To The Iron Lady

(Note: Don’t jump to conclusions unless you have read the whole of it.)

I take pride in saying that Meryl Streep is not the real Iron lady, but you, the lady with the iron hand and rule, the chief minister of my very own home town. The way you have managed to bring about change, it amazes me, if not anyone else, I am sure school students will be really happy out of this for they have one less chapter to learn. You have glorified their lives, they will vote for you, for change, for years to come.

A coin has two sides. Similarly, every person, like you and like me, has two kinds of qualities, good qualities and bad qualities. Now, the right thing here would be work upon ones bad qualities and rectify them and enhance the good ones of course. But to use the good ones as a shield against the bad, is to go as low as the fox who used wool coats to fool sheep and feast over them, or as low as Narendra Modi – The Great (Hypocrite).

I appreciate you, for the change you have brought, for the promises you have kept. For the number of bandhs which don’t happen in Kolkata anymore. My mother appreciates what you have been doing, and I mention her because she is the one living in Kolkata while I live in Delhi and am just a by-stander to your hitler regime. It is also important for me to mention that I am not writing this depending on baseless media outrages and mere statements from news channels, of course these are the only resources I have used, but there is also a lot of thought added to what I want to say.

Didi, I am not angry, probably because I don’t live there but here, but I am duly upset.

I couldn’t vote, I turned eighteen only last year and elections happened before I owned a card. But, I wished for change. I wished for difference, and when you won, it mattered to me, because I had wished for this. I don’t support any political party, neither CPM nor yours, but I supported you, as a woman, and as an ardent lover of my hometown. I have looked upto you. Then why Didi?

I ask you, why did you let us down? Why is there not a single woman leader in Indian politics I can look upto? What about the promises you haven’t kept? Why have we moved on from only a frying pan to a burning stove? Why are you challenging democracy? Why are you challenging your own dignity? Why are you doing wrong things?

It matters to me, yes, it bloody does. So what if I don’t live in Kolkata anymore? That place is very much a part of this country I call my own, it is also my hometown, I am never getting over it. And I am never getting over the people who are attempting to spoil it. I thought you were sensible, you proved yourself otherwise.

You have questioned Democracy, you have questioned the Right to Freedom and Speech, you have questioned the Right to Expression. You have also tried and removed every single possible means of CPI(M) interfering in your rule even if the intervention were to be right. Are you this scared? What is the reason for you extreme insecurity? If you think what you are doing is right, then why the safeguards? Am I seeing a loophole here? If the theory of Afterlife were to be true, Marx would be probably banging his head on a cement wall somewhere. Why? I ask you this, if kids don’t study Marx in school, how do you think they’d cope with the huge syllabus on Marx in college? Or is that your ulterior motive, to stop brain drain, erm?

And now you call some random woman who questioned your government, a Maoist. Wow.
Please don’t call me one. We had a chapter on Maoism in Political Science last year, and thanks to selective study, I left it out. I don’t frikkin know what or who Maoists are. So don’t even try me.

You are being of major help to the common man - increasing income, implemented traffic rules, beautified infrastructure, economic development and blah. Waittt. Where is welfare? Are you trying to cover up all your loopholes with the excuse of economic development? Yes? Well, then Mr.Modi finally has competition on the other side of this country, I must say.

I think you need to breathe. And tell those scoundrel followers of yours to stop creating chaos everywhere. My best friend lives and studies in Burdwan. She had written an open letter to you on social media. It was about how much she believed in you and how much you disappointed her. How their college does not have classes, only riots, and how she is living in fear. Some one must have reported abuse, because the letter is not there anymore. Are you this scared, again? You don’t want to even listen to people. This gives me hope - my friend has more power than you do, because her letter scared you off.

Escape is not an option. With Power, also comes responsibility and it is high time you stop running away from it. Face it, woman. You are the (Hon’ble) Chief Minister of one of the most important states of India, and not just the street fighting opposition. Frikkin, act like it. I am 19, a student, inexperienced, I can risk it to make immature statements and write letters like such, but you can’t. You have the power, don’t use it to win fear, ma’am, use it to win respect. Or one day people like me and my best friend and that girl you called a maoist, and many others, probably everyone I know, will lose Faith (a lot of them already have) and you, will wake up regretting that you could have done so much more to the betterment of the state, of this country, of the people, for their love and their faith and you couldn’t. One day, you will lose it all.

Good Morning ma’am. Your life and my country are hanging by the thread. Hold on. Wake up.

P.S. – I write this letter because

1. I still have hope,

2. I refuse to believe that all women ruling this country are out of their mind, I choose this woman to prove it otherwise.

Also, like I mentioned before, I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY POLITICAL PARTY (given that we don’t really have any good options between their selfish agendas), so just because I questioned the Chief Minister and her party, the opposition need not jump around in excitement thinking this is their victory. If you stupid fools had ruled the state properly for the last few eons, this situation could have been avoided.

I am just another girl, voicing my opinion. I don’t know how many of you are reading this, or will read this, but I sincerely hope it this makes a difference.

*photo source - http://manipalblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Source-The-Hindu-Newspaper-Mamata-Banerjee-Cartoon.jpg

A Letter to the Future - Dear Chloe,.

*I wrote this for my Fresher's competition in LSR. This one's inspired by a post in Tejaswee rao's Blog - I.M.A.O.*

29th Sept, 2010


Dear Chloe,
Weird. Me writing to you even though I know someday I’m gunna read this out anyways.

I’ve always wanted to have you. For the last18 years and three days. Ever since I was born. Or, erm minus a month and three days because I probably wouldn’t have known then what it is like to have a pet dog of your own. =) But, Mum wouldn’t let me have you only.

People say you can’t talk to dogs, or rather bitches like in your case. I know I can. If I can talk to my 300-page dairy (which keeps running out of pages), for the last six years, I can talk to you too.

I plan to have you in six more years. Mum won’t have a problem then. At least she says so. Six years. It’s a target I have like those people in the investment and sales industry do. Get four customers in two days.

*Get a house. A good place to work in. A charm bracelet for my bestie. You.*

So, here you get to know who your future best friend is.

I’m eighteen. Just into college. Still overwhelmed about how I grew up so fast. (I turned into an adult just three days back!). And, out of home. And getting used to how to stay out of it. There’s no going back there again. Permanently. :/

I’m going through a very unexpected phase of life. So unexpected that I’m afraid it might change me a little. Others say it is good for me. I need to be changed. I don’t know.

Circumstances have made me insecure. Sometimes, I’m afraid if I’ll ever be able to have the pleasures of cuddling you. Of watching you sleep with you ear over my feet. Lapping up your milk and licking it on me with your teeny pink tongue. I know, you Beagles can be very cute. A neighbour had one too!

I’m afraid because I’ ve never really had what I’ve wanted. Not that I’m not happy with what I’ve got, but still.

I haven’t got THE badge of the head girl, I haven’t got to go to Columbia, I haven’t got an Honours , I haven’t got the boyfriend I wished I would. Christ! I didn’t even get NSS!
I don’t regret it. It’s just that I’ve been almost there and not had it.
I don’t want to have regrets with you.

I talk A LOT. And write. And take photographs all the time.
Along with you, I want a DSLR too. So that I can click amazing pictures of you and me together and store it in my Album- ‘Memories Forever’. =D

For your information, everyone calls me Pie. Not cutie-pie or sweety-pie or all that stuff. Just Pie. And, I love it. These days, I call myself Pie too. Although Nidhi ain’t all that bad a name.



I might not get everything in the future either but I know I’m gunna have you. And we’ll stay together in my house at Orange County where you’ll have plenty of people to play with, I promise.

I might not be the best person to take care of you. But then trust me, once yours ears get used to me, you’re gunna find it difficult to survive without me. :P

I’m very indecisive, so please don’t bother asking me about what to feed you. I’ll take you into the shop. Choose for yourself.

And, I’m not gunna put all those pinky-pinky dresses on you. I know you’re a bitch and everybody does that. But, No. I’m not everybody. You’ll have to stay my way. You adjust. I adjust.

I promise I’m not going to take you away from your mommy. I know how it feels to be far away. I’ll adopt you Chloe. And, I’ll take care of you like a mommy. Not literally of course. You know what I mean. ;)

Oh, you’ll love Sweta. She’s the one I stole your name from. She’s my best friend. And, she’s gunna be one frequent visitor. You might even get to stay with her. That’s what we planned. Both of us, you and two fish each. And Boyfriends. If needed.
Small Family. Happy Family.

Looking forward to amazing days with you.
Meet you in six years Chloe. If no one is gifting you to me, you are my ‘gifted-to-myself’ 24th birthday gift.
Until then, Lots of love,

Pie.

P. S. - I’m writing this letter for a competition. Yes. But, I’m gunna save a copy of it and make sure you listen to what all I have to say. In six years, I’m sure there’ll be much more to this. Cheers to us.

*Thanks Tejaswee. You're embedded in my memory forever. May your soul rest in peace.*