The 'Girl Child' and Life

This other day while I was coming back home from school, I saw 5 children, most likely siblings or friends, the youngest one was about 4 and the others were say, 7-8 year olds.

Three of them were in school uniform, two of which were boys, and the third was the youngest one- a girl. They looked like any other under-privileged school going children. Shabby dress, torn bag, wrong shoes. However, it gave me a sense of pleasure that at least they were getting to go to school.

This pleasure was short-lived, as my eyes drifted to the other two, both girls. While one wore a torn frock, the other one was in a tattered salwar-kameez. The younger one was carrying a bag of vegetables. The second one, probably an year old,  was carrying a heavy pot of water. What irritated me even more was that it was very evident that they were from the same family or at least closely related otherwise.

The bus I was on, moved on but the scene I witnessed,has been on my mind ever since. There was nothing special about it; it was just another unnoticed random scene.

27 hours and 38 minutes later, the same scene is still pricking the shackles of my brain. It is not a surprise, but I fell extremely difficult to accept the fact that five children who are being reared up in the same background, who live in proximity, are not getting equal amenities.  There might be other reasons why the other two ‘girls’ have not been allowed to study, but my mind, it refuses to believe exceptions.

In spite of all the promises and the laws and rights and other political stuff, the reality has not altered. And, this reality is harsh. Even today, a girl is not exposed to education, she faces extreme discrimination irrespective of her religion or caste or economical background, because she is, erm, a girl. Even in urban educated families, women are forced to give up their girl child. Female foeticides and infanticides are followed as traditions in some villages. In India, on an average, a girl is raped every half-an-hour. The dowry still prevails, in some places as a compulsory custom, in some places as another way to make money. Flesh trade, Child marriage,  marital rape, the list is endless. The fight against women, by men, by women themselves or by the society has turned into a never-ending war. The woman, today, is not much different from where she was yesterday.

This harsh reality definitely compels me to raise this question.

Which is worse - Female foeticide, Female infanticide, Rape, Gender Discrimination or BEING BORN A WOMAN?

This Sky is my life

Bit by bit I have finally rebuild this page... which brings me to the actual concern of doing it. Three years back, things weren't the same. Take the blog for instance - I didn't even care about the layout or the font or the color or any other stuff. And now... I painstakingly went through hundreds of backgrounds for three hours and finally chose the one I found most appropriate. And ow, I am concerned.

Why have little things started mattering to me, who once upon a time hardly gave a damn to the 'big' things. Some years back, the sky was just an entity of nature for me. Today, if I look at the sky, a thousand thoughts pass my mind. I feel a sudden bout of energy, of grit, as if I could gaze at it almost forever. The sky is no more blank for me. It is full of fairytale creatures, abominable monsters. The sky has become a mystery for me. A mystery which keeps getting interesting as it unfolds

One could take it as an inspiration also, as it is this sky which helped me view things from a photographer's perspective. It is this sky which motivated me to write. It is by the sky that I have thought about my family, my friends, my crushes, my non-friends and others. It is by the sky that I learnt to dare. It is the sky which gave me the rain. It is the sky which taught me how to count stars.

The sky taught me how to dream.

Back to Blogger

Two years and I haven’t blogged! For all those who had followed my blog (though I doubt you might be still following it) I have deleted all my previous posts except for the first one. Don’t ask why. Those posts were the primary reason why I quit blogging and now that they are no more, I find a good start to blog again!!

Two years, and a lot has changed. People, friends, school, ideas, values, habits, hobbies, and so have I. As a person. Call it change or evolution or growing up, it’s all the same.

I don’t really know what got me back to blogging. For one, I was reading through my friend’s blog and then I was like “I miss mine!!”, so thanks Pooja. And secondly, Sweta got me into the habit of talking again. I seriously have started blabbering a lot nowadays. This seems to be the best substitute... :)

Love,

Pie