigns/#ixzz36zt9162n


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The Girl who Didn’t know Tendulkar !


Cricket- the religion and the path of solace and nirvana to the sports-nationalists and lovers, has Sachin Tendulkar as its undisputed Indian God. The God who commands enough respect, fan-following and loyalty to bring the nation to a halt. There was a time when television sets would be shut off as soon as Tendulkar would get out.

Such was the craze and such is the dedication for Tendulkar. He could overshadow any batsmen with his skills and innovations and would tear apart any bowling attack on this earth. He pulled the chain of the Rawalpindi express like no other, in this journey of cricket. His shots have been copied, emulated and perfected by his self-declared  disciples all across the globe. The Globe of cricket! The globe of Cricket fans!! The globe of Indian cricket fans!!!

Yes, our world of sports and nationalism starts with cricket and ends on Tendulkar. And in the process, we forgot all other sports and every other sportsman. Let me clarify that I am not blaming Tendulkar for this. This has been our inability. Thousands of sportsmen are lying in apathy of sports governing bodies, waiting for better days while doing every odd job on the actual globe.

A recent article in India Today has mentioned about a few sportsperson in oblivion- Sita sahu, Shanti Devi, Nauri Mundu, Nisha Rani Dutt and S, Santhi. Their condition has been such that they have been forced to work as labourers at brick kilns and sell vegetables. I dare our so called sports enthusiasts and lovers if they ever heard these names. There has also been the case of a sportsperson who had to sell his medals and trophies for survival.

Media too has been responsible for this condition. Since cricket is the only sports that guarantees TRP shoot, media provides extensive coverage. Where do national hockey and rural kabbadi stand against even the IPLs!

Let us have a look at the actual global scenario of sports and compare them with cricket. Where does cricket stand against Football, Tennis, Rugby, Athletics, Gymnastics and so on. The greatest sporting event, Olympics doesn’t have anything close to cricket and our performance there is really commendable!! Ongoing FIFA World Cup has shown what the people on Globe care and know about, if it comes to sports. Half the world doesn’t even know about cricket and then to expect a Sharapova or a Rooney to know about a Tendulkar is a bit too much. I don’t know how to justify pouncing upon Sharapova on social media.

As an editorial in the Indian Express states- “now at least Sharapova is unlikely to ever forget Tendulkar, or deny knowing him. Mission accomplished, perhaps — except that for the rest of the sporting fraternity who dare not forget his name, Tendulkar will forever remain that guy that Sharapova didn’t know”.

-Piyush Kaviraj

– See more at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=16064#sthash.LYxXSNvZ.dpuf

The above article has been published at Boloji.com and can be reached by the following link:

The Girl who Didn’t know Tendulkar ! at Boloji.com


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NOT A GOOD ENOUGH ALIBI


Not a good enough Alibi: a blog on a sexual misconduct faced by a young lady at a Bangalore pub; at http://mercurialpurple.blogspot.in/2014/06/not-good-enough-alibi.html

We were having one of those Saturday nights, where we had a big group of people (from the Quora meetup) who decided to get out for a drink with last minute plans. As expected, we didn’t really get a table in most bars and since we were a big group, we were desperate for a bar that seated us. Walking down Church Street, a friend spotted Alibi, the restobar and it seemed like they had a few tables that would accommodate a large group. My friends and I had a decent time for about the first two hours talking, eating, drinking and laughing.While we were about to leave, and I was standing next to my table discussing with my friends about our cab options, I felt this guy’s hand brush against my behind as he walked out. Startled, I wheeled around, and saw him walk off nonchalantly like nothing happened. I wasn’t entirely sure whether his brush was accidental (because it was a narrow space between two tables that I was standing in) or intentional. Since he had already left, I didn’t mull over it too much and ignored it (stupid, I know).And while I was continuing to talk to my friends, this man returned only to grope my butt. I felt it this time, and it was no accidental brush. I caught him immediately and asked him what he thought he was doing. In response, he simply smirked. Infuriated, I got into an argument with him, only to be interrupted by his best friend who seemed even angrier because I falsely accused his friend of molesting me.Seriously, WHY would I want to make this stuff up? Does anyone out there think women enjoy making a scene and involving multiple people in telling them how we were felt up?The friend kept getting extremely defensive with every dialogue he spewed and began to yell, to which of course, I also felt an appropriate amount of yelling on my part was required. No one is going to tell me to shut up when someone violates my space.Meanwhile, the molester is watching the argument between his friend and me spin out of control and stands as mute witness to the spectacle.The head waiter, Sam (or so he claims his name was), steps in and hears both sides of the argument. He then proceeds to politely ask the molester to pay his bill and leave. When I protest at this extremely kind treatment meted out to the molester, Sam the head waiter starts bellowing at me, asks me to get out, and even threatens me by saying that he will make things worse for me. I asked him what he meant by that, and I said I was ready to go to the police. That’s when he pretty much told me to get out. In the meanwhile the molester has conveniently slipped away and I was too engrossed in my conversation with the staff to notice. This happens while Sam is yelling the hell out of me – he literally gets 3 inches close to my face and his body language suggested that he might physically strike me at any moment. The Manager of Alibi then steps in, and then he starts yelling at me (it seems to be Alibi staff policy now) and says that I should have expected this because I was “dancing”. He also explicitly stated that it wasn’t the molester’s fault. Pretty much all the Alibi staff members got together and started yelling at me and my friends raising a clamour, while the molester was treated as a gentleman till the time he left.So let’s get this straight, someone assaults me. I fight back. Management interferes, starts to blame me for what happens to me, tells me that it’s not the guy’s fault. Not just this, the management then misbehaves with me, while constantly bellowing at me because I was”creating a scene” and was “taking it too personally”, and asked me to leave immediately. I was kicked out of Alibi by the waiters and management because I was molested by a man who happened to slip away while they were vociferously indulging in victim shaming. He got away scot-free and is likely to repeat it again because even when a woman did question him, he realized that everyone was going to blame the victim instead and it will be far easier for him to escape it. I, the victim, got treated like a criminal while the management treated the molester as a gentleman. Does that even make sense?The behaviour doled out to me and my friends by the management was reprehensible. Victim blaming is such a real and common thing, and it happens so often that we have become indifferent towards it. The management was obviously trying desperately to protect their reputation and wanted to get me out of there. But the fact that they had the manager vehemently believing that my dancing was a cause of the molester’s vile behaviour and with one of the waiters screaming in my face because I demanded justice was deplorable.

I walked away, in absolute disgust. We have discussions, we rally at protests, we teach men to respect women, we ask women to never suffer in silence and make some noise, and when we do, this is what happens. It was simply far easier to take the side of the molester and blame it on the victim for her clothes, for being at a bar, for being out late at night, or in this case, dancing (seriously, at best case I was just ‘moving’ a bit. And I haven’t seen anyone ever at a bar standing or sitting in attention position throughout their stay there while the music is playing).

If “dancing” is against the rules, so is sexual assault! Why are we continuing to defend such heinous acts? Why do we try to shut the women who do speak up? Why do we transfer the blame to the victim?

I feel violated. Disgusted. Cheated. And I shouldn’t be. But I am. Millions of women go through far worse situations everyday and when we stand up for ourselves, this is what we get treated with.

So dear women of Bangalore, you must already be doing this for good reason, but just in case you do plan to visit Alibi, I suggest otherwise. If anything does happen to you here, be rest assured that the Alibi management will yell at you, get in your face and tell you that it’s your fault (they might threaten to make things worse for you as well). And oh, the perpetrator will be let off no questions asked as long as they pay their bill. *applause*

 

Posted by Agratha Dinakaran at 00:09 on Sunday, June 29, 2014 at http://mercurialpurple.blogspot.in/2014/06/not-good-enough-alibi.html


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Great Power and Greater Responsibility


The movie ‘Spiderman’ has a wonderful dialogue “With great power, comes great responsibility”. All of us endorse it but forget it altogether when it comes to following it. Recently, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) M.P. kicked a storm by his haughty and irresponsible comment of sending his men to kill those who threatened his party-men and rape their women. I feel it is a sad day for womanhood, democracy as well as our Parliament. What sort of people are we electing to formulate rules and regulations for us! Someone who bears no responsibility of his deeds and actions can’t take responsibility of thousands of people in his or her constituency. Tapas Pal, the actor-cum-MP who uttered these great words, seems to win over his party volunteers by giving them a sense of security of being there with them. Or, did he think he was still acting in a movie, trying to encourage his warriors with his great inspiring speech. How the crowd cheered for him after his rape-remark is utterly disgusting too. Was the crowd happy that for the assurance of such style of justice or was it happy to get an opportunity to rape, flex muscles and prove dominance!

Is he just a party leader now? Once someone is elected a Member of Parliament, he is the caretaker of the entire constituency. How then is this act justified and why he shouldn’t be punished! Why shouldn’t he be charged for  his open threats to a group. Most important, why shouldn’t he be booked for derogatory statements on woman, showing them as nothing more than a medium for vengeance. Doesn’t it reflect the typical male chauvinist attitude of the MP when he should have risen above many petty human feelings while delivering his speech!

His wife offered an apology with a note that the backdrop should be known. Mrs Nandini Pal thinks this is enough to justify his husband’s statements. No backdrop can justify rape threat. If a woman can’t understand this, it is a pity and I feel sorry for my fellow citizens.

Its surprising that his other MP colleagues have nothing to say. Its shocking that TMC supremo Ms Mamata Banerjee has nothing more to say except that she has been saddened. And that she can’t kill him for this. Well Mamatadi, no one is asking you to kill him even though he has killed the essence of an MP and ashamed the womankind. Being a woman you had only this to offer in the name of justice. But then, it is futile expecting anything from her, considering the way she has handled many other issues in West Bengal. She craves for power, but not the responsibility! Mamatadi! responsibility comes by default, with power. No one can deny it or escape it!

-piyush KAVIRAJ


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अच्छे दिन के सपने


मौसम और फिजा,

दोनों में खुशहाली है.

 

पर्वतों पर झरने हैं,

पर खेतो में बदहाली है.

 

बसों में इतनी भीड़ है,

सड़कें भी सवाली हैं

 

मंडियों में सब्ज़ी है,

पर बटुए की तंगहाली है.

 

दिए तो हर घर में हैं,

पर कितनों की दिवाली है?

 

होंठों पर रंगीनियत है,

पर मन में सिर्फ गाली है!

 

अच्छे दिन के सपने हैं,

वो सुबह कब आने वाली है!!

 

-पीयूष कविराज


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Oh Life, Forgive Me!


Oh Life, Forgive Me!

“““““““““““““
Oh life!
forgive me;
for all the sadness,
I bestow upon you!

Oh life!
forget me!
for all the memories,
I have ruined for you!

Oh life!
remit me!
for all the sins,
I have committed by you!

Oh life!
relieve me!
for all the inaction,
I have stalled upon you!

 

© Piyush Kumar

“Oh Life, Forgive Me!” also published on this website-

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=19764

– See more at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=19764#sthash.R0yHHKIq.dpuf

and https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1448353595416929&id=1391919817726974 

 


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Public Expectations and Government: in search of ‘Achhe Din’


 

In the recent past, someone had remarked- Modi is probably the last gamble by Indian public. And the citizens left no stone unturned in order not to have any regret left for not giving a majority to Modi sarkar. Riding on a Modi wave, full support from media and a whirlwind of expectations, BJP got a thumping majority and NaMo became the PM, to the delight of millions.

But there lies the glitch. The lured public clearly wants results as the wait for good days or ‘Achhe Din’ has been in suspension for more than 60 years. It was visible through daily scrutiny of the Aam Aadmi Party government at Delhi. Continuing with the same, the public would keep the NaMo sarkar under scanner till it is relieved of its daily tensions, from workplace to home, from social development to economic strengthening. The public is, but losing its patience in an exasperated hope of reviving the situation.

In such a situation, every move of the government would be introspected as per merit and it won’t be easy for the new government which already knows that governing India during the present situation is the crown of thorns marred by acute inflation, chronic poverty, mounting unemployment, snail pace development, fractured economy and beleaguered finances. Hence massive reforms are needed to counter the problems. The honeymoon period with media already seems to be jolted with hash tags of ‘achhe din delayed’ and ‘bitter rail pill”. Price regulation for petroleum is not my forte but the government will have to bear the brunt with every increment. Though minor hiccups were felt during Iraq problem and the ‘Hindi circular’, the first tremor has come with the rail fare and freight hike. There seems to be huge disappointment among people, especially the daily and regular commuters of railways. The cost of Mumbai sub-urban passes have gone up with 200-300% increase, not to mention the first and second AC fare is already giving stiff competition to the low-cost airlines. No doubt many people will prefer to spend a few bucks more to save 10-20 hours, through air journey. However, the sleeper and general class  passengers have a compulsion to remain loyal to their railways, even though it means shelling out extra bucks from their savings. Finance Minister asks if we want a world class railway or the present dilapidated one. Well, Jaitleyji, the rail makeover to world class can’t be achieved through fare hike. There is a limit to it. Price hike could be a necessity with the continuing inflation and that may be a reason good enough. Is there a need to issue such statements?

No doubt it is difficult to stand up to the public expectations as it has almost lost all the hopes on the traditional politicians, most of them christened with murder/rape and baptized with criminal cases. The level of saturation is dangerously close as was evident during Anna’s India against corruption movement with mass participation of public, swarming to the call against the prevailing issues. It was in full public glare when huge protests erupted against the heinously barbaric Nirbhaya incident. It has been clearly visible among the angry Delhi people since Arvind Kejriwal resigned. The frustration that has been building up since 60 years is something which shouldn’t be exploited otherwise. This is the time to perform or perish, in a reasonable time, without unreasonable arguments and statements. Because, Janata maaf nahi karegi!!


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Regulars at the ‘greatest show on earth’ – The Hindu


Regulars at the ‘greatest show on earth’ – The Hindu.

 

I vividly recall Diego Maradona running towards the crowd to celebrate before the ball had crossed the goal-line. He was so sure of what was going to happen and we will always cherish having witnessed that momentous happening in person,” Chaitali Chatterjee says remembering the unforgettable goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup where the Argentine footballer worked his magic to score the second goal in the quarterfinal against England.

Ms. Chaitali is the pillar of support for her octogenarian husband Pannalal Chatterjee, whose insatiable desire to be a part of the “greatest show on earth” has fuelled repeated journeys across the world over the last 32 years.

“We were initiated into it by a family friend, who stays in London. During one of our visits to him in 1982 he volunteered to take us to the World Cup in Spain. Though it was a one-match affair, we got addicted to the splendour and magnificence of the event and decided to repeat it in a bigger way in the next edition,” says Mr. Chatterjee before leaving for his ninth successive World Cup journey, this time to Brazil.

“Before our world Cup ventures we went across the country to see the Santosh Trophy for 23 successive years since 1970,” says the former Calcutta Port Trust employee to impress upon his intense association with the sport. “I had been a member of the governing body of the Indian Football Association for 11 years between 1970 and 1983 and am still associated in an administrative capacity with Sikkim Gold Cup,” Mr. Chatterjee adds.

The Chatterjees, who live in a one-room apartment in Kidderpore in south-west Kolkata, decided to shun the comforts of life and painstakingly save for four years to realise the dream.

Their next trip to Mexico in 1986 made them a part of one of the most talked-about football World Cups. “It was like a dream come true when we witnessed one of the best goals ever in the history of football,” says Mr. Chatterjee. “More so, we had the company of two legendary Indian footballers – Chuni Goswami and Sailen Manna – who made the moment event more memorable,” he added.

While having witnessed Maradona’s transformation to a God of football with Argentina’s triumph in the final against Germany, the Mexican sojourn also remains memorable to the Chatterjee couple for their ‘banditos’ experience. “We, including Chuni da and Sailen da, were robbed at gun point by a group of Mexican men on our way to Mexico City. ,” remembers Mrs. Chatterjee.

“We kept visiting all the World Cups after that and saw the tournament at various stages according to our ability.

We were fortunate to see another historic final, the one in 1998 where Zinedine Zidane got France its first World Cup and joined the greats of world football,” says Mr. Chatterejee hoping to see something more memorable this time.

“Brazil is considered the Mecca of world football and we hope to see something special,” he says. The couple will be watching four round-of-16 matches.

They have also been promised two VIP tickets of a quarterfinal match from the Indian broadcaster Sony Television, as an acknowledgement of their passion for the sport. “If we manage to save enough money, we will also try to watch the semi-finals and even the final,” Mr. Chatterjee says looking at his wife, who nods assuredly.

by AMITABHA DAS SHARMA


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Angels and pets: the convergence!


Pets and Angels!! by Aditi Sahu!!

Aditi's avatarAditi Sahu

For this category of people, coming back home after a hectic day of work is more often than not, uneventful. Reach home, freshen up, dine and go off to sleep. Interspersed in between are activities like TV, office work, home work, etc.Most weekends could also be ascribed comparatively dull. Wake up to the sun blazing at your face, breakfast in bed, lazy lunch and maybe an occasional evening outing for movie or dinner.
Then, there exists an  altogether different category of people. Lets tentatively call these people “category-2”. People with pets, more specifically Dogs: the most interactive, lovable and affable pets humans can keep. Coming back from work is an altogether different experience for these people. Nothing short of pure joy, actually. When the stupid pet of yours comes running towards you like a maniac, like he has not seen you for ages (the actual separation not being more than…

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